Tag: Cyprus

  • HT Labs inks bold MoU with The Doers Company

    HT Labs inks bold MoU with The Doers Company

    MUMBAI: HT Labs, the innovation and product arm of HT Media, is going global. In a high-powered move blending startups, strategy, and smart cities, the company has signed a strategic MoU with The Doers Company, Europe’s leading innovation platform behind flagship events like Reflect Festival and the upcoming Doers Summit.

    The deal, signed at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) under the patronage of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), sets the stage for a three-nation innovation corridor spanning India, Cyprus, and the UAE—with OTTplay, India’s first AI-powered OTT aggregator, at its core.

    What’s on the menu? Access to European innovation networks, cross-border pilots, founder-investor matchmaking, and a high-impact launchpad via Cyprus into Europe and Dubai for media-tech experiments in smart city infrastructure.

    The timing is razor-sharp. It follows a wave of diplomatic activity, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus and a tech-heavy Cypriot delegation’s Dubai mission—featuring chief scientist of Cyprus, Demetris Skourides, who has become a key catalyst in this three-way partnership.

    Commenting on the partnership, Skourides remarked,

    “I would like to thank Mr. Avinash for his trust in our ecosystem and look forward to further profiling how Cyprus and other investors can benefit from bidirectional value creation. Such collaborations are the foundational pillars that build the future.”

    Dubai Silicon Oasis deputy director general Badr Buhannad said,

    “Dubai Silicon Oasis was envisioned as a smart, future-ready hub for innovation, talent, and entrepreneurship. Hosting the Doers Summit in partnership with The Doers Company aligns perfectly with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33 to position the city among the world’s leading digital and economic centres. The Summit reinforces our mission to attract forward-looking ventures and connect European and Middle Eastern innovators—accelerating cross-border collaboration in support of the UAE’s vision for digital economy growth and global competitiveness.”

    HT Labs co-founder & CEO Avinash Mudaliar added, “At HT Labs, this isn’t just an expansion—it’s a strategic leap into the future. Dubai Silicon Oasis offers the ideal launchpad to take India’s most disruptive, AI-driven innovations to the world. At the core of our work is TaaS—Technology-as-a-Service—delivering scalable, AI-powered solutions across video, apps, web, and content systems that boost engagement, unlock new revenue, and enable global growth.With our strong focus on intelligent, tech-first solutions, we see immense potential to co-create platforms that resonate globally.

    What truly elevates this journey is the camaraderie we’ve built—especially with visionaries like Demetris Skourides, chief scientist of Cyprus. His insights and spirit of collaboration have made him not just a strategic ally, but a trusted friend in our cross-border mission.

    With OTTplay leading our media-tech push, we’re excited to align with DSO’s smart city vision and deliver transformative experiences in entertainment and data intelligence. This marks a defining chapter in building globally relevant platforms from India.”

    Also speaking on the occasion, The Doers Company & managing partner, zero one hundred, Dusan Duffek said, “With a young, tech-savvy population and a booming innovation ecosystem, Indian startups such as OTTplay etc. offer some of the most exciting investment opportunities globally. Similarly, startups from Europe and the Middle East are now building some of the most consequential technologies, which will have an impact not only regionally, but globally. We believe now is the time to build bridges, not borders, and connect this energy with global capital and strategic partners”.

    The Doers Company co-founder & CEO Stylianos Lambrou added, “We see a significant opportunity in India. With our growing presence in Greece, Cyprus, and now Dubai, we’re uniquely positioned to bridge the gap, providing Indian startups & companies with access to Europe, and offering European startups and companies a pathway into India. The strong relationship between my country and India gives us a powerful advantage, enabling us to amplify our impact across both regions.”

    With Cyprus positioning itself as a European gateway for Indian tech and Dubai doubling down on its digital infrastructure bets, the deal is more than just a handshake—it’s a multi-regional runway for talent, capital, and innovation to flow freely.

    Call it a soft-power play or a smart power shift—either way, HT Labs is now officially in the global game.

    (If you are an Anime fan and love Anime like Demon Slayer, Spy X Family, Hunter X Hunter, Tokyo Revengers, Dan Da Dan and Slime, Buy your favourite Anime merchandise on AnimeOriginals.com.)

  • Animal Planet to air ‘Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp’on 9 May

    Animal Planet to air ‘Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp’on 9 May

    MUMBAI: Animals are often housed in cheerless places. But there is another type of animal refuge: a paradise in Namibia, southern Africa, created by the Harnas Wildlife Foundation. Its residents are as varied as the countryside: lions, baboons, wild dogs, cheetahs, mongooses and antelopes.

    Two-dozen wardens and rangers feed, protect and provide veterinary care and young people from all over the world offer to work as volunteers for a matter of weeks or months, while paying for their stay. They feed, monitor and study around 400 types of animals. They get in close contact with wild dogs and other predators; they walk with a gang of young baboons and with Goeters, the world’s oldest cheetah. They clean lion enclosures, try to catch a runaway caracal cat and follow scientists who track newly-released cheetahs in the Life Line, a vast fenced wilderness within the Wildlife Rescue Camp. For the volunteers and staff alike the stars are the infant animals. There is always a young cheetah, leopard, porcupine or wild dog to meet.

    Animal Planet’s new series Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp follows the young volunteers’ relationship with wild animals; their stories of love, passion and hate; their adventures with creatures as small as a meerkat and as big as a lion. City slickers from London, New York and Frankfurt suddenly become foster parents to baby leopards. They get bitten by baboons and scared by ferocious wild dogs. But they are safe, protected by characters like Frikkie, the hard-boiled Namibian cowboy who gives the kids a hard time; by Hermann, the gentle giant who has spent most of his life in the bush; and by Schalk van der Merwe, former football pro and manager of Harnas who has an almost eerie ability to talk and walk with lions.

    The show will premiere on 9 May 2016 and will air on weekdays at 9 pm.

    During the course of the series, viewers will live through an exciting year in Namibia’s Kalahari in front of an incredibly beautiful natural backdrop, leaving powerful scenic impressions. They will watch kittens becoming fully-grown predators. The series is acertain to overwhelm viewers by giant thunderstorms in the rainy season; will showcaseamazing creatures like giant bull frogs swimming in the flood pools; and will ensure bewildering experienceslike drying out of land and turning into a a desert during the southern winter.
    Young people from all over the world come and go, many start as pale, sceptical and timid characters, but leave happy, tired and tanned with experiences that will last them a lifetime. There are tears when they get attacked and bitten by nasty monkeys and there are tears also when they have to leave the Wildlife Rescue Camp. There is grief when one of the greatest animal characters, a cheetah, dies and there is joy when a cheetah baby is born on the same day.

    The series Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp tracks the continuous efforts of the Harnas team for better care for our planet.

  • Animal Planet to air ‘Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp’on 9 May

    Animal Planet to air ‘Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp’on 9 May

    MUMBAI: Animals are often housed in cheerless places. But there is another type of animal refuge: a paradise in Namibia, southern Africa, created by the Harnas Wildlife Foundation. Its residents are as varied as the countryside: lions, baboons, wild dogs, cheetahs, mongooses and antelopes.

    Two-dozen wardens and rangers feed, protect and provide veterinary care and young people from all over the world offer to work as volunteers for a matter of weeks or months, while paying for their stay. They feed, monitor and study around 400 types of animals. They get in close contact with wild dogs and other predators; they walk with a gang of young baboons and with Goeters, the world’s oldest cheetah. They clean lion enclosures, try to catch a runaway caracal cat and follow scientists who track newly-released cheetahs in the Life Line, a vast fenced wilderness within the Wildlife Rescue Camp. For the volunteers and staff alike the stars are the infant animals. There is always a young cheetah, leopard, porcupine or wild dog to meet.

    Animal Planet’s new series Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp follows the young volunteers’ relationship with wild animals; their stories of love, passion and hate; their adventures with creatures as small as a meerkat and as big as a lion. City slickers from London, New York and Frankfurt suddenly become foster parents to baby leopards. They get bitten by baboons and scared by ferocious wild dogs. But they are safe, protected by characters like Frikkie, the hard-boiled Namibian cowboy who gives the kids a hard time; by Hermann, the gentle giant who has spent most of his life in the bush; and by Schalk van der Merwe, former football pro and manager of Harnas who has an almost eerie ability to talk and walk with lions.

    The show will premiere on 9 May 2016 and will air on weekdays at 9 pm.

    During the course of the series, viewers will live through an exciting year in Namibia’s Kalahari in front of an incredibly beautiful natural backdrop, leaving powerful scenic impressions. They will watch kittens becoming fully-grown predators. The series is acertain to overwhelm viewers by giant thunderstorms in the rainy season; will showcaseamazing creatures like giant bull frogs swimming in the flood pools; and will ensure bewildering experienceslike drying out of land and turning into a a desert during the southern winter.
    Young people from all over the world come and go, many start as pale, sceptical and timid characters, but leave happy, tired and tanned with experiences that will last them a lifetime. There are tears when they get attacked and bitten by nasty monkeys and there are tears also when they have to leave the Wildlife Rescue Camp. There is grief when one of the greatest animal characters, a cheetah, dies and there is joy when a cheetah baby is born on the same day.

    The series Harnas Wildlife Rescue Camp tracks the continuous efforts of the Harnas team for better care for our planet.

  • Franchise India 2013  Asias largest Franchise & retail show

    Franchise India 2013 Asias largest Franchise & retail show

    NEW DELHI : Franchise India 2013, the 11th edition of Asia’s Biggest Franchise & Retail Opportunity Show is to be held on 19th & 20th October, Pragati Maidan New Delhi. The show will provide a platform for highly evolved prospects, top notch Education businesses and entrepreneurs from across India, neighboring countries and delegations from the other parts of the world to meet face-face with some of the most accomplished Business Ideas, attend unparalleled business summits and seminars and learn more about India and fast growing MSME industry in India. Franchise India 2013 is presented by Asia’s largest integrated franchise and retail solutions company, Franchise India, with the support of Indian Franchise Association.

    Some well prominent Education brands are participating like Sesame Street Pre-School. Planet Kids, San Fort, Kids Gurukul, and many more.

    Mr. Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India said ” The education industry is an $80billion industry growing at 13 percent. An average Indian household spends as much as 10prcent of its discretionary income on education, while american and asian households spends 2 percent and 7 percent respectively, therefore it becomes imperative that educational institutes live up to their image of providing lifelong learning. The upcoming Franchise show will bring along 100s of business opportunities of national as well as international brands.”

     
    Spanning over two days, the show will comprise of a comprehensive Exhibition covering all the industries extensively with massive domestic and international participation, informative and enlightening Conference & Workshops with prominent international and national speakers to impart knowledge and the highly prestigious Franchise Awards 2013 and Star Retailer Awards, to recognize the excellence in franchise & retail industries. Mr. Gaurav Marya, Chairman,  Franchise India said “Franchise India 2013 will bring new opportunities, new trends, new faces and new lateral thinking for the business fraternity. The exhibition will be a window into the future, presenting opportunities that radars on the direction of tomorrow’s consumer demand. The conference will be the greatest source of ideas for businesses; some that don’t even exist yet and yet have a huge built in growing demand”.

     
    The show displays Indian and global brands and is an “Opportunity Show” for liasoning with brands to offer a pool of out-of-box business ideas and practices delivering India’s biggest business exchange for Education sector.

    The exhibition also features, Franchise Talk, an open forum conceptualized by Indian Franchise Association to enhance the brand recognition. It’s a podium for a franchisor to present his business as an engrossing opportunity, to express his insight for 20 minutes & influence the prospective franchisees. The Exhibition clearly puts forth a spectrum of opportunities in franchising, retailing, licensing, real estate and retail supply from all possible industry verticals. The show not only features dedicated industry pavilions for focused business positioning but also boasts of an exclusive international pavilion showcasing enormous opportunities from countries like UAE & Middle East, USA, Cyprus, France, Russia, Singapore and UK.

    Attracting over 25000 serious business visitors, the show is highly successful for all its participants. Gleamed with top business opportunities, the show promises an insightful view of franchise options in varied investment range. This show recognizes this platform as a trusted launch pad for them to showcase their brand or opportunity to discover the serious business investors or potential partners. Franchise India 2013 Delhi Show will comprise over 500 national and International companies for doing business in India.

  • Delhi Duty Free appoints Mr. Duncan Lawley as Chief Executive Officer

    Delhi Duty Free appoints Mr. Duncan Lawley as Chief Executive Officer

    NEW DELHI : Mr. Duncan Lawley, a distinguished name in the travel and retail domain has joined Delhi Duty Free Services as Chief Executive Officer. With an extensive knowledge of business start-ups within the travel retail industry and armed with a degree in Business Management, Lawley brings a wealth of knowledge and duty free retailing experience to support and drive DDFS growth going forward.

    Being a virtuoso in the airport retailing industry, Duncan has over 25 years of experience and has been instrumental in the development and successful implementation of several duty free ventures across the world.  Duncan comes most recently from the ARI JV at Cyprus’s Larnaka  and Pafos airports where he was General Manager.

    Prior to the Cyprus role, Duncan worked as a consultant with  WH Smith where he re-launched the brand at Copenhagen and Arlanda airports, with GVA Grimley Outlets where he oversaw the operational startup for 2 Factory Outlet Centres – Premier Outlet Centre Ringsted, Denmark and Fashion Arena Outlet Centre, Prague, CZ. Prior to these appointments Duncan enjoyed a 16 year association with the Nuance Group which culminated with him taking responsibility for the Company’s business in Denmark and Sweden as Managing Director (Scandinavia).

    Mr. Duncan Lawley said on his appointment “The success of Delhi Duty Free has redefined the Indian travel retail experience for both the travelers and for the world’s top global luxury brands. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work for India’s largest duty free operator. I look forward to exploring even more avenues to develop growth here as well as consolidating the successes already achieved”.