Fresco Group decided to expand its restaurants outside of Italy, so as the first round of expansion it opened its doors in London in July 2016. As of this year, Fresco restaurants will be available in Mayfair (the United Kingdom), Malta and Oman, too.

The restaurant also says it places special attention to taste, authenticity and lifestyle while offering a welcoming and relaxing environment in the Maltese town.

“Now all tourists and residents of the beautiful island of Malta can also enjoy pizza and spaghetti alla Nerano by Fresco,” the press release says.

The Fresco Group was founded in 2009 by Neapolitan entrepreneurs with experience in food and is based on an entrepreneurial philosophy of catering attentive to quality, taste, the health of its customers, and the protection and promotion of the territory.

The post Fresco restaurant opens in St Julian’s, Malta first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

At the same time, Alan Curry, the founder of the organisation has recently presented their yearly donation of €10,000 to the Head of the Renal Unit Professor Emanuel Farrugia. The money can be spent on the running costs of maintaining the Traccia database programme, where the updated kidney recipient waiting list can be found.

Around 130 renal patients waiting for a kidney transplant are being monitored with the help of the Traccia software solution at Mater Dei Hospital’s Renal Unit. Since the introduction of Traccia in 2017, some 32 patients received a kidney transplant after their blood composition was found compatible with the donated organ. Ten of the kidney donations arrived from living donors while 22 from deceased donors.

The software keeps data and gives points accordingly to waiting time, age matching, human tissue typing (HLA) matching, clinical findings, hypersensitisation, lack of access, etc. It also facilitates the procedure of finding the right match for a renal patient, compatible with a kidney donor with better chances of survival and for the recipient’s fulfilment of life.

“Our Renal Unit provides facilities for treating patients with kidney failure who require haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, apart from coordinating kidney transplant services. Thanks to the yearly contribution from LifeCycle, the Traccia software programme has been of great support to patients at the Renal Unit,” said Professor Emanuel Farrugia, the Head of the Mater Dei Hospital’s Renal Unit.

“Renal patients have to undergo four hours of dialysis, three times a week, attached to a blood cleaning machine. This is a very aggressive treatment which leaves the patient quite debilitated. Traccia, apart from facilitating the process, will also allocate organs to those patients which match most and not only rely on the waiting time on the list. Every kidney donation is now being run by this new system and this is saving us precious time,” explained Charge Head Nurse Paul Calleja.

LifeCycle yearly organises a cycling challenge, each time in different countries to raise money for life-saving equipment to help patients suffering from kidney failure and to raise awareness about Organ Transplants here in Malta.

This year’s Nescafé 3in1 LifeCycle Challenge will take the participants on a route of 2,000 km from Vietnam, through Laos, and Cambodia ending at the Temples of Angkor Wat, a UNESCO Heritage site.

As Business Malta earlier reported, Nestlé provided a new cycling kit to a group of cyclists and back-up team members from LifeCycle Challenge. This happened after two charity events this year contributed to the collection of €1,142 for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease.

The post LifeCycle renews sponsorship for Traccia software first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The project was launched by Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds and Social Dialogue Aaron Farrugia.

The lack of women participation in the IT sector is a problem experienced all across the European Union, and the whole world, nowadays. In 2017, the employment rate for men in this sector in the European Union was 76.9%, while for women it was 65.3%. Therefore, the target for 2020 in the EU is to reach 75% for both genders.

The initiative will be implemented in many countries, like Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain with €2.7m as the total budget allocated for this purpose. Out of this fund, Malta can call for €346,672 between September 2018 and August 2021.

The project is hoped to develop digital competencies and employability of young women vulnerable of getting out of a job, as well as to provide innovative solutions to increase the numbers of young women in ICT careers and in the digital economy. Special focus will fall on unemployed young women, women returning to work after maternity leave and women coming from low income or disadvantaged families. The main tools used are awareness-raising, skills assessment, innovative partnerships with employers, development of a new online employability profiling tool and training in digital jobs, according to the DOI release.

“As a country, we have improved a lot within the digital space, now becoming a main point of reference, yet we are still lagging behind in women participation. If addressed now, the digital sector could be the first sector where we could see women on par with men”, said Mr Schembri.

“This is an exciting time for women. After registering a spike in the number of women elected to the European Parliament, I look forward to the next legislature to see the fruit of the positive measures being taken locally to increase the number of women in the Maltese Parliament”, said Mr Farrugia.

“It is encouraging to see the government fully committed to reducing the digital divide and organisations coming together today to support this collaborative framework. Thanks to this commitment we can ensure that women and young girls are truly allowed to decide their future and regain their destiny” said Dana Farrugia the CEO at Tech.MT, an organisation launched by the Malta Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the government, aiming to help support further growth of the local technology sector.

The post Malta launches EU-funded Women4IT project first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“It is hoped that these publications encourage teachers to engage their students in more outdoor activities which will help them to appreciate our national heritage and all forms of wildlife” said Andrew Beane, the CEO of HSBC Malta.

“Spending time in nature is invaluable for our health and wellbeing and for encouraging us to be more environmentally friendly. This publication provides the opportunity to learn about the amazing wildlife we have living on our doorstep and to inspire teachers and children to enjoy being outdoors and learning with a different perspective. We would like to thank Mr Jason Aloisio and HSBC for their work in making this happen,” said Sarah Brady, the Education Manager at BirdLife Malta.

The booklet, which is the second publication in the collaboration between HSBC Malta and the UNESCO Maltese National Commission, was funded through the HSBC Water Programme-Catch the Drop campaign. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is “Air Pollution” under which HSBC is encouraging its supporters to recycle waste into energy.

The post HSBC Malta and UNESCO publish educational booklet first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“The generous support by Nescafé 3in1 is not only in financial terms but also in the encouragement to further pursue our good cause. Thirty cyclists and five back-up team members have joined this year’s edition. We are all geared up for the four months of tough training ahead to prepare us for the Challenge,” said Alan Curry the founder of LifeCycle Malta Foundation.

“As the main sponsor of LifeCycle Challenge, we admire the strong positive attitude of the team behind LifeCycle Challenge. Their endeavours, efforts and commitment to raising money to be able to further improve the care of kidney failure patients and their relatives is simply commendable,” Mr Borg said about the sponsorship.

The charity events this year were organised in May at two places in Malta: at the University of Malta Msida Campus and at the city gate in Valletta opposite the Maltese parliament building, where €1,142 was collected for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease. Participants rode stationary bikes, turning every five minutes of cycling into a €2 donation each.

LifeCycle has organised bike challenges for more than two decades by now in different countries to generate funding for the needs and care of kidney disease patients and their families. The foundation’s work focuses on three major areas; raising awareness, supporting treatment and research, and working hand in hand with the medical staff of Mater Dei Hospital’s Renal Unit.

The post LifeCycle Challenge 2019 members receive new kit first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“When we first began exploring the idea of a partnership between GSA and MPI, we found we shared a desire to educate young people about the technical issues that support the gaming business. Further, we wanted to create more awareness of the industry and the standards it challenged us to develop, all while staying alert to the role that new technologies can play especially in Asia,” said Peter DeRaedt, the President of GSA.

Macao Polytechnic Institute is a public institution of higher education with an emphasis on applied knowledge and skills. It offers courses and research possibilities in — but not limited to — gaming and recreation, casino management, business, marketing, e-commerce, and management.

Gaming Standards Association is an international trade association that creates benefits for gaming manufacturers, suppliers, operators and regulators. The company has offices worldwide including GSA Europe in Malta.

The post GSA and MPI mark ten-year partnership ‘milestone’ first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Abela referred to the youth as the driving force for the successful implementation of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda. “Bearing in mind that half the world’s population is under the age of 30, investing in youth is critical,” the minister said.

“Those who learn from an early age to appreciate democratic values can help build stable democratic and peaceful structures for the future,” the minister said. On this note, he mentioned that Malta became the second country within the European Union after Austria to lower the national voting age to 16, so they can also cast their vote in the upcoming MEP and local council elections. Minister Abela also praised the work of the National Youth Council in Malta and the contribution of Maltese youth to local council work.

“We believe that more emphasis should be put on the benefits of cleaner, climate-smart growth with a view to bringing new jobs, economic opportunities and innovation. Through the engagement of different stakeholders, including the private sector, we can increase the drive towards achieving sustainable, responsible investment opportunities,” Mr Abela said.

The minister added that while the Joint Synthesis Report (JSR) produced by the European Union and its member states on how to implement the sustainable development goals through EU Development Policy shows significant progress, it also has some deficiencies in follow-up measures on the agreed commitments. He urged the mainstreaming of sustainable development across all sectors, as well as he voiced the importance of contribution to be made to the JSR in view of the capacity building measures.

The Development Foreign Affairs Council — chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini — also discussed the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda. The ministers exchanged views on how to successfully tackle the challenges of climate change. The discussion contributed to the preparations for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, coming up in July this year, as well as to the Climate Summit and the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, to be held in September 2019, as a side event of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the DOI report.

The post Foreign minister voices support for the youth first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Sweden-based Aspire Global is expected to invest around €1.5 million in the marketing strategies of this new brand, while Vipps Holdings will provide its experience from technology infrastructure and marketing to support the launch of the online casino. The product is scheduled to go live in the second half of 2019.

“We look forward to an exciting partnership with Vipps Holdings. The veteran team brings extensive experience from leading iGaming companies in the Nordic market and together we will be creating a truly innovative iGaming experience” said Tsachi Maimon, the CEO of Aspire.

Aspire Global is listed on NASDAQ and holds licenses in Malta, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.

The post Aspire Global to launch online casino brand with Vipps Holdings first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The programme aims to encourage a positive attitude toward books through making it a “lovely shared experience” for children and their parents. Organisers say they reach thousands of children up to the age of six and their parents or carers, by organising over 80 sessions every week in Maltese and English across Malta and Gozo.

“Dedicated animators bring these reading sessions to life for young children, while also providing parents or caregivers with a chance to bond with their children in an informal learning environment,” the press statement says.

During the announcement of the partnership, Anna Maria Cardona Schranz, the Marketing Manager at Valletta Cruise Port, donated several books to David Muscat, the CEO of the National Literacy Agency to support the success of this programme.

The post Valletta Cruise Port, National Literacy Agency partner on promoting love for reading first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“We are proud to support Hospice Malta. We hope that our initiative will help support an institution that brings hope to patients and support to their families as they cope with terminal or life-limiting conditions,” said John Ghigo, the Head of Consumer Lending at HSBC Malta.

Hospice Malta is an organisation with a professional multidisciplinary team and motivated volunteers supporting patients and their families who have to deal with the challenges of a terminal illness. Hospice Malta offers its services as pro bono. Currently, the organisation supports around 900 patients and their families.

The post HSBC customers’ credit card payments support Hospice Malta in April first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.