Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1022495
17 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 SEPTEMBER 2018 COMMERCIAL MDA signs memorandum of understanding with Sicilian developers association A cooperative agreement between the Malta Developers Association and ANCE Ragusa will seek to further enhance professionalism and scrutiny in the industry THE Malta Developers As- sociation (MDA) has signed a memorandum of under- standing (MOU) with Sicilian construction agency, ANCE Ragusa, as the two stakehold- ers hope to raise the bar in ef- ficiency. MDA President Sandro Chetcuti expressed his satis- faction about the collabora- tion, saying that it will help both associations to take the development industry to the next step in their respective countries. ANCE, which represents all the major players in the in- dustry around Italy, has indi- vidual representation in each region of the peninsula. "The MDA has achieved na- tional success, but now this memorandum of understand- ing will take things a step further. Thanks to ANCE Ra- gusa's interest, we will now be able to exchange information and knowledge, which will benefit both of us," Chetcuti told those present. Chetcuti said that the agree- ment would increase synergy between the two territories, while also contributing to fur- ther economic growth. Sicilian representatives were impressed with the various measures adopted by the Mal- tese construction industry. Planning Authority (PA) CEO Johann Buttigieg, who was also present, said that the Maltese construction indus- try has experienced a revolu- tion. "Thanks to initiatives adopt- ed by the PA, such as a 100- day limit for an application to be filed, and a completely paperless system which saves the authority around two mil- lion Euros annually, the in- dustry has been given a breath of fresh air," Buttigieg said. Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima said that the MDA was instrumental in the government's economic achievements, with the MOU improving an already good relationship between the two countries. He said the government had already gained a lot, thanks to the MDA's expertise and pro- posals and would continue to work hand in hand to achieve better results. ANCE Ragusa President Se- bastiano Caggia praised Mal- tese developers, stating that Sicilian developers had much to learn from them. Ragusa Mayor Peppe Cassi and Parliamentary Secretary Orazio Ragusa were also pre- sent. Concept Stadium adds an international digitally-focused resource to its web design & development studio THE Concept Stadium, a local boutique marketing consultancy firm, has boosted its web design and development studio with a new addition; Michal Maj, who brings international digital fo- cused capabilities to the team. "We're extremely excited to have Michal on board," said Jona- than Dalli and Jonathan Chet- cuti, Founders & Directors at the Concept Stadium. "As we've just celebrated our 8th Anniversary, we're thrilled to have found the right talent to help us grow and plug away at our mission. With a bigger team we are able to stay agile and respond to our clients' needs with commercial creative solutions to their problems. It also means that we can continue to service clients and be responsive in line with commercial priorities, as we have become known for." The Concept Stadium has been building its team to be able to serve a range of integrated mar- keting needs including Branding, Design & AV, Web UX/UI, Digi- tal & Social, PR & Events, as well as Strategy & Communication to produce marketing activations and lead generation campaigns for clients in various industries. Michal studied IT with speciali- sation in internet technologies at the Polish Naval Academy of the Heroes of Westerplatte and al- though his education has taught him quite a lot about IT and web development, most of his knowl- edge comes from practice and autodidactic jobs. He loves moun- tain biking and has come to Malta for the perfect weather and inter- national work experience. Commenting about his position at the Concept Stadium, whilst commenting on the hospitality of the whole team, Michal said "I have chosen to come to Malta from Poland for the great weather and the kind people. I immedi- ately felt at home with the team at the Concept Stadium and felt in- spired by the passion of the com- pany." Boyce Avenue joins Quizando as global development kicks off ONE of the world's most widely followed music bands has finalised a partnership in a Malta-based company as it pre- pares to launch a revolutionary new gaming platform. Boyce Avenue, the American pop and rock band formed in Sarasota, Florida, by brothers Alejandro, Daniel and Fabian Manzano – have taken an eq- uity stake and endorsement deal with Quizando, the Malta- based quiz game portal that is currently undergoing major global development. The American band has a whopping 11.5 million sub- scribers on its YouTube chan- nel. Their music videos have been viewed a staggering four billion times, making them the most viewed independent band on the planet. The Boyce Av- enue YouTube channel alone is amongst the top 200 most followed channels worldwide across all topics while they are in the top 100 streamed artists on Spotify. "We believed in the con- cept of Quizando since we were first introduced to it a few months ago. After test- ing the site for many months, the team are now in the pro- cess of further developing the platform and we decided this was the perfect time to get in- volved as shareholders," Dan- iel Manzano explained. As part of its redevelopment, Quizando will be introducing a new version of the game specif- ically aimed at solving a num- ber of challenges faced by the online influencer community, namely the lack of monetisa- tion opportunities. "We found this element of the new Quizando to be extremely exciting. We don't want to give too much away at this point, but it will actually revolution- ise the way the world's online influencers monetize their fol- lowings," Daniel said. Wesley Ellul, one of Quizan- do's founders, said the deal- making Boyce Avenue part of the ownership team was a natural partnership. "From the moment we started talking to Daniel and his broth- ers we could see how excited they were by our project and how much belief they have in what we are creating," he said. "Boyce Avenue are one of the greatest examples around of how to build a solid and con- nected digital following. Given that this is an area the new version of Quizando will focus heavily on, their input will be invaluable." The beta version of Quizando has been live for more than a year during which time a varie- ty of game types and quiz styles have been tested, ensuring the new platform will be ready to deal with the mass market. De- spite virtually no marketing of the site, thousands of players have already signed up. "We wanted to make sure that a market for this type of quiz game existed and test just how extensive it is before mov- ing on to phase two. But even we were overwhelmed by the response," Wesley said. "Quizando now has subscrib- ers from more than 50 coun- tries as far apart as the US, Australia, Mexico, China and India as well a complete cross- section of European players. Its global potential is huge."