‘Health is wealth’ but who has health without their wealth?

Technological innovations in the financial sector have brought about a global bloom in the industry.

In the past three years, the industry has managed to amass US$31 billion and remains promising.

Similarly, the healthcare industry is also looking to advance in technology to bring about innovations in its service.

In our current climate, it is obvious that the rich are getting richer and the poor are living paycheck to paycheck — finding it increasingly harder to pay off loans.

That is why fintech should aim to solve the unaffordable healthcare crisis.

The parallels between fintech and healthcare

The financial environment has changed significantly.

This is due to the increasing popularity of decentralized currencies, tech payment options, digital wallets offered by companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, and online reviews.

The traditional financial institutions like banks are now struggling to prove their ongoing value to the consumers and strive to provide high-quality services at a low price.

On the other hand, the healthcare industry has been reluctant to embrace such technology at a similar magnitude.

However, fintech has the ability to bring significant change in this sector and make healthcare more accessible and affordable for the masses.

Also Read: Cambodia catches up with launching of startup professional service alliance

It can help the patients as well as the medical staff in the following ways:

Data and performance tracking

The worldwide wearables market is increasing by 16.9 per cent every year. Around 310.4 million wearable devices are sold in a year, generating a revenue of US$30.5 billion.

This success is owed to the monitoring of personal health and wellness.

The relationship between tracking fitness and the larger health issues is undeniable and the success of such products has direct implications on the healthcare sector.

Access to information

Providing 24 hours of access to important information has been exclusive for financial institutions — until now.

But its importance cannot be denied in other sectors too, thus, fintech should be utilized to introduce this in healthcare as well.

Through blockchain applications, one can store data, improve functioning with the help of AI, and help individuals in accessing the data.

Removing confusions from billing systems

The payments and billing systems in the healthcare industry are full of trouble, so a change is not just desirable but necessary here.

Fintech startups should help in finding ways to facilitate payments by offering online billing and bill payments.

The interest of the masses is to create a retail kind of experience in healthcare and introduce blockchain for easier and facilitated transactions.

Personalized programs

As individuals have become more open about sharing their personal details and lifestyle choices, it’s possible to formulate personalized programs.

Also Read: How to give your small business a boost with budget advertising

Depending on your age and health condition, these programs can actually lead you to a healthier lifestyle and help in keeping the problem areas under control.

Conclusion

Healthcare should be innovating itself with time and must be working for the betterment of the individuals.

Serving the health-related needs of individuals should be prioritized by different industries and they must work together to ease up the healthcare processes.

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Image Credits: jjvallee

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You need to score at least two out of three to qualify for a good case

What are the justifications for doing this?

When is the timing right?

What is the best way to do this?

These are three of the most important questions to ask when it comes to overseas business expansion.

This post aims to answer these questions and offer insights on how to make the most out of the globalized business landscape.

Why should you consider expanding?

There are three possibilities:

1. You want to generate more revenue.
2. There’s demand in a new market that matches the products or services you are offering.
3. The local market is getting too crowded and local customers no longer favour your brand.
   Businesses naturally expand to make more money.

It’s inherent among businessmen to seek more. It’s not necessarily being greedy.

It’s just illogical to forego opportunities for growth, especially when the facts on the ground are favourable.

It is also instinctive for determined and astute businessmen to branch out to a new market with a high demand for products similar to what they are selling. Businesses typically spend time and resources to discover new markets.

It does not make sense not expanding when a new viable market has been found.

Moreover, it’s only commonsensical to expand when a surfeit of competitors have entered the present market for your business.

When your products are no longer preferred by the customers you used to call frequenters or patrons, it’s high time to consider expanding overseas.

These three reasons for expanding are generally interrelated. You need at least two of them for you to put up a good case for expansion.

It’s not enough that you just want to generate more revenues. There should also be demand in the new market you want to expand into, or you are forced to find other greener pastures as stronger competitors slowly eat away your customer base.

When is the right time to expand?

You may have encountered eager pundits who would say that the right time for business expansion is “now” or “as soon as possible.”

Know that haste almost never gets you to the best outcomes.

Expanding your enterprise overseas needs to be meticulously planned and should only be done once you are ready.

How do you know when you are ready for expansion? The following circumstances should be good indicators.

• Your customers are asking more from you and you have a growing customer base abroad.

They could be looking for a product that is related to your present line of products, and something you are capable of offering. Not responding to the clamour or demand can make your customers go to your competitors.

• You have regular customers and steady profits.

It’s not a sound business decision to be satisfied with a constant stream of revenues and profits. If you are already on a comfortable point in your business venture, it’s the best time to explore other opportunities and reach out to new markets.

Also Read: e27’s Daily Digest is that sprinkle of humanity in your email inbox

• The sector or field your business is in is expanding or evolving.

You can’t be stagnant when the industry your business is operating in is advancing. Refusing to level up will not only mean sustained stagnation but will most likely result in falling revenues and profits. Your business may even head to devolution or irrelevance.

• You have a lot of unused cash.

If your business is too liquidy, it’s only logical to find ways to put the free cash to good use. Expanding internationally is an ambitious endeavour but definitely worth considering.

• A new market, especially overseas, presents a tempting scenario of high demand and profitability.

This does not mean that you have to instantly grab an opportunity you deem feasible. Make sure you study the new market carefully. Be cautious but have some optimism to try uncharted grounds after seeing high potential demand, good purchasing power among prospective customers, and overall market receptiveness to what you are offering.

How should you expand your business?

Is there a formula for expanding your brand overseas? Nope.

The how’s of business expansion are dependent on the kind of business you have and the market you are trying to exploit. However, the following guidelines should be helpful.

• Meticulously and scientifically study the new market and carefully plan your strategy.

This sounds cliché, but it’s still worth repeating. You can’t just go to war without the knowledge of the terrain, opponents, preparations, and the right weapons.

Conduct thorough foreign market research and feasibility study to find out if it’s really worth expanding to the market you are considering, or if you should try other new markets. Arm your venture with accurate and relevant information about the competition, potential customers, and the most suitable business tactics and marketing campaigns.

• Localize or make your branding and promotions compatible with the new market.

Yes, the process of adapting your strategy for a foreign market you want to capture is also called localization. You have greater chances of success in your attempt to go global by thinking local (at the standpoint of the new market you want for your business).

Also Read: Can fintech resolve the healthcare crisis?

Localization, however, is not just about translating your product labels, slogan, advertisements, or brand jingle into the language of the prospective customers in the new market. It’s a more sophisticated form of language-to-language as the resulting translations have to be culturally sensitive, appropriate, not offensive, and relatable to the target customers.

To achieve the best results for your marketing campaigns and to make it easier for potential customers to get accustomed to your products, it’s important that everything is localized.

• Form a committed and proficient team.

For any business activity, human resources are a vital component. If you want success, you have to make sure that the people you work with are competent and convinced in the goals you seek to achieve for your business.

• Develop solid plans and contingencies.

You should have all the standard business plans and more, from the financial to the strategy, operations, and even the growth plans. It’s important to have details and projections to work with, so you can formulate courses of actions in case events don’t turn out as expected.

Study how you should deal with the government or regulations in the new market. Learn the best tactics for setting prices. Don’t forget to carefully organize your logistics. Find the best ways to lower operating costs while maximizing profits.

• Consider all the leverage you can use.

Moreover, it is advisable to use everything you can to facilitate success. You can forge tie-ups or collaborations with local players (in the foreign market). See how far your business network or connections can take you to cushion the difficulties you may encounter.

Once you have solid answers to the why, when, and how questions for your overseas expansion, it’s safe to say that you are on the right track.

Expanding overseas entails major capital outlays and challenges that can test the limits of your business acumen and management skills. You need to plan and be prepared for the many hurdles that may come your way.

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The company is recruiting investment banks to act as advisers during its fundraising efforts

In a round that has already bagged US$1 billion, Go-Jek is reportedly driving towards US$3 billion, according to Bloomberg.

No final decision has been made on the total goal for the round, but the number reported sounds like the current internal target.

As part of the funding drive, the company is wooing investment banks to act as an adviser in the ongoing round.

The US$3 billion number is equal to the number rival Grab raised in 2018. Grab made its US$3 billion funding push fairly public towards the end of the year.

As Go-Jek has expanded into Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore, the ride-hailing industry has seen a flood of investments as the two companies battle for supremacy in Southeast Asia.

However, data suggests this town is big enough for the two of them. According to Bloomberg, the ride-hailing industry is expected to be worth US$28 billion in 2025. It was estimated at being worth US$7.7 billion in 2018.

Also Read: e27’s Daily Digest is that sprinkle of humanity in your email inbox

Go-Jek’s regional expansion has not been 100 per cent smooth sailing. Most important was the decision by the Philippines government to reject its application to operate in the country.

However, the acquisition of Coins.ph gives Go-Jek an alternative revenue stream (payments) in the Philippines.

In Singapore, the biggest moment was a viral video of a woman faking her own kidnapping, and subsequently being mocked by a large portion of the population.

Yesterday, the company announced it has hired Lien Choong Luen, a former executive at the National Research Foundation, to be its Singapore General Manager.

Vietnam may be the success story for Go-Jek’s foray into Grab territory. The company says it has nabbed 40 per cent of the two-wheel market in the country, according to the South China Morning Post.

Also Read: Bullied to succumb: Should tech companies bow to society’s homophobic demands?

At the current moment, Grab is still the dominant ride-hailing app outside of Indonesia, but US$3 billion could go a long way to evening the playing field.

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The acquisition aims to provide all-around financial advice for Singaporeans

DollarsAndSense.sg, a personal finance media startup based in Singapore, announced today that it has acquired fellow local financial planning startup fundMyLife.

By acquiring fundMyLife, DollarsAndSense will add insurtech platform to its media business. DollarsAndSense stated that it also seeks for better insights into what consumers are looking for, in terms of financial planning knowledge for Singaporeans and what’s still missing.

Also Read: Ofo operating license suspended in Singapore

During the transition, fundMyLife co-founders Jackie Tan and Wesley Goi will remain on board to aid a seamless transition.

fundMyLife was founded in 2017 to provide consumers with answers to financial planning or insurance question from a curated pool of trusted financial advisors via a private Q&A platform. The approach gave users a reliable source of knowledge, privacy, and choice to opt for follow-up financial consultation.

On the other hand, financial advisers who utilises the platform can access leads of potential customers and make their past accomplishments a portfolio alongside client testimonials. It also allows these advisers to value-add to prospects who have already shown an intent to make a financial planning decision, rather than offering those who are still in the stage of deciding the need of insurance.

DollarsAndSense.sg was founded in 2012 and has remained focussed on addressing personal finance through publication in Singapore. It supports Singaporeans in making better financial decisions through bite-sized articles, infographics, videos, and tools.

Prior to the acquisition, DollarsAndSense has been working closely with fundMyLife on areas like affiliate partnerships, content marketing, and improving engagement with the financial adviser community.

“I believe the acquisition of fundMyLife this will lead to better outcomes for both consumers and financial advisors. We are committed to make this platform a success for everyone involved,” said Timothy Ho, Co-founder and Managing Editor of DollarsAndSense.

Also Read: Oriente partners with Indonesia’s conglomerate Sinar Mas to launch lending platform

“DollarsAndSense brings their expertise in creating original content in the personal finance space, joined with strong branding and reach. I believe fundMyLife will achieve its growth potential in the coming months as a result of this partnership,” said Jackie Tan, Co-founder of fundMyLife.
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The funding is led by Sequoia India and will be focussed toward product development

Thailand and Singapore-based startup Band Protocol announced today that it has raised US$3 million seed funding led by Sequoia India. Joining the round was Dunamu & Partners as well as SeaX.

Band Protocol describes itself as a startup that “harnesses wisdom-of-crowd and incentivises its digital community of users to curate reliable information”. With the funding, the company plans to further its product development and its go-to-market this year.

Also Read: Astrology-agnostic? Wait. Here’s a startup that can predict whether your startup will fail or not

The investment made by Sequoia India into Band Protocol also marked the global VC’s first blockchain investment in Southeast Asia.

The premise of Band Protocol is that it offers users an opportunity to create a token-curated community that’s specific on a topic or category. The users then will be able to issue personalised tokens as an incentive to encourage data and information curation within that community.

This way, the power is given back to active users and content creators as data owners.

“There’s growing unavailability of trustable data on the internet, coupled with the rising trend of fake news,” said Soravis Srinawakoon, co-founder and CEO of Band Protocol. “Our vision at Band Protocol is to bring online and digital communities together by creating an online platform for the curation of transparent and reliable data.”

With the company’s approach, Band Protocol can serve customers ranging from entities such as credit bureaus, fraud detection, KYC and identity verification – as well as any service or site that offers online discussion, recommendations, and rankings.

Band Protocol was founded in 2017 by Soravis Srinawakoon, Sorawit Suriyakarn, and Paul Chonpimai. All three founders have histories with investing in cryptocurrencies since 2013 and have created a crypto game in 2015 that is said to have garnered over 300,000 users.

Band Protocol’s believed to be able to solve the problem of lack of regulation that arises from issues like biased ranking, inaccurate reporting of token metrics, to scams that part retail investors from their money.

Also Read: Blockchain is paving the way for something new: Smart Companies

To promote the adoption of Band Protocol and demonstrate its application, the team is creating CoinHatcher, that serves as a decentralised portal that aggregates reliable news, research, token-economic information, and a comprehensive directory of crypto projects, founders, and other related ecosystem players for education and data accuracy in the sector.
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