• More than a quarter of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, according to FDIC analysis
• IEG Holdings serves the underbanked household market with transparent loan structure in line with credit card repayment rates
• Company shareholders offered opportunity at entire share capital of as-yet unlisted cryptocurrency

Amid the world of quick personal lending, IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) is making a name for itself as a company that offers loans to the underbanked household market while working to keep its own risk at a low level. IEG Holdings is a fintech online lender that offers $5,000 and $10,000 unsecured loans on an installment basis.

In recent months, IEG Holdings has been actively pursuing ways to advance its business model through partnerships, cryptocurrency initiatives and investment strategies. After exploring the creation of its own fintech coin, the company announced in March (http://ibn.fm/wPamd) that it was abandoning — at least, for the present — a possible offering or related strategy “after considering the potential risks and benefits” but would continue exploring ways to adopt blockchain technology in its core model.

In the meantime, company CEO Paul Mathieson announced (http://ibn.fm/ilgZZ) that all shareholders listed with IEG Holdings by April 30 will have the opportunity to purchase an equal number and percentage (on a fully diluted basis) in the entire share capital of as-yet unlisted Investment Evolution Coin Ltd. (“IEC Ltd.”), a company that Mathieson manages as majority shareholder, thereby reducing the risk to IEG Holdings.

IEC Ltd. is exploring the launch of a new cryptocurrency called Investment Evolution Coin. The cryptocurrency is expected to simplify financial transfers to the Philippines from expatriate nationals. IEC has entered a partnership with HashCash Consultants, a cryptocurrency consultancy in Silicon Valley, as it moves toward the launch of the new coin.

Outside of the cryptocurrency space, IEG Holdings has continued to expand its reach in the consumer lending market. The company issues its loans on a state-by-state basis, with licensing approved in 20 states from California to Maryland. The most recent addition to the list, announced in January, is Virginia. The company continues working with other states to expand consumer access to its loans through its Mr. Amazing Loans portal, which offers fees that are in line with credit card rates and provided under transparent contracts (http://ibn.fm/5w0bI). IEG Holdings has established a goal of securing 25 state licenses, which would expand its coverage to 240 million people — about 75 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2013, the FDIC, in conjunction with the U.S. Census Bureau, estimated that roughly 9.6 million households — about 7.7 percent nationwide — were unbanked and an additional 20 percent were underbanked (http://ibn.fm/3Bs7G). By 2015, the most recent survey reported (http://ibn.fm/neRKG), seven percent were reportedly unbanked and an additional 19.9 percent of households were underbanked, indicating a persistence of the potential market for IEG Holdings’ product. Between 2009 and 2013, the amount of unbanked households varied between 7.6 and 8.2 percent. The Center for Financial Services (CFS) estimated that IEGH’s product category – short-term credit – grew 37 percent from 2012 to 2014, while single-payment credit, the main competing product category, grew by just 0.1 percent (http://ibn.fm/Sj7kr).

Analysts with ACF Equity Research forecast in January that IEG Holdings’ revenues will quadruple during the next few years (http://ibn.fm/zZwRG), growing from about $2 million to $5.33 million by 2019 and $8.23 million by 2020. The company is currently debt-free.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.InvestmentEvolution.com

• Point-of-sale terminals market expected to reach $116 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 9.9 percent
• Appointment of seasoned fintech specialists to board of directors brings valuable domestic, international finance expertise to company
• Mobile commerce projected to account for 70 percent of ecommerce sales in China and India, while at least one-third of retail sales in the U.K., Germany and the U.S. will stem from ecommerce

Global technology and value-added solutions company Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) has thrived on developing innovative ideas into marketable solutions that engage users in various segments of the highly competitive global ecommerce marketplace (http://ibn.fm/t2CIB). Value-added transactional innovations such as Aptito, an all-in-one iOS cloud-based restaurant management and payment acceptance solution, along with ecommerce and retail payment transaction and processing brands such as PayOnline and Unified Payments, add convenience and alternatives to cash payments for retail transactions.

A surge in demand for wireless technologies and the rise of ecommerce is expected to drive the overall global point-of-sale terminals market to a whopping $116 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research (http://ibn.fm/pFmlA). An article in Entrepreneur notes that there are numerous advantages underpinning the transition from a society that favors plastic bankcards to a marketplace that allows consumers to pay through their mobile devices (http://ibn.fm/QnfyI). Chief among these are ease of transactions, greater security and heightened convenience. In addition, mobile payments can be a real timesaver, which makes them seriously attractive for millennials (http://ibn.fm/QyPVY).

In a news release, Jonathan Fichman, the newest member of Net Element’s board of directors (http://ibn.fm/8kXvz), said, “The company’s recently announced plans to create a blockchain payments platform and its recently released next generation cloud-based point of sale payments system will both be impactful innovations for the industry.”

Fichman, whose 20-plus years of strategic domestic and international finance expertise within Fortune 100 companies includes extensive experience in fintech, payments, blockchain, wealth management and banking, joins Jon ‘Dr. J’ Najarian, who was also recently appointed to the board. Najarian, a professional investor, money manager and media analyst, is also a CNBC personality (regularly appearing on the ‘Halftime Report’ and ‘Fast Money’ programs) (http://ibn.fm/NJm7N) and a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

The global ecommerce market reached $2.3 trillion in 2017, and it’s expected to soar to a ‘mind-boggling’ $4.5 trillion by 2021, according to a Statista report (http://ibn.fm/5wLTg). Another industry perspective notes that mobile commerce will account for more than 70 percent of ecommerce sales in both China and India in 2017, with mobile commerce accounting for a full third of total retail ecommerce sales in the U.K., Germany, and the U.S (http://ibn.fm/tNUP9).

Net Element’s suite of application performing interfaces (APIs) and connectors power commerce for businesses of all sizes, applying multi-channel platforms, all-in-one digital solutions and end-to-end encryption of cardholder data that utilizes tamper-resistant hardware to ensure integrity and simplify security. Net Element was ranked number 418 on Deloitte’s 2017 Technology Fast 500™ list of North America’s 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com

• Global cost of resolving commercial disputes through litigation estimated at $870 billion
• Blockchain-based smart contracts can streamline business, increasing efficiency and reducing costs
• Increasing admissibility of blockchain records for legal purposes creates opportunity for smart contracts

Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ), a leading provider of blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, is poised to generate new sources of revenue with its patent-pending Cordtell blockchain-driven ‘Smart Contract’ technology, company spokesman Matt Chipman said during a recent interview on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon.

“Blockchain legal contracts are believed to be the way business is done in the future,” Chipman said in describing the patent-pending technology behind Cordtell and the company’s expectation that it will generate new sources of revenue. “Epazz is going to offer dispute resolution, customization, and integration (with Cordtell).”

Blockchain technology is generating buzz in every market sector as industry leaders begin customizing the technology to fit specific uses, an article published by Deloitte states (http://ibn.fm/awiVq). Blockchain-based smart contracts, described as self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically implements the terms of an agreement between parties, could streamline processes that are typically spread across multiple systems and databases.

Epazz has developed Cordtell as a cost-effective way for businesses to resolve disputes in a conflict-free way. Cordtell will be offered on a subscription fee starting at $299 per month, with additional services available to assist in dispute resolution, customization and integration.

“By integrating Cordtell into their business, companies are able to upload data and timestamp it,” Chipman said, adding that the timestamp provides irrefutable evidence that can be used if a legal challenge is raised. “There will be less problems associated with contracts if both sides have to abide by the smart legal contract.”

Blockchain is extremely useful for business-to-business transactions, with merchants and vendors able to keep verifiable and tamperproof records on the chain, an article published by Forbes states (http://ibn.fm/TZNh4). Companies are finding that blockchain-driven technologies and smart contracts can help reduce costs, automate order fulfillment and secure supply chains. The financial impact of commercial disputes resolved through litigation is estimated at an eye-popping $870 billion, according to an international comparison from a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study (http://ibn.fm/LiGY6). The indirect, hidden costs of contract disputes, such as missed deadlines, cost overruns, quality issues, and workplace stress, raise the financial impact even higher.

Cordtell’s proprietary technology could play a role in reducing fraud in business transactional contracts by tracking, tracing and verifying that terms within the contract are fulfilled. Cordtell, which Epazz is planning to introduce in the third quarter of 2018, will automatically verify signatures, distribute contracts to the blockchain, record transactions and verify that the contract terms are being followed (http://ibn.fm/6j3HX). The technology also sends reminders and tracks payments and delivery of items.

“We believe that blockchain will fundamentally change the way companies will do business,” Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, said in a news release (http://ibn.fm/4hitM). “We are excited to view Cordtell as a solution, not just a blockchain software, but a tool to maximum resources and provide a quick return on investment.”

Cordtell is expected to work with Microsoft Word and Google Docs to provide real-time contract edits and updates via version control. Epazz will primarily market the technology to law firms, health care providers, businesses and governments.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Epazz.com

• In state-legalized cannabis markets, Green offers customers/patients quick, no-charge sign up and permits bank-drawn payments for purchases; this FinCEN-compliant system creates an electronic, cashless environment for state-licensed establishments
• To vendors, the Green gateway works with legacy point-of-sale systems and also offers cash management services, such as handling payroll and bill payments
• Total solution payment system can build repeat and loyalty sales by branding payment cards with a vendor’s name and logo for no additional charge
• Merchants can now sign up to use the cash-free, medical cannabis-focused electronic transaction solution directly on the Green website

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) offers a proprietary, completely integrated payment solution for customers and licensed medical cannabis establishments in its Green platform. The advantage of this top-tier, level one gateway payment processing system is that it is simple and free to set up. It creates a cash-free transaction environment with electronic money management (http://ibn.fm/M5dia). Web traffic has increased dramatically for the company since it began allowing merchants to sign up directly on the Green website (http://ibn.fm/7LtFw), making the process quick and easy to initiate and use, and revealing the market demand for an efficient, cannabis-focused electronic transaction solution.

Green is not a gift or reloadable card. Rather, it permits customers and patients to link directly to a checking account at any U.S. bank. Customers and patients can purchase electronically, not with cash. Although Visa and MasterCard are not accepted because of their prohibitions against any financial transactions involving federally controlled substances, Green enables medical cannabis buyers to purchase at licensed establishments using funds directly from their bank accounts. To vendors, Green not only processes those payments in this virtual banking system, but can also manage their funds. The platform also offers money management features for business, including payroll, bill paying and other business transactions.

Green is personalized to businesses. The cards can be branded to the establishment and even have logos on them. An app invites customer signup at point-of-sale on an iPad at a merchant’s shop. That app can be customized to a vendor’s brand. The result can be more repeat and loyalty purchases. Further, it is available to customers who wish to purchase straight from their bank accounts.

Merchant fees for the system are industry competitive. Green is offered to multi-location, high-volume operations, as well as small, low-volume merchants. Green offers complete adherence to reporting systems to maintain merchant compliance. In terms of security, REFG and Green offer electronic security for both customers and merchants alike. It secures cash handling, even providing armored cash pickups, if necessary.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MedicalCannabisPaymentSolutions.com

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• New-generation tech includes blockchain transaction transparency for logistics
• Majority of large multinational corporations exploring ways to apply blockchain
• Growing number of jobseekers starting their own businesses and seeking logistical solutions

A new generation of startup entrepreneurs arrives in the marketplace looking for problems to solve in a profitable way. Long-established multi-national businesses ponder financial sheets while balancing opportunities to increase their revenues against the risks of undoing their already successful enterprises. A disruptive technology raises its head and creates something of a market frenzy in the midst of it all. Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) is walking and working in each of these avenues as it extends its innovative financial technology solutions to business logistics sectors in need of clear processes that let daylight in on their operations.

Global Payout’s fintech goal of connecting a global market to a private banking network in a way that adopts emerging technology aims to serve young business builders working out of their garages and old governments concerned about regulating commerce. Global Payout subsidiary SecurCapital, based in Los Angeles, is among the enterprises capitalizing on the emergence of blockchain technology — a secure, transparent transactional tech — to improve the way businesses manage their logistics. This development affects everything in their supply chains, including the transportation of goods and people, the advancement of customer service, inventory maintenance, the flow of information and order processing, warehousing, and so on (http://ibn.fm/OuwNS).

The company’s SecurCloud platform provides an integrated system for managing global payments, foreign exchange and factoring services across the geographical and institutional borders that separate nations and their markets, utilizing a proprietary ecosystem controlled by the client. An estimated six out of 10 major companies are researching ways to apply blockchain technology to guide cost-cutting efforts, both in client-centric areas such as product shipping and in company-centric areas such as personnel human resources, according to an article in Cryptoslate (http://ibn.fm/qxMpF).

At the other end of the business spectrum, job seekers are driving a renewed vitality in company creation, according to global job placement experts Challenger, Gray, and Christmas (http://ibn.fm/Ize78). Following a sharp decline in the birth of new businesses that coincided with the financial crisis of 2007-2008 (http://ibn.fm/h1KDc), Challenger, Gray, and Christmas noted that 6.1 percent of job seekers started their own business in 2016, the highest percentage in recent years amid optimism that the new ventures will succeed — or that the would-be business founders can re-enter the workforce in traditional jobs if they don’t succeed. New business means a new raft of workers trying to manage the mistakes that come with gaining experience, while making their endeavors profitable by using technology to keep as many labor-intensive costs as low as possible — another area where Global Payout’s fintech solutions are coming in handy.

The company’s Global Reserve platform is a fully configurable ‘banking-in-a-box’ platform with an Internet-accessible basis. The platform can take care of office needs from the front door to the back room of domestic, foreign exchange and international payment service providers (http://ibn.fm/DWpAm). Global Payout subsidiary MoneyTrac Technology, Inc. recently announced a joint-venture agreement with another customizable payment solutions company, GreenBox POS, LLC, to market software and hardware that handle cash issues for cashless operations, take care of direct and immediate deposits from cash to blockchain and rapidly confirm bank account availability in the United States, Canada and Mexico (http://ibn.fm/U6b1f).

MoneyTrac, based in San Diego, targets ‘high-risk’ industries, including cannabis-related companies that struggle to manage their financial transactions when they aren’t granted direct access to banks because of the federal prohibition against any type of cannabis or marijuana use, even in states where the local governments have legalized it. On March 8, MTRAC announced that it will launch an ‘MTRAC-Token’ as a cannabis-focused cryptocurrency to help overcome the restrictions on banking accessibility and e-payment in the cannabis sector (http://ibn.fm/KKloX). Its PotSaver cannabis sector publication is linking cannabis consumers to other retailers that they may find of importance, as well.

“As the industry has morphed into the multi-billion-dollar industry it is today, we recognize that this is now, more than ever, a community made up of your everyday consumers who are looking for more than just deals on cannabis products, but who are also eager to find deals on other products and services that are offered by the many different businesses in their local communities, and we are committed to developing PotSaver into a resource they can rely on for all of this,” MTRAC CEO Vanessa Luna stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/FXXrA).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GlobalPayout.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Global Payout, Inc. Message Board

• Global market for marijuana projected to be worth $63.5 billion by 2024
• MCOA is leading the way in hemp-derived CBD-based products
• MCOA is evaluating further joint ventures and acquisitions to enhance shareholder value

A study conducted by Ameri Research Inc. has indicated that the global market for legal marijuana will be worth $63.5 billion by 2024 (http://ibn.fm/JvR0N). This growth is being driven by the increasing passage of cannabis legislation, in terms of both laws for medicinal use and the rapidly expanding recreational use legislation being passed by many states in America and countries around the world. More and more companies are entering this market sector to take advantage of the plethora of available business opportunities. Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC: MCOA) is a company that provides a wide assortment of products and services in the hemp industry. It is establishing itself as a leader in the hemp space by creating a diversified umbrella of investments involved in cultivation, processing, manufacturing and distribution.

MCOA’s wholly owned subsidiary, hempSMART™, was established to develop hemp-derived, innovative cannabinoid (CBC, CBD, CBG, CBN)-based consumer products. Its manufacturing process uses the highest quality extracts from hemp for its proprietary formulations, with complimentary herbal ingredients used to enhance and maximize the effects of CBD. One of its foremost products is hempSMART Pain, which is available in both capsules and a topical cream that have been found to be highly effective. Its first product, hempSMART Brain, is currently being reformulated with 10mg of CBD. hempSMART Full Spectrum Drops, with 250mg of CBD per bottle, will soon be available in 500mg and 1,000mg bottles. Drops are formulated with hemp oil and fractionated coconut oil, and they are available in lemon, mint, orange and strawberry flavors. The company also recently released hempSMART Drops for pets.

MCOA is focused on developing more hemp cannabinoid-based products, which will be marketed at competitive prices. As part of its marketing drive, the company has established an affiliate-marketing program and will soon be establishing traditional retail and direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns designed to accelerate market penetration.

Earlier this year, MCOA announced its purchase of an interest in Convenient Hemp Mart, LLC. This company was established to market the new Benihemp-branded CBD product line to convenience stores, gas stations, smoke shops and other retail outlets. Benihemp was launched at the ASD Market Week in Las Vegas (March 11-14). MCOA has invested $100,000 in Benihemp in exchange for 25 percent equity in Convenient Hemp Mart, LLC. The partners are launching topicals, edibles and tinctures in one-, two- and thirty-day supplies where CBD commerce has a greater likelihood of generating sales from the impulse buyer at the register who will ultimately purchase monthly supplies online after purchasing smaller sample packages at lower price points at convenience stores.

Through a joint venture with Global Hemp Group Inc. (OTC: GBHPF) (CSE: GHG), MCOA is establishing commercial hemp cultivation to produce CBD in New Brunswick, Canada. The company has recruited farmers to manage 125 acres of hemp cultivation in 2018 and has set a goal of more than 1,000 acres within the next three years. Initially, MCOA will focus on using this crop for CBD and, ultimately, other cannabinoid extraction. Medium- to long-term plans also include the production, processing and sale of hemp for industrial use, particularly in the construction industry.

The hemp industry is experiencing exponential growth and MCOA intends to make strategic investments, joint ventures and acquisitions to expand its portfolio and increase value for its shareholders.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

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Compensation Disclosure

Section 17(b) of the 1933 Securities and Exchange Act requires publishers who distribute information about publicly traded securities for compensation, to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. In order to be in full compliance with the Securities Act of 1933, Section 17(b), we are disclosing that we entered into a contract with Marijuana Company of America, Inc. The Company agreed to compensate us with $5,000 USD a month for our services.

• Nickolas Tabraue, ETST president, gives up COO position to Gagan Hunter, noting that the move completes the ‘puzzle’ to drive company to new heights in alternative medicine market
• Biotech company is focused on developing medical devices for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields and marketing high-grade, industrial hemp cannabidiol (CBD)
• Company projects a breakout year in 2018, in part due to revamping of its executive team and introducing a new marketing strategy for its repositioned and repackaged line of industrial hemp products

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST), by naming Gagan Hunter as its new COO, has completed a transition, positioning the company to reach ‘new heights’ with a new team in place and a revamped marketing strategy for its industrial hemp-sourced line as a cannabinoid complex, as detailed by Nickolas Tabraue, company director and president, in a recent news release (http://ibn.fm/kCt0l). Tabraue, who served as COO prior to the appointment of Hunter, said that ETST has positioned itself for ‘explosive sales growth’ in 2018 (http://ibn.fm/wBXbl).

Hunter said that he looks forward to strengthening the company’s operations. He has 20 years of experience in the natural products industry, joining a number of seasoned additions to the ETST team. Earlier, the company put in place the team of Jill Buzan as chief sales officer, Sergio Castillo as chief marketing officer, and Gabriel Aviles as chief learning officer (http://ibn.fm/pvDSn).

Tabraue added, “I feel that we finally have the last piece of our puzzle in place to take ETST to new heights. Gagan has many great ideas to implement that will help the company work more efficiently and with greater organization. We now have every major role managed by passionate, likeminded individuals to truly make ETST an innovative, trusted brand in the alternative medicine space.”

Earth Science Tech is an innovative biotech company based in Doral, Florida. It markets a repositioned and repackaged line of High Grade Full Spectrum cannabidiol (CBD) oil products. Focused on manufacturing and marketing cannabinoid products to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets, it also conducts R&D for low-cost, non-invasive medical devices.

The company holds three wholly owned subsidiaries, including:

• Earth Science Pharmaceutical, which develops medical diagnostic tools and vaccines;
• Cannabis Therapeutics, an emerging biotechnology company; and
• KannaBidioiD, which is focused on cannabidiol production and distribution in the recreational space.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com

• Petrogress subsidiary signs partnership agreement with a Ghanaian oil refinery
• Forecasts indicate that the value of the Ghanaian oil and gas industry will triple to $60 billion by 2022

Petrogress, Inc. (OTC: PGAS) subsidiary Petrogress Co., Ltd. (“PGL”) has entered into a partnership agreement with Platon Gas Oil Ghana. PGL anticipates delivery of 3,000-5,000 metric tons of crude oil each month to Platon’s facilities for storage and processing into diverse petroleum products. Petrogress will participate in refinery expansion plans and, with Platon, will market and distribute the refined petroleum products in Ghana and neighboring countries.

Petrogress believes that the partnership with Platon should:

• Grow sales and net profits for Petrogress, while providing assurances of continued transactions and secured sales;
• Provide for significant production upgrading at the refinery, going from current processing capacity of 75,000 barrels per month to 200,000 barrels per month; and
• Widen Petrogress’ presence in the oil-refining sector as production expands to meet the huge demand in West Africa for refined petroleum products.

Petrogress expects significant opportunities in West Africa. The Economist (http://ibn.fm/Tsghs) reports that Ghana holds special promise for long-term development prospects, noting that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation forecasts that the value of the Ghanaian oil and gas industry will triple to $60 Billion by 2022. The Jubilee production region remains active, and the Mahogany, Teak, and Akasa discovery regions in the nation’s western half are being developed by major international producers. The country’s Petroleum Commission has allocated rights to develop 16 other fields (http://ibn.fm/3AiB8), including the Saltpond Field, in which Petrogress has an interest.

Petrogress is a fully integrated oil and gas company based in New York City. It trades, ships and refines crude oil in West Africa and the eastern Mediterranean and is a global merchant of petroleum products. The company operates chiefly as a holding company for its operating subsidiaries. These include Petrogres Co. Limited and Petronav Carriers LLC, which own and operate its tanker fleet; Petrogress Oil & Gas Energy, Inc., an oil and gas production company; and Petrogress Int’l, LLC, the owner and manager of Petrogres Africa Co. Limited, which operates service and shipping facilities at the Port of Tema, Greater Accra, in Ghana. Subsidiary PG Cypyard & Offshore Terminal Services Ltd. operates similar facilities at Limassol, in Cyprus.

Petrogress connects producers and end-users of commodities, concentrating on the supply and trade of light petroleum fuel oil, refined oil products and other petrochemical products to local refineries by employing its market knowledge, logistics and infrastructure to move physical commodities from places of abundance to the areas where they are in demand.

In a news release, Petrogress CEO Christos P. Traios stated, “We are excited about our partnership with Platon and believe it is an excellent opportunity for Petrogress to not only expand its West Africa supply operations but also to join with a strong, experienced refinery partner. The needs and demand for refined petroleum products in Ghana and neighboring countries already exceeds local capacity and grows consistently. Our companies’ combined facilities, assets and services are not only expected to provide for enhanced revenue streams, but also strengthen our footprint in West Africa.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PetrogressInc.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Petrogress, Inc. Message Board

• Kenneth L. Londoner, chairman and CEO of BSGM, said in a news release that interns will be offered a ‘360-degree overview’ of the business within an entrepreneurial environment
• Firm is a development stage medical device company with products that assist electrophysiologists; it is also assembling a portfolio of software tools for arrhythmia treatments
• BioSig values global electrophysiology (EP) market at $4.6 billion, with research firm projecting that market will reach $4.73 billion by 2019
• BioSig recently named first two members to new advisory board

BioSig Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: BSGM) will be offering summer internships to Bates College students in 2018 as part of that school’s Purposeful Work initiative. Bates, based in Lewiston, Maine, has an internship component as part of that program. The Bates interns at BioSig will be compensated, the company announced (http://ibn.fm/EGmQK). Core employers in the 2017 Bates Purposeful Work program included Oppenheimer Co. in Boston; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York; L.L. Bean, Inc. in Maine; and the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

In a news release, Kenneth L. Londoner, chairman and CEO of BSGM, said, “We were impressed with the consistent commitment to excellence that Bates demonstrates, and we are confident that our partnership will allow us to take both of our programs to the next level.” He added that the interns would be given a ‘360-degree overview’ of the business.

BioSig is a Santa Monica, California-based, development stage medical device company with an office in Austin, Texas. The company is developing a proprietary biomedical signal-processing platform and is preparing to commercialize its Precise Uninterrupted Real-time evaluation of Electrograms, or PURE EP™ System. In its spring 2018 corporate presentation, BioSig valued the electrophysiology marketplace at $4.6 billion (http://ibn.fm/912BY), while research firm Markets and Markets projects that the marketplace will reach $4.73 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 10.3 percent from 2014-2019 (http://ibn.fm/ViYSt).

PURE EP is a unique cardiac signal acquisition and display system engineered to assist electrophysiologists in clinical decision-making during procedures to diagnose and treat patients with abnormal heart rates and rhythms. BioSig is also assembling a portfolio of software tools designed for electrophysiologists and arrhythmia treatments.

BioSig also recently announced the formation of an advisory board to help in such areas as partnerships, government affairs, intellectual property and capital markets, and it named the first two members, Kent Bennett Williams, CEO and principal of Vista Asset Management, LLC, and Dr. Ramachandra Malya, M.D., a medical director and nephrologist (http://ibn.fm/ZNmax). In announcing the additions, Londoner stated, “We wanted to appoint a proactive Advisory Board, which brings fresh thinking, skills and expertise to enhance our company’s performance. Kent and Dr. Malya bring impressive career achievements, which will deliver immediate impact in the top priority areas of our business.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BioSigTech.com

• Cannabis investments have already exceeded $2 billion in 2018
• Liberty Leaf bolstering scientific, legal and accounting strength with experienced leadership additions
• Development projects include in-house, GMP-compliant manufacturing

Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd. (CSE: LIB) (OTCQB: LIBFF) (FSE: HN3P) is accelerating the potential of companies supplying the cannabis industry as it builds its vision of a ‘trellis of commerce’ that connects players in the legal markets for marijuana and related consumables. During the past year, the Canadian company has fostered research and development into the potential of using pet-friendly cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of beloved animals that suffer from arthritic pain, and it has strengthened its corporate investment in the cannabis production pipeline as the recreational-use industry nears its launch later this year.

That vision is being driven by a team of expert executives coalescing as Liberty Leaf, along with its subsidiaries, gains momentum in forming its vertically integrated network of investments in proven, revenue-generating cannabis businesses. As the company has taken up a position on the CSE Composite Index and the Solactive Junior Marijuana Growers Index in Canada and listed on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States during the past year, it has welcomed new personnel to help direct its efforts.

The appointment of Doug Macdonell to its board of directors in November gave Liberty Leaf the benefit of experience that only a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, recognized as a professional in law enforcement training and an expert in court testimony, can provide. In addition to his connections in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Canada’s Department of Justice, Macdonell has political experience from two terms as a city councillor in the metropolitan suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, and he has sat on the boards of several civic organizations.

Robert W.E. Laurie and Barinder Rasode joined Liberty Leaf’s advisory board, with Laurie — the board’s new chairman — bringing his international law expertise to bear on the company’s efforts to work through regulatory challenges while Rasode draws on her experience as a two-term City of Surrey councillor and, now, as CEO of independent, not-for-profit educational organization NICHE in providing insight on evidence-based research about cannabis production.

Boosting the company’s product marketing efforts, food scientist Robert Jackman was named scientific project manager in February to spearhead projects for Liberty Leaf, its subsidiaries North Road Ventures and Just Kush, and other Liberty Leaf enterprises as they continue working through licensing requirements, as well as the identification and assessment of new science-based projects.

In June, Jamie Robinson was named Liberty Leaf’s chief financial officer, providing the company with specialized accounting experience as it grows within the still-developing marketplace. Before joining the company, Robinson worked at Deloitte as a manager focusing on publicly listed and private company audits, as well as business reviews, performance enhancement engagements and formal restructuring proceedings. He has since provided in-depth analysis in support of investment and hedge fund trading for other companies.

Rounding out the senior administration team, President William Rascan and board of directors member Steven Feldman both have more than a quarter century’s experience in the investment brokerage industry and the capital markets. Advisory board member Mary C. Fitzpatrick is providing her experience in veterinary services in an effort help guide Liberty Leaf’s cannabis product development for household pets, and corporate secretary Kelly Pladson’s experience in corporate governance services assists in the management of the day-to-day records, filings and other operations of the company.

Together, the team is building a diversified portfolio of companies. Through this portfolio, it is helping to market high quality, medicinal-grade cannabis products with great promise for both human and veterinary use as Canada nears openness to all aspects of marijuana use later this year. Liberty Leaf continues seeking out productive, revenue-generating cannabis ventures in which to invest while simultaneously building its own working capital base. Its North Road Ventures subsidiary has stated plans to double its cannabis product lines and boost its storage capacity by 500 percent.

The Canadian cannabis industry enjoyed positive growth in 2017, according to researchers at Seeking Alpha (http://ibn.fm/v1G38), and many analysts are expecting further maturity from the marketplace in 2018.

“As the industry matures, consolidation is likely to occur and the type of competitors and adjacent industries will also shift,” research firm EY stated in a recent report (http://ibn.fm/TWEPO) concluding that 87 percent of cannabis executives see consolidation as way forward with the competition amongst cannabis companies in the next three years. “The potential reach of the cannabis industry has grown so much in the last year alone that – realistically speaking – experts are starting to agree that joining forces may be the only way to continue the expansive nature of this business,” Investing News added in its coverage of the report.

Liberty Leaf’s expanding portfolio and efforts to boost production help position it in line with the industry forecasts as investors continue to express interest in cannabis companies, as shown by the more than $2.1 billion injected during the first five weeks of 2018, according to the Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker, which tracks capital raises and M&A activity in the cannabis industry (http://ibn.fm/YSItM).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LibLeaf.com

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