Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/850837
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 JULY 2017 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Netfl ix sees record results with over 104 million global subscribers Netflix has registered record re- sults as its worldwide customer base grew to over 104 million subscribers. The US company has said that the better than ex- pected number was a sign that investment in new shows and movies was paying off. Shares in the video streaming platform have surged since Monday when the company reported the record number of subscribers. Netflix has produced shows such as House of Cards and The Crown, while the firm's boss Reed Hastings has said the result was the 'rewards of doing great content." Netflix shares rose more than ten per cent in after-hours trading in New York after announcing its second quarter results. The firm said it added about 5.2 million members during the quarter, mostly from outside the US. International members now account for about half of its subscriber total. The company also said that it expected international members to help boost profits for the year – a first for that part of the business. The growth helped Netflix to report a 32% rise in second quarter revenues to $2.8bn, and it expects revenues to reach nearly $3bn in the third quarter. Netflix has said that creating new content was critical to competing against other online rivals such as Amazon and YouTube, as well as broadcast television networks. Netflix also said that generating new content also meant streaming services were expanding the size of the overall market. "The largely exclusive nature of each service's content means that we are not direct substitutes for each other, but rather complements. The shift from linear TV to on-demand viewing is so big and there is so much leisure time, many internet TV services will be successful." New content critical for Net- fl ix as it competes against other online rivals such as Amazon and YouTube, as well as broadcast television networks Europe's biggest energy start-up competition for funding and growth has opened for Maltese companies The reduction of heating costs through the use of solar energy, heat pumps and a patented heat exchanger, or a project reducing the consumption of energy by cooling devices. Sounds innova- tive? These are only a few win- ning projects of last year's edition of PowerUp! by InnoEnergy*. The call for proposals starting now is the third edition of the largest competition designed for start-ups operating in the sector of sustainable energy in 23 countries in central and eastern Europe, in the Baltics and parts of the Mediterranean. People interested in taking part can submit their ideas from 19 June 2017 at powerup.innoenergy.com. The Competition has created a huge opportunity for Maltese innovators keen to execute and develop their projects, as well as those that want to become present on the global market. "The PowerUp! Competition is a platform for highlighting ideas that may otherwise go unnoticed. It is a big contribution in developing innovation in the sector of sustainable energy in Central and Eastern Europe," said Jakub Miler, CEO InnoEnergy Poland Plus, organiser of the competition. "Winning technologies and other ideas that will be possible to be implemented will help Europe in protecting the environment and also, after commercialisation, could have a global impact with the help of InnoEnergy." PowerUp! creates multiple opportunities and opens many doors. This fact can be confirmed by last year's winners: PolarSol from Estonia, PleioneEnergy from Greece, GreenerGizer from Hungary, as well as Bin-E from Poland. Winners will receive financial prizes as well access to a prestigious accelerator called Highway® by InnoEnergy, which transforms ideas and projects into market reality. It offers young entrepreneurs access to knowledge and major support in the area of developing and protecting a product, entry on the market, team-building or access to seed funding. It also enables permanent access to the 150 biggest partners operating in the power industry, simplifying fast entry onto the global maker. The Grand Finale in Budapest and fifteen regional finales will be preceded by intense workshops. The teams will have an opportunity to work on the details of their projects and to present them to experts and investors. These meetings are a one-of-a-kind chance for start- ups to establish business contacts, attract the attention of the media and contribute to building their strong position within the market of sustainable energy in Europe. "Our primary aim is to support innovation in the energy sector. We provide support at each level of development – starting with the idea, and progressing to the delivery of the final product to the recipients," Miler said. "Thanks to our partnership network, we build connections across Europe, uniting graduates with employers, inventors with the industry and researchers with companies." The Competition has been growing dynamically and new countries join every year. InnoEnergy invites start-ups and entrepreneurs from 23 countries in Central and Eastern Europe to take part in the third edition of PowerUp! 2017. To take part in the competition, submit a project that involves sustainable energy, create a team, have the prototype and fill out the form on the competition site. The winners of the 2016 edition: PolarSol from Estonia, PleioneEnergy from Greece, GreenerGizer from Hungary, as well as Bin-E from Poland Seed investment can reach €150,000 for each selected project