Category: South Africa

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AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry

AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry Lusaka, Zambia
AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry Lusaka, Zambia

AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato IndustryLusaka, Zambia

LUSAKA, Zambia, March 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AgDevCo is pleased to announce its successful exit from Saise Farming Enterprises Limited, through an equity sale to Buya Bamba Limited, a leading Zambian potato company.

Saise was established in 2016 as a specialised potato seed farm between AgDevCo, Buya Bamba and its managing partners. Saise has played a crucial role in developing Zambia’s potato sector by producing high- quality, early-generation seed potatoes which are carefully chosen for Zambia’s climate and grown under licence from Buya Bamba.

With 285 hectares under irrigation in Mbala, Northern Zambia, Saise’s seed potatoes are multiplied by a network of growers, reaching a large portion of the country’s potato farmers. The farm has been instrumental in improving seed availability, enhancing yields, and enabling a reliable local source of excellent quality potato seed for Zambia. Additionally, Saise has created much-needed formal employment in Northern Zambia.

AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry Lusaka, Zambia
AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry Lusaka, Zambia

AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato IndustryLusaka, Zambia

“Saise is in excellent hands with Buya Bamba, our partner in the venture from the start and are grateful for the commitment from our managing partners to build Saise into what it is today. As a proudly Zambian company, Buya Bamba is well-positioned to continue growing Zambia’s potato industry,” said Sean Carey, South Region Managing Director at AgDevCo.

Anthony Barker, Managing Director of Buya Bamba, added, “The future of Zambia’s potato industry is bright and this acquisition further strengthens the Zambian potato value chain. Buya Bamba appreciates the effort from AgDevCo to jointly lead the development of Saise, and take the early stage investment risk of this successful greenfield project.”

After successfully closing its latest US$85 million fund raise in 2024, AgDevCo remains committed to supporting pioneering agribusinesses across Zambia and Sub-Saharan Africa and is actively seeking opportunities to invest in sustainable farming and agri-processing ventures in Zambia and across the region.

About AgDevCo:

AgDevCo is a specialist impact investor operating exclusively in the agriculture sector in Africa. Our mission is to build successful African agribusinesses through long-term investment and support to deliver positive impact at scale. We invest debt and equity in African agribusinesses to create jobs, improve food security, and boost prosperity. With $340 million assets under management, we have made over 88 investments to date. Our investments leverage private capital into socially-responsible farming and agri-processing businesses in Africa, with major benefits for smallholder farmers and local communities.

Contact for media enquiries: Sean Carey, Managing Director South Region; Tel: +44 (0) 20 7539 2650; email [email protected] or [email protected]

About Buya Bamba:

Buya Bamba is a Zambian agribusiness company specializing in the production, marketing, storage, and distribution of high-quality potatoes. The company plays a key role in strengthening Zambia’s agricultural value chain by supplying locally grown potatoes to agro-processing industries, supermarkets, restaurants, and commercial buyers. Buya Bamba strongly supports the informal sector through its sales depots which create income generating opportunities downstream.

Contact for media enquiries: Anthony Barker, Managing Director; Tel: +260 966 861 140; email [email protected]

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/52b0d869-9304-42ab-8487-898b578d8c7f

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/78206b1c-0ee8-4b6a-b1e7-8e6738dad3ee

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001053468

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Anglo American’s Mogalakwena PGM mine completes IRMA audit

South African complex achieves IRMA 50 when audited against the world’s only equally governed mining standard

SEATTLE, March 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) released the audit report of Anglo American’s Mogalakwena PGM complex against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed Mogalakwena at IRMA 50 when measuring its performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria.

IRMA 50 means that ERM-CVS verified that the operations at least substantially met all 40 critical requirements of the IRMA Standard, as well as at least 50% of the Standard’s criteria in each of the four principle areas: social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies. The full audit reports are available on the Mogalakwena audit page on the IRMA website.

The information stakeholders need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention.

“This report demonstrates that mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance,” said Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA. “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need, to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines.”

As the IRMA Standard is recognized and adopted around the globe, these audits are steps in a deepening dialogue between mining companies and those affected by their operations. Because the process is still evolving, the results should be reviewed and interpreted accordingly.

“An increasing number of community members and workers are engaging in IRMA audits, and they’re using the audit reports to communicate directly with the mining company about their priorities for improvement,” Ms. Boulanger said. “If readers find results inconsistent with their experience, we encourage them to share their perspectives with IRMA and the company so that we can improve the audit review process and support continuing improvement at the site—as community members and NGOs have already done in this case.”

“We are always looking to improve not only mining practices, but also IRMA’s system. IRMA’s improvements, and being transparent about how we need to improve, is built into our system and a measure of its success,” said Ms. Boulanger.

Craig Miller, CEO of Anglo American Platinum said, “This milestone at Mogalakwena is significant in our overall adoption of IRMA. It enables us to promote transparency and best practice in sustainability, while adding value to our global customers by helping them meet the increasing expectations for responsibly mined materials in an efficient and credible way. With IRMA 50, we have accomplished our sustainable mining plan target of having all our mining operations assured against a recognised responsible mining standard by 2025.”

Including Mogalakwena, 23 industrial-scale mines worldwide are within the IRMA independent assessment system. After an initial self-assessment, a participating mine engages a third-party audit firm — trained and approved by IRMA — to conduct a detailed independent evaluation, including on-site visits to the mine and nearby communities. Following the release of the initial audit, a shorter surveillance audit checks on the mine’s performance. Three years after the initial audit, the operation is fully audited again (Note: The first mines audited in the IRMA system have had extensions to this timeline due to Covid delays and launch-phase learning; updated full reviews will be required to maintain or increase achievement scores.)

The independent IRMA system is the only global mining standard that provides equal power to the public sector (communities and Indigenous rights holders, mine workers, and environmental and human rights advocates) alongside the private sector (mining companies, mined materials purchasers and investors).

For More Information:


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Meltwater and NICE partner to bring real-time social Intelligence to customer service

SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, today announces a new collaboration with NICE, the world’s leading AI platform for customer service, bringing Meltwater insights to the Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) market for the first time. Together, Meltwater and NICE will empower enterprises to engage with customers in real time through social media channels to enhance customer interactions, streamline operations, make data-backed decisions and optimize strategies that boost customer satisfaction.

A leader in AI-powered customer service software, NICE supports enterprise organizations around the world with its CXone Mpower platform. With Meltwater social insights available in CXone Mpower, NICE customers can utilize social media as a customer care channel. Social media has long been a key channel for customer service, yet many contact centers lack the necessary tools to efficiently analyze social media interactions. The mountain of end-user data is growing and businesses need solutions to help them make sense of it all.

This new integration unlocks the power of Meltwater’s social intelligence for customer service, processing more than 3 billion social engagements each day. Meltwater’s AI-powered solutions then transform this data into actionable insights allowing teams to respond to cases in real time, reach unserved demographics, meet service-level objectives, and enhance the customer experience.

Key benefits of the integration include:

  • World class listening and filtering capabilities with the ability to search and analyze social content from Meltwater’s industry-leading, comprehensive dataset.
  • Advanced keyword filtering to surface the most relevant and actionable social media conversations and analyze customer sentiment, engagement, trending themes, consumer behavior, response times, and more.
  • A unified task queue, with messages in a single, centralized location, making it easier to manage multiple interactions simultaneously while improving resolution times.
  • Ability to respond to customer issues in real time, either in social channels or direct messages.

“We’re excited to partner with NICE which signifies a pivotal moment for Meltwater as we enter the CCaaS market,” said Doug Balut, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships at Meltwater. “Many contact center support teams lack access to real-time social data, leaving customers’ questions and concerns unanswered. With this integration, we’re empowering brands with the insights they need to understand customer sentiment, anticipate issues, and respond with agility, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.”

“Social media is a critical customer service channel. By integrating Meltwater’s social intelligence into CXone Mpower, we’re enabling enterprises to turn social interactions into meaningful customer engagements while driving efficiency and business impact,” said Barry Cooper, President, CX Division, NICE. “This integration reinforces NICE’s commitment to our open platform and strategic partnerships, enabling organizations to leverage leading capabilities across the ecosystem to deliver proactive, personalized experiences powered by AI.”

For more information, please contact:

Stacy Slayden
[email protected]

Christopher Irwin-Dudek, +1 201 561 4442, [email protected], ET

About Meltwater 
Meltwater empowers companies with solutions that span media, social and consumer intelligence. By analyzing ~1 billion pieces of content daily and transforming them into vital insights, Meltwater unlocks the competitive edge to drive results. With 27,000 global customers, 50 offices across six continents, and 2,300 employees, Meltwater is the industry partner for global brands making an impact. Learn more at meltwater.com.

About NICE

With NICE (Nasdaq: NICE), it’s never been easier for organizations of all sizes around the globe to create extraordinary customer experiences while meeting key business metrics. Featuring the world’s #1 cloud native customer experience platform, CXone, NICE is a worldwide leader in AI-powered self-service and agent-assisted CX software for the contact center – and beyond. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, partner with NICE to transform – and elevate – every customer interaction. www.nice.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9393057

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Meltwater and NICE partner to bring real-time social Intelligence to customer service

SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, today announces a new collaboration with NICE, the world’s leading AI platform for customer service, bringing Meltwater insights to the Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) market for the first time. Together, Meltwater and NICE will empower enterprises to engage with customers in real time through social media channels to enhance customer interactions, streamline operations, make data-backed decisions and optimize strategies that boost customer satisfaction.

A leader in AI-powered customer service software, NICE supports enterprise organizations around the world with its CXone Mpower platform. With Meltwater social insights available in CXone Mpower, NICE customers can utilize social media as a customer care channel. Social media has long been a key channel for customer service, yet many contact centers lack the necessary tools to efficiently analyze social media interactions. The mountain of end-user data is growing and businesses need solutions to help them make sense of it all.

This new integration unlocks the power of Meltwater’s social intelligence for customer service, processing more than 3 billion social engagements each day. Meltwater’s AI-powered solutions then transform this data into actionable insights allowing teams to respond to cases in real time, reach unserved demographics, meet service-level objectives, and enhance the customer experience.

Key benefits of the integration include:

  • World class listening and filtering capabilities with the ability to search and analyze social content from Meltwater’s industry-leading, comprehensive dataset.
  • Advanced keyword filtering to surface the most relevant and actionable social media conversations and analyze customer sentiment, engagement, trending themes, consumer behavior, response times, and more.
  • A unified task queue, with messages in a single, centralized location, making it easier to manage multiple interactions simultaneously while improving resolution times.
  • Ability to respond to customer issues in real time, either in social channels or direct messages.

“We’re excited to partner with NICE which signifies a pivotal moment for Meltwater as we enter the CCaaS market,” said Doug Balut, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships at Meltwater. “Many contact center support teams lack access to real-time social data, leaving customers’ questions and concerns unanswered. With this integration, we’re empowering brands with the insights they need to understand customer sentiment, anticipate issues, and respond with agility, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.”

“Social media is a critical customer service channel. By integrating Meltwater’s social intelligence into CXone Mpower, we’re enabling enterprises to turn social interactions into meaningful customer engagements while driving efficiency and business impact,” said Barry Cooper, President, CX Division, NICE. “This integration reinforces NICE’s commitment to our open platform and strategic partnerships, enabling organizations to leverage leading capabilities across the ecosystem to deliver proactive, personalized experiences powered by AI.”

For more information, please contact:

Stacy Slayden
[email protected]

Christopher Irwin-Dudek, +1 201 561 4442, [email protected], ET

About Meltwater 
Meltwater empowers companies with solutions that span media, social and consumer intelligence. By analyzing ~1 billion pieces of content daily and transforming them into vital insights, Meltwater unlocks the competitive edge to drive results. With 27,000 global customers, 50 offices across six continents, and 2,300 employees, Meltwater is the industry partner for global brands making an impact. Learn more at meltwater.com.

About NICE

With NICE (Nasdaq: NICE), it’s never been easier for organizations of all sizes around the globe to create extraordinary customer experiences while meeting key business metrics. Featuring the world’s #1 cloud native customer experience platform, CXone, NICE is a worldwide leader in AI-powered self-service and agent-assisted CX software for the contact center – and beyond. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, partner with NICE to transform – and elevate – every customer interaction. www.nice.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9393057

Posted on

Meltwater and NICE partner to bring real-time social Intelligence to customer service

SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, today announces a new collaboration with NICE, the world’s leading AI platform for customer service, bringing Meltwater insights to the Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) market for the first time. Together, Meltwater and NICE will empower enterprises to engage with customers in real time through social media channels to enhance customer interactions, streamline operations, make data-backed decisions and optimize strategies that boost customer satisfaction.

A leader in AI-powered customer service software, NICE supports enterprise organizations around the world with its CXone Mpower platform. With Meltwater social insights available in CXone Mpower, NICE customers can utilize social media as a customer care channel. Social media has long been a key channel for customer service, yet many contact centers lack the necessary tools to efficiently analyze social media interactions. The mountain of end-user data is growing and businesses need solutions to help them make sense of it all.

This new integration unlocks the power of Meltwater’s social intelligence for customer service, processing more than 3 billion social engagements each day. Meltwater’s AI-powered solutions then transform this data into actionable insights allowing teams to respond to cases in real time, reach unserved demographics, meet service-level objectives, and enhance the customer experience.

Key benefits of the integration include:

  • World class listening and filtering capabilities with the ability to search and analyze social content from Meltwater’s industry-leading, comprehensive dataset.
  • Advanced keyword filtering to surface the most relevant and actionable social media conversations and analyze customer sentiment, engagement, trending themes, consumer behavior, response times, and more.
  • A unified task queue, with messages in a single, centralized location, making it easier to manage multiple interactions simultaneously while improving resolution times.
  • Ability to respond to customer issues in real time, either in social channels or direct messages.

“We’re excited to partner with NICE which signifies a pivotal moment for Meltwater as we enter the CCaaS market,” said Doug Balut, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships at Meltwater. “Many contact center support teams lack access to real-time social data, leaving customers’ questions and concerns unanswered. With this integration, we’re empowering brands with the insights they need to understand customer sentiment, anticipate issues, and respond with agility, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.”

“Social media is a critical customer service channel. By integrating Meltwater’s social intelligence into CXone Mpower, we’re enabling enterprises to turn social interactions into meaningful customer engagements while driving efficiency and business impact,” said Barry Cooper, President, CX Division, NICE. “This integration reinforces NICE’s commitment to our open platform and strategic partnerships, enabling organizations to leverage leading capabilities across the ecosystem to deliver proactive, personalized experiences powered by AI.”

For more information, please contact:

Stacy Slayden
[email protected]

Christopher Irwin-Dudek, +1 201 561 4442, [email protected], ET

About Meltwater 
Meltwater empowers companies with solutions that span media, social and consumer intelligence. By analyzing ~1 billion pieces of content daily and transforming them into vital insights, Meltwater unlocks the competitive edge to drive results. With 27,000 global customers, 50 offices across six continents, and 2,300 employees, Meltwater is the industry partner for global brands making an impact. Learn more at meltwater.com.

About NICE

With NICE (Nasdaq: NICE), it’s never been easier for organizations of all sizes around the globe to create extraordinary customer experiences while meeting key business metrics. Featuring the world’s #1 cloud native customer experience platform, CXone, NICE is a worldwide leader in AI-powered self-service and agent-assisted CX software for the contact center – and beyond. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, partner with NICE to transform – and elevate – every customer interaction. www.nice.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9393057

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Bitget’s Continues to Strengthen Community Initiatives in February, Transparency Report Highlights

Bitget’s Continues to Strengthen Community Initiatives in February, Transparency Report Highlights
Bitget's Continues to Strengthen Community Initiatives in February, Transparency Report Highlights
Bitget’s Continues to Strengthen Community Initiatives in February, Transparency Report Highlights

VICTORIA, Seychelles, March 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, has released its February 2025 transparency report, marking yet another landmark month of industry recognition and ecosystem growth. Driven by innovation, strategic business decisions and a strong demand for trustworthy platforms have pushed the ecosystem to expand beyond expectations.

Starting off February, Bitget ranked #8 on Forbes’ prestigious list of Top Trusted Crypto Exchanges, reinforcing its dedication to security and transparency. This acknowledgement is the result of Bitget’s continued efforts to build a resilient and trusted platform among users. Further strengthening its global footprint, Bitget successfully obtained the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Bulgaria, allowing it to expand its services under the European Union’s MiCA regulatory framework.

Celebrating an impressive 2024, Bitget distributed a total of $70 million in bonuses to its employees. This record bonus distribution highlights Bitget’s strong growth and is a nod to the team’s effort in driving growth. With community-driven support and innovation, Bitget announced the launch of a new round of Bitget Builders, led by Bitget COO Vugar Usi Zade.

February also saw the largest hack in the crypto industry, with Bybit facing a $1.5 billion loss. As a symbol of solidarity, Bitget extended its support by transferring funds to support withdrawals. Prioritizing security measures and collaboration, Bitget remains steadfast in reinforcing trust in the crypto industry.

Bitget continues to experience impressive growth, with over 100 million users globally. The platform boasts a daily trading volume of $20 billion and has seen significant engagement in both spot and futures markets. With a growing user base, Bitget prioritizes security, with its Protection Fund maintaining a value of $600 million to enable users to trade confidently.

Expanding its offerings, Bitget integrated with Callpay, enabling South African users to make ZAR deposits directly. Bitget Wallet introduced the USDT staking program for users to earn passive income, also introduced BGB onchain staking and also integrated Abstract Mainnet to simplify on-chain access.

Bitget ranked highly in liquidity management, in a research on how centralized exchange liquidity depth affects user experiences. Bitget also published a report on its AI-powered recruitment initiatives, aimed at improving hiring practices and the quality of candidates.

Bitget made strides in its CSR initiatives, launching the first Bitget Graduate Program designed to recruit and cultivate the next generation of web3 talent.

With its strategic advancements, expanding regulatory compliance, and a focus on user-driven innovation, Bitget continues to contribute towards the acceleration of crypto worldwide. As the company moves forward, its mission remains to foster a secure, transparent, and inclusive crypto ecosystem for users globally.

For the full transparency report, please visit here.

About Bitget

Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 100 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.

Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet

For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac8b496d-9e6b-46a1-b423-429d3377b426

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001053051