EMEA Daily: Israel’s Perimeter 81 Reaches Unicorn Status

In today’s top stories from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Israeli cybersecurity company Perimeter 81 reaches a valuation of $1 billion after a $100 million funding round.

Also, payments firm Stripe rolls out a new tool designed to improve payment authentication in the European Union, and Egyptian eCommerce shipping company ShipBlu forms a partnership with location technology firm what3words.

Israeli CyberSecurity Firm Perimeter 81 Valued at $1B

Israeli cybersecurity provider Perimeter 81 has been valued at $1 billion following a $100 million funding round.

Based in Tel Aviv, the company offers cybersecurity for hybrid/remote workers, including a cloud-based platform that offers products like zero trust network access, Firewall-as-a-Service and VPN-as-a-Service.

Amit Bareket, Perimeter 81’s chief executive and co-founder, said the funding will help the firm create a platform that provides a one-stop shop for corporate network security.

“With employees working from anywhere and businesses moving to the cloud, we’ve doubled down to build a platform where we’ll allow businesses from any size to build a secure corporate network over the internet without installing any physical infrastructure,” Bareket said.

New Stripe Tool Aims to Improve EU Payment Authentications

Financial infrastructure platform Stripe has debuted a delegated authentication feature that the company said is meant to improve payment conversion rates in Europe.

The Dublin-based company said businesses using Stripe can allow customers to authenticate purchases within a checkout flow, noting that the launch is happening against the backdrop of the EU’s recent rollout of its Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) regulation, designed to reduce payment fraud.

Egyptian B2B eCommerce Shipper ShipBlu Partners With Location Tech Provider What3words

Egyptian eCommerce shipping company ShipBlu is teaming up with what3words, a location technology firm, to ensure accuracy and efficiency in shipping.

The companies said in a news release that their collaboration will let shoppers provide their what3words address at checkout, this eliminating the need for phone calls asking for addresses or “nearby landmarks” to assess a shipment’s accuracy.

The two firms added that their partnership will help reduce total daily travel time for couriers, which will in turn reduce vehicle emissions and improve traffic in Egypt, part of ShipBlu’s goal of becoming Egypt’s greenest logistics platform.

B2B Online Marketplace SAFQAT to Open in UAE

Online B2B marketplace SAFQAT is set to launch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), part of what the company calls its mission to improve wholesale buying.

The company said its marketplace replaces one-on-one interactions with a “one-to-many” model, bolstering the link between supplier and buyers. SAFQAT said its goal is to streamline the path between suppliers and caterers, supermarkets and grocery stores.

CEO and co-founder Khaled AlShanqiti said the company had seen the supply chain management issues these buyers and suppliers face.

“In addition to competitive prices, buyers struggle with finding reliable and trusted suppliers, alternative options, and sourcing new products in the market,” he said. “As a result, we realized a genuine need for a platform to connect the F&B businesses, and hence the idea for SAFQAT was born two years ago.”