Intelligent SME.tech Issue 46 | Page 9

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Paycorp expands into embedded business funding in South Africa and the UK

Paycorp , a global leader in payment solutions , continues shaping the future of payments across Southern Africa , Central and Eastern Europe and the UK . With over two decades of experience , Paycorp stands as an acknowledged innovator , leveraging a collaborative and integrated ecosystem , blending expertise , reliability and agility in transaction processing , cash management solutions , valueadded services like cardless and crypto and most recently , embedded business funding .

For the past year , Paycorp ’ s Capital Express brand has provided business funding to ATM clients across South Africa in partnership with the country ’ s foremost specialist in merchant cash advance , Retail Capital , a division of Tyme Bank . Paycorp offers instant working capital of up to R1 million based on historical ATM transaction data .

On the international front , Recap Global – a joint venture incubated between Paycorp and Retail Capital – has launched its funding offering in the United Kingdom . Recap leverages transaction data from various payment partners ’ ATMs , point-of-sale and e-commerce platforms to generate preapproved , real-time funding .

Zendesk launches venture fund to fuel AI start-ups

Zendesk , which provides an AI solution for CX , launched its global venture fund to back AI-first companies focused on enhancing customer and employee experiences . Zendesk Ventures also announced new investments in PolyAI , a developer of advanced conversational voice assistants , and unitQ , an AI-powered customer feedback platform . The fund empowers emerging companies to unlock their potential by providing capital , CX and AI expertise and strategic partnership opportunities for growth and innovation .

“ Every organisation is on a path to becoming AI-driven , and we ’ re eager to form partnerships with companies leading this new era ,” said Ben Barclay ,

SVP of Strategy , Corporate Development & Transformation , Zendesk . “ Our goal extends beyond building our own products ; we ’ re also supporting an ecosystem of start-ups whose visions align with ours . Customer and employee service is changing rapidly because of advancements in AI . Investing in these companies does more than drive their growth , it elevates our customers ’ ability to provide exceptional interactions .”

Report reveals countries with the quickest commutes

AHTI Games researched daily commute times across the globe to find out which countries offer the shortest commute lengths .

Denmark takes the lead with an average commute of just 17 minutes . Sweden , following closely in second in terms of commuting efficiency , has a daily commute of 20 minutes .

Switzerland claims the third spot with 24 minutes . Next up is Norway with 25 minutes .

Following closely in fifth is France , where people take an average of 25 minutes to get to work , which is the same as in Norway . However , the French work slightly longer – 35 hours per week compared to Norway ’ s 34 .

The United States is in sixth place with 26 minutes to work , seventh is Austria with 27 minutes and eighth is The Netherlands with 28 minutes .

Luxembourg is ranked ninth with 29 minutes and Germany rounds out the top 10 , with an average commute of 40 minutes .