Author: sHq_LoGiNz

ST. PAUL, Minn., December 1, 2025 /3BL/ – Antea Group USA is pleased to announce the addition of Amy Couch Schultz, as a Senior Consultant supporting our Environmental Mergers & Acquisitions practice area. A proven leader with deep experience in professional consulting, insurance, and private industry, she brings a wealth of knowledge in managing and performing environmental due diligence projects in support of mergers and acquisitions of all sizes.

Her M&A and risk management experience includes:

• Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) due diligence and transaction services
• Business and environmental risk analysis and mitigation strategies
• ESG evaluations and product stewardship
• EHS management and regulatory compliance (US and International)
• Insurance technical underwriting and claim support
• Sector experience that spans energy, chemical, manufacturing, mining, food, beverage, agri-business, and pharmaceutical industries.

Amy joins Antea Group from Chubb Risk Consulting, where she most recently served as Vice President and Environmental Risk Engineering Program Manager in support of the Chubb Environmental underwriting team. She holds an M.S. in Chemical Hazard Assessment from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, and a B.S., Magna Cum Laude, in Biology from Muskingum College (now Muskingum University).

“We are thrilled to welcome Amy to our team,” said Aaron Lapine, Chief Operating Officer. “Her deep understanding of M&A due diligence, business risk analysis, and complex global operations, particularly within the environmental and ESG space, positions her as a tremendous asset for our clients. Amy’s leadership and specialized expertise will be instrumental as we continue to expand and customize our M&A services for key clients and market sectors we serve.”

Learn more about our Environmental M&A services.

Guest post courtesy of Tannaz Daruwalla and Leonardo Tibaquira from Accion International

While the world’s largest companies dominate headlines and their founders achieve celebrity status, global entrepreneurship looks much different by the numbers. According to the IFC, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up some 90 percent of businesses, 70 percent of employment, and half of GDP around the world. Micro, small, and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) are essential to the global economy and individuals’ financial stability, yet owners often lack financing, resources, or knowledge of how to access what’s available to them.

Consider Brenda, the owner of Masajes Relajantes, a small spa in a modest neighborhood in Mexico City, located next door to her niece’s beauty salon. In a room just large enough for a massage table and some essential oils, Brenda gives massages that her clients consistently praise — but she charges only 450 Mexican pesos (about $24 USD) per session, less than half the market rate. While she is in the business of relaxation, fear of losing clients and the stress of running her business on tight margins weighs on her. 

Despite her intelligence, passion, and experience, she does not feel knowledgeable about financial best practices, social media advertising, or products and services that could help her stabilize and grow. Brenda needs someone to walk her through the basics of business management, help her organize her operations, and show her how to attract and retain clients without undervaluing her work. She is wary of being scammed and could not afford the interest and fees on a loan from a traditional financial institution. Moreover, existing offerings often overlook small, women-led firms due to their size, perceived risk, or cultural norms.

Enhancing learning and unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs 

Brenda’s story is not unique. It reflects the reality of many microentrepreneurs across Mexico  who work tirelessly, day after day, yet struggle to move beyond subsistence. They lack the tools and confidence to grow their business sustainably. 

This is where digital tools like Ovante can make a real difference. Ovante is a digital educational program that strengthens the financial, business, and digital capabilities of microentrepreneurs like Brenda. This May, Ovante launched a new WhatsApp-based chatbot providing easy-to-understand videos, tips, tools, and other resources that teach key financial concepts to better manage business accounts and lead to informed decision-making. Users learn about Ovante via digital marketing channels, and, with just a click, can start talking with the chatbot’s avatar, Sofia, about topics that help them grow their business, make informed financial decisions, and build their financial confidence.

Microentrepreneurs can explore topics such as money management, indebtedness and over-indebtedness, financial health, and building a digital footprint. For Brenda, information about building her digital footprint and managing her finances is most helpful as she seeks to attract more clientele and price her products and services correctly. With support from FedEx, Accion launched Ovante’s learning platform as well as the new WhatsApp-based chatbot free of charge to help entrepreneurs like Brenda gain skills and confidence in running their businesses. 

Brenda takes advantage of these learning opportunities in the evenings and on weekends, as long as work and family obligations allow. As the customer base grows, Sofia will help Ovante scale user support while improving the quality, speed, and personalization of content that users receive.

In just a few months since its launch, the Ovante chatbot has proven to be a powerful tool to support entrepreneurs in Mexico. To date, it has recorded over 17,000 chats with more than 12,500 microentrepreneurs chatting with Sofia, reflecting a high level of reach and trust in a segment that is often underserved in terms of training and support. Each conversation averages 18 messages, with sessions lasting approximately 30 minutes – a clear sign that users are not only connecting, but staying engaged, exploring, and going deeper into the content made available to them. 

Beyond the numbers, the quality of the interactions is also evident. The chatbot has achieved an average rating of 4.4 out of five, with nearly 40 percent of conversations extending beyond the industry average of seven interactions, showing richer exchanges and stronger learning opportunities. Moreover, Ovante’s chatbot is reaching Accion’s target audience: 70 percent of users are women microentrepreneurs seeking to strengthen their financial and managerial skills, build their confidence and grow their businesses. These results are not only encouraging, they also confirm that digital innovation can create real opportunities for those who need them most.

Over the past five years, we have launched Ovante in Mexico, Colombia, and India, engaging over 150,000 customers with its content. Two-thirds of these customers were women. Over the next three years, Accion hopes to triple engagement with Ovante via its chatbot. Meeting this target will require continuous innovation and outreach, so Brenda and others have been providing feedback on the Ovante chatbot. 

With accessible, step-by-step assistance to build financial capacity and entrepreneurial skills, Ovante can help women like Brenda build confidence, understand their worth, and take control of their financial future. By investing in inclusive financial education and practical digital tools, we can help microentrepreneurs build their financial and digital capabilities and position them for greater success.

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

By Scott Register

With an increasingly aging population the US, like many countries around the world, has a healthcare system under pressure. As a result, there has been a continued growth and reliance on digital health, with advancements in medtech, AI, personalized care, wearables and digital pathways.

Innovations in connected medical devices such as diagnostic imaging, surgical robots, health wearables, glucose monitoring and insulin pumps have led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stress the need for stronger controls for device safety, particularly as wireless connectivity and the electronic exchange of health information become more prevalent.

In June 2025, the FDA has updated final guidance for demonstrating cybersecurity of medical devices, which aims to ensure devices are cybersecure by design and resilient to the latest threats.

In today’s blog we will discuss cybersecurity in medical devices and healthcare’s susceptibility to hidden threats within these devices. We will also explore how Keysight is helping medical device manufacturers meet the challenge of improving cybersecurity and achieving regulatory compliance. Finally, we will look at the latest trends and how device manufacturers can stay ahead of attackers.

Healthcare Systems Under Attack

Cybersecurity threats to the healthcare sector have become more frequent and more severe, carrying increased potential for clinical impact. People’s personal and medical information has a value, and that makes it attractive for threat actors too.

According to the HIPPA journal in 2024, there were 14 data breaches involving more than 1 million healthcare records, including the biggest healthcare data breach of all time that affected an estimated 190,000,000 million individuals. Across those 14 data breaches alone, the records of 237,986,282 U.S. residents were exposed or compromised, around 69.97% of the U.S. population. All but two of the 14 data breaches were hacking incidents and 8 involved business associates of HIPAA covered entities.

Events across the healthcare sector have stressed the importance of cybersecurity to patient safety. The WannaCry ransomware affected hospital systems and medical devices across the globe, it cost the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK £92m after 19,000 appointments were cancelled. Vulnerabilities identified in commonly used third-party components, like URGENT/117 and SweynTooth, have led to potential safety concerns across a broad range of devices that are used in various clinical specialties.

Recent Cyber incidents have rendered medical devices and hospital networks inoperable, disrupting the delivery of patient care across healthcare facilities in the U.S. and globally. This has led to patient harm due to delay in diagnoses and/or treatment.

Last year in the U.S. the largest healthcare data breach occurred at Change Healthcare, the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware group accessed the network and used ransomware to encrypt files. Not only was this the largest healthcare data breach of all time it also caused more disruption than any other healthcare cyberattack due to the number of healthcare organizations that relied on Change Healthcare’s systems and the prolonged outage. The attack prevented patients from obtaining medications, and the outage caused severe disruption to healthcare providers’ revenue cycles, pushing many small practices to the brink of closure.

FDA Prescriptive Guidance on Medical Device Cyber Security

The FDA has responded to the reality that medical devices are much more connected than before and thus have a greatly expanded attack surface. Rather than leaving it up to manufacturers to decide what testing is appropriate, the FDA is much stricter and more prescriptive about the mandated cybersecurity testing and artifact submission requirements. Some of the new requirements include:

Fuzzing

Fuzzing is a fairly advanced concept, even for experienced cybersecurity practitioners, and it’s typically used to discover previously unknown vulnerabilities in protocol stack implementations. Fuzzing involves injecting intentional errors into communication streams in an effort to disrupt the Device Under Test at the other end of the connection. For medical devices, this could include protocol fuzzing tests against a Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy implementation, the WiFi stack, CAN bus, and the TCP/UDP/IP stack.

Vulnerability Assessment and Chaining

This entails scanning the device on any exposed network interfaces to determine if any known vulnerability types exist in those interfaces. This could include vulnerability types such as guessable passwords, encryption flaws, susceptibility to injection attacks, API attacks, and other vulnerabilities which would expose the device to significant attacks by threat actors.

Software Composition Analysis and Accurate SBOM Generation

For many manufacturers, this may be the most difficult new hurdle. For most generated software and firmware, around 80% of the total lines of source code come from open-source libraries, and these libraries inevitably contain vulnerabilities which become publicly known either today or in the future. In line with other critical industries, the FDA is now requiring manufacturers to compile an accurate list of the software libraries used in their products, including enumeration of known vulnerabilities and mitigation procedures or proof of non-reachability. The manufacturer must also keep this Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), which lists all included software libraires, up to date with identification of newly identified vulnerabilities in those libraries as part of the revised post-market surveillance process. In addition, the manufacturer must provide a continually updated SBOM to users in a machine-readable format, typically through an online portal. Further complicating the challenge, the vast majority of medical devices utilize the ARM Cortex-M processor which is very efficient but sometimes more difficult for accurate SBOM generation.

Independent Cybersecurity Testing by a Highly Competent, Independent Lab

No longer can manufacturers do all their testing in-house. The FDA wants to be sure that a second set of eyes has examined the product, and that the external agency is very skilled in cybersecurity analysis. This mandate requires neutrality and protects patients from potential exploits which are outside the scope of attacks the manufacturer may be capable of conducting or even have imagined.

How Keysight Can Help

In concert with the enhanced FDA enhancements, Keysight has upgraded our device cybersecurity products and services to allow medical device manufacturers to proceed with confidence, enabling them to bring products to market on time and on budget. Recognizing that medical device manufacturers have a wide range of in-house cybersecurity expertise, Keysight can provide whatever blend of products and services is appropriate.

To address many of the FDA’s new requirements and minimize the chance of problematic and expensive discoveries later in the process, Keysight offers IoT Security Assessment. In a compact desktop appliance, it features protocol fuzzing for Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WiFi, CAN bus, and TCP/UDP/IPv4 and v6. We’re also excited about the recent introduction of our on-prem SBOM generation capability. All of these features offer complete REST API support for workflow integration, so your sensitive firmware need never leave your site for development testing including SBOM generation. And for post-market compliance, Keysight also offers an SBOM management and publication capability so that users can be automatically updated with accurate information on new releases.

Keysight also brings a wide range of cybersecurity testing capabilities via both our in-house and partner network. For high-assurance validation of critical devices, Keysight offers some of the most advanced testing capabilities on the planet. We have state-of-the-art advanced fault injection and side channel analysis tools, and are trusted by the most sophisticated smartphone, automotive, and semiconductor companies to ensure their products are resilient to attacks from even the most sophisticated attackers. We have ISO17025 certified labs and offer services on multiple continents to help our customers in diverse fields bring compliant products to market. We’ve also integrated a network of partners for medium assurance testing which is more cost-effective and appropriate for some devices; you can decide which type of engagement is appropriate for you.

Enhancing our cybersecurity validation capabilities for medical devices is in line with our commitment to helping our customers bring the best products to market on schedule and on budget. Our medical customers have used our power drain analysis, RF testing, and high frequency digital measurement tools for decades, and now Keysight is your partner for both electronic and cybersecurity validation for medical devices.

So, if you’re ready to take the next step in innovation acceleration and patient safety, let us know – we’re here for you.

Staff and trustees from The R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, and the Reilly Family Fund recently visited Thomasville Community Development Corporation (TCDC), a Drawdown Georgia (DDGA) Climate Solutions & Equity Grantee. They are implementing a plant-based diet pilot that includes medical monitoring, and they’re offering free produce giveaways to seniors. They’re helping provide sustainable systems for getting locally grown, fresh, healthy food into neighborhoods that have been officially designated as food deserts.

Community-based Plant-Forward Food Program for Dewey City

TCDC is applying plant-based diet principles to scale their work of improving health outcomes for priority populations in the historic Dewey City neighborhood in Thomasville, Georgia. Rendall Mash, owner of Marathon Market, a Black-owned food market, is working with TCDC to facilitate the design and implementation of a neighborhood plant-based food program.

Mash returned to his hometown a few years ago, seeking to use his skills as a builder to help improve the lives of residents in the Dewey City and Stevens Street communities of Thomasville. Since then, he’s been building affordable homes and renovating legacy homes. At first, he was returning to Thomasville only on weekends, but his passion eventually took him back home full time.

Mash began to sense the absence of many things he remembered from his childhood. One of the most important things he noticed was the absence of a grocery store in the center of the community. The closest grocery store with fresh meats and produce was five miles from the center of the community, and it was inaccessible to many residents that don’t have cars. He also noticed that an increase in blighted, vacant buildings invited crime.

That’s when he began working with TCDC to create a system-based solution that started with opening a small grocery store in the center of the community. He opened Marathon Market in an existing building that served as a grocery store more than 20 years ago. In recent years it had become a liquor and vape shop that put crime right in the center of Dewey City. By converting the property back to a safe, community-centered resource and by getting creative with the deliverables, Mash has been able to turn things around considerably. Now residents have a safe and reliable source of fresh, affordable food in the center of a walkable community.

Mash sources his produce from local farmers, who also provide produce for subsidized food boxes that are delivered regularly to 40 local residents.

Local chef and TCDC partner Alvin Davis also sources the produce he needs to provide free plant-forward meals for seniors that gather at the Scott Senior Center four times a week as part of a year-long pilot Plant-Based Diet Program. His culinary creations are part of a program that allows participating seniors to access bloodwork diagnostics and medical monitoring to see how an increase in plant-based meals affect their blood tests for markers of diabetes, hypertension and other common diseases that often affect seniors. There are currently 28 participants in the pilot, and the average participant age is 74. Sixty-four percent are female and seventy-one percent are Black.

Before starting the program, Kuluvanda Cason, a mobile nurse that owns ARK Diagnostics, tested each participant with baseline bloodwork and counseled them individually to set specific diet goals that could lead to better test results at the end of the pilot project. Her role in the pilot is health outcome monitoring. The participants don’t just receive free food, they also receive educational seminars, recipes and suggested grocery lists for when they visit Marathon Market and other local food stores. The goal for the participants is not to make them vegetarians or vegans. It’s to reduce the percentage of meat in their diets and to replace it with vegetables, fruits and legumes.

Jasmine Calhoun, a consultant with Johnson Public Health, works with Davis and Cason to provide the health outcome reporting for the project. All three of them grew up in the local community, so they are working with their parents’ and grandparents’ peers. Many of the pilot participants knew them as children.

“Behavior modification is a big part of the project, and probably the toughest hurdle to overcome,” said Pat Howard, Executive Director of the Scott Senior Center. “At first they were all asking, ‘where’s the meat?’ and some would taste the food–some wouldn’t. If they tasted it, they made no commitment to integrate it into their diets beyond the four free meals per week at the Center. Now, some of them are coming around and some are actually get excited.”

The funding team also had the chance to visit the community garden while visiting with TCDC. Eventually, the raised beds there may provide some of the food for Marathon Market and the Senior Center.

Cason also mentioned a separate outreach program in Thomasville that evolved after success at the senior center. She said transient residents at a local Motor Court are now able to sign up for free blood tests, subsidized by TCDC, with options for additional, affordable, routine health monitoring. Many have taken advantage of the new offering.

The funders also had a walking tour of the old Douglass High School property in the center of Dewey City, where plans are already underway for a building reuse project that will provide 50 affordable senior apartments by Q4-2027. There are still hopes to provide a portion of the electricity there from on-site solar, but it will need to be introduced in a later phase. The original school property where the senior apartments will be constructed is centrally located with plenty of greenspace, and it’s convenient to the community gardens, the Marathon Market and the senior center.

The Drawdown Georgia grant to TCDC is funded by a collaborative of foundations with roots in Georgia. Funders for this project include: the Atticus Fund, The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, the Ghanta Family Foundation, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the Reilly Family Fund, and the Tull Charitable Foundation.

Originally published by Mastercard

By Bunita Sawhney, Chief Consumer Product Officer, Mastercard

As the world grows ever more connected, access to financial tools has expanded dramatically. Today, 79% of adults worldwide have a bank account, an increase from 51% in 2011. This is a remarkable gain. Yet 2.1 billion adults remain underbanked or unbanked, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025, and for many who have entered the formal financial system, true financial resilience is still out of reach.

Digital transformation across the world has played a key role in expanding access to financial tools. More than 85% of adults in low- and middle-income countries have mobile phones — 75% of which are smartphones — fueling the demand for simple, secure banking and payment experiences.

Despite this increased connectivity, billions of people still face the daily stresses of being underbanked or unbanked. In low- and middle-income economies, only slightly more than half of all adults could reliably come up with extra money within 30 days to deal with an emergency such as a job loss, illness or natural disaster, the Findex found. This signals a critical gap: Access to financial tools alone is not enough to foster long-term resilience. According to a recent Mastercard white paper, consumers’ lack of awareness and trust can be key barriers to ongoing usage of financial tools.

We must ensure that individuals are not just connected to the digital economy, but empowered and protected — with the tools, trust and capabilities to actively participate, transact, save and grow. The digital transformation has driven unprecedented access — and it holds the key to unlocking meaningful financial well-being for all.

That’s why at the ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit, hosted by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth in Kuala Lumpur, we launched the Global Financial Health Coalition, a diverse network of financial institutions, NGOs, telcos, wallet providers and industry leaders, to bring together leaders across the ecosystem to share insights that help move consumers and micro- and small businesses beyond access and toward overall financial health and the ability to withstand and navigate shocks. Our goal is to foster an environment where innovation is responsible, users are protected, and everyone has the tools and knowledge to thrive.

The digital transformation has driven unprecedented access — and it holds the key to unlocking meaningful financial well-being for all.

Bunita Sawhney

The Coalition brings together the expertise of members, including DANA, GCash, TrueMoney, MTN Group Fintech, MOCO, Axian, Daviplata, and The Center for Financial Inclusion, who are leading the way in developing solutions that address both local needs and global challenges. Guided by three core principles — connecting people to the right financial tools, harnessing technology to protect them as they engage, and empowering their journey toward financial well-being — the Coalition will share best practices to build trust and embrace innovation.

This approach will help millions of people and small businesses participate in the digital economy with confidence — by adopting healthy financial behaviors, building financial resilience and accessing the tools they need to thrive. In Southeast Asia, for instance, wallet providers are already connecting aspirations with opportunity, empowering micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and driving innovation. In Africa and Latin America, cross-sector partnerships are expanding financial access and capability.

By convening diverse voices, we can connect people and businesses to opportunity and protect their ability to thrive. Underpinned by trust and inclusion, we are reimagiing what’s possible for the digital economy.

Hear from our partners:

Financial inclusion in Indonesia is entering a new chapter — one defined not just by access, but by trust, empowerment, and resilience. At DANA, we see technology as the bridge that connects aspiration to opportunity, enabling millions of Indonesians to thrive securely in the digital economy. By joining this coalition with Mastercard and other ecosystem leaders, we aim to advance responsible innovation that protects users, strengthen MSMEs, and creates shared prosperity across Southeast Asia.

Vince Iswara, CEO and co-founder, DANA Indonesia

GCash has transformed how millions of Filipinos manage their money — bringing secure, digital financial services into everyday life. Through its lending arm, Fuse Financing Inc., it has democratized lending in the Philippines, making credit more accessible to millions, especially the unbanked and underserved segments. By joining this coalition, we aim to extend that impact beyond our borders, sharing our mobile-first innovation and insights to help strengthen financial resilience across emerging markets. We also look forward to learning from fellow coalition members whose diverse experiences and best practices can help us further elevate our solutions. Together, we can accelerate progress toward a truly inclusive digital economy.

Tony Isidro, president and CEO of Fuse Financing Inc.

Financial health is not just about access, it’s about empowerment. At TrueMoney, we believe that inclusive access to financial tools is fundamental to financial health and sustainable economic growth. We are proud to join Mastercard and other industry leaders in this global coalition to share insights, drive innovation, and help shape a more resilient and trusted digital economy.

Monsinee Nakapanant, co-president, Ascend Money Co., Ltd.

We are excited to be part of this coalition, as it reflects MTN Group Fintech’s commitment to delivering meaningful solutions and services that build resilience and enhance lives. We look forward to collaborating with members across industries to help people move beyond access and unlock opportunity for millions of people across Africa.

Serigne Dioum, CEO, MTN Group Fintech

Behind every mobile wallet is a story — a mother growing her business, a farmer accessing new markets, a student paying their tuition. At Axian Digibank & Fintech, we believe inclusive technology has the power to unlock possibilities for everyone. This coalition reflects that shared vision and our commitment to building a more resilient and financially healthy digital economy.

Erwan Gelebart, CEO, Open Innovation & Fintech, Axian Group

At Daviplata, our purpose is to make financial services accessible to everyone, especially those historically underserved — as well as young people taking their first financial steps and entrepreneurs and small businesses driving economic growth. By joining this coalition, we reaffirm our commitment to inclusion and innovation. Together with other members, we aim to share best practices and advance solutions that empower individuals and communities through secure, mobile-first financial tools.

Javier Suarez, CEO, Davivienda

We’ve seen significant progress toward financial inclusion in recent years, and much of that has been powered by digital technology, especially digital wallets. As a member of the Global Financial Health Coalition, the Center for Financial Inclusion will work alongside some of the top providers in the field, gathering evidence and sharing lessons learned to help strengthen the financial health and well-being of those who remain underserved. Together, we aim to drive measurable progress toward a healthier financial future for all.

Nataša Goronja, managing director, Center for Financial Inclusion

We are honored to join this coalition and collaborate with Mastercard and other esteemed partners to advance financial resilience. At MOCO, our mission has always been to empower individuals and businesses through secure, accessible digital payment solutions. By sharing insights and best practices within this coalition, we aim to help drive greater financial inclusion and create meaningful impact for underserved communities. 

Pranaya Rajbhandari, CEO, Focusone Payment Solutions P. Ltd.

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

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