March 13, 2024

Jollibee Ranks as Second Fastest-Growing Restaurant Brand in the World

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 March 2024 – Jollibee has been recognized as the second fastest-growing restaurant brand in the world, according to the latest annual brand ranking report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation agency. Surging by an impressive 51% to USD 2.3 billion in brand value, Jollibee ascended from rank 20 to rank 17 in this year’s Global Restaurant Rankings.
Expertise in Building Brands. Jollibee’s 51% brand value growth is a testament to the Jollibee Group’s expertise in building brands that can be scaled across markets globally.

The brand further solidified its position by achieving fifth place in the strongest restaurant brand category, elevating its rating from AA- to AAA. In addition, Jollibee is the only Philippine brand listed in the 2024 Top 25 Most Valuable Restaurant Brands and Top 10 Strongest Restaurant Brands.

“We thank our loyal customers for their love for Jollibee, allowing us to grow the brand further and reach more people in various parts of the world,” said Jollibee Group President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong. “Being ranked as the second fastest growing brand in the world validates the effective work of all the leaders and teams of Jollibee—past and present—whose commitment to the brand and its customers has helped drive the brand’s sustained growth over the years.”

Confidence in Jollibee’s Strategic Direction

Jollibee, the flagship global brand within the Jollibee Group’s extensive portfolio of 18 brands, originated in the Philippines in 1978. The brand has since grown to encompass 1,668 locations across 17 countries as of January 2024.

Richard Shin, Chief Financial Officer of Jollibee Group, expressed confidence in the brand’s strategic direction, stating, “This valuation from Brand Finance gives us confidence that we are on the right track in our strategic goals for the brand. Jollibee’s ability to resonate with consumers across diverse markets and cultures opens opportunities for further expansion and growth, enhancing the potential for better shareholder value to investors and franchisees.”
Global Appeal. Jollibee continues to captivate global audiences with its great-tasting products at affordable fare, supported by a cohesive restaurant system that positions the brand for success across markets.

Jollibee’s Growth Momentum

Brand Finance’s latest report attributes Jollibee’s remarkable financial performance and sustained momentum to its robust expansion initiatives, particularly in international markets. Emphasizing a diverse menu of exceptionally tasty, high-quality, and affordable fare, the brand continues to captivate global audiences.

The Chief Marketing Officer of Jollibee Group, David Beal, emphasized, “Jollibee’s impressive brand value growth is a testament to the Jollibee Group’s expertise in building brands that are craved globally. Our growth is underpinned by delicious offerings, a compelling brand proposition, and a cohesive restaurant system that positions us for success across markets.”

To sustain its growth momentum, Jollibee remains steadfast in expanding its store network in key markets such as the United States and the Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia (EMEAA) region, while sustaining market leadership in the Philippines.
Sustained Growth. Jollibee is now present in 17 countries with 1,668 store locations – and counting. The recent milestone opening in Canada is the brand’s 100th store in North America and is part of the Jollibee Group’s aggressive growth plans for 2024.

Strong Brand Love for Jollibee

The brand has recently marked a significant milestone by inaugurating its 100th store in North America, with the first customer lining up for 20 hours before the store opening.

The same passionate demonstration of brand love has been consistent across store openings in new markets, with massive crowds queuing for long hours—some camping out the night before or braving freezing temperatures—to be the first to taste Jollibee’s signature crispy and juicy fried chicken called Jolly Crispy Chicken in North America and Chickenjoy in the Philippines and other markets. This bestselling product has been voted a fan favorite across markets in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Other bestsellers that turn customers into loyal fans of Jollibee include the Chicken Sandwich, a crispy, juicy chicken breast fillet with umami mayo in a toasted brioche bun; and the Peach Mango Pie, made with peaches and Philippine mangoes tucked in a warm, light, and crispy crust.
Brand Love Across Geographies and Generations. The support of loyal customers across generations and locations has solidified Jollibee’s position as a well-loved global restaurant brand.

About Jollibee Group

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. Its mission is to serve great-tasting food and bring the joy of eating to everyone through its 18 brands with over 6,800 stores across 33 countries including the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.

The Jollibee Group has eight wholly owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); four franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines, and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee; and 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand. JFC also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.

The Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 92% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. The Jollibee Group has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. Recently, the Jollibee Group has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company that will own and operate Tiong Bahru Bakery and Common Man Coffee Roasters in the Philippines.

The Jollibee Group has launched its global sustainability agenda dubbed Joy for Tomorrow, which aims to strengthen the company’s commitment to sustainable business practices. The agenda centers on the key pillars of Food, People, and Planet, and consists of 10 focus areas namely: food safety, food quality, nutrition & transparency, employee welfare, farmers livelihood, community support, good governance, packaging & recycling, waste reduction, and energy & water efficiency. Each focus area sets goals and initiatives that contribute and align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)).

The Jollibee Group was named the Philippines’ most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia’s Fab 50 Companies and among the World’s Best Employers and World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies by Forbes. The company is also a two-time recipient of Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the only Philippine-based company to receive the distinction.

To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com

March 13, 2024

UXLINK Raised close to $10M in Funding

DUBAI, UAE – Media OutReach Newswire – 13 March 2024 – UXLINK, a fast-growing Web3 social platform and infrastructure, has recently closed a new round of funding, accumulating over $9 million total investment. This round’s investors include OKX Ventures, Web3Port Foundation, Manifold, UOB Venture, Comma3 Ventures, Cypher Capital, Kucoin Ventures, Gate Labs, Forgame (0484.HK), ECV, Signum Capital, 7UPDAO, and industry leaders. According to Singapore Corporate Information, HongShan Capital, GGV Capital, MatrixPort Ventures and ZhenFund are also its investors. UXLINK’s backers include not only crypto and exchange investors from North America, Asia, and the Middle East, but also strategic investors like publicly listed companies. According to its community, UXLINK may raise another round of funding prior to TGE. As a social ecosystem, UXLINK is a leading solution for aggregating Web3 gateway, social DEX, and infrastructure for mass adoption.

Unlike other social infrastructure projects that focus on one-way, following-only relationships, UXLINK is the first to focus on bi-directional, acquaintance-based social relationships, similar to the differences between Twitter vs. Facebook. UXLINK consists mutual-promoting two layers: The application layer mainly includes Social DEX module and UX Growth (Link to Earn) module. The infrastructure layer includes unique and integrating data and the RWS social protocols, with a plan to launch an innovative Social Liquidity Chain, which utilizes OP Stack L2 and EigenDA technologies, to better support developers and third-party Dapps.

UXLINK has caught the attention of the market and investors with its product innovation and rapid growth. Since its product launch in April 2023, it has gained more than 3.5 million verified users in 10 months, with more than 75,000 decentralized groups, covering more than 6 million users. Its users are mainly located in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, South Asia, and Africa.

“In Web1.0 and Web2.0 era, there are great products based on acquaintance social relationships, such as Facebook and WeChat, being the main drivers and infrastructure for Mass Adoption, benefiting billions of users; UXLINK is this kind of innovation and project in the Web3 era”

Web: https://uxlink.io/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/UXLINKofficial

Telegram : https://t.me/uxlinkofficial2

Odyssey: https://dapp.uxlink.io/quest

Contact Information:

UXLINK
Eric
admin@uxlink.io

March 13, 2024

Women in the Digital Economy Fund: USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Partners Launch WiDEF

NEW YORK, N.Y., March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), a five-year $60.5 million investment to accelerate progress on closing the global gender digital divide, announces its first call for applications with recorded remarks from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power.

Founded by USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—and first announced by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Accra, Ghana in March 2023—WiDEF will now begin identifying, funding, and accelerating investment in proven solutions to close the gender digital divide.

”The gender digital divide hinders development progress—ingraining existing inequities into the fabric of societies of the future, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that drives further disparities. We need a future in which women are empowered to participate as equal citizens in our increasingly digital world. We look forward to working together to achieve that vision,” said Samantha Power, Administrator, USAID.

“I’m proud of our support for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund. Overcoming the gender digital divide is crucial to unlock the potential of women in the digital era. By increasing women’s participation in digital technology, we’re aiming not just to change their status from consumers to creators and leaders; we’re working to forge a path to a future where everyone benefits,” said Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This event, which brought together leaders from across the public and private sectors and civil society worldwide, was an opportunity to celebrate the start of this effort and learn about how WiDEF will implement its ambitious vision. Representing the Biden-Harris Administration at today’s kickoff event was Rachel Vogelstein, White House Gender Policy Council Deputy Director.

Advancing access to digital technology for all women and girls is critical to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This will help ensure that everyone has access to economic opportunities and advancement as well as government services, education, and healthcare.

In low- and middle-income countries, nearly one and a half billion women lack access to online services. Through 2022, there were 259 million more men than women globally using the internet; a gap that has cost the global economy an estimated $1 trillion. Closing the gender digital divide would increase economic activity by an estimated $524 billion by 2025.

WiDEF is administered by consortium partners CARE, Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP), and the GSMA Foundation. The consortium will collaborate with industry-leading organizations to effectively engage local and global private sector actors and funders to advance a shared set of commitments to closing the gender digital divide.

“WiDEF is about putting millions of women at the center of connectivity and information programming. CARE brings our strength in locally led, gender-centered programming in over 100 countries to the effort. The consortium’s collective focus on technology, policy, and gender advocacy offers the greatest opportunity yet to create and sustain an internet that works for the women who could most benefit from it,” said Revi Sterling, WiDEF Technical Director and CARE Senior Technical Director, Digital Inclusion.

“Launching WiDEF is indeed a special moment, one that reflects real commitment and determination to address the stubborn gender digital divide and open the possibilities for women in the digital economy. GDIP is committed to women’s digital inclusion, and we look forward to advocating alongside our global partners to advance this collective effort,” said Sonia Jorge, GDIP Executive Director.

“Closing the gender digital divide has been at the centre of the GSMA Foundation’s work for over a decade, and we are extremely honoured to play an active role in the management of the Women in the Digital Economy Fund. We now look forward to receiving applications to the first round launched today, and to the further two rounds to be announced later this year, focused on large private sector actors, and India specifically,” said Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development, GSMA.

WiDEF will support and fund programs that advance digital access and affordability; develop relevant products and tools; provide digital literacy and skills training; promote online safety and security; and invest in sex-disaggregated data and research. It will support, wherever possible, women-led and gender transformative solutions, products, and tools and will invest heavily in ensuring the voices and institutions closest to the gender digital divide are central to the effort.

As part of today’s event, WiDEF announced the first call for applications, inviting local institutions worldwide to apply to receive WiDEF funding and support. Applications are due by May 6, 2024.

In addition to financial support from USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, funding is also being provided by Microsoft and the Korean International Cooperation Agency.

To learn more, email contact@widef.global, visit us online at widef.global or follow WiDEF on social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter/X).

About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. This year, CARE and partners worked in 109 countries implementing 1,671 poverty-fighting development and humanitarian aid projects and initiatives that reached 167,000,000 people. To learn more, visit www.care.org.

About GDIP
The Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP) is a coalition of public, private, and civil society organizations working to bring internet connectivity to the global majority and ensure everyone is meaningfully connected by 2030. Founded by a global team of experts who successfully championed affordable and meaningful connectivity around the world, GDIP advances digital opportunities to empower and support people’s lives and agency, leading to inclusive digital societies.

GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation
The GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, Inc. (‘The GSMA Foundation’) brings together mobile operators, innovators, governments, and the international development community to realise the positive social, economic and climate impact of mobile technology, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. With funding from donors and the GSMA, the GSMA Foundation runs programmes that advance digital and financial inclusion – with a strong focus on gender inclusivity, climate action, humanitarian response, and investment in innovative digital solutions. Since 2007, these programmes have impacted the lives of over 220 million people.

Michael de Vulpillieres
CARE
+1 929 944 1582
usa.media@care.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9062253

March 13, 2024

Israeli Forces Conduct Aggressive Raid in JeninUS Embassy in Libya: USAID supports Al-Khoms Port with lighting.

Ramallah: Israeli occupation forces launched an extensive raid in the city of Jenin and its camp located in the northern occupied West Bank, leading to violent clashes, armed confrontations, and significant infrastructure destruction.

According to a statement by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the occupation forces forcefully entered the city and its camp via various routes. The operation involved the deployment of numerous military vehicles, bulldozers, drones, and undercover special units.

The PRCS reported that intense confrontations erupted between local youth and the occupying forces, who had infiltrated the city and camp from the western town of Burqin as well as the outskirts of the camp.

Concurrently, occupation bulldozers began demolishing structures in the Al-Sikka and Al-Zahraa neighborhoods of the city, as well as within the Jenin camp.

Moreover, the occupation soldiers deployed in the city and camp indiscriminately fired upon civilian vehicles parked along the streets.

Source:
Jordan News Agency

The United States Agency for International Development stated that it provided support to the local authorities in the municipality of Al-Khoms, enabling them to light the local port for fishermen, through solar energy cells.

The US Embassy in Libya expressed, through its Facebook account yesterday, Tuesday, its pride in the partnerships in local initiatives inside Libya, which help communities develop sustainable solutions to reduce electricity consumption.

The embassy also spoke about the benefits of using solar energy to light the port and said, “In addition to reducing electricity consumption, it enhances the safety of fishermen and fish traders, and enables them to work longer hours.”

She added that the matter will contribute to community development by increasing their incomes and driving economic growth in the region.

Last Wednesday, the US Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland discussed with the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government US support for the Murzuq reconstruction program throu
gh the US Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Program, in addition to Libyan and international partners.

Source: Libyan News Agency

March 13, 2024

United Nations: 109 martyrs have fallen in West Bank since 2024 start

New York: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 109 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces since the beginning of 2024.

Six Palestinians were slain by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank on March 12 and 13 in the afternoon, OCHA said in its daily humanitarian report.

According to OCHA, one of the martyrs was a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who was playing with other kids in the Shu’fat refugee camp (occupied Jerusalem) when he was shot dead. The occupation forces seized his body and searched his camp home.

According to the report, following the Palestinians’ gunfire in the village of Al-Jib (occupied Jerusalem), Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians and held three injured Palestinians for thirty minutes before releasing them to Palestinian medical teams.

Since October 7, 418 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and over 4,680 Palestinians, including
722 children, have been injured.

Source: Jordan News Agency

March 13, 2024

Agriculture Minister follows up on media, awareness-raising plan to end food waste

Amman: Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Huneifat, followed up on Wednesday on the progress of the media and the awareness-raising plan to end food waste using a variety of media and social media platforms, with active participation from associations and activists.

In the presence of the World Food Program (WFP) Representative and Country Director in Jordan, Alberto Correia Mendes, Huneifat discussed the partnership track with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the plan’s development to reach schools in various governorates through activities that motivate students’ efforts to stop food waste through awareness and competitions. He also mentioned the Ministry of Awqaf through Friday sermons, in addition to the efforts that can be made by the Ministry of Government Communication, the Jordan Press Association, the Ministry of Culture, the Jordanian Artists Association, and various institutions, including sports federations and associations that contribute to creating a culture of food preservation
.

Huneifat said that the available figures indicate that Jordan wastes a third of its food, pointing out that food is represented by water, energy, production inputs, and effort. If this culture is instilled in the current and next generations, it will contribute to Jordan’s development in steps that achieve sustainable food security in light of the crises that the world is going through, such as climate change and conflicts.

Huneifat referred to the WFP’s efforts in helping this campaign succeed and the ways to implement the campaign plans, including the establishment of an umbrella for the associations working in it and following up on the hackathon that gathers leading projects in reducing food waste, in addition to the promotion and media plan for this campaign, which also includes many community events that will help preserve food and reduce waste.

Source: Jordan News Agency