DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 28, 2025--
International Smart Card (QiCard), Iraq’s leading provider electronic payment solutions, set to represent Iraq’s rapidly advancing fintech sector at Money 20/20 USA 2025, the world’s most influential event for payments, banking financial innovation, taking place October 26–29, 2025 in Las Vegas.
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Official sponsor, International Smart Card (QiCard) marks a defining moment for Iraq’s digital economy demonstrating how a nation once limited by cash is now exporting innovation, financial inclusion, trusted technology globally.
“QiCard was born from a belief that Iraq can be a source of innovation, not just a beneficiary of it,” said Ali Moneim, CEO of International Smart Card (QiCard). “Our participation at Money 20/20 isn’t simply about presence; it’s about proudly sharing an Iraqi success story that has transformed millions of lives through secure and accessible financial technology.”
At the event, QiCard will showcase its biometric smart card systems, secure e-payment infrastructure, and pioneering financial inclusion initiatives that have empowered over 19 million citizens and 50,000 merchants across Iraq. The company’s mission extends beyond technology — it seeks to build a connected Iraq where digital trust and economic participation are within everyone’s reach.
“Our growth has always been driven by empathy and accessibility,” said Ahmed Kadhim, CIO at International Smart Card (QiCard). “Every innovation begins with the needs of our people — from retirees to students and that human-first approach is what we’re proud to present to the global fintech community.”
Money 20/20 USA brings together more than 10,000 industry leaders from financial institutions, regulators, and investors to shape the future of finance. QiCard’s participation underscores Iraq’s emergence as a new fintech hub in the Middle East — proving that local expertise and global standards can coexist to drive sustainable innovation.
“Innovation is not a department at QiCard — it’s our identity,” said Hasan Abdulhadi, Chief Innovation Officer at International Smart Card (QiCard). “From developing biometric authentication to building interoperable payment ecosystems, our goal is to take Iraqi ingenuity beyond borders — to show that solutions born in Baghdad can compete globally.”
Through its participation, QiCard reinforces its commitment to expanding cross-border partnerships, attracting investment to Iraq’s fintech sector, and championing the message that progress, innovation, and financial empowerment can emerge from anywhere.
QiCard is bridging local innovation with global impact.
Source:AETOSWire
From left to right: Hasan Hadi - Chief Innovation Officer, Ahmed Kadhim - Chief Investment Officer, Mehmet Turkmen - Chief Product Officer (Photo: AETOSWire)
NEW HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 2026--
Unilever today unveiled plans to develop a new Global Innovation Center in New Haven, Connecticut, opening by spring 2029. The center will be a leading hub for the company’s research and development for its personal care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the U.S. and globally.
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The center further propels Unilever’s growth strategy in the U.S. market, raising the bar for research and development in the consumer goods industry and powering the company’s portfolio of innovative and desirable brands. Centrally located in one of the world’s fastest-growing biosciences innovation clusters, the digital-first and AI-powered center will deliver deeper insights to fuel Unilever’s ambition of reshaping product categories. The center will advance how Unilever’s teams of scientists and experts push the boundaries of the fundamental differentiators that make the company’s brands distinct and products desirable: superior science, aesthetics and sensorials.
The center brings together a new and differentiated combination of assets and capabilities that will accelerate breakthroughs and enable Unilever’s brands to bring the next generation of market-making beauty, wellbeing and personal care products to people faster:
The center advances Unilever's strategy to become a sharper, focused personal care, beauty and wellbeing company, built upon shared capabilities across science-led innovation, demand creation and operational execution. Unilever will invest $270 million in the project over the long term, including $50 million in capital expenditure. Total combined investment of public and private funds in the center will exceed $300 million. This investment builds on nearly $15 billion invested in Unilever’s U.S. business over the past decade, across both acquisitions and capital projects.
Approximately 300 employees will work at the center. It will succeed Unilever's existing R&D facility in Trumbull, Connecticut, which has operated since 1972, marking the next chapter of Unilever's long partnership with the State of Connecticut and its scientific community.
Herrish Patel, President of Unilever USA and CEO of Personal Care North America, said:
“New Haven gets us to the future faster. Our Global Innovation Center is where we'll innovate at the intersection of science, technology and culture — for the U.S. and for the world. We will build on our deep heritage of innovation to develop the next generation of brands and products that people love. As part of Unilever’s global network of innovation hubs, the center will connect closely with our other leading locations worldwide, sharing technology, insights, and breakthrough ideas to accelerate innovation at scale. As the U.S. becomes a center of gravity for Unilever, we’re harnessing the best of American innovation to match our growth ambition here in the U.S. and around the world.”
Specific capabilities to be housed at the center include:
Richard Slater, Unilever Chief Research & Development Officer, said:
“Behind every Unilever product is world-leading science that delivers superior performance, combined with design, fragrance and sensory experiences that make our brands distinctive. Our new Global Innovation Center will bring these capabilities together to develop new, category-defining innovations in the U.S., and scale globally. The real shift here is integration and speed: science, design and sensorials working as one, with AI and partnerships accelerating every stage of innovation.”
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said:
“Unilever’s decision to make this investment in New Haven reaffirms Connecticut’s global reputation as a leader in innovation, research and development, and discovery. This innovation center will serve as an important foundational piece for this burgeoning hub that will not only strengthen New Haven’s existing tech centers but will also boost our innovation ecosystem statewide. I am glad we have Unilever as a valued member of Connecticut’s growing business community, and I look forward to this company continuing to succeed here for many years to come.”
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.7 billion people every day. We have 96,000 employees and generated sales of €50.5 billion in 2025.
Our leading brands in the U.S. include Dove, Hellmann’s, Vaseline, Degree, Axe, TRESemmé, Knorr, Nutrafol, Liquid I.V., Paula’s Choice, and Dermalogica.
For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
Rendering of Unilever's future Global Innovation Center in New Haven, opening in spring 2029.
