Power outages can be a costly issue for small businesses and homeowners. According to a report by Climate Central, an estimated 147 million utility customers lost power for at least an hour due to weather-related outages over the last decade, an average of nearly 15 million customers each year. For small businesses, these outages often result in a loss of productivity and, as a result, lost revenue. For homeowners, they can mean hundreds of dollars in lost groceries and considerable inconvenience.

Traditionally, the best approach to limiting the effects of power outages has been gasoline or diesel powered generators. However, generators present a host of critical drawbacks to users – including substantial noise, an unpleasant odor and general unreliability. In September, Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. unveiled an alternative to this problematic back-up power solution through the introduction of its innovative Freedom IV stationary power system.

“Our Freedom IV stationary power system will allow homeowners to move away from the noisy, smelly, sometimes unreliable generators and rely on clean lithium batteries for their back up power,” Steve Barber, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Oakridge, stated in a news release. “This revolutionary product will provide many hours of clean power and years of peace of mind.”

Oakridge will begin shipping the Freedom IV product line in December. In order to address the specific power requirements of customers, the company plans to offer a variety of sizes ranging from 6.5 kilowatt hours (kWh) to more than 35 kWh. During installation, homeowners will have the option to interface the Freedom IV system with existing solar or wind power infrastructure for off-grid applications or connect it to the grid in order to save money during peak hours by storing energy during off-peak times.

In addition to providing high quality stored energy solutions to a rapidly expanding market, Oakridge is ensuring that it has a positive impact on its community by manufacturing its lithium battery systems domestically in its recently-completed U.S. manufacturing facilities. These efforts, which Oakridge management refer to as part of the ongoing ‘on-shoring movement’, allow the company to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. while simultaneously addressing a growing market demand for dependable, high quality products and driving maximized shareholder value.

For more information, visit www.oakg.net

Cherubim Interests has progressed from researching opportunities in the controlled environment agriculture sector to engaging in promising ventures. The company found its way into this space this past summer when it acquired an exclusive license to deploy a self-contained cultivation unit designed to enable perennial plant cultivation in any locale with water and electricity.

Cherubim Interests will work in unison with its wholly-owned subsidiary, BudCube Cultivation Systems (BCS), to build, install and lease facilities employing this proprietary plant cultivation technology for commercial applications in states where growing medical and recreational cannabis is lawful.

Cherubim Interests has been tracking the progression of the cannabis industry for some time. When a growing number of states in the U.S. began legalizing the recreational and medical use of cannabis, the company decided to strike while the iron was hot and exploit the rising demand for grow space for cannabis and other plant species. In addition to addressing unmet needs, the company wants to develop the standard operating procedures for the plant cultivation technology and industrial facilities it is focus on constructing, deploying and leasing.

Cherubim Interests is standing at a crossroads at this moment in time. Although newly evolving, the recreational and medical marijuana industry is changing at a fast pace. The company has an opportunity to leave its imprint on this industry but it needs to move quickly. To ensure it operates flexibly and with scalability in mind, Cherubim Interests has adopted a hybrid business model and creative marketing strategy that, while uncommon in the real estate and agriculture industries, is effectual for the company.

Cherubim Interests’ licensed solution will offer cannabis plant growers the opportunity to lease a portable and scalable turn-key cultivation option. With this solution, the company sees itself filling a gap for two types of growers: first-time growers who want to enter the industry, and experienced planters lacking the funds to purchase land of their own, construct facilities of their own or improve existing buildings in order to create a model environment for growing and harvesting high-grade cannabis plants.

Owing to their focus on cultivation solutions for commercial applications, BCS and Cherubim Interests are concentrating on offering cultivators quick entry into this fast-growing market. They mean to do so at a price point that is very attractive when compared to typical construction and cultivation solutions. In so doing, they stand to benefit significantly as more participants seek to gain entry into this sector.

For more information, visit www.cherubiminterests.com

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Hemp, Inc. reported that Senate Bill 50, which would allow research programs at colleges and universities to cultivate and process industrial hemp, earlier this week received its “first stamp of approval” in Pennsylvania.

With the support of Senator Judith L. Schwank, who serves Berks County along with her role as Democratic chairwoman of the Senate’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Senate Bill 50 moved out of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee by a vote of 11-0. From here, Senate Bill 50 moves to the full Senate for consideration.

Senator Schwank was quoted in an article saying, “We hope that, once we get this started, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania can become a powerhouse in the growth of hemp for all kinds of uses. There are so many opportunities for this, and we’re losing out by not being able to grow it. Industrial hemp is not marijuana, and it’s not medical marijuana. It’s an age-old plant that has benefitted farmers and consumers for thousands of years, and it holds the promise of helping Pennsylvania farmers in significant ways, once again.”

Hemp, Inc. executives agree, noting that it is increasingly evident that states are beginning to realize the enormous environmental and economic benefits of industrial hemp.

“It’s all unfolding before our very eyes. States, such as Pennsylvania and more, want to reap the economic rewards of industrial hemp. Hemp can be used to manufacture a myriad of products from paper to building materials. It makes no sense that our American farmers can’t grow it, but luckily that is rapidly beginning to change,” Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., stated in the company’s news release yesterday.

The company also notes that Pennsylvania is not the only state moving forward with the industrial hemp movement. North Dakota’s Department of Agriculture, for example, is beginning its industrial hemp pilot program under the 2014 Farm Bill and is seeking applicants to participate in agricultural or academic research.

In Pueblo, Colorado, a hemp oil plant received an $8 million incentive package to help CBD Biosciences get its hemp-oil processing plant” up and running. According to an article in the DenverPost, “The Pueblo Development Foundation will spend $3 million to rehab a Boeing rocket assembly plant at Pueblo Airport Industrial Park that has been vacant since 2004. CBD Biosciences, a partnership of Denver-based O.penVape and Thar Process Inc., receive $4.89 million to help purchase equipment.”

For more information, visit www.hempinc.com

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The costs associated with building a nationwide wireless network are immense. Despite this fact, new voice and data service operators enter the market on a regular basis, often providing consumers with considerable cost savings for mobile phone and data service. These smaller carriers are known as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). Instead of attempting to create a wireless network of their own, these companies lease wireless telephone and data service from established mobile network operators (MNOs) in their target markets at wholesale rates. In the U.S., these MNOs include AT&T (NYSE: T), Sprint (NYSE: S), T-Mobile (NYST: TMUS) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ).

In some cases, MVNOs use their own customer service, billing support systems, marketing and sales personnel, however, establishing these resources typically requires a substantial amount of upfront capital. Alternatively, MVNOs can enlist the services of a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), a business-to-business operation specializing in the planning, implementation and management of mobile services – including SIM provisioning and configuration, customer billing, customer relationship management and value-added service platforms. In this way, startup MVNOs can effectively outsource management of business and technical operations while benefitting from the previous experience of the MVNE as a negotiating channel with MNOs.

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE MKT: ETAK) addresses the demand for MVNEs through its proprietary platform. Using market standard interfaces, the company offers global telecommunication companies and other service providers a full suite of products and services that enable them to fully provide mobile telecom services as part of their overall business offerings.

Earlier this month, Elephant Talk announced an agreement with the wholesale division of a Tier 1 U.S. mobile operator through which the operator may procure the company’s innovative MVNO platform services on a non-exclusive basis. Following this agreement, Elephant Talk is in a formidable position to provide launch support for a number of MVNO brands moving forward. The company has already completed the primary integration of its solution platform with the mobile operator’s systems, and it expects to begin supporting new MVNO customers in the coming weeks.

“Our selection by a Tier 1 U.S. mobile operator is a major achievement for Elephant Talk, validating the strength of our technology and the capabilities of our software platforms designed for the unique needs of MNOs and MVNOs,” Tim Payne, president of Elephant Talk North America, stated in a news release. “We have worked closely with this mobile operator to complete the simultaneous integration of our platform with their systems and are pleased to report that we are now ready to support a growing number of new MVNO brands as they are launched on the operator’s network.”

Leaning on the marketability of its technology, Elephant Talk has established itself as an emerging leader in the mobile space. With many of the world’s top MNOs and technology firms already amongst its customers and partners – including Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD), T-Mobile, Zain, HP (NYSE: HPQ) and Affirmed Networks – the company is primed to promote sustainable financial growth for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit http://www.elephanttalk.com

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Alternet Systems is one of a handful of rapidly emerging payment processing industry firebrands that are poised to shake up the transaction space, as we rocket headlong towards a world of increasingly digital payments. Within the next five years alone, according to BNY Mellon’s (NYSE: BK) Global Payments 2020 publication, accelerating transformation of the world of payments will see the sector redefined by the entry of non-traditional providers, the evolution of new fintech solutions, and the formation of strategic alliances that cut across traditional sectoral boundaries. Additionally, the BNY Mellon report cited convergence as the other major theme moving forward, with technology platforms that are able to revolutionize clearing capabilities becoming increasingly global in both nature and reach, as well as massive consolidation around key products and solutions. This same consolidative pressure is seen as changing the regulatory landscape too, remolding it in favor of rule sets which provide for a less fragmented space, as well as the on-ramping of growth in digital currencies.

Alternet Systems, essentially structured as an enterprise accelerator, has learned the most important lesson to come out of the world of digital currencies since the inception of Bitcon: that payment processing is where the real money is at. The company’s vision to execute a roll-up strategy of digital currency exchanges is way ahead of its time and ALYI is currently pushing hard for a NY state BitLicense, even as the Winklevoss twins are setting up the field after their successful launch of the Gemini exchange. If we look at comments from strategic planning and finance director for the company which manages the Dominican Republic’s biggest mobile banking platform, tPago, regarding how the big push in the industry currently is to get people to use their accounts for more than just receiving payments, it becomes clear how ALYI’s approach to transforming the landscape makes sense for everyone.

Creating the tools that will allow for greater flexibility in terms of how people use their accounts will grant financial service providers high-value, unprecedented access to consumers, and those same tools will allow consumers to get more bang for their buck when it comes to being banked. This underlying dynamic makes a great value proposition for unbanked consumers in markets where access to financial services are limited, but where mobile access is not. Being able to step in here and provide access to millions of unbanked or underbanked people, using the mobile platform as a conduit, in order to tap a consumer market that could go from 30 million devices to over 60 million devices being used to make transactions within the next handful of years, is a big opportunity for ALYI. The company is prepping for milestone growth over the next several years, as smartphone market penetration in the western hemisphere continues to boom throughout Latin America and South America, while it continues to flatten out in more mature North America markets. Mobile and mcommerce are primed for explosive growth and a company which can facilitate this transformation, such as Alternet Systems, is potentially one of tomorrow’s very hot properties, available today at a price which is accessible to any investor.

ALYI is currently focused primarily on two distinct areas: providing omnichannel solutions for the payment processing industry which will modernize the legacy point-of-sale infrastructure, and providing comprehensive suites of tools for payment processors and the like, which can enable said processors to expand beyond traditional debit and credit card processing, into bill payments and the selling of additional services. Modernizing legacy point-of-sale architecture and creating toolkits for the payments layer also opens the door to ALYI’s third, and potentially most exciting operational area, big data-driven payment analytics. The ability to map and understand the purchasing habits of consumers is something which is of inestimable value to anyone trying to make or market a product, and the kind of robust data that can be mined along the way towards implementing a payment industry-wide architectural upgrade, will help make analytics companies like ALYI into some of the biggest names on the lips of retailers.

With a sweeping suite of solutions for the analytics space already in the hopper and its sights set squarely on markets that are ripe for penetration, ALYI, which expects to have offices in Brazil and Mexico by the end of 2016, is intent on providing the financial services/banking sector with the tools needed to serve massive populations of underbanked and unbanked throughout Latin America. According to recent World Bank data, roughly 34 percent of the entire population of Latin America, around 200 million adults, remain unbanked. ALYI’s visionary fusion of capabilities, spanning analytics, digital commerce and payments, collectively make the company a very exciting property when it comes to the seemingly inevitable consolidation of technology and transactional forces now aligning themselves across both U.S. and Latin American markets.

The rise of mcommerce, which will supercharge the mobile services market, pushing it from $300 billion last year, to around $850 billion by 2018 (Digi-Capital), has the capacity to lift boats like ALYI to levels not yet imagined. The kinds of revolutionary payment technology, fintech and analytics solutions the company provides could become tomorrow’s go-to solutions, as the need for convenience and process optimization continues to shape the world of transactions.

Take a closer look by visiting www.alternetsystems.com

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On the Move Systems this morning updated shareholders on progress of the company’s preliminary design work on its revolutionary shared economy trucking app, and says it continues to aggressively seek partners and logistics firms to join its growing network.

“We’ve been working quite closely with our design firm and the progress so far has been amazing,” said OMVS CEO Robert Wilson. “In addition, the logistics and shipping firms we’ve talked to understand and like our concept and have shown great interest in becoming a part of our system once we go online. A lot of work remains to be done, but we’ve accomplished a great deal in a very short amount of time.”

Amid ongoing preliminary design work, OMVS is encouraged by market information revealing that trucking companies are spending millions of dollars on technologies, such as the upcoming shared economy app, that streamline and increase operations efficiency. OMVS reports that in 2014 alone, logistics firms invested nearly $100 million in new technologies to improve their businesses.

OMVS says demand for trucking services, along with an ongoing driver shortage and “a looming related capacity crunch” demonstrate the need for a service such as the one OMVS is now developing, which could help companies “profitably navigate increasingly bumpier business roads.”

For more information, visit www.onthemovesystems.com

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Lingo Media aims to thrive in the educational technology (EdTech) space. To support English language learning across borders and backgrounds, the Toronto company has committed its resources to expanding its reach across the globe. Known for providing English language learning technologies and solutions in China and internationally, the company is also stanchly devoted to innovation and quality throughout every aspect of its business.

Lingo Media delivers market-leading English language learning products and services that support learners at every stage in the learning spectrum – from elementary school students learning to count to professionals preparing for a job.

With classrooms around the world wanting to be part of today’s modern, faster way of learning, Lingo Media has acknowledged the significance of helping non-English speakers learn English, the so-called global language of business. The company is also cultivating solid relationships with leading corporations, governments and industry organizations who recognize the value of this move while focusing on the scalability of its offerings.

Within Lingo Media’s training and assessment division, ELL Technologies, programs are designed to be scalable across various types of web-enabled hardware. This allows for the company’s platform to be used in diverse environments, especially classrooms across the world. ELL Technologies also incorporates scalability into its user experience design, enabling its programs to be adapted across skill levels, cultures and native languages. The framework that the company’s technology is built on also allows it to customize the unit to the varied needs of a market as large as the non-English-speaking world. Furthermore, ELL Technologies uses scalability principals in the creation of its content engine, ensuring that lessons constantly change through user feedback.

Lingo Media’s flexibility and scalability allows it to continue to offer useful and relevant products to its customers while staying relevant with the times.

For more information, visit www.lingomedia.com

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With more and more consumers choosing to purchase organically grown food over traditional supermarket options, it’s no wonder new companies continue to sprout with their own organic agenda. One such company, Fresh Promise Foods, Inc., concentrates its efforts in the health and wellness food and beverage industry by aligning with early-stage/pre-revenue companies that have a specialization within the industry. The company then provides support to these companies through finance, sales, supply chain management, and more to help steadily increase their prominence. For example, Fresh Promise Foods backs Harvest Soul, its large subsidiary company that delivers USDA organic and GMO-free labeled food and beverages.

A noticeable increase in USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Organic labels in supermarkets has come with the rising apprehension of possibly harmful chemicals in foods by consumers. Foods with this label are from farmers who do not use chemicals or factory fertilizers but instead use natural fertilizers and crop rotation on their farms. This label ensures buyers that no artificial additives and preservatives can be found in their foods because these farms are overseen by the department. Fresh Promise Foods supports companies that use this label on their products.

Another major movement in the health and wellness industry is providing buyers with foods without GMOs (genetically modified organism). These organisms have artificial genetic material, meaning they do not occur in nature and therefore might prove unstable. Furthermore, they can contaminate non-GMO crops through cross pollination with undesirable results. Fresh Promise Foods also supports companies that have the Non-GMO Project Verified label which is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to informing consumers of GMO foods and related news.

The company continues its values of providing safe and healthy food options for families to enjoy. It believes in the growth of the natural foods industry and aims to invest in companies with the same vision.

For more information on Fresh Promise Foods Inc., please visit www.freshpromisefoods.com

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The market for bottled water has exploded in recent years, as consumers have increasingly turned their attention toward cleaner, healthier refreshment options. According to a report by the International Bottled Water Association, the domestic market for bottled water is currently $11.8 billion, with roughly 30 billion units being sold annually. Market share of this booming industry is largely split between major beverage companies such as PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Nestle (OTC: NSRGY), but the market has maintained a relatively approachable barrier to entry for private label brands with innovative ideas and strategic marketing efforts.

Legacy Ventures International, Inc., through subsidiary RM Fresh Brands, Inc., is seeking to take advantage of the strong performance of the bottled water market with Boxed Water. By rethinking current water packaging, the company is addressing a fundamental flaw in the traditional bottled water concept – environmental impact.

The environmental cost of rising consumption of bottled water in the U.S. and Canada has been well documented. According to The Water Project, U.S. landfills are already overflowing with more than two million tons of discarded water bottles, representing roughly 80 percent of all single-use water bottles sold. When combined with the knowledge that over 1.5 million barrels of oil are used annually to manufacture these bottles and each bottle will take over 1,000 years to naturally bio-degrade, the enormous scale of the bottled water problem becomes clear.

Boxed Water addresses this environmental concern with a unique approach to packaging. The product, which is currently available in a variety of retail outlets such as Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM) and Target (NYSE: TGT), is packaged in a 76 percent biodegradable, 100 percent recyclable container that greatly improves upon the sustainability of traditional bottled water. According to Cradle to Gate, Boxed Water packaging has less than half of the carbon footprint of a standard PET bottle.

Since publicly launching in March 2009, Boxed Water has rapidly built an international distribution network with a strong presence in both the U.S. and Canada. Following the opening of a second state-of-the-art plant in Utah aimed at reducing the company’s environmental impact, Boxed Water appears primed for significant international growth. For prospective shareholders of LGYV, this growth could translate into strong returns.

For more information, visit www.legacyventuresinc.com

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Each year, approximately 20,000 women in the United States get ovarian cancer, which causes more deaths than any other gynecologic cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control. While the disease often causes signs and symptoms, the signs can be hard to recognize; and for the time being, the market is lacking an available, effective screening test for ovarian cancer. Thanks to one particular advancing technology, however, this could soon change.

Because ovarian cancer symptoms can be hard to recognize, effective screening is vital, and medical diagnostic technology company Avant Diagnostics stands at the edge of breakthrough. The company is currently testing OvaDx®, its sophisticated microarray-based test designed to detect pre-symptomatic ovarian cancer faster than ever before.

Research studies with OvaDx indicate high sensitivity and specificity for all types and stages of ovarian cancer. Upon FDA approval, Avant Diagnostics will offer OvaDx as an elective test for women seeking greater wellness and for women in the elevated risk category (which includes something as simple as getting older) for ovarian cancer.

OvaDx works by measuring the activation of the immune system in blood samples in response to early stage ovarian tumor cell development. The goal is for OvaDx to be used by doctors for early detection, improved surgical options, more effective chemotherapies, and to supplement existing tests such as CA-125, OVA1® and transvaginal ultrasound. In this way, Avant Diagnostics’ technology will promote earlier diagnoses and, as a result, improved survival rates for patients with ovarian cancer.

That said, it’s worth taking a look at Avant Diagnostics’ progress in bringing this game-changing product to market. The company continues to steadily progress toward FDA 510(k) clearance for OvaDx. DOCRO, Avant Diagnostics’ independent clinical research organization, recently received notification that the previously purchased specimens have been approved and are available for use in the upcoming validation study which will be used to support a pre-submission package to the FDA prior to the commencement of the OvaDx® 510(k) trial.

Continuing on its path toward FDA approval of its groundbreaking diagnostic technology, Avant Diagnostics is poised to promote considerable growth in the ovarian cancer market and deliver a promising solution to a significant unmet medical need.

For more information, visit www.avantdiagnostics.com

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