Along with industry experts from NITI Aayog and Aditya Birla Group, Frost & Sullivan will discuss India’s economic development and fastest-growing sectors
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 19, 2021 — From a major economic crisis in 1991, India evolved to become the fastest-growing major economy in recent years. While Frost & Sullivan estimates an 8.8% contraction of its GDP for 2020-21, there are strong signs of rebound with a 10.5% expansion anticipated in 2021-22. India is expected to attain pre-pandemic GDP levels before key advanced economies in 2021, driven by factors such as a decline in COVID-19 case count, which should spur consumer and business confidence, and central bank liquidity measures.
Join Frost & Sullivan experts Sarwant Singh, Benoy CS, Kaushik Madhavan, Amol Kotwal, Sowmya RajagopalanandMukund Devnanifor the upcoming webinar, "India in 2025: Key Industries and Investment Growth Opportunities," on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, at 4:30 PM (IST). They will be joined by industry stalwarts Anil Srivastava, Principal Consultant & Mission Director at NITI Aayog, and Mudit Agarwal, Corporate Strategy & Business Development VP at Aditya Birla Group, to discuss key economic trends impacting India by 2025, the fastest-growing segments, boldest development themes, and investment options across industries.
For more information and to register for the webinar, please visit: http://frost.ly/58c.
This unique webinar will provide a window to the future and insights on:
Indian economic development trajectory to 2025
Top investment opportunities and fastest-growing sectors by 2025
How digitization and adoption of emerging technologies across businesses are propelling India’s growth
Factors that are fueling the rapid expansion of the chemicals sector
The future of healthcare in India
Trends and innovations driving the food and nutrition sector
Expansion of smart manufacturing and job creation in the country
The rapidly transforming Indian mobility sector, including automotive, supply chain, and logistics
The major industry developments in the Indian defense sector
This webinar will also be recorded and available on-demand at http://frost.ly/1ti.
About Frost & Sullivan
For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.
BEIJING, Feb. 19, 2021 — WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (Nasdaq: WIMI) ("WiMi" or the "Company"), a leading Hologram Augmented Reality ("AR") Technology provider in China, today announced that it has won the bid for the second phase of China Mobile AND Media Cloud Platform’s remote interaction holographic project (the "Project").
Bidding for the Project started at 10 AM Beijing time on February 1, 2021. All companies in China’s holographic and communication industries were able to fill out an application. The application evaluation process was executed according to the bid evaluation method specified in the Bidding Laws of the People’s Republic of China, other related regulations, and bidding documents. After a series of rigorous evaluations, it was decided that WiMi’s application stood out from the rest, and according to the bidding result announcement released on February 10, 2021 at China Mobile’s official website, WiMi won the bid.
With hundreds of millions of users, China Mobile is the largest mobile communication operator and leading operator of 5G mobile communication infrastructure in China. As of December 2020, China Mobile had 165 million customers with 5G data plan and 775 million customers with 4G data plan. With its comprehensive communication infrastructure and superior high-bandwidth 5G mobile communication network, China Mobile maintains broad development prospects in the field of remote interaction holographic communication. WiMi’s status as a qualified supplier and partner for China Mobile marks a significant improvement in the Company’s overall competitiveness. Going forward, as domestic communication operators continue to increase their investment into 5G technologies each year, it is expected that WiMi will also achieve significant advances and strategic breakthroughs in terms of its collaborations with 5G operators in China.
The selection of WiMi for the Project is further evidence of the Company’s strong technical strengths. As a leading AR hologram technology provider for holographic 5G communication applications, the Company remains committed to independent R&D as well as investment into 5G and other core technology fields. Going forward, the Company plans to utilize such advanced technologies as 5G, AR, virtual reality, holographic communications, and more, to continue strengthening its collaborations with China Mobile as well as other communication operators and industry partners. At the same time, the Company will also focus on leveraging these technologies to further promote the development of its holographic 5G communication business while further accelerating the digital transformation of domestic holographic communication applications in other industry verticals.
About WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.
WiMi Hologram Cloud, Inc.(NASDAQ: WIMI), whose commercial operations began in 2015, is a holographic cloud comprehensive technical solution provider that focuses on professional areas including holographic AR automotive HUD software, holographic pulse laser, head-mounted light field holographic equipment, holographic semiconductor, holographic cloud software, holographic car navigation and others. Its services and holographic AR technologies include holographic AR automotive application, holographic laser automotive application, holographic vision semiconductor technology, holographic software development, holographic AR advertising technology, holographic AR entertainment technology, holographic ARSDK payment, automobile holographic communication and other holographic AR technologies. For more information, please visit http://ir.wimiar.com.
Safe Harbor / Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this press release, as well as the Company’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward−looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward−looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Forms 20−F and 6−K, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward−looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the AR holographic industry; and the Company’s expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its products and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F and current report on Form 6-K and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable laws.
Contacts WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc. Email: pr@wimiar.com
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 19, 2021 — Crunchfish AB ("Crunchfish") announces its enrolment into VISA Technology Partner program with its Digital Cash solutions. As a VISA technology partner, Crunchfish will get access to VISA specifications and toolkits enabling potential integration with the VISA digital payment rail.
Crunchfish’s patent pending Digital Cash solutions are built on a two-tier offline vs. online settlement architecture. As a VISA Technology Partner, Crunchfish will get access to VISA specifications and toolkits enabling Digital Cash development, evaluation and potential integration with the VISA digital payment rail.
"To be invited into VISA Technology Partner program is an important milestone for the company and a testimony of Crunchfish’s technology prowess. It suggests that Digital Cash is a promising solution that may become an integral part of digital payments of tomorrow," says Crunchfish’s CEO Joachim Samuelsson.
Leader in Cloud Financial Planning and Analysis Becomes Top Planning Extension for Acumatica’s Cloud ERP Solution
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 18, 2021 — Planful Inc., the pioneer of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) cloud software, today announced it has partnered with Acumatica to give users of both platforms an industry-leading solution for tightly integrated, cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and FP&A.
Acumatica is a comprehensive cloud ERP solution optimized for ease of use, adaptability, mobility, and security. As a recommended extension for Acumatica, Planful provides numerous unique capabilities for FP&A compared to alternative platforms, including:
Fast, flexible implementation using Planful Now, a package of quick-start solutions that helps enterprises meet critical use cases in just weeks.
Excel syntax support for ease-of-use with existing Excel charts and processes.
Ability to seamlessly process large amounts of data to create a scalable, stable experience for the end user.
Fast cloud deployment with rapid configuration and seamless product updates.
"This partnership brings the power of Planful’s end-to-end platform for financial planning, consolidation, and reporting & analysis together with Acumatica’s robust ERP solution," said Kyle Van Jahnke, Vice President of Global Partnerships, Planful. "With Planful, Acumatica customers will now be able to automate and accelerate FP&A activities to drive faster and more agile planning and decision-cycles, and elevate the financial IQ of the organization."
This partnership signals that the Planful Platform meets the highest standards set for Acumatica integration and functionality. It also points to Planful’s commitment to Acumatica quality measurements and alignment to future Acumatica roadmap releases.
"We’re proud to partner with Planful to meet our customers’ growing business demands," said Christian Lindberg, Vice President of Partner Solutions, Acumatica. "Customers who want to stay competitive need flexible, responsive FP&A cloud software such as the Planful Platform to execute their long-term business strategies."
To learn more about Planful and Acumatica’s partnership, click here.
About Planful Planful (formerly Host Analytics) is the pioneer of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) cloud software. The Planful platform is used by the Office of the CFO around the globe to streamline business-wide planning, budgeting, consolidations, reporting, and visual analytics. More than 800 customers, including Boston Red Sox, Del Monte, TGI Friday’s, and 23andMe, rely on Planful to accelerate cycle times, increase productivity, and improve accuracy across the end-to-end FP&A process. Planful is a private company backed by Vector Capital, a leading global private equity firm. Learn more at www.planful.com.
About Acumatica Acumatica provides cloud-based business management software that enables small and mid-size companies to accelerate their businesses. Built on cloud and mobile technology and a unique customer-centric licensing model, Acumatica delivers a suite of fully integrated business management applications, such as Financials, Distribution, CRM, and Project Accounting, on a robust and flexible platform. For more information, visitwww.acumatica.com.
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 18, 2021 — Crunchfish AB ("Crunchfish") announces its enrolment into a leading international payment network’s partner program with its Digital Cash solutions. As a technology partner, Crunchfish will get access to specifications and toolkits enabling integration with their payment network.
Crunchfish’s patent pending Digital Cash solutions are built on a two-tier offline vs. online settlement architecture. As a technology partner, Crunchfish will work with solutions architects and have access to specifications and toolkits enabling Digital Cash development, integration and certification with their payment network. Crunchfish is sponsored by the payment network’s innovation team in India into this program.
"To be invited into this partner program is an important milestone for the company and a testimony of Crunchfish’s technology prowess. It suggests that Digital Cash is a promising solution that may become an integral part of digital payments of tomorrow.", says Crunchfish’s CEO Joachim Samuelsson.
Vastra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB is the Certified Adviser Email: ca@vhcorp.se Telephone +46 40 200 250.This information is information that Crunchfish AB is obliged to publish in accordance to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was provided by the contact person above for publication on February 18, 2021.
SINGAPORE, Feb. 17, 2021 — Diginex Limited (Nasdaq: EQOS), the digital assets financial services company, and Itiviti, a leading technology and service provider to financial institutions worldwide, today announced the launch of ‘Access’, a front-to-back trading, portfolio, and risk management solution that enables the trading of cryptocurrencies and crypto derivatives across several platforms.
Access is powered by Itiviti’s Tbricks, an award-winning trade automation technology and infrastructure that is recognized globally as one of the most popular institutional trading platforms available.
The launch of ‘Access’ comes as institutional investors are making a wholesale shift into digital assets, driven by dwindling returns in traditional assets and escalating fiscal stimuli fueling rising concerns about inflation.
Access provides investors with an aggregated order book across exchanges, and the ability to ensure best execution across their previously disparate liquidity pools. Execution, order and portfolio management are streamlined for investors through a robust front, middle, back office with real time risk and P&L.
Tbricks is a next-generation, cross-asset trading system optimized for low latency, high throughput and scalability. Already in use with many tier one sell-side firms and banks, today’s launch will mean that clients of these firms will now have instant ability to trade crypto currencies and manage their risk and portfolio in the same way as any other traditional asset classes.
Richard Byworth, CEO of Diginex, commented: "This launch provides yet another onramp for institutional adoption of Bitcoin and Digital Assets. Itiviti has a proven track record in providing market leading technology for traditional asset classes to both buy-side and sell-side institutional investors. Diginex brings many years of experience in crypto and digital assets combined with a robust approach to compliance and risk management."
Continued Byworth: "We see increasing demand for cryptocurrency exposure from institutional investors and believe this will be a dominant theme in 2021. With the launch of Access, investors can now manage their portfolios using institutional technology that is tailored specifically for cryptocurrencies."
"We are excited to announce our growing partnership with Diginex," said Rob Mackay, CEO of Itiviti. "With the integration and launch of Access on Tbricks, trading across different crypto exchanges will now be open to institutional investors across the globe and expose them to Itiviti’s advanced automated trading technology."
To learn more about the trends in institutional digital asset trading and investing, Itiviti and Diginex will host a webinar on Wednesday March, 31st at 11am CET, register here.
About Diginex
Diginex is a digital assets financial services company focused on delivering a cryptocurrency and digital assets ecosystem offering innovative product and services that are compliant, fair and trusted. The group encompasses cryptocurrency exchange EQUOS.io as well as an over-the-counter trading platform. It also offers a front-to-back integrated trading platform Diginex Access, a securitization advisory service Diginex Capital, market leading hot and cold custodian, Digivault and funds business Bletchley Park Asset Management. For more information visit: https://www.diginex.com/.
Itiviti provides nearly 2,000 financial institutions worldwide with flexible, cross-asset trading solutions that cover the full trade lifecycle. Through its commitment to technology innovation, relentless pursuit of workflow efficiency and an entrepreneurial culture, Itiviti is disrupting the industry with highly-scalable solutions that deliver unprecedented cost savings for clients.
This press release ("Press Release") is prepared by Diginex Limited ("Diginex") and is provided for information purposes only and is a summary only of certain key facts and Diginex plans. This Press Release does not constitute an offer or solicitation or form part of an offer or solicitation of any kind to anyone in any jurisdiction in relation to any securities or other regulated products or services. Without limitation, the Press Release does not constitute an offer or solicitation to make use of any services provided by Diginex, and neither this Press Release nor anything contained in it will form the basis of any contract or commitment whatsoever. The contents of this Press Release have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in any jurisdictions. Statements contained herein as to the content of any agreement or other document are summaries and, therefore, are necessarily selective and incomplete and are qualified in their entirety by the actual agreements or other documents. This Press Release includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside of Diginex’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination; the ability of Diginex to grow and manage growth profitably; Diginex’s limited operating history and history of net losses; Diginex’s ability to execute its business plan; the inability to maintain the listing of Diginex’s shares on NASDAQ; Diginex’s estimates of the size of the markets for its products; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Diginex’s products; Diginex’s ability to identify and integrate acquisitions; potential litigation involving Diginex or the validity or enforceability of Diginex’s intellectual property; general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Diginex’s products and services; and such other risks and uncertainties indicated in Diginex’s Shell Company Report on Form 20-F, including those under "Risk Factors" therein, and in Diginex’s other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that Diginex believes to be reasonable as of this date. Diginex undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Other than those of Diginex, all names, trademarks and logos in this Press Release and used in the materials herein belong to their respective owners. Nothing contained on this Press Release should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any right or license to use any third-party names, trademarks, or logos displayed on the Press Release without the written permission of such third-parties. Copyright (c) Diginex 2021.
NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2021 — Future FinTech Group Inc.(NASDAQ: FTFT, "Future Fintech", "FTFT" or "Company"), a leading blockchain based e-commerce company and a financial technology service provider, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Future Commercial Group Co., Ltd., has cooperated with the School of Economics Finance of Xi’an Jiaotong University to establish a blockchain finance research institute.
Future Fintech and the School of Economics and Finance of Xi’an Jiaotong University will cooperate to jointly establish the Blockchain Finance Institute, which will carry out research and cooperation on blockchain technology in the financial industry. At the same time, the Blockchain Finance Institute will set up a foundation for establishing school-enterprise cooperation post-doctoral mobile stations for the next step. The two parties will focus on the research of blockchain technology in banking, insurance, securities, futures, supply chain finance, digital payment etc. FTFT will provide funds for scientific research, while Xi’an Jiaotong University will provide scientific and engineering research personnel. Relevant research results will be shared by both parties.
According to Mr. Shanchun Huang, the CEO of FTFT, "Xi’an Jiaotong University is a comprehensive national key university with a history of 125 years. Its leading scientific research is outstanding in China, especially in mathematics, finance and computing. The cooperation with Xi’an Jiaotong University indicates that our company has taken the application research of blockchain technology to a new level. The development of our company’s blockchain technology has been on the right track gradually. Blockchain technology can solve the problem of customer fund security in the financial field. It can improve the speed and efficiency of banking, remittance and settlement, as well as the prevention of systematic risk from malicious short-selling in securities transactions. It can solve the problems which cannot be solved by traditional technologies. Our company will work with Xi’an Jiaotong University to explore more applications in the financial blockchain field, and to further promote the company’s research and development to the world’s leading level."
Professor Fuyou Li, the director of the Institute of Financial System and Economic Policy, PhD supervisor of Xi’an Jiaotong University, said that "As the independent director of the FTFT, I am very happy to build a bridge for the cooperation between the two parties. I believe the blockchain finance research institute will be an open platform. The two parties will actively carry out experiments of blockchain-related applications. Meanwhile, we will jointly build laboratories in the subdivisional fields of blockchain technology so that it can better serve economic development and benefit mankind."
Professor Zao Sun, the doctoral supervisor and dean of the School of Economics and Finance of Xi’an Jiaotong University highly agrees with this collaboration and believes that the cooperation between the school and enterprise is great. This will realize the combination of theory and practice by "going out and coming in". It can provide a full play to their respective advantages, offer opportunities and platforms for the development of both parties, and achieve a win-win situation.
About Future FinTech Group Inc.
Future FinTech Group Inc. ("Future FinTech", "FTFT" or the "Company") is a leading blockchain e-commerce company and a service provider for financial technology incorporated in Florida. The Company’s operations include a blockchain-based online shopping mall platform, Chain Cloud Mall ("CCM"), a cross-border e-commerce platform (NONOGIRL), an incubator for blockchain based application projects. The Company is also engaged in the development of blockchain based e-Commerce technology as well as financial technology. For more information, please visit http://www.ftftex.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain of the statements made in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning and protections of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause the actual results, performance, capital, ownership or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "assume," "should," "indicate," "would," "believe," "contemplate," "expect," "estimate," "continue," "plan," "point to," "project," "could," "intend," "target" and other similar words and expressions of the future.
All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our other reports and filings with SEC. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC’s Internet website at http://www.sec.gov. We have no obligation and do not undertake to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date hereof, or after the respective dates on which any such statements otherwise are made.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 17, 2021 — Marketing technology consultancy, admiral.digital, has acquired Fresh Sports Group (FSG), strengthening its consultancy offering across the entire digital spectrum. Following the acquisition, FSG will be renamed admiral.sports and serve under the admiral.digital umbrella, signalling a new chapter in the company’s growth story.
Packing an experienced punch, the new team brings to the table expertise in brand creation, content development, campaign execution and business strategy. The uniting of the two companies enables admiral.digital to enhance its executive team, strengthen its marketing technology consultancy offering and expand into an exciting new sales channel – sports.
Pieter Van den Eynde, admiral.digital Founder, said, "We have a clear mission at admiral.digital: to empower brands to become digital first and thrive. This is especially relevant now, at a time when the business and economic landscape has warranted the need for brands to innovate aggressively, particularly from a tech perspective. This deal enables us to add to existing capabilities and enhance our expertise to better serve our clients".
"We see this as a natural move in the right direction. Even prior to the deal, we found the FSG team to be a strong ally, having worked closely with them on multiple collaborations over a number of years. We also recognise that sports technology is an exciting market to dive into with tremendous potential. Moving forward, admiral.sports will play a highly integrated and complementary role, creating a dynamic synergy, thereby fortifying our core business where the end result is truly greater than the sum of its parts," he added.
Van den Eynde will continue to lead the Group’s aggressive growth agenda, with Co-Founder Alec Van Noten focused on building the company’s ‘Technology as a Service’ proposition in the role of Chief Product Officer.
Meanwhile, FSG’s Co-Founder Sam Middlehurst steps into the role of Chief Executive Officer; tasked with setting the strategic direction and assembling the building blocks for the next stage of growth. Completing the impressive executive team as Chief Marketing Officer is fellow FSG Co-Founder Tim Johnston, who brings with him a wealth of brand creation, marketing and managerial expertise.
Middlehurst said, "We collectively share a vision to make marketing technology more accessible to more brands. By joining forces, we now cover the entire digital spectrum, from strategy to technology to creative; enabling us to service a broad spectrum of cross-industry and cross-category clients".
He added that the immediate focus of admiral.digital would be to ensure the seamless integration of FSG, the development of proprietary technologies and continued sales growth.
The executive team have used the deal as an opportunity to launch a new ‘go-to-market’ execution framework for clients; connecting technology, data and marketing to drive better customer experiences and deliver results for clients. This new strategy has been supported by a refreshed brand identity, which projects a shared passion for marketing and technology.
About admiral.digital
admiral.digital is the marketing technology consultancy. With a promise of technology and marketing that delivers results, their service offering covers the entire digital spectrum, from strategy, to technology, to creative. admiral.digital’s simple, open approach to connecting technology, data and marketing helps clients drive better customer experiences that deliver results.
Launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2016, admiral.digital’s vision is to make marketing technology more accessible to more brands. From their headquarters in Malaysia, and with a presence across Southeast Asia and New Zealand, admiral.digital’s 30+ experts service partners across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Amongst others, admiral.digital’s diverse client roster includes RHB Bank, Zenyum, Circles Life and MR DIY.
BANDUNG, Indonesia, Feb. 17, 2021 — As part of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda 2021, Evermos, a West Java’s social-commerce platform for Indonesian Muslim products, Evermos, unveiled an article on helping Indonesian MSMEs increase their competitiveness. Evermos presented the paper at the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda 2021 held on January 25-29, 2021.
The current system discourages small Indonesian businesses from investing in growth. (photo: Evermos)
World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda 2021 was attended by world leaders, such as Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel; President of France, Emmanuel Macron; Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son; Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. Muhammad Lutfi; and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi.
This year’s forum discussed world impact topics, including COVID-19’s effect on society and the economy, building a fairer economy, transcending geopolitical boundaries, the goodwill of technology, and new strategies to save the earth.
Among these topics, Indonesian SMEs’ economic rate drew particular attention at The Davos Agenda 2021 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
The Davos Agenda 2021 highlighted several of the articles case studies, including an Evermos’ article about Mr. lyus, a hijab producer in Bandung, who experienced a significant growth from 2015-2017. During that time, Mr. lyus produced 150,000 headscarves per day. However, this later declined by 80%, resulting in reduced income for his employees.
A significant reason is a by-product of imports flooding the market, some of which are illegal. On average, a container of imported goods can contain around 250,000 to 450,000 headscarves.
Unfair trading practices in this sector have major implications for retailers like Mr. Iyus. He analysed how foreign manufacturers observe which products were in high demand, and within six months, they flooded the market with similar but cheaper products.
To increase his compete, Mr. Iyus had to innovate with a new winning product, and within 6 months, he quickly started production to get a profit. However, he noticed that his global competitors use marketing intelligence to gain an unfair advantage and shortened his winning product lifecycle. Due to time and capital constraints, Mr. Iyus is reluctant to expand his business. The situation has created a vicious cycle among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia.
Cheaper imported products have made SMEs’ reluctant to initiate medium -to long-term investments, causing low productivity and inefficient production; making them less competitive with global players.
This vicious cycle at the SMEs level creates another smaller vicious cycle, which impacts the welfare level of the workers. Low productivity of the SMEs then reduces their income, which in turn decreases the education level of their children. It later causes the next SMEs generation to experience skills shortages and low income as well.
Considering the long-term impact, people should start switching to buying local products, to increase money velocity and revive the local economy.
Arip Tirta, President of Evermos, said, "If we don’t buy local products, SMEs will lose against global value chains. Whenever we buy a local product, we help revive the economy by keeping money in circulation through product owners, vendors, employees, and other related parties. It keeps the economy flowing. Improvements in quality and experience are important, but more important is the need to support local producers and their endeavours."
SMEs have contributed support approximately 97% of employment in Indonesia, absorbing most low-skilled workers. They also contribute to over 60% of Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and have helped raise the quality of life by helping millions of people out of poverty.
Indonesia’s large and growing market presents opportunities to expand local production’s impact. However, there is a need to create more products’ in more significant quantities and more varieties. Something Indonesia is yet to do.
The next question: How can Indonesia break this vicious cycle? People need to focus on single links of the chain by doing any or all of the following:
Go local or go home. Inspire people to buy local products, even though there are alternative cheaper products.
Think long-term. Encourage SMEs to think of medium to long-term investment to remain globally competitive.
Productivity as an engine for growth. Focus on skills training and technology adoption to increase productivity.
The best offence is defence. Create effective trade policies to protect SMEs, with a more data-driven market intelligence approach.
If people can break this chain, Indonesia can create a virtuous cycle conducive to SMEs to think about medium and long-term growth. Productivity, efficiency, and higher profits will be made and strengthen local products’ global competitiveness.
Another approach is to create a significant breakthrough by breaking the cycle of our heavy reliance on SMEs and focusing on improving skilled workforce, while transforming them into high-skill workers.
A vicious cycle is difficult to stop, but it is not impossible if all players work together and fight for the SME’s welfare together as a country.
– Over 95 million bank customers now ‘self-driving’ their finances with Personetics
– Banks reaping the rewards with an up to 35% increase in mobile app engagement and 20% increase in customer account and balance growth
– The global market for financial services personalization solutions is valued at $13 billion
LONDON and NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 16, 2021 — Personetics, the leading global provider of data-driven personalization and customer engagement solutions for banks and financial services providers, today announced it has raised $75m in growth funding from Warburg Pincus LLC, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. Personetics is backed by Viola Ventures, Lightspeed Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Nyca Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Personetics offers a proprietary AI software platform to leading banks around the world. Its software touches more than 95 million personal banking customers and analyzes billions of transactions daily. Personetics analyses customer financial data and behavior in real-time, with the data staying safely inside the bank’s ecosystem so that confidentiality is guaranteed.
Banks use Personetics’ agile tools and its low-code Engagement Builder, a Creation & Management Console, to quickly modify hundreds of pre-programmed insights and build customized user journeys. This empowers banks to share real-time personalized insights and advice, as well as automated, self-adjustable financial wellness programs across its customer base comprising both individual banking customers and small businesses.
Financial institutions increasingly recognize the importance of value-driven and proactive digital engagement with their customers and must offer exceptional customer service to retain customer loyalty, whilst exploring ways to monetize these relationships. Operating in a global market worth circa $13 billion, Personetics’ business solutions have become the global market standard and are successfully delivering the vision of ‘self-driving finance’.
The benefits and ROI of providing data-driven, hyper-personalized, engagement to every customer interaction are immediate and substantial. Banks using the Personetics AI software are seeing an up to 35% increase in digital customer engagement, a 20% increase in an account and balance growth and a 15% increase in the adoption of personalized product recommendations and advice.
Flagship clients include many of the worlds leading banks, such as U.S. Bank (US), RBC (Canada), Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy), Santander (Spain), KBC (Belgium), Metro Bank (UK), UOB (Singapore), Hyundai Card (Korea) and MUFG (Japan).
David Sosna, CEO and Co-Founder of Personetics, said: "The financial services industry is reaching a tipping–point in mobile adoption and setting a new standard in Smart Personalized Engagement. Personetics has set out down this path and has launched its vision of Self-Driving Finance. We are looking to quickly expand our global footprint with new partners and clients, and support our existing customers with innovative business solutions. We are very excited to be partnering with Warburg Pincus on this journey."
Peter Deming, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus and Head of Financial Services across EMEA, said: "Personetics leverages an unrivaled AI technology which is badly needed by established banks as they seek to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and match the customer experience of the Neobanks and FinTech apps. David and his team have built the perfect solution for the post-COVID banking distribution model and already secured a world-class client base. Through the combination of our financial backing and Warburg Pincus’ extensive global network across financial services, Personetics can distribute its unique technology into banks all over the world."
Adarsh Sarma, Co-Head of Europe at Warburg Pincus,said: "Israel continues to offer innovative, high growth investment opportunities across technology, financial technology and financial services, all sectors of particular interest to Warburg Pincus. We have committed almost $700 million of equity to businesses in Israel since our founding which is a testament to the talent and innovation that the country has fostered. In spite of the global pandemic, Israel is very much open for business and we look forward to a fruitful and successful partnership with Personetics."
Avi Zeevi, Co-founder of Viola Ventures and Personetics’ Chairman, said: "We are happy to join forces with Warburg Pincus, a renowned international investor with an extensive global network and track record of success in the financial services and FinTech sectors. This is further proof of Israel’s ability to generate leading global FinTech companies and for Personetics’ immense potential for disruption across the global banking ecosystem."
About Personetics: Focused on enabling proactive engagement for banks, Personetics’ AI analyzes financial data in real-time to understand customer financial behavior, anticipate customer needs and deliver a hyper-personalized experience. With solutions designed for the mass market, wealth management, and small business customers, the technology enables banks to offer day-to-day insights, financial advice, and automated wellness programs to customers. Banks use Personetics’ agile tools to rapidly create their own personalization IP to serve the unique needs of their customers and differentiate themselves in a crowded market. With these advances, banks have transformed their digital banking into the center of the customers’ financial lives while also delivering significant business impact.
Led by a team of seasoned financial and technology entrepreneurs, Personetics strives to actualize a world of "Self-Driving Finance" where banks proactively act on behalf of their customers – a win-win for customers and banks alike. Founded in 2011, Personetics operates through offices in New York, London, Paris, Singapore and Tel Aviv. To learn more, visit www.personetics.com.
About Warburg Pincus: Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $58 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 195 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value.
Since the firm was founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has invested $21 billion in Fintech and Financial Services companies such as Metavante/FIS, Avaloq, Clearwater Analytics, WEX, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, and $20 billion in Technology businesses including Crowdstrike, Avalara and BEA Systems. To date, Warburg Pincus has invested almost $700 million in Israel.
Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $89 billion in over 920 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore.
