iWEECARE has developed Temp Pal, a wireless body temperature-tracking solution that offers real-time monitoring combined with smart alerts

Taiwanese healthtech startup iWEECARE announced today it has secured US$1 million in pre-Series A round of investment, led by Singapore’s Verge HealthTech Fund.

Taiwan- and US-based Translink Capital and Darwin Venture also joined this round.

Additionally, iWEECARE has received regulatory approval to market its product Temp Pal, which it claims to be the world’s smallest smart thermometer, in both the European Union and Taiwan.

Temp Pal is a wireless body temperature-tracking solution that offers real-time monitoring combined with smart alerts. It is a patented stamp-sized soft patch that packs a temperature sensor, customised thin battery that lasts two to three days, and a Bluetooth radio.

Also Read: Tricella’s smart pillbox sends you notifications if your loved ones forget to take pills

The small patch transmits body data to a secure cloud via its own mobile app, generating real-time charts and alerts as needed. The wearable solution can also be applied in hospitals and clinics as it offers centralised tracking and analytics from multiple devices.

Temp Pal seeks to disrupt a market forecast to reach US$1.5 billion by 2025 currently dominated by digital pen and in-ear thermometers.

“It is also crucial to real-time continuous monitor body temperature for infants, patients and couples who plan to be pregnant. Traditional thermometers rely on human behavior and efforts to test periodically, resulting in interruptions of quality of life and ambiguous health care decisions. Our company hope to address the issues with a friendly and comfortable solution,” said Glen Tseng, CEO of iWEECARE.

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The companies all follow a similar theme

The Singaporean taxi company ComfortDelGro has announced the first three investments of its new venture fund. It included a public and private transportation management systems and an autonomous vehicle safety solution.

The investments were made from the company’s US$100 million venture fund set up in November.

The three companies all operate under the theory that the future of transportation is going to be centralised. They work to find-and-fix inefficiencies (or improve safety). Assuming a central transportation network, the three startups are making a play to be leaders in their given lane.

Let’s take a look at the companies.

SWAT

SWAT is essentially a fleet management service for city planning. The company uses algorithms to try and optimise transportation routes and theoretically save everybody some money.

The technology takes into consideration constraints, estimated-time-of-arrival updates and other data to rank the ideal routes for the vehicle.

Also Read: From space stations to crime scenes: The remote AR revolution

The company has launched an on-demand bus system in Sydney, Australia. The launch was facilitated via ComfortDelGro’s Australian subsidiary, which makes sense given the investment.

Haulio

Haulio is Singapore’s startup answer to the hauling industry (think large 16-wheelers). In Singapore, it is impossible to call them long-haul logistics providers, but that is the industry they are attacking.

The logic behind Haulio is that by pooling jobs the industry can find the most efficient way to transport goods across the city-state.

ComfortDelGro invested in the company because it saw synergies between the technology that matches long-haul vehicles and how it could be implemented into the taxi industry.

Fortellix

The third company is out of Israel and it wants to improve the vehicle testing standards of the autonomous industry.

Fortellix wants to help take autonomous vehicle testing to the standards that will be necessary in the future. The startup assumes that today’s standards are fine, but will soon be insufficient when driverless cars become the core form of transportation. Fortellix wants to help take that industry to where it will inevitably find itself.

“Even as we continue to look at ways to grow our existing businesses, we are pursuing strategic investments in new and emerging technology start-ups which bridge the gap between what is, and what could be,” said Yang Ban Seng, the managing director and CEO of ComfortDelGro.

Also Read: eToro aims to make buying Bitcoin as easy as buying an Apple share

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MyInfo aims to provide a secure and convenient way to share personal information, thus avoiding unnecessary data entry

When it comes to dealing with customers and partners, many small businesses are still relying on paperwork in their daily operations today. Even for companies that have gone online, dealing with digital paperwork still remains as a common gripe. According to usability studies, the average online checkout form includes 14.88 fields. For an e-commerce business, this could potentially lead to cart abandonment and overall opportunity loss. Other businesses still struggle with manual data entry and lengthy back-end processing, especially when document submission is involved.

Building a Smart Nation

In 2014, the Singapore Government established the Smart Nation initiative, with a core focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans through technology. The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) –responsible for implementing whole-of-government digital transformation – introduced initiatives to foster the development of electronic payments, digital services and secure digital identities for citizens, among others.

One of the basic tenets of building a Smart Nation is to make digital transactions user-friendly and seamless. While digital transactions become more popular and ubiquitous, it is imperative to ensure these transactions are secure, seamless, and convenient for both businesses and citizens.

This is where services like MyInfo step in. As a secure gateway for authentication and data retrieval, MyInfo, with users’ consent, promises a hassle-free experience when dealing with transactions that require personal data. The service also helps businesses to speed up processes and provide better customer experiences with automatically filled forms and instantly verified data.

Creating a National Digital Identity

MyInfo is one part of a larger government initiative to create a National Digital Identity for citizens and businesses. Launched initially in 2016 with selected government services, MyInfo later opened its doors to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In November 2017, the National Digital Identity (NDI) Developer and Partner Portal went live, allowing private companies to integrate MyInfo into their own business solutions via API access.

The use of secured, public APIs enables developers to experiment, build, and test a wide range of possible applications quickly and securely, with a range of NDI solutions at their disposal – these can range from basic services such as authentication, to additional value-added services like digital signing, identify verification via facial recognition, and more.

With this secure API, businesses can now easily acquire authenticated data on Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents, at their consent, without the need for form-filling and document submission when performing online transactions. The data is securely and automatically acquired from government agencies through a multi-tiered access model ensuring that only required information is provided.

Doing business in minutes

In practical terms, MyInfo can reduce time spent in verifying user information to a mere few seconds.

For example, opening a bank account with DBS used to require several documents (like a scanned copy of an identity card and bill). Bank employees would then manually assess and contact customers for clarifications. The back-and-forth process would have taken days. However with MyInfo, DBS is now able to streamline its processes and deliver services faster with the pre-filling of user information.

The real estate industry also benefits from MyInfo. Streetsine Technology Group, a digital property company, has already automated many of the processes involved in acquiring property, thanks to the NDI Developer and Partner Portal.

“Since MyInfo data is already in a common digital format, with permission given by the user, the information can be shared by banks to provide other relevant services, such as mortgage underwriting,” says Jeremy Lee, director and co-founder of StreetSine.

With verified information obtained from government sources, users can check their eligibility for home loans directly from any of the banks listed on the SRX site. Forms are populated automatically, and users can authorise the release of income information to apply for a loan.

The benefits of MyInfo also go beyond our Singaporean shores. Take the case of popular UK-based money transfer service TransferWise, for example. The company leveraged the NDI Developer and Partner Portal sandbox in integrating authentication and signature verification into its platform – making it easier for Singaporean citizens and residents to transfer funds to other TransferWise users across the globe.

“MyInfo solved a major pain point for TransferWise Singapore: it made verification instant and convenient for our users,” says TransferWise Senior Product Engineer Timothee Ledure. The company was able to cut verification costs for its Singaporean users by 30 percent through the platform.

The path ahead

GovTech’s main goal is to “harness the best info-communications technologies to make a difference to the everyday lives of people in Singapore.” As part of the National Digital Identity initiative, the MyInfo platform is an anchor service in the grander plan, to empower users and businesses, through collaboration and focus on delivering citizen-centric user experiences.

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Becoming a location independent professional is a major shift in life, and preparing for it can take years

When it comes to digital nomadism, people don’t just abscond from boring offices to settle down somewhere in Southeast Asia with a laptop. In this article, we’ve collected advice from people who are successfully managing work and traveling.

The main rule here is to have a detailed plan. It should start on day one when you decide that the path of digital nomadism is what you want: once you’re determined to make it a reality, it’s time to stop dreaming and take action.

Step 1: Reduce location ties

It’s hard to leave your familiar environment because too many things tie you to a specific location. Identify these ties and figure out how to make them looser. For some of us, it is the property that we cannot leave unattended, some cannot afford to travel or leave their home place until they pay down their loan, the list goes on

When preparing for your digital nomad’s career, identify things that you won’t need with your new lifestyle. Consider selling things that you own but don’t actually use, canceling your subscriptions or gym memberships, and make sure to free up some money for eliminating any debts you may have – otherwise, high-interest rates will inevitably threaten your wellbeing during traveling.

Step 2: Decide how you’ll be making money

It’s not uncommon for people to become digital nomads when they are already freelancing. However, any office worker can master a skill that would allow them to be location independent and still have a decent income.

Try to identify skills that you can develop, learn and later monetize online when working from abroad. If you already have a side hustle or a hobby that you can use to earn money, start increasing its share in your daily schedule until it becomes a reliable source of income.

When you feel ready to take on some “real” work that would require your skill, try finding a remote project or engaging in a freelance gig. This will give you the experience of remote work and teach you how to fix issues that you may encounter when working online. It will also help you start building your customer base so that you don’t need to hustle around after you relocate.

Also Read: Blockchain in the energy sector: Technology promised and this is what it has delivered

This step can be easier if you are a business owner. It might seem tricky because owning a business can be one of the things that tie you to your current location, but if moving it online is an option, the transition to digital nomadism can be really smooth.

A less viable but still likely option is convincing your current boss to allow you to work remotely. If this is a possible scenario, you might want to start off by proving that you can successfully work from home and then negotiating a full-time remote schedule.

Step 3: Make savings and cut your expenses

Whether you are new to location independent work or are an experienced freelancer, unexpected things at your new place cannot be completely ruled out. For example, a poor Internet connection, a common issue for places where digital nomads prefer to reside, can put your regular income at risk. That’s why you need an emergency fund for a rainy day, so start saving money in advance.

A good strategy for saving money is to cancel regular expenses that you won’t need to have in your journey (for example gym membership). Also, make sure you’re mindful about how you’re spending.

Be aware of the accumulated impact of seemingly small expenses: a US$5 Starbucks coffee cup a day amounts to $150 per month and $1825 a year. Don’t immediately spend money that you free up by selling stuff – instead, save it for the time when you might need it in your travels.

Step 4: Prepare all necessary paperwork

A not-so-romantic but an indispensable step of your preparation for digital nomadism is making sure you have all the necessary documents at hand and have a legitimate way of accepting payments for your work.

Different countries have different rules for freelancers and solo entrepreneurs regarding how much they can make before taxes apply. Explore law requirements for digital nomad income and taxes in the countries you’re intending to visit, and make sure you’re complying with them.

Also, don’t overlook insurance when planning your travel while hoping for the best, remember that the costs of medical services in most countries can deplete your savings. So don’t leave it to chance and buy insurance that will cover your costs in case of a medical emergency.

If you’re planning to work online for clients located in other parts of the world, finding appropriate bank solutions is a must. Sign up for a credit card, create a PayPal account, or consider using such services as Transferwise – depending on your needs. Of course, this can be done while you’re already abroad, but it’s better to set this up while you’re still in your home country.

Step 5: Stay connected with the outside world

The “outside world” is, first of all, your current employers and potential clients. They are the ones on whom your income depends, so it’s your responsibility to organize reliable ways for them to communicate with you. Get a local number/ VoIP and find a reliable Internet provider, and inform your employers immediately if your contact number changes.

Speaking of switching phone numbers, it’s sometimes tempting to optimize costs by changing plans and providers. However, don’t do it if it means frequently changing your number. Reliability is what matters the most when you’re working remotely, so make sure you’re always reachable for work-related issues and new orders.

Step 6: Create a plan and stick to it

You’ve been planning your digital nomad’s career with an intent to see places, right? So you don’t want to get stuck in one location just because you don’t know where to go next, or you can’t afford to move somewhere else because you’ve already spent too much. Sticking to a previously created plan helps to avoid this.

Also Read: The holy trinity of resources a founder should have

Planning is not only about your routes. Before moving to another location, explore the cost of living there, and see if your income allows you to visit. Calculate and plan your costs, and do your best to stay within your budget so that you don’t have to put a hand into your emergency pocket every once in a while.

…And some advice on how to organize your life at a remote location

First things first, don’t forget about your goals, plans and work commitments. You’re not on vacation even if it sometimes feels so. Stay organized and get the job done, even if the beach and the sun are tempting you to toss work aside for an hour or two.

Being reliable means having a stable income and getting paid well – so stay committed to your work.

This doesn’t mean that you only have to work during your trips. Only consider digital nomadism if you can afford to work a maximum of 40 hours a week. Otherwise, what’s the point of going to a tropical paradise if the only thing you see there is the screen of your laptop?

While working hard and delivering your work on time, don’t forget about seeing interesting places in each location you visit. Be a wise time manager and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Don’t agree to take on assignments beyond your reasonable workload, and plan your daily routine in advance to both accomplish your tasks and go sightseeing.

Be ready that you’ll be getting tired and disconnected sometimes. Whatever you may think and anticipate while staying in your home country, travels can be exhausting. Frequently changing locations, handling accommodation issues, dealing with long-distance flights is not what most of us are used to, so it will take time before it stops sucking your energy.

Spend your money mindfully, especially in the early stages. Resisting the temptation of buying everything you like is not always easy, but the feeling of financial stability is worth it.

When looking for cheaper transportation and accommodation options, don’t ignore the importance of the balance between economy and comfort: the final goal of digital nomadism is a better quality of life, so do your best to achieve it.

As hard and unrealistic as it can seem, becoming a digital nomad is a real-life opportunity to get the most value of your time. Preparing for it may take significant time, but the result will be worth it if you’re determined to make this lifestyle your reality. Follow your dream, plan everything mindfully and thoroughly – and enjoy a better life.

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Photo by Trinity Treft on Unsplash

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Ovo, the finance service used by Grab, launched a similar service in early May

Go-Pay, the payment service for Indonesian ride-hailing app Go-Jek, announced that it will facilitate a mobile credit service to brick-and-mortar stores starting next month. By doing so, Go-Pay said that it seeks to lay the foundation for a broader financial business, as reported by Nikkei Asian Review.

The mobile credit service — called PayLater — allows users to pay for transactions on the Go-Jek platform at the end of the month.

The startup has already offered financial products to drivers and merchants alike, including savings accounts and housing loans, through its local bank partners.

“The addition of PayLater as an option is to provide a wide array of financial products to users, a segment that it has left untouched,” said Go-Pay CEO Aldi Haryopratomo.

Haryopratomo also added that this service will allow users who are unbanked and never had access to these types of financial services to grow their credit history and move up the economic ladder.

Launched in September, PayLater was initially meant for food delivery. It has since expanded into other Go-Jek services like ride-hailing. By July this year, the ride-hailer will give users the option of using PayLater at more than 300,000 offline locations, as well as at online merchants that accept Go-Pay.

Also Read: Can these blockchain products make a name as social media alternatives?

Not all users would be allowed access to PayLater, as it will be available only to users approved by Go-Jek’s credit analytics. The decision will be based on various data such as transaction history.

The company said that the credit limit and monthly fee vary among users, with most are charged IDR25,000 (US$2) with a credit limit of IDR500,000 (US$35.05).

To mitigate its credit risk in the lending service, Go-Jek partnered with local peer-to-peer lender Findaya.

Ovo, the payment company used by rival Grab, extended a similar service to offline merchants in early May.

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Viva la AR revolution!

Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a users view of the real world. Ultimately, it allows users to view through a screen, what isn’t actually there in real life, and essentially closes the gap between imagination and reality.

Remote AR — often dubbed as multiuser — allows users to share the same AR experience from different physical surfaces and surroundings. This technology has changed the way humans interact and projects insights into the future of communication.

With a little help from the internet, AR experiences can be shared between users, across the globe from mobile devices- truly revolutionising human interaction.

Erasing distance

It is clear to see how time and monetary resources can be saved through the effective use of remote AR. It enables multiple users to access and report on the vision of one key user. In the workplace, an AR project can be accessed by the entire team, thousands of miles apart, without having to be present.

Multiuser AR effectively erases the distance between each user and places them together in a virtual room.

Within this virtual room, users can connect via live video or audio, using any compatible technology device; be it a smartphone, laptop or tablet, usually wearing glasses as the interface.

Also Read: Zuellig Pharma buys digital medical assistant startup Klinify

Its 3D content generates a rich and contextualised experience that helps to eliminate confusion and misjudgement in joint projects. Despite the location or movement of the user, project annotations remain and ensures information is always retrievable.

Moving with the molecules

Shaking up the gaming industry, AR technology has paved the way for a whole new generation of collaborative apps and games. Look no further than Pokemon GO, which introduced mainstream gamers to the potentials of AR technology.

It set the stage for remote AR and supercharged the gaming immersion level to new heights.

Following suit, tech companies such as Facebook and Apple are moving towards fulfilling the AR capacity in their market. Apple has been engaged with generating new AR tools for the development community, whilst Facebook is adamant to make AR available to the masses.

Remote AR has recently found its place in education.

It invites a deeper level of understanding of what can be complex subjects and brings to life what can often be dull theories and formulas. In an effort to encourage imaginative thought and engagement in the sciences, the University of Helskini, Finland, has used remote AR to allow children to virtually interact with the molecule movement in gases, gravity, sound waves and aeroplane physics.

Results have shown an improvement in the level of learning of under-performing children.

Virtual bones

The healthcare and medical technology industries are warming to the use of AR projects and applications. It has been used by some hospitals in physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation, by mapping a digital image directly onto the motions people perform as part of their therapy.

By watching themselves in tandem with the demonstration, patients can refine their movements and view the AR images remotely.

The practice of remote surgery operations have become increasingly common. A surgical team at the University of Alabama performed a remote surgery miles away from the operating table. They used AR to point to and guide the hands of the on-sight surgeon. This use of multiuser AR has given rise to the potential prospects for better healthcare in the third-world.

Remote AR has been of particular use in medical education. Students and teachers are using it to pinpoint precisely different types of bone while showing relevant AR information on the screen. It has contributed to the movement away from heavy textbooks, towards a lighter virtual learning environment.

Meet your colleagues virtually

Remote AR is also a game-changer for employee training and development. Sandia National Laboratories is working with augmented reality as a tool to improve security training. Users on-site patrol vulnerable areas containing nuclear weapons or nuclear materials, and are trained to deal with crisis using real-life examples projected through AR.

Additionally, what could be a long and costly training process is maid relatively cheap, with the use of stand-alone AR headsets.

Beam, the digital and design marketing agency, has built an AR-based employee onboarding programme. Newcomers to the company simply pop on an AR headset and can walk around the office setting off strategically located AR trigger points that enable them to gain knowledge about the business, facilities and employees.

Projection-based augmented reality is also emerging as a new way to cast virtual elements in the real world without the use of bulky headgear or glasses.

Furthermore, startup companies, Lampix and Lightform, have developed projection-based augmented reality for use in the boardroom, retail displays, hospitality, digital signage and more.

The open world becomes the real world

Remote AR has gone so far in reshaping the boundaries, it has helped to reimagine our conception of cyberspace, creating Magicverse. Developed by Magic Leap, it is a simulation of reality, not unlike The Matrix and other similar worlds as portrayed in sci-fi books and movies.

It’s a utopian perspective and aims to mirror real cities and environments that can be experienced and entered with AR glasses. Using cloud-based AR, it’s a deeply ambitious project, designed to create a whole ecology and community around this form of computing.

But it goes further than a novelty or game, Magic Leap is partnering with a wide raft of companies, to develop these AR worlds with practical uses in mind. These have been extended to making healthcare and economic opportunities available to everyone.

The ultimate aim is to develop Magicverse to a point where people can transport to different cities, for instance from Paris to Moscow or New York to London and make valuable human interactions, from patient-doctor relations to employee-employer relations and interviews. This is the enormous potential of remote AR.

While today’s usage of remote AR tends to be more prosaic it is no less revolutionary. For instance, LEGO AR-Studio offers six virtual app sets that tap into the popularity of games like Pokemon Go, by bringing to life elements on the table and living room floor. It combines interactive worlds and characters to create a gold brick hunt.

This is a gaming trailblazer and is set to open up the world of open-world gaming to new levels of interactivity. Undoubtedly, it won’t be long before these AR open world games begin incorporating advertising into the games. Advertisers will potentially be able to reach millions of gamers, to meet their audiences’ specific needs for information, convenience and entertainment.

LEGO has continued to stretch the limits of remote AR, by partnering with Snapchat to launch a shop with no clothes in it. That’s right a shop with nothing more than a large plastic plinth emblazoned with a giant Snapcode.

A user simply whips out their smartphone, frames the Snapcode in the phone’s camera and clicks. They can then access a virtual shop that features a range of exclusive clothing products, along with a LEGO bouncer should a virtual shopper get any virtual ideas.

It may seem gimmicky but LEGO is exploring the technology to launch its first-ever limited-edition range of adult clothes. It is also attempting to explore how the digital and physical worlds can interact.

And as we know where one company goes others often tend to follow.

It would seem that we are in some remote AR industrialisation phase of human history. BMW has incorporated augmented reality into its automobile design process. Engineers in different locations work collaboratively on engine design and development, saving significant amounts of time and effort, particularly during the early development stages of new vehicle models.

In this AR environment, the functions of the vehicle and its interior designs can be modelled faster and more economically. Engineers can see if there are certain engine components that should be changed and how engine parts are working together.

Crime scenes and space stations

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, has been working with first responders of a crime scene, to incorporate AR tools in the investigation process. Handheld AR system allows on-scene investigators to work with remote forensic teams to minimise the potential for contamination and enhance investigative procedures.

Also Read: Go-Jek moves PayLater offline to help people pay for goods monthly

In Finland, the VTT Technical Research Center recently developed an AR tool for the European Space Agency (ESA) for astronauts to perform real-time equipment monitoring in space. The precarious threat of these tasks is minimised with the use of AR that prepares astronauts with in-depth practice, by coordinating the activities with experts.

The tool enables the visualisation of telemetry data from equipment and other systems on board the space station, such as diagnostics and maintenance data, life cycle, radiation, pressure, or temperature, both in space and on the ground and displayed on AR glasses.

Augmented Reality has come a long way in a short period of time, and remote AR is the driving force that is maintaining its momentum. Its ability to bring together thousands of users across different industries has already reshaped the way humans interact, work and collaborate.

Yet, excitingly, this revolution has only just begun.

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At the moment, banks have all the control and all the power, and users have very low power. With smart contracts, it will turn around, say experts

“Banking is necessary, banks are not”: Bill Gates.

As the world grappled with the chilling effects of the economic crisis of 2008 and with the collapse of behemoths like Lehman Brothers, people began to lose faith in the banking industry. But with no alternatives, they were forced to continue to depend on traditional banks for all their banking needs.

But as the crisis unfolded, several people had already begun to ask a question: what option do people have if banks are not to be trusted?

A man (or a group of people) named Satoshi Nakamoto came up with an answer: a peer-to-peer, ‘trustless’ electronic cash system based on a technology called blockchain.

For the uninitiated, blockchain is a decentralised technology; a global network of computers uses this to jointly manage the database that records cryptocurrency transactions. That cryptocurrencies are managed by a network (not any one central authority) is what makes its distinctive from banks. What it means is that blockchain removes the need for an intermediary for transactions between two entities/people.

As we know, a bank’s main function is to act as a trusted intermediary between people or entities. So can blockchain replace banks?

Expert speak (Part I): The biggest disruption in blockchains and cryptocurrencies is yet to come

As blockchain proliferates, many in the banking industry are afraid that banks may become redundant, or at least their role will diminish to a great extent, in the long term.

But is this concern justified? Is blockchain an existential threat to banks? What will be the role of the bank once blockchain becomes prevalent?

Banks, more than just an intermediary

As is it, banks have many functions beyond intermediating transactions. They facilitate trust, ensure regulatory compliance, structure financial products, provide financial advise to customers, etc. As a key component of the financial system, banks allocate funds from savers to borrowers in an efficient manner, and these financial services help to make the overall economy more efficient. They facilitate trade and finance.

To put it succinctly, banks — which have been around since the early ages — will still be relevant in future.

Having said that, the advent of cutting-edge technologies is pushing banks to change the way they operate. While they have been able to survive many revolutions in the past, they cannot remain aloof to blockchain, one of 21st century’s biggest revolutions.

“The central role of banks in the entire ecosystem has been to play the trusted source of your funds and an ultimate source of truth for the economic system,” said Gaurang Torvekar, Co-founder and CEO of Indorse, an ethereum-based social network for professionals. “Blockchain removes the need for intermediaries in the transaction process. It removes the need for a “trusted third party”, which is more often than not a bank.”

Also Read: Singapore social network Indorse lets users control their data, raises US$9M in ICO

“Having said that, it’s also important to know that although bank as an institution is not as nimble and fast-paced to adopt the latest changes as a startup, they have nonetheless survived and adapted, albeit slowly, to several changes over the decades. Banks have already started adopting blockchain technology as a means to make their processes more efficient, and will continue to do so as the technology evolves,” he noted.

Although it is true that banks will slowly adapt and embrace the new technology, there is a vast majority of the world population that still remains unbanked. This is where blockchain gains weight. The promise of blockchain, and the ability to remove the need for a central trusted party, will take the technology a long way towards this. A number of technology companies in Asia, such as OmiseGo, WeTrust and Humaniq, are already leveraging it to access savings and credits which are essential building blocks of the economy.

“Several new blockchain companies are also starting to look at financial inclusion as a viable market and concentrating on the bottom of the pyramid in a bid to find their niche,” he elaborated.

Pankaj Jain, a blockchain expert and former Partner at 500 Startups, could not agree more. In his view, there will continue to be a need for banks even with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, but their services need to evolve with time.

“Most people feel a justifiable amount of frustration when they can’t access their money sitting in a bank and do what they need to with it because of restrictions like daily withdrawal limits. Cryptocurrencies in particular allow individuals, groups, and businesses to retake control of their money to do with as they need when they need to. However, businesses and individuals will continue to need trusted counterparties for a variety of services e.g. medical equipment leasing, large corporate loans, etc. Banks will still be required for many existing services and I believe many banks will evolve to provide new services, not yet imagined, for a blockchain and cryptocurrency world,” Jain said.

Denial of cryptocurrency will not help

As Jain mentioned, most of banks and financial services businesses have already started understanding the need to evolve and have begun projects testing various solutions on blockchain. Operational services — from trade settlement to credit reporting to bank-to-bank transfers and escrow — are services banks are already experimenting with on this technology.

“I believe the challenge exists when cryptocurrencies are added to the mix. Most banks are in denial of cryptocurrencies. However, cryptocurrencies are already serving as a store of value and as a medium of exchange. The banks, like the telcos before them with the internet, will continue to push for regulations through deep-pocketed lobbying that will protect their monopolies for a time, but unless they begin to embrace cryptocurrencies and start thinking about building businesses on top of cryptocurrencies, I fear that many banks may never quite move into the 21st century and a great deal of them will never make it into the 22nd century,” Jain observed.

Amidst the cryptocurrency and blockchain buzz in the market, several banks are already on their way to embracing the new tech. Big names like Singapore-based OCBC Bank have started the process of implementing it to streamline the entire banking process.

Said Altona Widjaja, Vice President (Fintech and Innovation Group) of OCBC Bank: “2018 is likely to be the year for blockchain technology to be adopted in the financial market more pervasively. It will impact the way banks operate beyond its potential to facilitate payments, but also in system efficiencies, de-centralising networks, and securing information exchange.”

Also Read: Which countries support cryptocurrencies, and what is their impact on the blockchain community?

Globally, many industries – including governments – have taken a keen interest in the blockchain technology and are experimenting with various applications. Where blockchain is different from other emerging technologies is that it cannot be developed in silos. The key benefits of a secure, permissioned, open architecture can only be realised with scale, and with that, the rules for participants of the network has to be clear.

“Trade finance,” Widjaja underscores, “is one of the most promising use cases for blockchain technology, with its cross-border nature, inherent counter-party risk, and need for secure payments. How blockchain is used for that segment will be quite telling for its growth. It would still take time for the game-changing promise of the technology to be realised, and early adopters of the technology are more likely to gain a competitive advantage.”

OCBC has been experimenting with this technology with success, and it is arguably first bank in Southeast Asia to leverage the technology for both local and cross-border transfers. This new-age tech has made payments more secure, faster, more transparent and less costly, he said.

“We also played a key role as part of the first consortium in Southeast Asia (together with HSBC, MUFG and IMDA) to develop a prototype for a Know Your Customer (KYC) blockchain. This development will contribute towards blockchain’s use to secure financial processes while combating anti-money laundering (AML) and the financing of terrorism (CFT),” he explained.

Banks are inefficient and not environmental-friendly

It is beyond doubt that in the current setup, banks wield excessive control and power. They are the backbone of any country and they closely work with central banks in their respective countries. While banks don’t want to be left out in the race to adapt to the changing environments, most banks are exercising caution.

“It is imperative on their part to adapt to the changing time and they should take new approaches to embrace the blockchain technology to avoid the Kodak moment. Those unwilling to accept and embrace tech will be gradually phased out,” said co-founder of an emerging blockchain startup on the condition of anonymity.

“Banks could use blockchain to streamline all its processes and become leaner. Coming from the banking industry, I know that there are too much works, processes and documentations within banks. It is an extremely inefficient and non-environment friendly industry. They need to create a blockchain processing unit to serve itself and other banks, and there are many new business model to explore. But the only question is: are they willing to learn and change?,” the person asked.

According to Philipp Pieper, Partner at Swarm Fund, an online platform aiming to bridge digital currency and real assets, while blockchain is posing a challenge, the death of banks is greatly exaggerated.

“There are areas where banks will face challenges. For instance, we are already seeing some use cases, such as trans-border remittance payments, where cryptocurrencies on the blockchain are doing a better job than banks, at a lower cost. Peer-to-peer lending is another very realistic use case, one where smart contracts could very effectively be used to codify agreements and terms between individuals,” he said.

But to bring retail consumer banking functions to the normal consumer using the blockchain will take much longer, because of the complexity of the user interface, experts feel. It will be a long time before transacting seamlessly will be easy enough for non-tech savvy customers to use it. Part of that is a technology challenge, and part of it is a challenge of working with or around the different gate keepers in the technology and banking space.

“In terms of short-term success, it is more interesting to look at specialty banking functions and infrastructure use cases. We are already seeing banks running blockchain trials for anything that crosses a border, such as intra-bank settlements and bills of exchange. Other specialty functions, such as securities settlements, merchant banking, and underwriting will benefit from efficiency gains and the transparency that result from using the blockchain,” said Pieper.

There are huge opportunities for the industry to gain efficiencies, but for that to be the case, it will require the players within the established banking system to create newly-designed services around how the model of blockchain works, while realising that the role of the services industry is changing.

From “to rule” to “to serve”

“Blockchain is a technology that empowers the individual. As such, it will force financial services to be more customer-focused. Thus, banks will have less of an opportunity to promote agendas that benefit them, but not their customers. In my view that’s probably a good thing, for consumers as well as the society,” Pieper observed.

Banks need to understand and get themselves educated more in this space, rather than read the news and educating themselves on the fud and get to know what blockchain can do for the banks.

“Before banks can do anything, they have to change their mindset from “to serve” rather than “to rule”. But it does take time. At the end of the day, the slow adoption within the banking system (including regulation) is due to the mindset differences, rather than the technology,” said Anson Zeall, Co-founder and CEO of CoinPip, a blockchain-powered money transfer service for businesses.

Dr. Julian Hosp, Co-founder & President of TenX, a platform that “makes cryptocurrencies spendable anytime anywhere, echoes similar views.

“It is a threat to bad banks, to those who don’t deliver good service and products,” he said. “I think people will still need banks. But at the moment, it’s very difficult for banks to use the blockchain to their advantage. In the future when blockchain will become faster and more scalable – it’s all about transparency. It’s about users understanding what it actually gets you do with the funds. And then obviously it’s also for interconnection so that banks can communicate faster and more accurately with other banks.

Obviously, banks are at an inflexion point. They need to embrace this tech as soon as possible to remain relevant in the market. While blockchain is going to shrink their space in the global financial system to a great extent, they can still survive with the adoption of the technology.

“If we go away from cryptocurrencies, the big thing is going to be the smart contracts. At the moment, banks have all the control, all the power and users have very low power. With smart contracts, it will turn around, so it will be a bilateral approach, bilateral respect. That’s where blockchains with smart contracts will be very important,” Hosp concluded.

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Danone Nutricia Research looks to address both age-old and emerging health challenges with tech solutions

Allergy among children is on the rise and this put parents on edge every time they dine out with their little ones. This is but one of the many challenges facing parents globally. Parents want to give their child the best start in life and are in a relentless search for digital solutions that can take the stress and anxiety out of parenting.

While digital solutions targeting parents already exist today, few are scientifically or clinically-substantiated. This is because scientific and clinical research are not only capital intensive but also requires highly-specialised skillsets and tools.

Collaboration among startups and larger corporations is critical in driving innovations in HealthTech forward, especially when addressing vulnerable populations. The good news for startups operating in Southeast Asia is its proximity to Singapore, a pro-innovation country that provides easy access to multinational corporations (MNCs) who have set up innovation hubs in the country. These MNCs have the capital to invest in innovative solutions and the right network to test, scale and market these innovations to.

Take Danone Nutricia Research, as an example. This global research and innovation organisation has a team of 50 technologists and scientists based out of its Precision Nutrition D-Lab who are actively building scientifically-substantiated digital solutions to empower consumers including parents to make better nutritional decisions.

With over 100 years of scientific expertise, Danone Nutricia Research has an extensive network of highly-specialized labs and clinical research teams across the globe which startups, scientists and research institutes can potentially tap on.

Also read: How Echelon plans to FORGE corporate-startup relationships

Equally, Danone Nutricia Research recognizes the value that startups bring to the organisation – creativity, agility, speed of innovation, new perspectives and other complementary skillsets. They adopt an open innovation model where they actively collaborate with startups through partnerships and hackathons, to identify, build, test and turn new ideas into real-world solution that can be rolled out to a global audience.

One of their most recent initiative is the ASEAN Tech Awards 2019 where startups and teams of technologists from the ASEAN region are invited to submit innovative technologies/tools that can help parents enhance the detection and tracking of allergens based on adverse skin reactions.

Applications are open until 7^th June, and the finalists will be announced on the 10^th. Interested startups can check out the application criteria and timelines on the ASEAN Tech Awards 2019 website.

Danone Nutricia Research was among the companies that e27 partnered with in Echelon Asia Summit 2019 under FORGE, our corporate-startup matching programme. Through FORGE, Danone Nutricia explored possibilities in engaging startups across the region for innovation in healthtech.

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Photo: Unsplash

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Rather than help 10,000 people make a billion dollars

Centuries of quality education has mothered technology into this world and now we see technology helping education reach higher levels of quality.

Edtech plays an incipient role in enhancing our intellectual capabilities to meet the demands of an ever-evolving world. Many governments, schools and big companies across the world have already invested heavily in its value.

However, even with such implementations in place, the socioeconomic gap continues to widen with the richest one per cent owning a very disproportionate 45 per cent of the world’s wealth.

People are beginning to accuse edtech of rubbing salt to the wound by promoting inequality since not every student has access to technology. And, making matters worse, is the fact that the majority of edtech companies target middle to upper-class students — whose parents can afford and want to pay for their services and high-end devices.

This leaves behind the kids at the bottom of the class-pyramid, which ironically makes up the largest part of our global population.

This was an issue Solve Education identified and is trying to re-solve by bringing free, engaging educational software to low-end phones through an app.

“Going digital can divide people, but at the same time, it can be an opportunity to bridge the socioeconomic gap — it depends on how we design edtech,” says Janine Teo, CEO of Solve Education, about education inequality.

Solve Education is a non-profit organisation that is building mobile games designed to help kids learn. Its flagship game, Dawn of Civilization, teaches people english while they build their own city.

Some of the main barriers edtech companies find with poorer communities is running a product that can function on substandard phones, support low to no internet connectivity and use small memory space.

Solve Education has been able to break down each of these barriers and has even incorporated a social-gaming element into the learning process.

Explaining this decision, Teo tells e27,

“Some of the kids out there do not have supportive parents or good quality teachers, so how do we get them to learn then? Since they spend most of their time on social media or gaming apps, we decided to make an app that can engage them in those elements as well.”

Also Read: Go-Jek moves PayLater offline to help people pay for goods monthly

According to UNESCO’s 2018 report, one out of five children do not go to school. Teo explains that the app was specially engineered to cater to that 20 per cent, which she herself has crossed paths with from over 40 countries of travel.

Her previous jobs in the hospitality sector landed her (literally) in many places across many oceans. Prior to that, she was a computer engineer based in Paris. Where Teo wanted to go, her life naturally followed — until it presented an obstacle in the form of a friend’s question.

“What’s your purpose in life?”

This friend, who is now the chairman of Solve Education, kindled some major introspection within Teo and she finally came to a conclusion that she would rather “help a billion helpless people than help 10,000 people make a billion dollars”.

Her previous jobs provided her plenty of insight and exposure to the marginalised, lower-class communities outside the sheltered bubble many of us are blessed to live in. This motivated her to switch careers and fulfil her purpose.

On why she chose to pursue her vision in the field of education, she shared that, “If we look at all the different challenges the world has today, we find that education is the main cause for them and yet, also the core element that can bring about a lot of changes”.

Today, Solve Education carries the torch for creating a world where all students can access quality education and gain confidence in their ability to learn. It is currently established in Indonesia, Singapore and India — the latter of which has at least 35 million children deprived of education.

Interestingly, the app has felt five times the retention rate for normal mobile games, which is an incredible feat for an educational game, given the low retention rates of its counterparts in the market.

However, Teo recognises that edtech is not a cure-all and that there will always be a group who won’t have access to even basic technology.

“Thankfully though,” she says, “experts have predicted that by 2020, at least 70 per cent of the world will have a basic smartphone and intermittent internet connectivity and Solve Education will leverage on that growing number”.

Also Read: eToro aims to make buying Bitcoin as easy as buying an Apple share

Education is essential for every child, and should not be made exclusive to those who can afford it.

“If everyone can do what they do best, the world would be a better place,” Teo says with conviction.

So, here’s to Solve Education enabling children to discover what they’re best in, and making the world a better place!

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Photo by HT Chong on Unsplash

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AI possesses the capability to make humans realise their roles that are of the utmost value

Have you ever dreamt of a world where machines could perform the tasks that you wanted?

With the technological revolution related to artificial intelligence, this dream can finally turn into a reality. Artificial Intelligence involves machine learning and its ability to think, respond and perform tasks like humans.

Presently, there are thousands of applications that use AI technology to flourish. From Apple to Google, almost every company has its own AI featured technologies.

The implementation of AI in healthcare can lead to some considerable changes. With the ability of huge data storage, AI offers tremendous benefits concerning patient management systems.

Here’s a list of top five ways in which Artificial Intelligence can revolutionize the healthcare and patient management process.

Swift and precise diagnostic tools

With AI, there would be more accurate diagnosis accounts for three-fourths the correct remedy and treatment.

If you’re able to diagnose the disease of the patient, you have accomplished half of the goal. With technology like artificial intelligence, we can use the data storage facilities to achieve the correct diagnosis.

Also Read: SalesCandy’s expansion to 4 Southeast Asian countries prompts new innovations

Not just this, the diagnostic process would be much faster and reliable.

Usually, it takes around two to three days for a normal diagnosis. But using AI, the diagnosis gets faster and more precise.

Eradicates human errors, fully

Being a human, we are bound to make mistakes and healthcare is no exception.

However, by incorporating the high-tech knowledge of artificial intelligence in healthcare, we can prevent such human errors by removing all the emotional disturbances.

AI can fully modify the current healthcare system and mould it into an astonishingly reliable one.

Lesser healthcare service costs and finances

Anything that reduces the cost of the current procedures is ultimately more successful and reliable. With artificial intelligence, the diagnosis and patient treatment become a facile task.

Furthermore, patients can achieve adequate treatment by staying under their comfort zones and homes. AI also reduces the investigation charges that the patient has to pay for the correct diagnosis.

Ultimately, this reduces the cost of healthcare services for the patients. Moreover, AI assistants provide better data storage and management services than humans. Overall, AI in healthcare can achieve even impossible tasks.

Better data storage and management

In the healthcare industry, patient-related data plays a major role in the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Mostly, the reason behind the wrong diagnosis is inadequate data and records. With AI assistance, proper data management and record keeping can be performed.

Not just that, we can also fetch the correct information within seconds.

Also Read: Running a thriving business as a digital nomad

With proper integration of information and storage, the treatment procedure becomes easier. Moreover, this can reduce the mortality rate due to inappropriate healthcare services. AI can make data-driven decisions for the betterment of the patient.

Improved surgical and nursing services

Presently, surgeries can only be performed by specialized surgeons. It requires time, effort and proper qualifications. But, with eloquent AI services and assistance, the surgeries can be performed efficiently.

Robot-Assisted surgeries can make a huge difference in the healthcare industry.

Not just the surgical procedures, AI assistance are also a boon to the nursing services. Virtual nursing assistants are more accurate, attentive and swift. Not only does it reduce human labour, but also leads to higher accuracy in the services.

Overall, Artificial intelligence in healthcare industry possesses the skills to completely transform the patient management. Reduced human labour, fraud detection and cyber-security are guaranteed with AI in healthcare.

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