DOUBLE WIN FOR DIGICEL GROUP AT THE GLOBAL TELECOMS BUSINESS INNOVATION AWARDS 2015 ( - Winner of two awards in the “Best Consumer Service Innovation” category )

Friday 15^th May, 2015 – Kingston, Jamaica

Digicel took home the “Best Consumer Service Innovation” Award for its Easypay utility payment service in Papua New Guinea which was collected by Digicel Board Member, Vanessa Slowey

Digicel Group took home two awards at the annual Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards 2015 held at the Sheraton Park Hotel, Piccadilly, London.

The two awards – both in the Consumer Service Innovation category – were for Digicel’s Redknee-enabled utility payment service called Easypay that allows customers in Papua New Guinea to purchase electricity at any time directly from their mobile phone and the second for Digicel’s roaming service, “Roam Like You’re Home”, which sees customers paying local rates while travelling abroad and reducing roaming costs by more than 95%.

Working in partnership with the country’s incumbent electricity utility provider, Digicel and Redknee provided an alternative solution to the existing prepaid electricity voucher top-up payment method, where rural customers had to travel long distances to vending sites that were only available during business hours – a process was time consuming, costly and inconvenient for the customer. The roaming service, “Roam Like You’re Home”, is the first of its kind in the region as it gives both prepaid and postpaid customers the freedom to use their phones to make calls, receive calls for free, send SMS and use data all at the same price as at home – crushing normal roaming rates.

Digicel board member, Vanessa Slowey was on hand to collect Digicel’s award for its “Roam Like You’re Home” service at the recently-held Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards 2015

Commenting on the awards, Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves, said; “Digicel is always looking for innovative ways to make technology really work for the benefit of our customers. As a total communications and solutions provider, we’re all about delivering the best content, services and value to customers on their mobile phone. I want to congratulate the teams who worked hard to deliver these innovative services – their awards are well deserved.”

Redknee’s CEO, Lucas Skoczkowski, commented; “I would like to congratulate Digicel on winning these awards. Digicel and Redknee have worked together to develop many innovative consumer services for their subscribers, and I am pleased that Global Telecoms Business has recognized Digicel’s achievements.”

ENDS

About Digicel

Digicel Group Limited is a leading global telecommunications provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 14 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams and individuals including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt and Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel also sponsors the West Indies cricket team.  Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.

SSL FOUNDATION CELEBRATES TEACHERS’ DAY WITH JONATHAN GRANT HIGH TEACHERS

Kingston, Jamaica, Thursday, May 7, 2015

Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) Foundation yesterday celebrated Teachers’ Day with 120 teachers and staff of Jonathan Grant High School with a special luncheon hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel.

SSL has enjoyed a close association with Jonathan Grant High, having participated in the school’s Prize Giving Ceremony last year, with Hugh Croskery, Founder and Board Member of SSL, addressing the students. 

INVESTING IS EASY WITH SSL: Mark Croskery, CEO of Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), shares a laugh with Tia Fiddler (left) and Natlee Palmer, English Language and Literature teachers at Jonathan Grant High School. Mr. Croskery was the guest speaker at a Teachers’ Day luncheon, hosted by SSL Foundation and Toyota Jamaica for Jonathan Grant High School at Hotel Four Seasons on Wednesday, May 6.

“Teachers’ Day is not only a special day to recognize the many sacrifices made by teachers like yourselves in honing the next generation of Jamaicans but it is an opportunity for organizations such as SSL to say ‘Thank You’ for your dedication and commitment to nation building,” said Richard Bertram, Consultant at SSL Foundation,  in his address to the audience.

Mark Croskery, President and CEO of SSL, who was the keynote speaker at the luncheon, discussed the need for investing to achieve financial stability: “I understand that the Jamaica Teachers Association has a very active credit union and that many of you have been saving wisely in order to maintain a good standard of living.  I would urge you to consider taking the next step with some of those hard-earned funds to secure your future.”

SSL EDUCATES TEACHERS IN INVESTMENT: Mark Croskery (left), CEO of Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), engages in investment talk with Ansell White, a retired teacher of over 60 years who now acts as a motivational speaker. The occasion was a Teachers’ Day luncheon hosted SSL Foundation and Toyota Jamaica for Jonathan Grant High School teachers and staff at Hotel Four Seasons on Wednesday, May 6. 

Mr. Croskery spoke to the important role that teachers play in empowering Jamaicans to achieve, and the need to protect their future. “You have done so much for others, now it’s time for you to look to yourselves.  When you retire, you will have a fixed income, but if you have an investment portfolio you can supplement your income greatly,” he noted.

The concept of investing was explained by Mr. Croskery, who also described various investment options. He provided insight into how profits are generated from investments and discussed the need for diversification and understanding risk tolerance.  Teachers and staff were provided with a full immersion in financial education as two of SSL’s brokerage representatives answered questions from the audience.

Jacqueline Morrison, Work Experience Coordinator for grades 10 and 11 at Jonathan Grant High School, was the winner of a weekend for two at Sandals. She correctly answered the giveaway question posed by Mr. Croskery, to name the world’s greatest company to invest it from SSL’s perspective.

Ending on a high note, Mr. Croskery affirmed that SSL stands ready to assist teachers with choosing the right investment portfolio to effectively plan for the future: “With so many challenges that you as teachers face – you certainly deserve to have a secure future,” he said.

TEACHERS’ DAY WITH SSL:  Richard Bertram, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) Foundation consultant, engages in conversation with Vice-Principal of Jonathan Grant High School, Mary Frank. Occasion was a luncheon hosted by SSL Foundation and Toyota Jamaica for Jonathan Grant High School teachers at Hotel Four Seasons on Wednesday, May 6.

TREND MEDIA INKS CARIBBEAN DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH SHAZAM & CELTRA

7^th May 2015 - Kingston, Jamaica

As it marks its one year anniversary, leading Caribbean digital media group Trend Media, publisher of the popular Caribbean news app and website Loop News, has announced a partnership agreement with digital technology giants Shazam and Celtra.

Shazam, one of the world’s most popular mobile apps, pioneered audio recognition technology that helps people identify music and has grown into an app that effortlessly connects people with artists, TV shows, ads, cinema and radio. The Shazam app has been downloaded over 500 million times internationally, with over 13 million new downloads each month, and has over 100 million monthly active users. The strategic partnership will establish new and engaging ways for advertisers to engage a Caribbean audience with a strong music interest that are digitally savvy.

In addition to Shazam, Trend Media has also partnered with Celtra, a leading creative, analytics and optimization platform for display advertising, for the creation of data-driven, mobile and cross-screen display ads. The partnership brings content, data, and media together, enabling messages, improving the quality and performance of digital advertising.

For Trend Media, the Celtra partnership will provide its user-base with best-in-class ad formats, allowing consumers to interact natively with the ads they offer and in an exciting way.

Commenting on the partnerships, Trend Media Group CEO Richie Kelly said: “As we pass our one year mark as the leading Caribbean news source we are happy to be announcing this partnership with Shazam and Celtra; both world-leading digital-first companies.” 

Kelly added: “When we launched, we promised to deliver innovation in the field of digital advertising in the region. It is strategic alliances like these that allow us to provide additional value for our users and advertisers and to keep ahead of our competitors. We are happy to be leading the way of digital advertising in the Caribbean.”

Trend Media was launched in April of 2014, with plans to revolutionize the Caribbean media landscape and to lead the way in digital advertising with targeted, measurable and accountable advertising services.

ENDS

About Trend Media

Established in 2014, Trend Media Group is the Caribbean's new digital media house.

Trend Media is the leading enabler of purpose driven advertising on digital and mobile devices, changing brands and impacting lives on the new screen in our lives.

Trend Media’s sales team plans to revolutionize the advertising industry by providing brands with first-in-class digital advertising solutions from concept development through to full campaign reporting on all our products.

For more information visit www.TrendMediaGroup.org

 

Trend Media brands:

Loop News is currently live in Jamaica (www.LoopJamaica.com ) Trinidad and Tobago (www.LoopTT.com ) Barbados (www.LoopNewsBarbados.com ) Cayman (www.LoopCayman.com ) and Curacao (www.LoopCuracao.com ). The Loop app became the Caribbean’s number one news app in the Google Play store and Apple Appstore within 2 months of launch. 

Loop.Trade (www.Loop.Trade ) is currently live in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman and Barbados. Loop.Trade is your go-to classifieds site. Search and sell on our world-class, user-friendly site. You can post your own classified’s ad in real-time.

Digicel SportsMax (www.DigicelSportsMax.com ) is a hub for all Caribbean sports fans. Digicel SportsMax covers the best of local sports combined with all your favorite international sport and teams.