Day: January 12, 2020

 

Netflix Indonesia just announced in a Twitter statement today that it will partner with the country’s Ministry of Education and Culture to support the local film industry.

The California-headquartered streaming company aims to empower local filmmakers through a series of programmes which includes filmmaking workshop with both local and international filmmakers, short film competition, online safety training programme, and Agile Government Workshops along with the World Economic Forum.

“We appreciate Netflix for their support for Indonesian film industry growth,” said Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim.

“This partnership is meant to support and internationalise our local films,” he added.

Makarim had recently made headlines with his appointment as minister after leaving the position of CEO of ride-hailing unicorn gojek.

Also Read: Why Netflix and Amazon may face difficulties claiming pole positions in Southeast Asia

gojek itself has also launched its own on-demand video streaming platform GoPlay, which includes original content developed by an in-house production company.

Netflix has already been growing rapidly regionally in different countries, where local filmmakers are releasing local independent movies.

“We believe that there’ll be many great stories coming from Indonesia. Through these initiatives, we aim to contribute in the growth of the creative community,” said Kuek Yu-Chuang, Managing Director, Netflix Asia Pacific.

The company also hopes that these stories can come up with unique themes about Indonesia for the world to enjoy.

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Image Credit: Thibault Penin

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2020 opened with major fintech companies vying for digital banking licenses, especially in Singapore. After Grab and Razer, Ant Financial followed suit.

Digital banking is at a tipping point in the Asia Pacific region and the financial services industry needs to be prepared for a transformative year ahead.

Here are the five trends, I think, will dominate the scene.

Fintech companies partnerships will become the norm
Banks face a choice as we enter the 2020s: they can either innovate and restructure business models, providing new services and products to improve their value chain or become commodity players, specialising in a particular area.

Partnering with fintech companies will be key going forward.

Also Read: Think like a fintech company: How banks can capitalise on the digital banking revolution

The industry experience and trustworthiness of traditional banks combined with the agility and innovation of fintech companies will allow banks to create more compelling customer experiences and remain relevant in the coming years.

Data intelligence will drive competitive advantage
Data intelligence will be a key competitive differentiator. This is evident not just in banking, but across other industries.

For example, the recent acquisition of Fitbit by Google has given the tech-giant access to a huge source of anonymised health data.

Similarly, banks hold a wealth of customer financial data. The challenge is how best to use it effectively. While agile challenger banks and fintech companies are already experimenting here, traditional banks remain behind the curve.

Data intelligence will be a key focus as they aim to personalise their services and become more embedded in customers’ lives.

Regtech will take centre stage
The way large banks handle regulatory compliance is overly complex and costly. Many are hamstrung by legacy systems.

In 2020 I expect to see a drive to deliver efficiencies in this area. Challenger banks are already partnering with cloud-based technology providers to handle KYC, customer verification and other regulatory requirements.

This approach is critical in keeping costs low. Incumbents need to transform and simplify the myriad of systems they have in place to perform tasks like customer verification, and to agree on common standards.

Only then can they can embrace regtech and benefit from the associated efficiency savings.

Consolidation among challenger banks
It’s not sustainable for challenger banks to continue losing money in the pursuit of customer acquisition. The race is on.

Incumbent banks are playing catch-up as they launch new digital services, while challenger banks will be looking to sell the higher-margin loans or insurance products. Not all challenger banks will survive a downturn.

I expect consolidation in the form of mergers and acquisitions over the coming year.

Use of hyper-connected devices will continue to grow
The uptake of smartphones, voice-activated assistants, the Internet of Things and edge computing will continue to grow.

Also Read: AI and data will be the future of the M&A banking industry (Why I decided to merge with Finquest)

“BigTechs” such as Amazon and Google are working to roll out voice-activated devices across households as possible, making them a potential interface for all kinds of things in the future, including conversational banking.

This may not yet happen in 2020, but phase one is just about getting users familiar with the technology and its capabilities.

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You may think, “Podcast is media.” Maybe you’ve considered advertising your new product on a podcast or getting on someone else’s podcast for publicity, but you’ve never thought of doing an original podcast for your brand.

Or perhaps you’ve jumped on the bandwagon of podcasting, but after the initial excitement, you start to lose sight of the value of this venture.

Whether you are a multinational corporation or a three-people startup, podcasting can be a powerful tool for your business development. Let’s dive into ways tech companies are using podcasts to grow their business.

Maintain company culture and employee engagement

Indonesia’s first Super App Gojek has a podcast. The Go Figure podcast is hosted by Gojek (ex) CEO & Founder Nadiem Makarim and features Gojek leadership team and investors. Podcast conversations cover macro issues within entrepreneurship, business, and society.

With Makarim taking the lead, each episode shares the growth journey of Gojek with a transparent and aspirational message. The success of Gojek lies in its “Challenger Culture.” Through the authentic conversations recorded in Go Figure podcast, Makarim is able to communicate and maintain the startup mindset of Gojek culture.

Foster Community

What do Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM have in common? They all provide cloud computing solutions and all have a podcast dedicated to that.

The podcasts serve as channels to communicate the latest updates and conference messages, keeping cloud users engaged with each company’s latest offerings.

In a rapidly advancing and collaborative space like cloud computing, keeping your community of users up-to-date and fostering communication is crucial. The big tech companies recognise that and leveraging the power of podcasts to build their communities.

Establish thought leadership

Maintaining a consistent podcast builds the authority of a brand. Andreessen Horowitz, a leader in the Silicon Valley VC space, differentiates their brand with their original a16z podcast and 16 minutes on-the-news podcast.

Also Read: Andreessen Horowitz’s lessons for Asian VCs and founders

The podcasts feature analysts from the firm and their ecosystem partners or thought leaders discussing tech and cultural trends, news, and the future. This helps in amplifying the brand voice and developing their unique perspective.

Recruit

Booking.com is not only interested in your next travel destination.

It is interested in Natural Language Processing, image recognition, and innovation. To help recruit talent in those areas, the company started Booking People podcast.

Recruitment is a difficult and costly task for every company, but podcasts can help to reduce that cost.

In the podcast, employees share the projects they are working on and work culture; senior leadership comments on macro-level issues and mindset they look for in talents.

Podcast conversations go deeper than job descriptions, giving job seekers a better idea of what it is like to work for the company.

Build an ecosystem and acquisition

If you are a new player in the industry, podcasting can help you get meetings and clients. Having your brand original podcast gives you the opportunity to invite industry experts, partners and clients to sit down for a meaningful conversation.

It also becomes the best opportunity to invite potential partners and clients for a chat. We see that with startups like Offerzen (South Africa based tech job marketplace) and AgThentic (Sydney based agtech consulting firm).

The podcasts cover topics relevant to their specific industries, featuring conversations with guest experts. Offerzen podcast has episodes with HR leaders at Microsoft and Google, significantly uplifting the credibility of their content and brand.

Create brand awareness 

Most tech companies have good products but don’t tell good stories. If you don’t have a library of content and an editorial team, you can choose to sponsor bigger conversations in your industry.

Also Read: The podcast fever: why are listeners tuning in more frequently than ever?

For instance, Slack has a branded podcast “Work In Progress” that tackles work-related issues such as fulfillment, identity, and happiness. Each episode features stories of people who found meaning in their work.

Slack wants to showcase its company philosophy and culture, creating brand awareness through podcast stories. The end of each episode features a unique client success story, serving as native advertising for Slack.

Promote client success stories

Nothing sells your product or services better than authentic client success stories. Shopify recognises the power of giving a voice to its successful users, letting every one of them be an authentic brand ambassador.

Each week Shopify Masters podcast invites successful e-commerce entrepreneurs to share their experience and advice for growing an online business on Shopify.

The podcast experience gives successful merchants some limelight, promoting their store at the end of each episode. More importantly, it promotes an aspirational message that small business owners can find success through Shopify.

Podcasts shouldn’t be limited to media or PR. Instead of finding the right podcast to advertise your products, start your own brand original podcast to recruit, sell, influence, and engage. Start by identifying the talking points your brand wants to own: they could be macro-level issues or technical know-how. Gather your partners and clients to talk about these issues that you deeply care about. Leverage the voice of industry experts. There you have it: your brand original podcast featuring your unique brand voice.

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Thailand-based fintech company Lightnet has raised US$31.2 million in a Series A funding round from six conglomerates, according to a press statement.

The financing round was led by UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities.

The fresh funds will be used to strengthen Lightnet‘s investment in the blockchain technology on the Stellar Network, and towards building a better financial mobility network.

Lightnet’s core strengths lie in bringing remittance settlements to the lowest cost across the Asia Pacific. The fintech company aims to target largely the unbanked migrant workers, who rely on costly substitutes such as SWIFT in major Southeast Asian markets.

The platform also provides cross-border services such as B2B payment, conditional payment, trade finance, cash management, and escrow.

The company plans on launching three solutions BridgeNet, LiquidNet and SmartNet that will be fundamental to the core of the business.

Also Read: 3 things startup founders can learn from Elon Musks Thailand cave rescue drama

“The main platform has been completed, and the first transaction is slated for Q1 2020. In addition to the potential 500,000 cash agents across our ecosystem, Lightnet will integrate with several renowned payment and remittance partners such as MoneyGram, Seven Bank, Yeahka, Ksher across Japan, South Korea, and several other Southeast Asia nations to ensure successful activation of our ecosystem,” said Lightnet Chief Executive Officer Suvicha Sudchai.

Lightnet’s Vice Chairman, Tridbodi Arunanondchai, has also expressed strong anticipation for growth saying that “in three years, Lightnet will facilitate over US$50 billion worth of annual transactions through our industry-leading partner network.”

The fintech company aims to disrupt the trillion-dollar US dollar global remittance market as it aims to target the large unbanked population that exists in SEA.

“We launched Lightnet to offer low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific — all powered by Stellar’s fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain technology,” said Lightnet Chairman Chatchaval Jiaravanon.

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Image Credit:  Hanny Naibaho

 

 

 

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Coworking spaces are the face of the working zones in the modern world. These places are an attempt to change the trends of how employees react to work and office spaces.

Traditional office spaces are slowly getting wiped off from the picture as not just the new but also the established players are preferring to own office space in a coworking zone.

The environment around acts as a driving force to generate the results that you expect from your institution. Hence coworking spaces today are built with this mindset.

They provide an office that guarantees to have a positive impact on the employees. Apart from that different organisations are provided with the option to configure their office space in accordance with their ideals. Such opportunities help you stand out among your peers hence it strengthens your brand name in the market and it says a lot about your work ethics.

We have discussed a few points that must be kept in mind while choosing an office space for your institution, so let’s dig in!

At first, we will discuss the problem you may face while finding a suitable office space for your organisation.

Different interest

It is unlikely that you end in a group of like-minded people. There is always a possibility to meet individuals with different skills, interest, and mindsets which may turn out to be either a positive experience or a bitter one.

In the case of the latter, one should try and ignore such people and focus on their productivity.

Discomforting timing

There is a possibility that the timings of the coworking zone may not suit you as different people align themselves according to different timing schedules which may pose issues for the others.

Also Read: Coworking space: why it’s the most startup thing ever

Hence, in that case, an organisation must check this parameter before ending up into a shared workstation.

Lease terms 

Another bothering aspect of the coworking zone is the leasing terms. It is a fact that almost all the shared workstations in a big city demand high rent. The terms may be flexible or stringent depending on the terms and conditions hence an organisation must thoroughly study the terms and conditions before renting a place for their office.

Space

Every institution must be aware of what are the requirements of their organisation especially the startups. Space should neither be more than required nor it should be less. It should also be expandable in case the number of employees increases in the future.

Location

Reachability is one of the key factors that must be considered while renting a coworking space. Location matters when you think of setting up an office for your organisation as it strengthens your reach in the city, strengthen your brand value among your peers, offers convenience to the employees while commuting and maintains a reputation among your clients.

Hence how easily an office space is accessible matters.

Amenities

Another major factor to be kept in mind while you are on a hunt for a suitable office space. Amenities are the backbone of a coworking space. They offer convenience and comfort to the organisation which is yet another reason why coworking spaces are preferred over a traditional office space.

Also read: How coworking is reshaping the workforce

Therefore an organisation must study the amenities offered by a coworking zone and whether they align with their requirements or not should be checked.

Connectivity

Nothing works without the internet today. The entire country is digitalising then why not the coworking zone. Every workstation needs a stable internet connection which is required for the smooth working of numerous tasks in an organisation.

Companies should always go for a coworking zone that provides them with a seamless connectivity of the internet with which they can easily connect to an outstation client with ease hence helpful in expanding the customer base of a company.

The reputation of the space owner

Sometimes overlooked while choosing a coworking space, I would suggest you better not do this. Reputation is an important aspect as a reputed builder will be responsible and will be aware of the requirements of its customers.

He will make sure to provide you with the best services to build a sense of trust which is essential in a professional relationship.

A wise decision taken for your organisation is likely to generate a positive impact not just for your employees but also for your business. Therefore a coworking space to chosen with utmost precision.

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