K2Match Investor Lounge: a new partnership and future plans unveiled

20/06/2024

Alongside the presentations of exciting start-ups from across Europe, the directors of K2Match used their recent Investor Lounge event in Monaco to announced a new strategic partnership that could help enhance investor success and confidence, and unveiled their plans for a permanent base in the Principality.

Held on Thursday 13th June at the Columbus Hotel in Fontvieille, the third edition of the K2Match Investor Lounge, a business networking event organised by Alexandros Dohn and Badr Moudden, invited potential investors and eager entrepreneurs to meet and mingle with a view to building connections and networks.

For a group of young European businesses, the event offered a platform from which they could present their business ideas to a select group of investors. Following the pitches, a Q&A session allowed attendees to delve deeper into the start-ups concepts showcased by: Big Akwa, a Swedish food-tech company; Everybody Counts, an ed-tech start-up from Scotland; Swöm, a Danish company specialising in smart swimwear; 420 Cloud, a German SaaS platform for cannabis clubs; and BeDriver, an Italian motorsports business.

Big Akwa was particularly well-received and has since raised €535,200 in support for its land-based aquaculture and resource-efficient food production project.

See more: Five European start-ups set to pitch at K2Match Investor Lounge

Among those in attendance was Peter Harrison, the founder of EmergentQx, who had flown all the way from Australia to Monaco for the event.

EmergentQx offers a coaching programme to help individuals achieve more with less effort – a perfect strategy for start-ups. Now, it has partnered with K2Match.

*Left to right: Peter Harrison, Alexandros Dohn and Badr Moudden. Photo source: K2Match*

“The objective of this partnership is to raise the potential of start-ups and entrepreneurs, and increase their opportunities, so that they can realise their business potential,” Harrison told Monaco Life. “This way, we can raise the standard of the start-up scale-up candidate for the investor, which in turn, of course, increases the odds that this investment will be successful.”

Participation in the coaching platform, which includes workshops and seminars, will be mandatory for start-ups wishing to become a part of the K2Match community.

“We want to make sure the start-ups tick all the boxes of how to appeal to investors,” said Badr Moudden to Monaco Life. “The main risk in start-ups is always the person behind it, and the investors want to know how solid the founder is.”

Looking towards the future

Moudden also revealed that K2Match will be creating its own investment fund. This way, said Moudden, K2Match can select where the money from the fund will go and to which start-up.

“We have an amazing team of special curators specifically for this role,” he said.

The fourth local edition of K2Match Investor Lounge will be back in the Principality on 3rd October, and could be here to stay.

“Bringing K2Match permanently to Monaco is definitely in the cards,” shared Moudden.

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Photo source: K2Match

Sohn Monaco investment conference to host Europe’s top hedge fund managers

by: Niki Borisova

20/06/2024

The Sohn Monaco Investment Conference will soon return for its fourth edition, gathering Europe’s top hedge fund managers for discussions on new investment strategies and ideas at an event that will also be raising funds for paediatric cancer care and research.

On Wednesday 26th June, the Yacht Club de Monaco will host the 2024 Sohn Monaco Investment Conference. This annual event is part of the global Sohn Conference series and brings together leading hedge fund managers for roundtable talks on investment strategies.

Founded in 1995 to honour Ira Sohn, a Wall Street professional who succumbed to cancer at the age of 29, the Sohn Conference Foundation has since expanded to 11 cities across five continents and has, to date, raised more than $95 million in donations from the international financial sector.

“Sohn Monaco offers a unique perspective for leading investors in the hedge fund industry,” says Evan Sohn, Vice President and Co-founder of The Sohn Conference Foundation. “The growing success of the conferences has enabled the Foundation to benefit children’s causes and scientific research worldwide.”

See more: Paediatric cancer: CSM reports encouraging results following clinical trials

This event in Monaco, which will be chaired by Justin Hilbert and Florence Tournier, will feature prominent individuals from the European hedge fund industry. Previous speakers have included notable financial experts such as: Guido Maria Brera of Kairos Partners; Jean Castellini, Monaco’s Minister of Finance and the Economy; and Jian Shi Cortesi of GAM Investment Management.

The beneficiaries of the funds raised at the upcoming conference include the Division of Paediatric Hematology-Oncology at the University Hospital of Nice, the French National Institute INSERM and the Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer in Paris.

The event will begin at 12pm with a welcome lunch, followed by the conference from 1.30pm until 6pm. Later that evening, attendees and speakers will be given the opportunity to socialise and network.

Tickets cost €1,000 per person and can be purchased here.

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Photo source: Sohn Conference Foundation

Monaco’s The Niwaki to host European Sushi Championship

by: Stephanie Horsman

20/06/2024

The Japanese restaurant on Monaco’s Avenue Princesse Grace, The Niwaki, has been chosen as the host venue for the European Sushi Championship, which will see nine chefs from the continent battle it out for the winner’s title later this year.

Although not scheduled to take place until 4th November, anticipation is already building for this second-ever edition of the European Sushi Championship to be held in Monaco.

The competition will showcase the talents of nine chefs from throughout Europe, including France’s Tino Singharaj, who recently claimed the 2024 French Sushi Championship title. The other nations set to appear in the line-up are Belgium, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Monaco.

HOW IT WORKS

The competition is two-fold: there is a 60-minute preparatory round for chefs to plan and prepare the raw materials that will go into their final dishes, and then the creative round, where they are tasked with plating 40 to 50 imaginative pieces of sushi that must include nigiri, maki, uramaki, kazari-maki, kazari-sushi, vegetarian sushi and 15 pieces of sashimi in a strict one-hour time limit.

A panel of five judges, featuring prestigious names such as Hirotoshi Ogawa, the President of the World Sushi Skills Institute, and Michaël Pankar, last year’s European Sushi Championship winner and 2023 World Vice-Champion, will then select their winner based on six main criteria.

These include: workspace cleanliness and organisation; appearance and nigiri preparation skill; appearance and look of the maki; appearance and presentation of sashimi; risk-taking creativity in final products; and general appearance of the plate.

For more information about the event, click here.

Read related:

Photos: French sushi chef takes the win at inaugural European Sushi Championship

Photo source: The Niwaki, Facebook

What is going on with the weather in Monaco?

by: Elsa Carpenter

20/06/2024

From the sand-stained rain to storm warnings and a yellow weather alert, the current conditions in Monaco, as well as across the Riviera, couldn’t be less like the usual sunshine and balmy temperatures that residents and tourists have come to expect on the first day of summer.

Right across the region, people looked out their windows on Wednesday morning and were greeted with a peculiar haze that barely lifted throughout the day. Clouds and air heavy with dust particles from the Sahara Desert seemed to envelop the Riviera, largely blocking out the sunlight and creating a strange overcast atmosphere from sea to mountains.

As the rain began to fall over the course of the day, the droplets turned muddy, leaving vehicles and streets streaked with traces of the Saharan sand.

By the morning of Thursday 20th June, officially the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the dust appeared to have settled, but in its place were rain clouds and the threat of storms to come later in the day. A yellow weather alert has been activated.

“Strong storm instability”

According to Météo France, the weather conditions experienced by the south of France and Monaco in recent days have been caused by “a descent of cold air at high altitude currently positioned off the Iberian Peninsula” and a rise of warm and humid air from the south. Combined, these factors are “associated with strong storm instability”.

Earlier this week, the Monaco Government warned of increasingly poor air quality and advised those vulnerable to the unusual conditions to limit exercise and time spent outdoors.

“According to air quality measurements conducted by the Environmental Directorate, the information threshold of 50 µg/m³ for fine particles (PM10) is likely to be reached on Wednesday 19th June,” shared a spokesperson for the government. “Starting Friday 21st June, weather conditions should allow for better dispersion and a decrease in the concentration of fine particles in the ambient air.”

The weather is set to considerably improve on Friday 21st June, but the Riviera could be in for even more rain and bad weather next week, with forecasts predicting the possibility of extended stormy conditions between Sunday 23rd and Wednesday 26th June.

Read related:

Blue Flag: French Riviera beaches among the cleanest in the country

Photo by Monaco Life

Marius Monaco replaces Conscientiae at former Stars’n’Bars premises

by: Stephanie Horsman

20/06/2024

The Principality has welcomed the talents of another Michelin-starred chef to its ever-growing list of restaurants and vibrant gourmet scene, this time in the form of Sébastien Sanjou, who is collaborating with Marc Dussoulier and Stars’n’Bars’ Didier Rubiolo to run the recently unveiled Marius Monaco on the Quai des Artistes in Port Hercule.

Prince Albert II of Monaco was among the many guests invited to the opening of Marius earlier this month. The concept, which was launched on 14th June in the premises that were once home to Stars’n’Bars and then later Conscientiae, is a nod to classic Mediterranean and Provençal traditions, blended with a vision that only a Michelin-starred chef can offer.

*L-R: Marc Dussoulier, Niall Robinson, Prince Albert II, Sébastien Sanjou and Didier Rubiolo. Photo credit: Michael Alesi / Palais Princier de Monaco*

The new restaurant is a joint effort between the former manager of Le Plongeoir in Nice, Marc Dussoulier, Didier Rubiolo from Stars’n’Bars and the two-starred chef, Sébastien Sanjou, who has previously headed up the kitchens of Le Relais des Moines in the Var, Trente-Trois and La Residence in Paris, and La Voile d’Or in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

“An ode to the Mediterranean”

Speaking about the new venture, Sanjou said, “Marius is a new opportunity for Monaco to discover a simple, authentic and sustainable approach to food: tasty, generous and accessible with the freshest high-quality ingredients from local producers. Marius is in essence an ode to the Mediterranean and its Provençal traditions.”

The menu features familiar yet elevated ingredients, from violet artichokes à la barigoule, braised octopus and Mediterranean langoustines to sage-smoked chicken and a Piedmont beef fillet.

There are sharing plates as well, including the perennial favourite of aïoli, lamb shoulder with a thyme and garlic confit, and roasted fish with a sauce vierge.

For a sweet treat to finish off the meal, there’s a comforting rice pudding made with Tahitian vanilla, tarte aux fraises or chocolate mousse, as well as many other tempting choices. Meanwhile, the wine menu boasts a selection of over 400 vintages, rounding out the overall experience.

As for the interior, it is inviting: all softly curved chairs, bench seats and sofas, beautiful marble-top tables and ambient lighting. The outdoor space overlooks Port Hercule and boasts a classically nautical feel with blue and white striped seating.

*The interior of the restaurant on Port Hercule’s Quai Antoine Ier. Photo credit: Lisa Derea Photography*

Marius Monaco is open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner.

Photo source: Marius Monaco

Podcast: VistaJet’s Simon Rochefort talks elite travel

by: Cassandra Tanti

20/06/2024

In this podcast, Cassandra Tanti chats to Simon Rochefort, Vice-President in charge of sales at VistaJet, a company founded by Thomas Flohr win 2004 that has revolutionised business aviation.

Simon Rochefort talks about how many HNWIs are using private jets in this post-Covid world, why flying private makes sense for today’s elite business leaders, and where sustainability fits into VistaJet’s business mission.

Day: 20 June 2024