Verofax facilitates Egyptian EU Export with CBAM Compliance and Lifecycle Assessment Solutions
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CAIRO, Feb 15, 2024 – (ACN Newswire) – The Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA) convened a symposium on February 9, chaired by Engineer Majd al-Din al-Manzalawi, Secretary-General and Chairman of the Association’s Industry and Scientific Research Committee, to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a law governing manufacturing standards for Egyptian exporters.
The symposium invited Mr Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax and a technology and AI (artificial intelligence) expert, along with Dr. Hossam Ezz al-Din, Director General of the Industrial Pollution Control Program at the Ministry of Environment, and several heads of specialized committees, to focus on the urgent need for Egyptian exports to align with the green economy principles outlined in the CBAM law.
The discussion emphasized the imperative for Egyptian exports to adhere to the green economy principles outlined in the CBAM law. Key topics included the integration of automated quality data, aggregated across supply chains to streamline compliance processes, access to finance opportunities with prominent European institutions, and enhancing industry performance to support a sustainable economy in Egypt.
Merheby highlighted the timeline for compliance, noting that registration for the new EU export regulations system would commence on January 1, 2025, with full implementation scheduled for January 2026. Merheby urged Egyptian factories to adapt promptly to the new international legislation, to avoid export bans and hefty tariffs of up to 35%.
The symposium underscored the importance of automating the processes in exporting factories to efficiently meet carbon footprint standards, thereby enabling Egyptian exporters to provide high-quality and validated data. This automation is made possible through Verofax’s comprehensive Lifecycle Assessment Solution, which integrates over 130 systems, ensuring seamless verification of recycled goods, emission reductions, and quality data aggregation for exports to the EU.
Hossam Ezz El-Din, Director General of the Industrial Pollution Reduction Program at the Ministry of Environment, outlined the program’s objective to incentivize industries to adopt environmentally compliant and sustainable practices through finance packages of loans and grants, funded by the European Union.
El-Din elaborated on available financing programs, detailing two types of program: loans, and grants. The Central Bank of Egypt has directed these programs to local banks, including the Ibad program, valued at 135 million euros and expected to conclude by the end of the year. Additionally, a new program named Green, valued at 268 million euros, will commence in 2025, offering a grace period of one to two years and repayment over 5 years. This program also allows borrowing in foreign currency and repayment in Egyptian pounds.
The symposium concluded with a call for continued collaboration among government bodies, financing institutions, and industries to facilitate smooth transition towards environmentally compliant production practices, thereby ensuring Egypt’s competitiveness in international markets.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/i88vJzpjPsM
DUBAI, UAE, Dec 14, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Verofax, a leading compliance and commerce SaaS solution provider, has earned distinction as one of the top Future100 pioneering startups, selected by the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of State for Government Development and the Future. This recognition underscores Verofax’s pivotal role in contributing positively to the UAE’s economy and enhancing its preparedness for the future.
The prestigious unveiling of the Future100 took place at the Award Ceremony hosted at the Museum of the Future, symbolizing a momentous occasion in recognizing and celebrating innovation. Future 100 has recognized Verofax for its innovative technology in decarbonizing industries and boosting the competitiveness of the country’s Industrial sectors.
H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, said “We congratulate the 100 companies that successfully made it to the final stage of the initiative’s first edition to become the best 100 companies of the future, possessing pioneering capabilities for growth and healthy competition,” Al Marri added “ We believe this is a turning point that will enable these companies to achieve more sustainable commercial success and access to regional and global markets.”
H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, said: “Future100 has uncovered numerous startups and scaleups venturing into new sectors, receiving over a thousand applications from various targeted sectors over three months.”
Over 45 evaluators and experts across different sectors evaluated the applications, conducting interviews with company officials using a predefined set of criteria. These criteria encompassed the capacity for innovative business models leveraging new technologies, the potential of the target market, the ability to engage key customers through a well-defined business plan supported by clear financial data, the feasibility of the business with a strategy for securing future financing, and consideration of the impact of environmental and social governance in both the UAE and global contexts.
Verofax’s automates compliance, traceability and verification
As more countries are looking to decarbonize their economy, the EU and US have recently introduced regulations to curb imports of high-emission commodities such as steel, Aluminum, cement, fertilizers, chemicals and energy. The EU Carbon Border Tax regulation came into effect on August 17 and reporting became mandatory for exporters on October 1st. Existing ERP systems are not built to aggregate data across the supply chain and prevent double counting. Thus compliance with operational standards for measuring and reporting in accordance with ISO14064 standards becomes an unsurmountable challenge for exporters needing to have their multi-tier supply chain comply with such operating procedures, which increases cost significantly. Not complying is also not an option with up to 35% of revenue in tariffs levied at European Union border customs. The problem necessitates commodity passporting and emissions tracking without the risk of double counting.
Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, said, “Existing ERP systems are siloed by design, which hinders the capability of having immutable data and certifications verified on the interoperable system for all stakeholders from material collectors to recyclers, exporters, customs and clients. Verofax offers an award-winning Digital Passporting and traceability solution for multi-tier supply chain verification, enabling seamless compliance and verification of Carbon emissions. The Gulf region trails behind India and other markets that recycle up to 80% of targeted commodities. Recycling can reduce emissions by up to 95%, thus markets with lower recycling thresholds are at risk of being priced out of the EU market. The UAE for example, exports $1.5B to the EU mainly Aluminum and recycles under 10% to date. With Verofax emission verification and commodity passporting, exporters have a great opportunity to trail a path towards export growth.”
Verofax Digital passporting & Traceability solution for compliance verification automation ensures the validation of commodities emissions, and commodity provenance, prevents recycling double counting, across a tiered supply chain. By calculating and verifying low carbon emissions from mining or waste material collection, Recycling, repurposing and transportation, exporters will lower their costs and increase market access to EU & US in compliance with regulations.
About Future100
Future100 is a collaborative initiative between the Ministry of Economy and the GovernmentDevelopment and the Future Office, united in their mission to foster the growth of 100 pioneering startups pivotal to shaping the trajectory of the UAE’s future economy. This innovative initiative focuses on sectors of strategic importance, including space exploration, renewable energy, and emerging technology, with the overarching goal of establishing novel benchmarks for the country’s economic landscape. Beyond its immediate objectives, Future100 aspires to propel the UAE’s standing in global competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and investment rankings, thereby solidifying the nation’s position as a frontrunner in the ever-evolving landscape of innovation and economic dynamism.
About Verofax
Verofax is a compliance and commerce SaaS solution provider, validated by Microsoft and holding PCT patents on Digital passporting, computer vision and AI analytics that enable intelligent supply chain and operations. Fortune100 enterprises across 50 markets have adopted Verofax solutions for securing their supply chain and connecting directly to customers. Verofax is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2025 and promotes global offset and community relief projects across the globe. Visit https://verofax.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Wassim Merheby, CEO, Verofax
Email: info@verofax.com
Topic: Awards
DUBAI, UAE, Nov 22, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Verofax a compliance and commerce SaaS solution provider has been selected among the top Future50 climate tech start-ups by PwC Middle East to help enterprises’ accelerate on their path to Net Zero.
PWC had scoured the region and short-listed from 500 businesses across 11 categories of impact. Verofax was selected among top 6 Climate Change Management and Report (CCMR) startups for its sustainable traceability solution to help decarbonize industries and enable validated exports in line with recent regulations like EU’s Carbon Border Tax (CBAM).
PwC Middle East revealed the 50 pioneering start-ups in the Middle East at Net Zero Future50′ launch event highlighting the groundbreaking technologies and achievements in climate management and carbon emissions reporting, in addition to opportunities and challenges in growing and scaling climate tech businesses.
Dr Yahya Anouti, Partner at Strategy& and Sustainability Leader at PwC Middle East, said: “Climate tech innovation in the Middle East is being driven by some of the most dynamic entrepreneurs in our region, championing new technologies to accelerate the path to net zero. As we stand just days away from the world’s most important climate conference — COP28, taking place here in the United Arab Emirates, we are excited to shine a light on regional innovators whose organisations, we feel, are making the biggest difference in reducing emissions and accelerating decarbonisation in our region. The PwC Net Zero Future50 – Middle
East report identifies leading organisations in this space, and discusses the challenges they face in their ambition to grow and scale. Their range and diversity highlights the vibrancy of the start-up and small companies scene in the region. “
Verofax’s automates compliance, traceability and verification
As more countries are looking to decarbonize their economy, the EU and US have recently introduced regulations to curb imports of high-emission commodities such as steel, Aluminum, cement, fertilizers, chemicals and energy. The EU Carbon Border Tax regulation came into effect on August 17 and reporting became mandatory for exporters on October 1st. Existing ERP systems are not built to aggregate data across supply chain and prevent double counting. Thus compliance with operational standards for measuring and reporting in accordance with ISO 14064 standards becomes an unsurmountable challenge for exporters needing to have their multi-tier supply chain comply with such operating procedures, which increases cost significantly. Not complying is also not an option with up to 35% of revenue in tariffs levied at
European Union border customs. The problem necessitates commodity passporting and emissions tracking without the risk of double counting.
Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, said, “Existing ERP systems are siloed by design, which hinders the capability of having immutable data and certifications verified on interoperable system for all stakeholders from material collectors to recyclers, exporters, customs and clients. Verofax offers an award-winning Digital Passporting and traceability solution for multi-tier supply chain verification, enabling seamless compliance and verification of Carbon emissions. The Gulf region trails behind India and other markets that recycle up to 80% of targeted commodities. Recycling can reduce emissions by up to 95%, thus markets with lower recycling threshold are at risk of being priced out of the EU market. The UAE for example, exports $1.5B to the EU mainly Aluminum, and recycles under 10% to date. With Verofax emission verification and commodity passporting, exporters have a great opportunity to trail a path towards export growth.”
Patricia Keating, Scale Lead at PwC Middle East, mentioned “In our analyses of the Middle East climate technology landscape, we see the founders of climate tech companies driving innovation that’s helping to reduce emissions and accelerate decarbonisation. We found that the largest share of our NetZero Future50 companies are working ontechnologies within the sectors responsible for most GHG emissions: With Industry, Manufacturing and Resource Management contributing 29% of Middle East GHG emissions and Energy at 46%.”
Verofax Digital passporting & Traceability solution for compliance verification automation ensures the validation of commodities emissions, commodity provenance, prevent recycling double counting, across tiered supply chain. By calculating and verifying low carbon emissions from mining or waste material collection, Recycling, repurposing and transportation, exporters will lower their costs and increase market access to EU & US in compliance with regulations.
About PwC
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with nearly 328,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.
Established in the Middle East for 40 years, PwC Middle East has 30 offices across 12 countries in the region with around 10,000 people. (www.pwc.com/me)
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
About Verofax
Verofax is a compliance and commerce SaaS solution provider, validated by Microsoft and holding PCT patents on Digital passporting, computer vision and AI analytics that enable intelligent supply chain and operations. Fortune 100 enterprises across 50 markets have adopted Verofax solutions for securing their supply chain and connecting directly to customers. Verofax is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2025 and promotes global offset and community relief projects across the globe. Visit https://verofax.com.
For media inquiries, please contact: Wassim Merheby, CEO, Verofax Email: info@verofax.com
Topic: Press release summary
Verofax, a Smart serialization and traceability solution provider, has joined forces with children’s STEM app Twin Science and LikeToBe in sponsoring a scientific expedition to Antarctica to research the effects of microplastics on life, the environment and the melting of ice caps.
Verofax, Twin Science and LikeToBe share the common aim of providing “Tech for humanity”, and partnered in support of the scientific expedition to Antarctica. Polar Explorer Antony Jinman, the twelfth Briton to have skied to the geographic North Pole and skied solo to the geographic South Pole, led the expedition in December 2021, and spent 2 months in Antarctica gathering data on how microplastics are affecting the environment and wildlife.
The aim of this partnership’s collaboration is to inspire young children to act responsibly by re-educating them on responsible consumption in line with UNSDG goal #12, through gamification and turning children into advocates of sustainability for influencing older generations.
Antony documented the expedition and answered children’s questions in a series of interactive videos via the Twin Science app for children aged 7-12, hoping to encourage them to seek answers to questions such as “What are Microplastics, where do they come from and how does it affect life and the environment?”, “What would happen to the Antarctic habitat if all the ice caps melted?” and “What can we all do as responsible individuals?”
“This expedition to Antarctica is really promising and aims to provide insights on microplastics impact on life and the environment,” stated Antony. “We are happy to be partnering with Twin Science and Verofax to engage children on the expedition and the many challenges we faced to collect scientific evidence. Twin Science’ in-app education and Verofax’ sustainable lifestyle tracker are great vehicles to drive awareness on how to act responsibly and opt for greener choices.”
Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, explained, “Our solution enables transparency and auditability on consumer goods’ sustainable credentials. Sustainable brands can now engage with consumers and retailers and upsell their certified “Green” range of products, while retailers and consumers are empowered to check and validate product lifecycle assessment before purchasing, interact with the product and advocate sustainable brands among peers. We believe this process begins naturally with sustainable education for youth, and as gamification which is a very powerful medium.”
Asude Altintas, CEO and co-founder of Twin Science, says “This is a new approach to education. First, it excites us immensely to bring young ‘Twinners’ through our Twin Science app, along for this incredible journey to Antarctica and have them overcome challenges with Antony in real-time. Secondly, with Verofax, we want to not just tell, but show children how real climate change is, and that they themselves can take action to combat this.
“In the Twin app, all our content aims to show children how to use STEM for good, and we believe this is a great opportunity to do so. To date, we have had over 500,000 children use our STEM kits and STEM apps or attend our STEM workshops, and we have seen them use their know-how to invent earthquake detectors, reforestation robots, or ocean cleaning ships. We hope that what they experience on this journey will inspire them to revert the effects of climate change one day.”
Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE, the Project and Education Advisor to this partnership, explained, “As someone who is a firm believer in introducing children to the wonderful role models who provide inspiration and aspiration, I am confident in this partnership’s ability to have true social, environmental, and sustainable impact.”
Expedition to Antarctica at https://twitter.com/twin_science/status/1475195508738170884.
About Verofax
Founded in 2018, Verofax blockchain-powered ‘Traceability as a Service’ solution enables brands to validate their sustainability claims with a repository of credentials, while bringing their products to life with unique digital IDs offering immersive customer experiences. Verofax helps brands to upsell their sustainable product range based on sustainable rating metrics, which includes 6 data points in line with UNSDG Goal No.12.
Verofax Limited has received investment from global investors such as Benson Oak Ventures, Wami Capital and 500 Startups, totalling $3.0M. Verofax is a Microsoft Gold partner, co-selling on enterprise solution platforms such as Microsoft AppSource, Amazon AWS and Alibaba’s AntChain. For more information, visit https://www.verofax.com/industries/sustainability/ or Email info@verofax.com.
About Twin
Twin Science & Robotics is a new-generation edtech startup that empowers children with 21st century skills and provides STEM education with a humanitarian perspective through its physical and digital products. The company started within the scope of YGA’s World Science Movement, a social responsibility project that organized science workshops throughout Anatolia. Twin was incorporated in October 2017 and has raised $2.5M seed-round to date. Staying loyal to its NGO roots, Twin donates part of its revenue to social responsibility projects. For more information, visit https://www.twinscience.com/en/what-is-climate-change-for-kids/.
Topic: Press release summary