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Turbine Incubator | Overview of 2020 and Objectives for 2021

Last year was undoubtedly a challenging one due to Covid-19 for Turbine Incubator.

Diane Maigrot, Start Up and Growth Manager at Turbine Incubator shares with us how Turbine managed the year 2020 and the plans that she has for the year 2021.

Shifting Test Drive Online

Turbine organises Test Drive Programs where it invites aspiring entrepreneurs and people with a business idea to participate and develop their business ideas.

One of the major challenges that we had last year was to shift the Test Drive Program online during the confinement. All workshops were conducted online and our participants were in contact with their respective coaches through Zoom and Whatsapp.

Thanks to Turbine’s coaches, experts and speakers, we were able to organise the Pitch Night successfully.

Corporate Challenges

Turbine organised 3 corporate challenges last year.

MUA Challenge

 

MUA collaborated with Turbine to find an innovative telematic solution for its customers to improve drivers’ behavior and to encourage safe driving in Mauritius. We received 30 applications from both local and international companies. Turbine team and MUA have shortlisted 5 out of them and are currently finalising the winner.

Intrapreneur Challenge for ENL

This program was organised for the employees of ENL Group where they were given the needed tools and support in terms of workshops and coaching they needed to build sustainable solutions for existing problems that the different clusters of ENL had. The team Unstoppables won the challenge for their project to redesign bus stops in Moka to become more modern, comfortable in an ecological way.

Ascencia Innovation Challenge

This program was a combination of Test Drive and Start Up Challenge that was organised for Ascencia Shopping malls to help them achieve one of their sustainable objectives which is to help 10 entrepreneurs build and develop their start up in Mauritius and beyond. Applications were open for anyone with a business idea related to mall businesses to apply for the Test Drive Program.

Out of 10 projects, 4 have been selected by Ascencia. They will receive extra support in terms of marketing & promotion along with network access from Ascencia during their incubation period with Turbine.

The aim of Turbine by doing these challenges is to offer start ups the opportunity to work with corporates and get an access to customers.

What’s ahead for Turbine in 2021

Turbine has decided to launch its Acceleration Program in February this year.

We currently have 6 start ups that meet the criteria of our Acceleration Program. This program will last 6 months and will focus on Sales, Leads Generation, Marketing, Communication and raising investment.

The selected start ups will also have the possibility to receive 1 Million investment from Compass Venture Capital so as to allow them have financial support to develop their businesses.

New Business Coaches at Turbine

3 Business Coaches have recently joined Turbine to help and support our start ups. Isabelle de Melo, founder of Moris Angels, Krystel Dookhith, who was previously Group Investment and Business Manager at Eclosia and Fabrice Boullé who is in charge of the Venture Investment Fund of ENL Group.

Along with our existing business coaches Marc Israel and Alexandrine Maigrot, we want to make sure that our start ups are well accompanied with professional advice throughout their journey.

Turbine is looking forward to recruit 10 impactful start ups for its Incubation Program as well this year. We look forward to organise more corporate challenges in collaboration with corporates.

I would like to end with a quote of Nelson Mandela that I cherish:

”Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

 

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Navboy Technologies- Test Drive | Incubation

After its participation in Turbine‘s pre incubation program, also known as the Test Drive, Navboy Technologies is currently incubated with us.

We had a chat with its founder Tabi who shared how Test Drive and Incubation at Turbine has helped him develop himself as well as his projects.

Tell us about yourself and what were you doing before starting your entrepreneurial journey?

I am Tabi Okorn-tabi. I have always been business minded since my high school days given that my father is a businessman. In 2016 when I came to Mauritius to complete my degree in Information Technology & Business Information Systems, I met with a couple of brilliant Mauritians who shared the same passion for business, specifically in the tech sector. That was how I co-founded my first venture in Mauritius called AVR Plato Technology Limited.

What is Navboy Technology about?

Navboy Technologies Limited is a tech start up I founded with my co founder Laure Pather in 2019. We are mainly focused on implementing innovative vision and AI-centered technologies such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Machine Learning, Computer Vision etc into usable software applications. Our flagship product is ‘ShopPaddi’. It is a mobile e-commerce application equipped with image recognition and artificial intelligence technologies. The ‘ShopPaddi’ mobile application offers the ability to walk into their supermarket of choice, scan products they were to buy (without touching) and these products are added to their virtual carts. Users can also buy products from a product catalog by using the classic e-commerce feature on the mobile app.

How was your experience of participating in Test Drive?

The Test Drive with Turbine was an eye opener to the real and relevant requirements for an entrepreneurial journey. From the material & deliverables to the trainings, it ignites the business instincts of aspiring entrepreneurs and gives them an overview of what to expect and how to react in the future.

How has your incubation with Turbine helped you till now?

Incubating Navboy Technologies Limited with Turbine has been one of the best decisions we made in recent. We have been exposed to world class coaches, materials and opportunities. The community of entrepreneurs under Turbine’s umbrella allows us to share ideas and bond with some of the brightest and hardworking minds on the island. We have incubated AVR Plato Technology Limited with Turbine and when the idea of Navboy Technologies was brooding, Turbine was the best choice I and my co founder could think of.

Would you recommend Turbine to someone with a business idea?

I would definitely recommend Turbine to anyone with an innovative idea that needs the right environment and conditions to grow. From the management staff to the coaches and other startups, everyone is committed to helping you grow and that is a big deal!

 

 

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Test Drive 4 | A Wrap

Test Drive 4 Pitch Night

After a series of online workshops, Turbine Test Drive 4 Pitch Night was organized on 26 June 2020.

7 projects were allotted with 3 minutes each to pitch their projects in front of our judges panel which comprised of Olivier Ma, Dominic Provencal, Zulaika Sunthbocus and Isabelle de Melo.

For this edition, Turbine had 3 different sponsors PwC, Spoon Consulting and MCB who offered Rs 75,000 each to the most innovative, promising and impactful business ideas.

Kare Ver- Most Impactful Business Idea

Brando Quirin won the price of the most Impactful Business Idea sponsored by MCB for his start up Kare Ver.

Following Covid-19, Brando developed a kit which allows people to plant their own vegetables. Made by recycled materials, Kare Ver has its own irrigation system integrated in the kit and is fully protected from insects. The aim is to make people experience the fun of growing their own vegetables at home to simplify their lives.

Metennkoste- Most Promising Business Idea

Hishaam Ibrahim and Marie Lasplaces won the prize of the most Promising Business Idea sponsored by PwC.

Metennkoste is a platform which allows to collect and spend money for a common expense or event. Its services will benefit a wide number of people, from a group of friends pooling money together to afford the perfect gift to a group of students raising money for their annual study trip.

It makes collecting and managing money from a large number of people hassle free and acts as an intermediary between businesses and their potential clients.

Flit Ride- The most Innovative Business Idea

Tolotra Samuel won the prize of the most Innovative Business Idea sponsored by Spoon Consulting.

Flit Ride aims to bring together existing taxi drivers and their clients through its mobile app. It allows taxi drivers to bid their different fares and clients choose the ones which suit them best. Flit Ride also gives the option of carpooling to riders.

The interesting part about Flit Ride is that payment mode will not be limited to cash or credit cards only. It will adopt the different payments that exist such as Juice and MyT money which are now common in Mauritius and will also introduce Flit Tokens.

Test Drive: Pre Incubation at Turbine

Turbine has pre incubated more than 90 aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their idea till date. 20 starts ups have been incubated with us and we currently have 8 start-ups under the Incubation Program. We look forward to incubate new projects after every Test Drive Programs.

Stay connected with us to know when the next applications will be open.

 

 

 

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4 things you can control during COVID-19

The unprecedented challenge we are facing due to COVID-19 has changed our social lives. Suddenly, we are having to adapt ourselves to a surge in digitalisation, hence indicating the end of the handshake-era.

Here are some tips that could help you keep going.

1. Your Routine

One of the good aspects of traditional work times is that you get into a routine. Whether you go to your workplace, or whether you go to your coworking space to make time specific time for work, it gives you a structure to your day. This can be an easy and valuable habit to implement whilst working from home too! Dedicate a workspace in your home and assign a time by which you need to get to work. If it helps, share your schedule with your colleagues/clients so they know when to expect you to be responsive. This also allows you to dedicate specific times for exercise or any other activities that you may need to tend to. 

2. Social Activities

It is important to keep in touch with other people. Whether you choose to do so through your having conference calls/ virtual dinner parties/ event attending online networking events and summits. It is necessary to keep track of what is happening in the outside world. It can become very easy to go down rabbit holes on the internet, watching tens of thousands of videos of the news, fake news, or even just people at different stages of boredom in their homes. 

3. How much Netflix you are watching?

Am I right or am I right? It may not be Netflix; it may be some other platform that you binge watched some series on. But always remember, an idle mind can become the devil’s workshop. Allocate specific number of episodes per day of the series you are really enjoying now, also scroll through different online platforms that offer online courses in your different fields of interest. Perhaps there are skills that you need at work/ to better run your business. Learn how to perfect that Yoga pose you see people do so often on Instagram. Start painting, bending, creating, singing, gardening, baking, writing, dancing, start/ restart anything. The options are endless. 

4. Productivity

Before we go into this, remember: we are currently in a time of crisis, not in a time of competing over who has been the most productive.

That being said, this time can become the perfect opportunity to tackle some of the things you have been putting off. Plan the social media content for your brand for the next coming few weeks. Work on your website, contact that potential client you’ve been eyeing, understand their needs to be able to propose the right service to them! 

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5 ways to motivate your team

A motivated team equals work that is of high quality. Discover 5 tips to motivate your suppliers or employees on a daily basis.

Poorly motivated employees or suppliers tend to quickly exhaust themselves, thus becoming unproductive.

You should aim at achieving a good quality in terms of work and increasing your employees’ loyalty towards your company. To do that, you may have to switch strategies regarding your employees. That is, shifting from the simple assignment of objectives to the transmission of a company culture.

Here are 5 tips to boost your team’s motivation and get better results:

  1. Create a feedback culture

Your employees may not know how to improve or they may not be able to improve. In these cases, how will they and their work be able to evolve?

Regular feedback gives you the opportunity to boost their growth. This does not mean scheduling more meetings. Rather than that, try to take a look at your team’s productivity from time to time.

  1. Delegate more difficult projects to your team

In order to not end up with automated employees, try to protect your staff from a boring daily routine. When employees perform the same tasks every day, they quickly become complacent. Get them to try other things by giving them the opportunity to take risks.

One way to do this is to give them a project that really represents a challenge to your team. Define new targets and objectives during quarterly reviews. They will have the following quarter to work towards these goals.

  1. Maintain a list of challenges

Ask your teams to create a list of projects to complete, problems to solve or skills to acquire. The goal is to find a challenge to keep them busy, but also to teach them how to challenge themselves.

Your employees will be eager to take on a new project or solve new problems. Testing their skills outside of their day-to-day work will make their job more interesting. Instead of waiting for the time to pass, they will focus on solving business problems or improving outdated processes.

  1. Offer various training programs to your employees

Training allows employees to increase their effectiveness on the job. It also ensures that their knowledge and skills are up to date.

A company offering hands-on, up-to-date training will not only retain its workforce, but also reap the benefits of their improvement.

  1. Change the objective-setting process

Objectives are important to motivate your group. To challenge your employees, you need to rethink the goal-setting process.

They should not focus on reaching them, but on finding the best possible solution to achieve them. This technique challenges the employee to be creative, rather than to find quick and simple solutions.

Set animated, necessary and achievable (but not too easy!) goals that your employees will enjoy reaching. Unlike the easy targets, which leave them stuck in a routine, these should stimulate brainpower and encourage high performance.

 

Challenge your team members to take risks, step out of their daily roles and advance in their careers. Also, do not forget about challenging yourself. Improve your training, focus on feedback and rework your goals. In the end, everyone will be more successful and more committed, including you.

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Coworking and its many advantages

With the advent of laptops and increasingly accessible and fast internet connections, working at home is a huge success. Many digital nomads take advantage of their freedom to change offices regularly. Some of these entrepreneurs choose coworking, the benefits of which are more numerous than one might think. This article will elaborate on coworking and office sharing experiences and their advantages.

Coworking saves money

Sharing offices often happens for economic reasons. Office rent can cost a lot of money per square metre, especially in big cities. Adding a few more workstations to the premises will allow you to optimize the work space, thus reducing the cost.

Similarly, there are many ways to diminish other fixed and variable costs associated with business management. These include the consumables related to the basic management of the company (coffee, electricity, internet, printer, maintenance expenses, etc.).

A group meeting room, with a reservation system, also allows you to fully exploit the space that you are renting.

Why not also consider sharing software licences? Creating an additional account is better than subscribing to a new full subscription.

If your businesses are successful and the coworking goes well, you can consider renting bigger spaces for your growing companies. It will enable you to increase the standard of your office without costing too much.

 

Say goodbye to loneliness

One of the main problems of entrepreneurship is loneliness. Therefore, another main advantage of coworking is the possibility to meet people.

By “crashing” into offices that are not your own, you can meet other people and no longer work alone. These meetings can often also generate additional business for you or your host. Coworking with people in a field of activity close to or complementary to your practice is a smart move. You can respond together to requests from customers or simply seek help from those around you.

 

Shoot for your business’ growth

If you trust and get along with your coworkers, try to organise regular meetings. For example, you can have breakfast together on Friday mornings and talk about what happened during the week. These meetings would allow you to discuss problems and think up solutions, like a team. This is a great way to come up with fresh ideas that you maybe would have never thought of alone.

Incubators are particularly suited to this practice and are the ideal place to find coworkers.

 

Prerequisites for problem-free coworking

For coworking to work, you have to get along with the other parties. This is why a lot of people choose to cowork with friends. However, strangers can also make for perfect coworking partners.

For instance, open spaces are places where everyone can work together as long as they follow the rules. The aim is to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding. These rules should include noise restrictions and security measures. You can also create a contract to make sure that everyone abides by the rules you define.

If you can find the right coworkers and working environment, your business will evolve in a dynamic space. This is less socially taxing and more beneficial in terms of money and growth than working at home. Ultimately, the key is to follow the rules and get along with each other for a smooth coworking experience.

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Mobile apps: are they useful to grow your business?

We currently live in a world led by communication and new technologies that are being developed at a dazzling rate. Mobile applications, which emerged in the 1990s, have become an unavoidable global phenomenon. These even compete with websites and attract millions of users. Each year, companies who want to access this market delve into marketing strategies that focus primarily on apps. So, what makes apps so appealing and what can they bring to your business?

Mobile apps: a way to improve your brand

The way your customers view your company matters. By getting an app for your business, you will develop a modern and innovative corporate image. This will help in the branding process and will later appeal to the majority of global consumers. You will also specifically respond to the needs and desires of consumers in terms of communication, modernization and accessibility.

A way to retain and acquire new customers

Speaking of accessibility, apps allow you to remain closer to your customers. They provide your clients with an easy and fast way of contacting your company. Unlike a website or a phone number, the application is always within their reach on their phones. This will also reduce chances of your customers going to competitors. Mobile apps increase your company’s credibility through reviews and comments, which will attract potential clients.

Enhanced communication with your regular customers

Access to mobile apps is easy. You can download an app within seconds and use it at home, at work or while on the move. In addition to being accessible, they allow you to communicate with your clients in a way that websites do not. Notifications, for instance, are incredibly useful to remind your customers about events and sales. They appear directly on your clients’ smartphones and make for great advertising.

Mobile apps increase productivity

Apps are also popular among entrepreneurs for management purposes. They help to optimise sales, increase communication among employees and improve productivity. Aside from an app for your business, you can consider creating one to manage and relay information. From booking to accessing product information, everything is more readily available to your staff. Your customers may also find apps easier to navigate, thus reducing the risk of dissatisfaction.

Intelligent apps to offer better services

Why carry out surveys among your customers when your app can do it for you? Intelligent apps are very useful to collect and analyse information. This includes:

  • the number of times the application is used
  • the frequency of use of certain features
  • the location of your clients
  • the products they prefer

The list goes on. Apps allow you to understand your customers, their tastes and their needs better to offer a customised service. In addition, mobile apps have perfect synchronization with social networks. This enables consumers to share content from the app directly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. By doing so, they are providing free advertising for your company, leading to increased sales and popularity.

In short, it does not matter whether you are a large company or a local business. Acquiring a mobile application will allow you to meet the expectations of the current market. Decide on the services that you wish to offer via the app and encourage its use among your clients. The results are bound to be positive.

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Communication: the key ingredient to building a profitable business

Behind every successful enterprise lies a controlled communication strategy. It is essential to integrate this type of strategy into most of your processes. This applies when exchanging with current customers, potential customers, service providers or your employees. Why such a focus on communication? That is because without consistent communication, you will not be able to build the trust of your audience. It will then be difficult to drive commitment and make your business profitable.

How to effectively communicate with the parties involved in your activity? This article provides answers to this question.

Communicating with potential customers

You must be particularly careful when exchanging with potential parties. Below are some rules to build their trust and turn them into clients:

  • Consumers want solutions. No matter what product you launch, highlight its ability to solve a problem or meet a specific need.
  • Focus most of your content on the value that your product or service can bring to consumers.
  • Be creative in your communication. Think about entertaining or inspiring your audience while conveying your idea. Clients will easily remember this type of message and will automatically think of your product when there is a need. Consider using online tools to create excellent visuals or videos. If necessary, you can also employ a graphic designer.
  • Experiment by interacting with the public through questionnaires, surveys and an active presence on social networks.

Communication with customers

Acquiring new clients is much more difficult than keeping the ones you already have. To sustain your business, take care of consumers who already trust you. Here are some tips to help you communicate with them and strengthen their loyalty:

  • Always thank a customer who buys your products by sending a personalized message. You can easily automate this practice if you sell your products or services online.
  • Ask customers to return after using your products and services. Also, consider getting their feedback regarding customer experience. Example of questions are: How did they choose your service? Did they find it easy or complicated to order on your site or to contact you?
  • Set up an irreproachable customer service. Returns, reimbursements and transactions must be smooth and quick.
  • Add a live chat on your website to facilitate communication with customers.
  • Recruit and train customer relationship agents with care; they represent your brand.
  • Ask your customers to produce content (testimonials or recommendations in video or image or text format) on your various platforms. They find enjoyment in doing so and you can easily share high quality content!

 

Communicating with your team

Be it your in-house staff or your service providers, you must always motivate your team. If the people who work with you are satisfied with their objectives, they will become your best ambassadors.

  • Your team needs to know your short and long-term goals. It is important for them to know where you’re going and what you want from them.
  • Get reports from your team members on a daily basis. This can be done either through face-to-face meetings or via video conference. Always ask what you can do to facilitate their job.
  • Develop personal relationships with your team through your communication. Share your life outside of work and encourage them to share theirs. Such a relationship encourages your staff to take initiatives and dedicate themselves to the company.
  • Involve your team when problems arise or decisions need to be made. Ask for their comments and ideas, even if you don’t use them in the end.
  • Openly congratulate and reward team members. Praising a team member in front of his peers is the best way to boost him for the future.

Take care of your communication with all the parties in your company. From customers to suppliers, colleagues and potential customers, all require special attention.

With the myriad of existing means of communication, you can make your business thrive and grow.

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5 tips to improve communication within your team

Communication between the members of your team is crucial to make your company achieve its objectives. Difficult communication wastes time, creates distrust and becomes a source of stress for your employees. These are the ideal factors for mediocre results. However, there are several measures that you can take to make your employees work better together. Here are 5 tips to promote harmonious collaboration between colleagues:

 

1. Promote human contact

Considering the variety of internal communication tools that companies employ, human contact is often deemed negligible. Some of your staff would rather send an email than walk to a colleague to talk over an issue.

Try to encourage your employees to get together for coffee. They might also benefit from a small informal meeting in the morning to get the day going. These will allow for a lot more productive discussion than a series of virtual messages would. Moreover, meeting face-to-face strengthens the bond within your team.

 

2. Correction: ‘reasonable’ human contact

While face-to-face communication has many benefits, it can also have some negative effects. For instance, walking up to someone to ask them about various small matters can become quite overbearing.

Before interrupting a colleague, it is important to look for signs of his/her availability. One of these might be to check whether the door to his/her office is open or closed. Another sign that someone is focused on their work would be when they are listening to music via headphones. In case the person is unavailable, it might be best to come back at a later time or to send an email.

 

3. Organise meaningful meetings

Spending time together brings team members closer and helps to identify common interests. In meetings, employees get to know each other and communicate properly. While these will not make all of the colleagues friends, they are an opportunity to understand everyone’s motivation. This will in turn also work towards making communication much easier. Also, if face-to-face meetings are not possible, video conferences are still a viable option.

 

4. Hang out with colleagues

If you want to create bonds between your team members and improve communication, consider bringing them together for fun activities. Arrange lunches together or go for drinks after work. Team building events or simply relaxing days out can also be helpful.

These moments bring your employees closer to each other and definitely end up having a positive impact on their teamwork.

 

5. Encourage respect and honesty

Improving communication requires commitment from the whole team. In order to achieve this, you should establish a corporate culture that promotes respect and honesty.

When there is an issue, your employees should be able to express themselves as much as they should be listened to. If you send an email or use any other technological means of communication, take the time to reread your messages to check the tone. Thoughts may manifest differently in text than in real life.

 

With seamless, respectful and effective communication, your team will become more productive. It will be easier for your employees to work together towards a greater goal: the success of your business!

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Influencer marketing in Mauritius

Be they comedians, YouTubers, models or even bloggers, they are more importantly the new faces of Mauritius’ influencer marketing sector. For example, Vincent Duvergé and his friends can be seen at Chantecler, while Neeshi Beeharry is the brand new endorser for Patel Optics. Influencer: is it a promising job?

From YouTuber to influencer

Probably one of the most recognisable faces across the Mauritian Web, Vincent Duvergé, under 25 years of age, is already a major influencer. The young YouTuber quickly seduced his audience thanks to his parodies and mimics on the video platform. Today, brands contact him to promote their products. Making use of a familiar face that Mauritians already appreciate seems to be a winning formula for many companies.

What is influencer marketing?

Companies are increasingly using social media to get closer to their customers and gain greater visibility. Influencer marketing thus refers to the use of the popularity of influencers to promote products and services. This method is gaining in importance in Mauritius and throughout the world. Considering that 70% of millennials rely on the recommendations of influencers before making a purchase, there is no longer even a trace of doubt. The vast majority of young adults seek inspiration from influencers, and brands are not about to let this opportunity slide.

Driving trends and promoting sales

These social network “people” already have a substantial number of followers. This popularity enables them to influence a lot of users. This can be achieved through product testing or by becoming a brand ambassador. One such example is Laetitia Darche Sauzier, Miss Mauritius 2010, who is now an ambassador for Huawei in Mauritius. However, popularity alone is not enough to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. These influencers must also act as true professionals.

What type of future awaits influencers in Mauritius?

Few Mauritian influencers can currently make a living out of this “profession”. However, the companies or agencies with which they collaborate regularly send them gifts and products to test. Depending on their popularity, they can be contacted by several brands. Joel Capillaire, who has more than 9,000 followers on his Instagram account, is hired by three brands. He even happened to go to Malaysia and Singapore to take pictures for a travel agency. However, income is not stable and until this concept grows in Mauritius, most of the influencers have another simultaneous occupation.

Influencer marketing on a worldwide scale

Nevertheless, at international level, a large number of influencers manage to succeed. Swedish blogger Lina Lindholm covers 100% of her life costs through the means of her Instagram account, which currently has more than 100,000 followers. The same applies to female YouTuber Lilly Singh, aka IISuperwomanII, who now has 14 million subscribers to her channel and no less than 2.5 billion views on her videos. A true success story for the 30-year-old, and certainly a glimmer of hope for our talented young Mauritians!

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