Let’s face it. It has not been an easy or “normal” year at all. But let’s close 2020 with a bang! How so? By sharing your rants, thoughts, observations, or even predictions on what will come (apart from the vaccine, of course) on tech, business, startups and the SEA ecosystem.
We are all ears and the e27 Contributor Programme will make it super easy for you to do so. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.
Sharing some great ones from our community in the past week. While fintech trends rule the roost, we also have ideas on HR for 2021 and how to enhance “stickiness” on your app/web apps.
Happy reading.
Rise of the SOE: Why startup M&A is a key part of a state-owned digital ecosystem by Sandhy Widyasthana, COO / Portfolio Director at MDI Ventures
“For years, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) around the world have undeservedly been branded as inefficient, with a variety of loss-making business units hampering core revenue drivers. But as the SOE landscape in China has shown, this has not been the case in recent years– not only have profits and revenues increased across the board, but China’s largest SOEs have become key dealmakers in the global acquisitions space.
In SEA, the outsized influence of SOEs has had varying effects on the aggregate productivity of the region’s ten economies.
With the influx of both private local wealth and foreign venture capital into ASEAN’s startup communities, the region’s SOEs have taken notice of this growth sector. In Singapore and Thailand, corporate venture capital (CVC) arms of SOEs like Singtel, Siam Cement Group, and Singapore Press Holdings have become major, active players in early- and growth-stage funding rounds of local startups.”
The world of fintech
3 reasons to rethink your payments strategy in 2021 by Siamac Rezaiezadeh, director of Product Marketing at GoCardless
“A recent Forrester report commissioned by GoCardless reveals some of the most common pain points businesses face when it comes to collecting payments – pain points that have become top of mind during COVID-19. Some key findings highlight the connection between failed payments and negative business impacts that have long-lasting ramifications on both a business’ bottom line and its customers.
Moreover, as payment woes come to the forefront, we are also seeing a rise in the subscription economy, with research by Zuora indicating that 70 per cent of firms in Australia and New Zealand plan to shift to a subscription model within the next two to three years. To reap the benefits of a subscription economy, however, businesses need the right payments infrastructure to support it.
Addressing both of these issues comes down to implementing a strong payments strategy.”
Cooperation will be the shortcut to recovery for financial services in Singapore and beyond by Jonas Thuerig, head of F10 Incubator and Accelerator
“It is the development of monopolies that ultimately chokes innovation. Mega-conglomerates can strangle small businesses and push them out of the market. When one company dominates a sector, they no longer have the need to improve, which limits their growth potential.
For a sustainable market, we need to invest in the infrastructure that enables innovation, whether that is the ecosystem builders or the digital networks that connect services and products to end-users.”
Reimagining anti-money laundering processes with blockchain technology by Indra Suppiah, APAC lead for government relations in R3, an enterprise blockchain software firm
“In 2020 and 2021, Singapore looks set to become one of the world’s largest digital asset hubs as a result of progressive government regulations such as the Payment Services Act—which has attracted large crypto businesses such as Binance into the country, as well as rumours of traditional institutions such as DBS implementing an exchange for digital assets.
However, a recent study showed that Singapore, alongside the US and UK, had the largest number of virtual asset service providers with weak ‘Know your Customer’ (KYC) processes—making it easier for nefarious actors to launder money.
It comes as no surprise that upholding KYC best practices is necessary for both the nascent digital assets industry and the traditional financial sector at large. This is especially important for a country like Singapore that is known for its progressive policies that allow institutions to explore innovations within the financial sector ranging from asset tokenisation to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).”
Managing people in and out of the organisation
Transformation tenet: The digital customer experience is key to “stickiness” by Jim Cavanaugh, President, APJC at AppDynamics, a Cisco company
“Indeed, this year marked what must be the greatest acceleration of industrial transformation ever, as companies across all sectors migrated in their droves to digital and online environments. A deployment that would typically take place over the course of months, if not years, had suddenly sprung into action in a matter of weeks.
And all in a bid to maintain business continuity and ensure organisations could cope with unprecedented digital demands – from both customers and employees.
However, perhaps what is more important to note is that a whopping 91 per cent of these new users said that they planned to continue using at least one digital service post-pandemic. Which stands to reason: are we really all going to go back to the office full-time? Schools? How about ordering our groceries online, and spending an evening at home with our favourite streaming platforms?”
Looking beyond the crisis: Top 5 trends that will characterise work-life in 2021 by Leong Chee Tung, CEO at EngageRocket
“Lessons from the pandemic remain as pertinent as ever, informing the way forward for years to come. It has changed what an employee expects from the workplace, also rejigging the definition of “good” performance and productivity. In this climate, it is clear that we cannot take employee engagement for granted.
In 2021, could we expect a swift return to BAU? Or, should HR practitioners treat the pandemic as a watershed period, completely reshaping the future of work? Industry experts suggest that the answer – without a doubt – is the latter. Here are five ways the changes brought on by COVID-19 will determine the future of work.”
Coming up
How my entrepreneurial failures led me to rethink learning and upskilling by Japhet Lim, edutech entrepreneur
“Learning is a forever journey and not something that should be halted or resumed as and when it is seemingly needed. From children requiring tuition in addition to classroom education, or adults in need of self-improvement courses, education has become a necessity.
This situation has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic threatening jobs in almost every industry, leading to the need to re-skill and upskill.
However, courses, whether academic or non-academic, have become more and more expensive over the years. Many of them charge exorbitant fees but do not impart lasting impact, knowledge, or significant skills to their students. In the end, students often walk away from these courses feeling disappointed and harbouring a recurring question: What have I learnt from this?”
How can India leapfrog into the league of the most innovative countries within the next five years? by Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub
“India’s position as the third-largest startup economy with around 50,000 startups — and counting—is a good indicator that we are progressing in the right direction.
Undoubtedly, in recent years, we have made significant headways in the overall development trajectory to support and foster India’s innovation story.
However, the larger question remains: how can India leapfrog into the league of the top ten most innovative countries within the next five years? The improvement in the GII ranking should inspire the nation to work towards creating a robust, sustainable, and inclusive innovation ecosystem that encourages innovators to create new categories of solutions to address the existing innovation gap.”
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