An event held at Microsoft’s Innovation Centre celebrated the centre’s fourth anniversary.

Microsoft Malta country manager Panayiotis Ioannou said the centre was opened with a clear commitment to bring world-class resources to Maltese software developers, IT professionals, university students, academic faculties and entrepreneurs.

It has hosted over 140 start-ups, 800 workshops and training courses for over 10,000 students, teachers and professionals. “Microsoft’s investment in the MIC over the past four years has been of over €2 million,” he added.

It has hosted over 140 start-ups, 800 workshops and training courses for over 10,000 students, teachers and professionals

With a focus on cloud technology, the Microsoft Innovation Centre in Malta trains individuals in the latest technology and business skills, enhancing their employability prospects within the sector and incubates new start-ups. It also brings more direct support to the local industry, such as developing applications and accesses information on Microsoft technology.

“We are not here only to commemorate the MIC’s fourth anniversary but to celebrate an important achievement in Malta and for one Maltese start-up that was born here, Hippo Data. In fact, when last year, Microsoft announced that the Malta MIC was being linked to the Accelerator Programme in London, we realised this was going to open up huge opportunities for Malta’s start-ups. Hippo Data, was the first Maltese start-up to join Microsoft’s Accelerator Programme in London. Having one of our very own Maltese start-ups join this powerful Accelerator Programme in London fills us with great pride,” Mr Ioannou said.

Abdalla Kablan, founder and CEO of Hippo Data, explained how over the past 10 years he has been doing a lot of research and work in different fields of data science, from predictive analytics to computational finance to artificial intelligence.

Mr Kablan explained how right after graduating from the Microsoft Accelerator, Hippo Data was acquired by Sixcap, a mature Fintech start-up that strongly believed in the company’s potential. “The acquisition helped us grow our team and we are now working on a host of exciting and innovative projects that could benefit millions of people around the world. We are really grateful to be doing such work. The journey was not easy, but it was definitely worth it.”

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