ASPIRE — An Entrepreneur & Lifestyle Magazine - July 2022

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THE SEVEN GAME CHANGERS OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

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With the world changing at breakneck speed, we chronicle seven game changers of the global economy that will ultimately shape and create the vista of the future

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INSIDE 5 Bulletin Bytes

Positive and interesting news from around the world!

8 Riding The Hallyu Wave Dive into the international phenomenon, Hallyu wave, to know its impact on businesses and the economy

12 Business Automation Tools

Take a look at some automation tools that can give your startup business or SME an edge

16 The Hippocratic Paradox

Examine the issues that plague healthcare, where money, not a doctor, saves the patient

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38 Building the Innovation Skyscraper David Tee looks at the need for government agencies to set up Innovation Ecosystems to help entrepreneurs to flourish

40 Marketing NFT The Top 3 Steps

Events

Learn the top 3 steps to ensure that marketing your NFT is a resounding success

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42 Cloud Computing will reach $600 billion

Important events in the region

Bitcoin will be valued at $6 million per coin

Carl Runefelt shares his expert advice and knowledge on Bitcoins and crypto currencies

36 Maverick of Acquisitions and Agglomerations

Meet Jeremy Harbour, the founder of The Harbour Club training entrepreneurs in the art of buying, fixing, and selling businesses

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A closer look at cloud computing and why cloud hosting is better than traditional hosting

46 Yoga Styles— A Beginners Guide

Here is a brief guide to the different styles of yoga and how to choose the right one for you

54 Are you suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Feeling tired all the time? You could be suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, says health expert Dr Almas Ali

56 Pace like a Jaguar

Review the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace for a smooth ride with some serious power

48 Father Figure

Avinash Singh Alag and his NGO’s tireless efforts bring hope to destitute children in India

50 Play in the Mud

Unleash your inner child at the Boryeong Mud Festival, South Korea, and peek at all that the city of Daecheon has to offer

58 Aspire+

What must you Read / Watch / Do / Eat this month to keep you effortlessly in the loop beyond business

60 The Other Ten Commandments

PUBLISHER

Sumeet Gupta E: sumeet@aspiremagz.com CHIEF EDITOR

Shagufta Patel E: editor@aspiremagz.com CONSULTING EDITOR

Sangeetha Shinde Tee JUNIOR EDITORIAL MANAGER

Qiraat Attar WRITERS

Pallavi Biju Clarilda Sharon Sreeram Vishvanath Deepika S PRODUCTION

The Purple Stroke M: +971 508 498820

Is it etiquette or good manners that will set you apart from the herd?

Dubai, United Arab Emirates W: thepurplestroke.com

Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the persmission of The Purple Stroke FZE LLC. All the information carried herein is checked and verified to the best of our knowledge and abilities. In matters of views expressed and opinions held, it is solely that of the authors and contributors themselves. The editorial or publisher or ASPIRE cannot be held responsible for unintended errors and oversights if any.

Email: hello@aspiremagz.com 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Editor's note Change is the only constant

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lot has been said about change.

And justifiably so.

If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies. Or seasons. Or mobiles. Or the zillion things we see (or don’t) that have gone through the process of evolutionary change.

I for one, being from Gen X, have seen rapid changes to the way we live, eat, socialize, work, and ‘practically everything’ as compared to what it had earlier been whilst I was growing up.

And isn’t it simply astounding to what we get to experience today?

I dread to even think of what it would be like if nothing ever changed, everything remained just the same forever. Thank heavens for making change the only constant!

Some changes happen by chance, some are a result of our choices, and some are totally out of our control. No matter how, what, or when; change is something that will always create. And history is proof that all great changes were preceded by great chaos. Even if it feels disruptive and destructive in the beginning, it eventually leads to an ecosystem of a higher disciplinary order.

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Our only security in this world that is changing by the second, is our own ability to and be open to change. And so, this editor’s note will be different from what it normally is, without mentions of any of the stories/articles contained in this edition. Just for some change… and a break from the usual.

Who said change must be only gloomy and dull? Change and creation can be a whole lot of excitement. Here (https:// www.cadcrowd.com/blog/18random-invention-ideas-thatmade-millions/) for you to read is a list of 18 random inventions that went on to make its creators millions of dollars.

Who knows, you could be the next one. ✪

Go Create, nd Change, a Celebrate!

Bulletin

US dollar surges, almost in line with the Euro Gold is the way forward for many For the first time in nearly 20 years, the exchange rate between the Euro (EUR) and the US dollar is almost the same. The two currencies are less than one cent away from parity.

That dollar trend, though, does harm the financial health of American companies because their goods become more expensive for foreign buyers. If US exports were to decline, it further slows down the trade and economy as a result.

Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said, “The stronger dollar weighs on (economic) growth as it causes exports to decline, while imports shoot up, thus creating a wider trade deficit.”

Economists say the risk of recession is rising steadily in the United States as the Fed raises borrowing costs and consumers use up the savings they built up during the pandemic.

In particular, another economic activity that affects these changes is Russia’s recent reduction in natural gas supplies which has consequently raised rates and raised concerns of a fuel deficit that could force governments to redistribute energy to homes, schools, and hospitals.

(European leaders have condemned Moscow’s move as an attempt to blackmail Europe for embracing Western sanctions and backing Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion.)

The global uncertainty in markets has made investors shift their investments to gold. Gold has become the respite for many despite its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that registered $1.7 billion outflows in June. Sources from the World Gold Council (WGC) reported the second consecutive month of outflows, which were down from the $3.1 billion last

seen in May. Gold fell to a fresh low consecutively for the 9th month on Tuesday, which was directly influenced by the dollar’s continuing rise, as investors awaited U.S. inflation data that could prompt the Federal Reserve to strengthen its aggressive stance on monetary policy.

Spot gold prices dropped by 0.3% to $1,728.58 per ounce by 0457 GMT, after hitting their lowest since 30th Sept. 2021 at $1,722.36 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures eased 0.3% to $1,727.20. Many are predicted that this may be the wise time to buy gold.

However, the price variations are yet to conclude pricing decisions for customers.

WGC suspects that gold will face two key challenges during the second half of the year, an increase in nominal interest rates and a potentially higher dollar.

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Bulletin

MENA members UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, agree on a strategic $10bn industrial partnership

From food, agriculture, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, textiles, minerals and metals, and petrochemicals; Egypt, UAE, and Jordan are set to synergize land, labor, and capital. The nations have mutually agreed on an industrial partnership in Abu Dhabi to enhance economic growth across five key sectors.

The three countries signed the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The partnership allocates $10 billion to an investment fund managed

by ADQ, which functions as a sovereign wealth fund for the UAE. The countries will dedicate divided investments in sectors including food, agriculture and farming, pharmaceuticals, textiles, minerals and metals, and petrochemicals.

Another key focus of this partnership will be to “secure flexible supply chains to boost economic

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security and desensitize the countries from price fluctuations,” the state-owned Egyptian news outlet Al-Ahram reported.

Inflation is prevalent across the region and prices are rising throughout the Middle East, partly due to supply chain issues that occurred due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, causing political and economic unrest.

Faisal Shboul, a Jordanian government spokesman, said that the agreement will focus on food security in the short term, including the production of major grains such as wheat, barley, and corn. According to the state-owned Jordan Times, they will also cooperate on raising livestock, medicine security, food manufacturing, and producing materials such as aluminum, glass, and fabric.

The UAE and Egypt have been strong allies for a long time; however, this agreement now also makes Jordan a standing

partner. In April, another Emirati sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, invested nearly $2 billion in Egypt’s top companies such as Commercial International Bank, Fawry for Banking & Payment Technology Services SAE, Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Company, Misr Fertilizers Production Company and Abu Qir Fertilizers & Chemical Industries. Jordan is also working with Egypt to deliver gas to Lebanon, a country that has been through an economic meltdown.

Both the Egyptian and Jordanian economies are facing challenging times. Egypt is struggling with inflation like many other countries in the region. Consequently, the Central Bank is forced to raise interest rates in the country. Jordan is also contending with high unemployment, which is fueling drug use in the country. Given the current inflationary landscape in these countries, the partnership will prove beneficial to equalizing interest rates and offering better prices to consumers.

“The partnership embodies the vision of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to enhance The countries will dedicate industrial collabdivided investments in orations and partsectors including food, nerships with Arab agriculture and farming, nations and globally pharmaceuticals, textiles, so we can achieve minerals and metals, and a major leap in the petrochemicals industrial sector and transform its potential into an economic driver.

The industry is the backbone of the world’s largest economies.

Through its capabilities, effective policies, and a current focus on developing advanced technology and logistics infrastructure, we are confident that the UAE can build a global economic powerhouse by leveraging industrial partnerships across the region,” said Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs for the UAE.

UAE’s ‘NextGen FDI is all set to welcome new global businesses and talent A brand new business venture powered by the UAE Ministry of Economy will soon gather more than 300 digitally inclined firms in the emirates by 2023. The initiative will provide these e-commerce brands with adequate market entry support resources to launch and grow in the middle east region through Dubai. In the coming months, plans are underway to reveal additional business setup features and benefits for investors.

From faster business incorporation to bulk visa assurance that helps you manage staffing needs and even offer incentives on residential and commercial real estate for employees, all of this with the objective of keeping the UAE at the forefront of global business. The emirates will host a wide variety of white-collar workers, especially those in software development, data science, programming, and managing digital assets.

“We want to position our offer

to digitally-enabled companies from Europe, Asia, and the United States that UAE is the world’s best place to live, work, or invest,” said Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

MNCs and top SME businesses are approaching the Ministry to ask how they can relocate their talent, ideas, and highgrowth ventures to the UAE. Dr. Al Zeyoudi further said, “The global interest of this year is unprecedented, and while we are already working with some, we are aware that others will be happy to collaborate given that their incentives are well taken care of. We not only want to ensure that the most promising digital enterprises can access all the benefits that our attractive, business-friendly environment provides – but we also want to make it easy for them. NextGenFDI is designed to ensure that our market entry processes efficiently align with the rapidly changing technology ecosystem.”

Another key highlight of the NextGenFDI initiative is its close collaborations with seven local entities, including ADGM, DIFC, Dubai Internet City, Dubai South, DMCC, EmiratesNBD, and Wio. In addition, the Ministry has signed seven memoranda, one with each of NextGen’s strategic partners to accelerate the incorporation process and be as adaptable, lucrative, and client-friendly as possible.

“This will transform an enterprise’s perception of complexity with establishNextGenFDI is designed ing new businesses,” to ensure that our said Juma Al Hamli, market entry processes Chief of Staff at Abu efficiently align with Dhabi Global Market the rapidly changing (ADGM). He further technology ecosystem added, “We have not only removed complexity and cost associated with establishing new businesses but also built a strong ecosystem that will help an organization for the objective of their market expansion and growth.” J 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Trending

Riding The Hallyu Wave

From Gangnam Style to Squid Game, from the Samsung’s tech wave to the delicacy that is Jjajangmyeon, there is no doubt that the Hallyu wave is taking the world by storm.

PALLAVI BIJU dives into this international phenomenon and its impact on businesses and the economy

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hrough lyrics that stir the soul, delectable food, catchy choreographies, avant-garde technology, and top-notch movies, the Hallyu wave is taking over the world rapidly. From grandmothers to toddlers, everyone seems to be tapping their feet to the beats of the K-pop songs, even as Korean shops and restaurants pop up across the landscape all over the world, catering to a customer base eager to get a piece of the phenomena.

Naturally, interest in Korean culture and language seems to be taking off too. Statistics show the number of students taking Korean studies courses worldwide reached 40,000 in October 2021. Even the global pandemic could not blunt the impact of the Hallyu wave. With all eyes on Korea in the past few years, we delve into the world of the Korean wave and the business implications it brings along.

Hallyu To The World The term ‘Hallyu’ was coined in the mid-1990s, when Korean soap operas and dramas were garnering increasing overseas attention, especially in China and Japan.

Korean boy bands and girl groups, including Big Bang, Girls’ Generation, and Kara played a major role in the growth of the Korean Wave from the mid2000s to the beginning of the 2010s. As a result, the Korean Wave gained popularity outside of Asia, particularly among young people in their teens and early 20s in Latin America and the Middle East.

Owing to the introduction of social media and global online platforms like YouTube, the Hallyu wave started pushing its boundaries of influence, with more and more people enticed by traditional Korean culture, food, literature, and language.

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An Uber-Powerful Economy South Korea’s economy ranked 10th in GDP globally, 5th in total exports, and 9th in total imports.

In addition, it ranks 32nd in terms of GDP per capita and 5th in terms of economic complexity (ECI) in 2020 globally.

Between April 2021 and 2022, South Korea’s exports climbed by $6.8 billion (13.3 percent) from $51.2 billion to $58 billion.

Simultaneously, imports increased by $9.76 billion (19.2 percent), now at over $60 billion. One of the key contributors to South Korea’s success is its export-oriented policies; its exports as a share of GDP more than doubled, from 25.9 percent in 1995 to 56.3 percent in 2012.

South Korea is renowned for its rapid economic growth, evolving from an undeveloped country to one with a high standard of living in just a few generations. The country’s economic expansion, which has allowed it to join the OECD and the G-20, has been dubbed ‘The Miracle on the Han River’. After the Great Recession, South Korea still features among the wealthy nations, with one of the fastest growth rates worldwide. It is also one of the ‘Next Eleven’ nations because it has the potential to control the world economy by the middle of the twenty-first century.

Reputable financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund have noted their economy’s resilience to various economic crises.

They believe this resilience has bolstered the nation’s economic wins, such as its low state debt and large fiscal reserves, which can be promptly deployed to deal with any anticipated financial crisis. Along with Indonesia and the BRIC nations, other financial institutions like the World Bank

Statistics 4 Between April 2021 and 2022, South Korea’s exports climbed by $6.8 billion (13.3 percent) from $51.2 billion to $58 billion. Simultaneously, imports increased by $9.76 billion (19.2 percent), now at over $60 billion 4 South Korea’s economy ranked 10th in GDP globally 4 In a 2021 research study on the cultural content business, which includes 11 sub-sectors, Korea’s cultural exports in 2020 increased by 16.3% to $11.92 billion from the year before

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Trending include South Korea as one of the key economies of the future generation.

Some Of The Biggest Industries That Have Built South Korea Are: Electronics: One of South Korea’s primary industries is electronics. Heavyweight businesses like Samsung, LG, and SK were at the forefront of this industry’s expansion in South Korea from the 1980s through the 2000s. Semiconductors made by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix made up 17.1% of South Korea’s exports in 2017.

Additionally, Samsung and LG feature among major manufacturers of electrical products such as computers, TVs, cellphones, and display screens.

Cosmetics: South Korea is also one of the world’s top cosmetics exporters, with a double-digit increase in cosmetics exports in 2020 compared to the previous year. According to the same sources, Korean exports reached US$6.12 billion in absolute value in 2020, while imports decreased by 0.7 percent to US$1.07 billion. These strong numbers have allowed Korean authorities to claim third place among the world’s cosmetic exporting countries in 2020, after France and the United States, two nations that saw their exports hampered by the Covid-19 outbreak over the same period.

# BTS with President Biden at the White House for 2022 AAPI Heritage Month on May 31, 2022

Myself anti-violence campaign, spoke at three UNGA sessions, and were the youngest recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea for their contributions to the promotion of Korean culture and language.

Although the band played a significant part in the Hallyu wave, they did not flag off this worldwide craze. During the 1990s, the first group emerged that gave an inkling of the massive K-pop fanaticism to come: Seo Taiji and Boys, the first-ever K-pop group. Seo Taiji combined popular Revolutionising The Pop Scene American music with Korean pop, South Korea is also one of the If you run into someone who hasn’t the genre.

‘Next Eleven’ nations because it revolutionizing heard of the worldwide sensation that The first generation of K-pop singers is BTS, they’ve perhaps been living un- has the potential to control the emerged once the recipe for K-pop der a rock. Since their debut in 2013, world economy by the middle of popularity was set in stone: genre-dethe septet has been taking the world by fying music, immaculate appearances, the twenty-first century storm. With their Grammy-nominated and razor-sharp choreography. Groups track ‘Dynamite’, BTS made history by like HOT and Sechs Kies pioneered becoming the first all-South Korean act to top the this generation of K-pop. The second generation Billboard Global 200 and US Billboard Hot 100 wasn’t far behind, which is usually credited with charts in 2020. The boy band branded the ‘Princes the rise in popularity of the genre in the USA with of Pop’, appeared on the international Time magbands like Big Bang, Girls’ Generation, Super azine cover as ‘Next Generation Leaders’ and has Junior, and TVXQ. won several awards, including nine American MuDuring the 2010s, the names we’re familiar sic Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 24 Golden with today ushered in the next wave of K-pop’s Disk Awards, and nominations for two Grammy dominance. EXO, BTS, Twice, and Blackpink are Awards and two Brit Awards. household names, completely transforming the In addition to their chart-topping discography, worldwide music scene. K-pop has now entered its they collaborated with UNICEF to start the Love 4th generation with bands like Stray Kids, Ateez, BTS: Another surprising yet extremely significant contributor to the South Korean economy is the world-renowned K-pop boy band BTS. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute predicted that a single BTS concert could raise $500 million or more. Unsurprisingly, seven years since their debut in 2013, BTS was contributing $3.5 billion annually to the nation’s economy, according to the Hyundai Research Institute.

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attended a BTS event in Jumeirah and saw how happy the fandom was and how much they enjoyed interacting with other members of the fandom, we decided that we could give the ARMY a place to call their own.”

“Since Korean entertainment is now well-known worldwide, it is extremely beneficial to our cafe’s success. Additionally, in the last few years of living here in the UAE, we have seen increased demand for Korean products. Different Korean restaurants are popping up around the country and residents are fond of them, especially Korean barbeque. We have also seen a high demand for Korean beauty products. We believe this is due to the diverse population of the UAE,” he says, confirming the impact of the Hallyu wave on their business.

Seven years since their debut The Best Moment Is Yet To in 2013, BTS was contributing Come In a 2021 research study on the $3.5 billion annually to the cultural content business, which includes 11 sub-sectors, Korea’s nation’s economy

TXT, Itzy, and Aespa making a name for themselves. Combining entertainment with a deep cultural Korean correlation, the rise of these bands has increased the prominence and familiarity with Korean culture. Businesses and establishments are now capitalizing on this familiarity to serve people their own little slice of South Korea.

The UAE Impact It comes as no surprise that the enormous impact of the Korean cultural export has created a boom for Korean businesses and business owners worldwide.

With its diverse and multicultural environment, Korean businesses in the UAE have been enjoying humongous success even during the global pandemic.

Dul Set Cafe, a BTS-themed cafe that opened in Dubai during the COVID pandemic, has had an extremely prosperous trajectory. Their delicious concoction has also been nominated as one of the ‘favorite Pinoy milk tea’ by Tag 91.1. “The idea of Dul Set Café started with my younger sister who’s been an ARMY (BTS fandom’s name) since 2018. When I graduated with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, I put together my passion and my sister’s love for BTS, and Dul Set Café was born,” says this small business owner.

Talking about the initiation, they say, “Once, we

# Dul Set Cafe, a BTS-themed cafe opened in Dubai during the COVID pandemic

cultural exports in 2020 increased by 16.3% to $11.92 billion from the year before. According to the Framework Act on the Promotion of Cultural Industries, the cultural industry includes books, comics, music, games, movies, animation, broadcasting, advertising, character design, knowledge information, and content creation.

Kang Yeo-won, Senior Deputy Director of the Culture Ministry’s Cultural Industry Policy Division says, “Exports of cultural contents have been setting a new record each year, but this time it is worth noting that the increase was achieved while the overall exports were down,” which hints to the rising popularity of Korean material on international content platforms. Furthermore, data indicated that South Korea’s exports of cultural materials have consistently increased since the research’s start in 2005. For instance, the values increased by more than double from $5.6 billion to $11.92 billion between 2015 and 2020.

Research and statistics clearly indicate that the Hallyu wave has been gaining constant attention over the years and, with eager public acceptance, is nowhere close to saturation. With more interest in the Korean culture and remarkable cultural exports coming out of the country, the best of the Hallyu wave, as BTS rightly said, is yet to come. ✪ P.S. Several statistics are till 2020 alone because numbers post that year are not by official sources or not confirmed. South Korea also had a stringent travel ban, which was only relaxed around April 2022.

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Tech love

Business Automation Tools As the world goes digital, businesses are exploring and adapting to technological advancements. Clarilda Sharon takes a look at ways automation can give your startup an edge

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couple of decades ago, all business records were kept on paper; later, data storage trends advanced to spreadsheets when computers became mainstream. In today’s technological age, cloud-based SaaS products are widely being used for data capture and analysis, and it’s nearly impossible to find businesses that don’t employ them.

Digital transformation is the new normal for startups Businesses are forcefully quick to employ technology and software into their existing work models.

This digital transformation is happening at a significantly faster pace than expected. According to a recent survey conducted by McKinney, respondents indicated that their companies were highly responsive and 20-25 times more welcoming to technology than they would have expected. Technology can bring a business various benefits such as efficiency, effectiveness, better employee productivity, and performance.

Time is of essence, and people expect to do business with prompt companies with quick turnaround times. Startups that use technology to improve employee efficacy can spend more time on core functions. When you automate the processes you’ve otherwise been performing manually, you can double your output in core areas, reduce the terror of unchecked errors and tap into future opportunities. Let’s take a look below at some available software that can aid and improve specific aspects of a business.

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Elevate your employee experience To enable and ease these internal management processes, whether hiring, preparing compensation, or building culture, BambooHR software can be a great alternative. It is ideal for small and medium businesses. It collects and organizes all the accumulated information to give you the time and insights for easier and faster data management.

The basic version of this digital HR assistant costs starts at $99 per month for 12 employees.

Emily White Hodge, Director of HR & Operations of New Moms, a not-for-profit organization in Chicago, says, “It’s the product and the people. Every experience is a good experience with BambooHR.” Another software, Teramind Employee Monitoring Solution, costs approximately $ 10 per month, offers data-backed workforce insights, automated

alerts, and monitors various activities along with powerful productivity tools. It also helps companies address the fastest-growing security risks.

“It’s crucial for organizations to realize just how powerful data can be. Teramind’s robust capabilities do just as much for productivity and workflow efficiency as for security operations like data loss prevention and insider threat detection,” says Isaac Kohen, VP of R&D at Teramind.

You can also track and record your employee’s productivity on and off the network with Interguard Employee Monitoring Solution, an affordable and efficient alternative software that you can purchase at only $9.99 per month. It gathers and converts data into valuable insights.

Enhance buyer experience Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is

equally essential for a startup and medium-sized business because a powerful CRM can do wonders to enrich your buyer experience and grow your business. Without its aid, you may overlook information crucial to your success.

Freshworks, a free and quick-to-implement software-as-a-service (SaaS), assists businesses to scale faster with workflow automation, sales activity, operating management, sales analytics, and much more. Another cloud-based SaaS service that is simple to use is Agile CRM, a free CRM for a small business where you can manage, automate, and keep track of all your sales and marketing activities in one platform with so many features.

YEAH! Local, a digital lead generation and SEO agency, was looking for a CRM software that did everything they needed at a price a small business could afford. In addition, the company was search2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Tech love

Data is like gold. It is that significant to every company these days. But at the same time, obsolete data can cost you big time!

ing for a platform that would offer them powerful marketing automation features and a competent CRM to take care of contact and task management.

They looked at several solutions, including HubSpot, but Agile CRM not only had more features it also offered them a better price point. However, the cost wasn’t the only reason they went with Agile CRM. The company wanted a solution to its email marketing problems that Agile CRM addressed.

Your data favors you Data is like gold. It is that significant to every company these days. But at the same time, obsolete data can cost you big time! With most industries relying on data, data scrubbing becomes crucial. Startups cannot afford to have their employees squandering time collecting data and cleansing it. The cost of error and the time sink would be simply too high.

Instead, technology and a unique set of data processing tools allow you to transform the data into business-ready information. These vital insights help you strategize your business for future operations. Trifacta Wrangler helps data analysts clean and structure diverse and murky data more quickly and accurately within a desktop application at no cost, letting you manage data pipelines in minutes. Similarly, another popular and affordable data cleansing tool, the Trifata Wrangler is

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available on a free trial for the first thirty days, or you can directly get a paid version at $80 per month exclusive of $0.60 / vCPU hour.

Winpure helps you scrub a large amount of data, remove duplicates, and standardize data from databases, spreadsheets, CRMs, and more, with fewer actions. It comes in a free version with basic features and paid premium version priced at $499 per month.

Data insights can help you make effective marketing and financial decisions for your business.

Only when data is gathered correctly, kept updated, and processed appropriately for usage will you be able to reap its enormous benefits. And these data analyzing and cleansing tools can bring your business real profits.

Business associations get more powerful You cannot undervalue the importance of your partners, associates, and vendors while meeting complex consumer demands. It can be tedious to manage the essential day-to-day tasks of a business association. Moreover, it gets more daunting to handle them as your membership base continues to grow. And that’s when the Association Management Software (AMS) comes in handy. The software includes a host of impressive features, from managing databases, accounting and payment systems, to messaging and emailing tools, etc., making it a great overall management software for SMEs. If you want to track and seize all member data on a single screen, then Fonteva is your go-to tech buddy.

It is easy to configure and promotes communication, distribution of documents and minutes, and much more. Coming at $145 per month, you won’t regret this investment as it helps you efficiently manage all your associations in your company.

Not only will this software ease your communication with future suppliers and clients, but it will also make you scalable by strengthening business relationships and optimizing time and resources in the long run.

It helps out-do your competitors Given how vital competitive analysis is for young

companies, automating the process is a huge bonus.

One thing smart businesses do is implement automated price comparison tools to understand the pricing strategies of competition and build new approaches to deliver exceptional value to customers.

Social Mention is a free media search tool specifically designed to improve link analysis.

This social media search and analysis platform provides detailed analytics gathered from the web, like frequency of mentions, reach rate, etc., in real-time. The software aggregates user-generated content from web pages online into a single pack of information. It’s a social media monitoring tool that allows you to research and analyze public opinion of your brand in real-time.

If you’re curious where your competitor is getting its traffic from, SimilarWeb gives you the data and

Ryan C, a senior business intelligence analyst at Pure Canadian Gaming, Alberta, says that SpyFu is a “Great tool for competitive research on paid media spending”.

These tools are also the fastest way to know what is trending and what’s not. It’s critical for the success of new businesses as you cannot afford your efforts to hit and miss. Also, this is far better than eating up valuable hours by manually peeking into your competitor’s window and is a great way to incorporate business intelligence into your pricing strategy.

Don’t knock on doors; just go digital Quicker than yesterday and better than your previous product or service! Yes, that’s how demanding the world is today. Above that, you’ve got compet-

Check out the bestperforming articles of your competitors at BuzzSumo by entering your competitor’s domain and learn their PPC keywords and SEO strategies at SpyFu – a PPC research tool

insights to win big. Its cost varies by the scope of data you need access to (e.g., number of domains and categories), so each quote is customized as per business needs.

As the saying goes - content is king in the digital marketing space, so knowing the kind of content your competitor is coming up with is vital. Check out the best-performing articles of your competitors at BuzzSumo by entering your competitor’s domain and learn their PPC keywords and SEO strategies at SpyFu – a PPC research tool.

BuzzSumo is free with only ten searches. However, you can opt for a paid version with unlimited search points, costing you $99 per month. SpyFu, on the other hand, is a lot cheaper currently, with a limited-time offer of only $9.99 per month for its basic version.

itors prepared to capitalize on your incompetence.

If you haven’t invested in a digital transformation initiative yet, you’re missing out big time on a chance to thrust your business forward. Though it’s an area where you’ll have to put money into, you cannot afford to overlook it.

Especially striving as a startup, the key is to achieve the highest possible levels of technological agility and strengthen employee that fosters an innovative thought process that will provide you with an advantage.

When startups and mid-sized companies invest in digital transformation, they’re signing up for a positive impact on their customers, employees, and their business as a whole! What do you think of these digital transformation tools? Let us know your thoughts on hello@aspiremagz.com. J 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

15

Opinion

The Hippocratic Paradox For some people today prevention is the only cure they can afford. Sreeram Viswanath examines the complexities, and issues that plague healthcare for profit, where money, not a doctor, saves the patient

H

ealthcare has the capability to care, to cure. No one is born with perfect health or the perfect fate. Every human should be freely given the option of seeking medical aid in times of injury, accident, or prevention of illness.

Instead, we routinely witness this scenario – people struggling under the pile of medical costs, borrowing money, selling assets, or rejecting treatment because they can’t afford it. When the United Nations too espouses the ‘Right to Health’, why are some people still subjected to the unfortunate decision of foregoing care to risk death?

The inglorious rise of healthcare costs Healthcare costs have leapfrogged massively, evidenced by the fact that the average income has failed to keep up with it. As a result, hospitals and medical professionals enforce a severe burden on patients, with little or no regard for their financial strata.

Technically stated, we are afflicted with a poorly integrated medical system. The World Health Organization considers integrated health services as, “the organization and management of health services so that people get the care they need, when they need it, in ways that are user friendly, achieve the desired results and provide value for money.”

Unfortunately, in the absence of necessary systems, patients pay beyond their means for healthcare, way beneath their civil rights.

Ironically, many medical institutions are no better off, facing losses of up to thousands of crores. This can be attributed to the overall ecosystem, where hospitals must make extra, unreasonable profits

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Healthcare costs have leapfrogged massively, evidenced by the fact that the average income has failed to keep up with it

to ensure that they incorporate and maintain standard medical facilities. The system is rigged for all players involved.

The issue intensifies in developing countries, where in all fairness, governments routinely inaugurate schemes to benefit the underprivileged. In reality, however, only a tiny part of the population benefits from these welfare initiatives. Those who can afford medical insurance are often bested by the fine print on insurance contracts, for many of them do not compensate the customer for an emergency stating legal grounds that do not have a proper, reasonable establishment.

Developed countries like America may fare a little better thanks to initiatives such as Medicare, where citizens above the age of 65 or older are covered.

But the many adults who cannot get themselves insured are left out in the cold, dealing with their illness on their own time, on their own dime.

Citizens of the UAE are reasonably well-protected, for they can pay a minimal amount for their healthcare or avail it for free. Expats may have to expend on insurance packages, but their investments are rewarded with quality health treatment and care. While expensive, these packages cover a wide range of treatments.

countries are showing the way by adopting the Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC). This system ensures all residents of a geographical location are covered by health insurance, whether in the public or private sector. In addition, UHC includes health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care over an entire lifetime.

Germany was the earliest to implement this healthcare system when Chancellor Otto introduced a series of bills to ensure widespread healthcare needs across the country. Canada’s universal health system is funded through taxes, which means that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents can apply for public health insurance quite easily.

60% of Vietnam’s population, including 90% of the poor, is covered by state-subsided social health insurance. In Peru, budget-funded health insurance for the poor has significantly improved the health of women and children. These are just a few countries that are making affordable healthcare a reality.

Governments with foresight can chart the course of a healthcare system in which the disadvantaged are not left out of the periphery of quality health.

Let’s work towards a future where an effective and affordable healthcare system is a reality that the entire world can embrace. ✪

Limited Choices The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least half the global population do not have access to essential health services. More than 1 billion people deal with uncontrolled hypertension, and millions of women die due to pregnancy-related issues. The infants lucky enough to be born run the risk of getting affected by tetanus, pertussis, and other deadly diseases.

This begs the question, where are we with the advanced health ecosystem of the 21st century?

People still have to choose between food and medical treatment, between life and death, and between death and financial bankruptcy.

Bridging the gap

Germany was the earliest to implement this healthcare system when Chancellor Otto introduced a series of bills to ensure widespread healthcare needs across the country

Affordability of healthcare has become a major issue for all constituencies. There is plenty of opportunity to improve affordability as studies indicate up to a third of all health care spending is unnecessary.

The challenge is in specifically identifying which services are unnecessary and the best approach to increase efficiency without sacrificing quality.

-Jim Whisler, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP But there might be a daring solution. Forty-three 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

17

Events

Regional happenings on the horizon BUSINESS UNPLUGGED INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2022 The Business Unplugged Investment Summit organized by GCC Vision, a B2B and B2G networking platform, is set to take place on Saturday, 30th July 2022. With over 100 Business Owners joining this meet, the event is set to take business networking to the next level.

The Networking Event will help business owners and others connect with and benefit from the vast network of business developers, investors, government officials, and other dignitaries.

The event will bring together entrepreneurs and investors from industries such as F&B, technology, Fashion, Real Estate, Finance, Blockchain, and NFT. Taking place from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm, it is an unmissable opportunity for anyone looking to grow their network and business. The event provides an excellent opportunity to spot the current and future trends in business, and the primary focus areas, understand the target market of niche businesses, and accelerate business growth.

Tickets for the event start at Dhs 250 and go up to Dhs 500 for the VIPs. However, payment will only be collected from the shortlisted candidates.

GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK DUBAI WITH QUASSARIAN The Quassarian Business Networking Seminar focuses on giving CEOs, leaders, freelance professionals, and business development managers access to a top-notch referral networking system. Through carefully crafted member synergies, this network aids in the growth of your contact network and comprehends the value of referral networking as part of your business development plan. The event will take place on August 1, 2022, from 7 pm to 10 pm at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai.

Their goal is to improve humanity’s welfare by making technology simple and available to everyone worldwide. They continually invest in research and development (R&D) to better serve their clients and produce more cuttingedge goods. They have also created items for the Indian Forest Department (WII-Wildlife Institute of India) and DRDO (Defence Research

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and development organization, India). Their products are eco-friendly, easy to install, low maintenance, and durable. Standard tickets start at $14 and can be brought online.

WORLD’S BIGGEST NFT EXPO The Aspire World Investment-organized World’s Biggest NFT Expo will be just that—the largest NFT Expo ever.

An investment management firm, Aspire World Investment (AWI), spent $2.34 billion planning for significant, large-scale investments in infrastructure, businesses, commerce, education, energy, the environment, and the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises.

AWI is a global organization that has operations in more than 43 nations.

The event will offer a venue for showcasing fresh investment prospects and exchanging expertise and information that will support long-term investment and growth. The World’s Biggest NFT Expo boasts the participation of over 700 exhibitors and 7000 investors from over 189 countries. Dignitaries scheduled to attend include State Heads, Business Councils, Embassy Representatives, Leaders of Investment Companies, Leadership, Government and Civil service personnel, and experts from different fields. This event serves as a once-in-a-lifetime networking opportunity for anyone looking to invest and learn about NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

The event will also serve as a launchpad for

new businesses with their Startups section, which is catered to help early and advanced startups succeed. The event will be held at the Dubai Chamber Of Commerce and Industry from August 11 to August 16 and tickets can be bought online from July 11.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION SUMMIT The 14th Digital Transformation Summit will offer a thorough overview of the current and anticipated trends in the Middle East’s constantly evolving digital world. The top leaders in Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation will give keynote addresses, participate in fireside chats, panel discussions, and live Q&A sessions at this edition of the DT Summit Saudi Arabia. There will be increased virtual networking opportunities all day long.

Many government and public sector organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are implementing novel solutions as emerging technologies advance. It makes sense why the Digital Competitiveness 2021 Report dubbed the Kingdom the G20’s Top Digital Riser. Without a doubt, Saudi Arabia has slowly shifted its attention to digital transformation, which is supported by the desire to reform and innovate.

The emphasis on digital transformation will increase in the upcoming years to draw in more investors, close the digital gap, and fulfill the demands of a quickly changing economy.

As digital transformation is no longer just a buzzword, the Digital Transformation Summit Saudi Arabia will examine and comprehend the

world of digital organizations in great detail. The emphasis will be on digitalization with successful transformation using business case studies, relevant issues, and solutions tailored specifically for your company’s needs.

The event will be held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh, on 10th August from 9:30 AM to 6 PM (AST). ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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COVER STORY

With the world changing at breakneck speed, a new invention or idea crops up every day. Which is eternal, and which ones are just a flash in the pan? QIRAAT ATTAR chronicles seven game changers that will ultimately shape and create the vista of the future, which is only speculated so far

THE SEVEN G CHANGERS OF THE GLOB ECONOMY 20

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GAME

BAL

If a person from the ancient past time-traveled to the world today, they would be in a tizzy in mere minutes - so much has changed. A tiny little device in our hands brings us more information than 10,000 newspapers; swanky cars that run on petrol and electricity; clothes, appliances, and even bread bought online and delivered to our homes; and humanity as a whole emerging from a pandemic that brought us to our knees. Yet this period of despair brought with it sobering lessons, a searing realization about our fragility, and finally, what binds us together as humans had never been more clearer than ever before.

We’ve lived the present, but what about the future?

Some say predicting the future is a fools’ errand, but as a species that makes things happen, we certainly can do our best that the future holds glad tidings for each of us.

Walk with us through seven events that were make-orbreak for humanity and how we can reflect on them to ascertain the further course of humankind.

y c n e rr u c o pt y r 1. C

E

verything has upgraded, and miraculously, so has money. Globally, we have witnessed financial frauds of truly audacious scale and nature, leading to the common man questioning the security of money and the accountability from governments and global banks. Finding none, cryptocurrency was the natural direction in which people veered.

Formerly considered an alternative investment, crypto has reached the level of public acceptance in roughly the same league as stocks and mutual funds, with many even considering making it their retirement fund.

While still considered too speculative by some, others have bought into its vast potential, enjoying the benefits of early adoption. Since its inception in 2008, it has become a part of the regular parlance, getting over the public’s ‘fear factor’ towards a new and risky financial venture and thus cementing its place in the financial systems of the world.

As per an asset management analysis by J.P. Morgan, cryptocurrency seems to have garnered strong favor because “it enables decentralized, peer-to-peer transactions without a trusted third party while addressing the risk of the same asset being spent twice.”

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COVER STORY

👇 n Out of 7.9 B OR DER LE S S CUR R ENC Y While some nations are still wary, others are actively exploring cryptocurrency’s potential for borderless, cashfree, traceable, secure payments. El Salvador became the first nation to accept it as legal tender.

Although most countries seem to be actively fighting the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, that doesn’t take away from their interest in the concept. Perhaps, they are looking to launch stable crypto coins of their own, if China’s digital yuan is any indication. With the economic power of this league showing interest, other countries might be much more amenable to eventually embracing CRYPTO HAS ALREADY MADE this digital currency.

On a smaller scale, more INROADS, WITH COMPANIES brokers are offering crypto LIKE MICROSOFT, WIKIPEDIA, trading, which has made it AT&T, INTUIT, AND SHOPIFY easier for people to start trad- ACCEPTING BITCOIN FOR ing, exploring, and join the THEIR SERVICES bandwagon.

Today, out of 7.9 billion people in the world, 106 million use cryptocurrency.

Whilst that is a significant amount, there is still a large percentage that is oblivious to cryptocurrency, and the future years will bring more people into the fold if crypto becomes more accepted and moves out of ‘internet chatter’ and into common, everyday use.

According to list of The Richest Crypto And Blockchain Billionaires In The World 2022, 19 billionaires have become wealthy through cryptocurrency, although this wealth generation goes beyond mere investment, for these individuals are leading the pack with blockchain technology.

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There is a bevy of coins out there, with over 18,000 cryptocurrencies in existence as of March 2022. Of these, the most popular and reliable cryptocurrencies are - Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and US Dollar Coin.

As per Investopedia, if we combine Bitcoin with Litecoin, Monero, Ethereum, and all other significant cryptocurrencies, the total value comes to roughly $2.48 trillion. To compare, an attempted calculation of the total amount of money in the world indicates that we have around $35.2 trillion in global narrow money.

Crypto entrepreneur Carl Runefelt finds most altcoins (those other than Bitcoin) much more speculative than Bitcoin and admits that perhaps only a few dozen have any true value for the world currently.

Obviously, money is for more than just investments; its real value is in day-to-day transactions. Crypto has already made inroads, with companies like Microsoft, Wikipedia, AT&T, Intuit, and Shopify accepting Bitcoin for their services.

Virgin Galactic is indeed living in the future, for they do sell tickets for Bitcoin, but only the ones for space tourism! In auto, at least

billion people in the world, 106 million use cryptocurrency n If we combine Bitcoin with Litecoin, Monero, Ethereum, and all other significant cryptocurrencies, the total value comes to roughly $2.48 trillion n So far in June 2022 nearly $400 billion has left crypto as the industry market cap fell below $1 trillion for the first time since January 2021 n Bitcoin could touch $100,000 by the end of 2023

one Lamborghini dealer in the US claims to accept crypto as payment. Elon Musk has said that Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin as payment for their cars after ascertaining how much renewable energy is being used in mining bitcoin.

Apart from the big leagues, even outlets like Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Subway in some countries are accepting Bitcoin. This is a good indication that if the currencies can prove stability that regular currency carries for an extended period of time, we can see a future when your groceries, too, might be paid for in Bitcoin.

In the short term, most predictions point towards a settling of chaos and some regulatory relaxations. Meme coins will disappear, USD Coin will climb in stability, and the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will likely be approved in the USA this year. Some analysts predict that Bitcoin could touch $100,000 by the end of 2023, but as with all things money, it’s time to wait and watch.

e c r e m m 2. E-co etail and R

T

he vast marketplace where people strolled for goods and luxuries alike has moved online, and it’s bigger than ever before. Ever since e-commerce as a modality became available in the 1990s, consumables have changed, supply chain has strengthened, and even the remotest cities of the world are now on the e-commerce network, buying and selling at pace with the world.

With the pandemic and restrictions on movement, the world was forced to execute a dry run where we experimented with having only online commerce. This showed us that if a highly connected delivery mechanism is available, e-commerce can fulfill even the daily shopping needs of an ordinary citizen.

The definition of online shopping has now expanded to include direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies, small businesses with either a local network and some even ambitious enough to offer worldwide shipping, medical essentials being sold online, customized products to suit both your taste and your needs, and superfast deliveries that have customers truly spoilt with sheer convenience.

Already, brands that did not invest in an online presence suffered severe loss of sales during the pandemic. After an adjustment period, the ones that have managed to

survive have crossed the WITH MORE BRANDS hurdle and are seeing the COMPETING FOR CUSTOMERS, benefits in terms of sales.

Online stores are popping DIGITAL ADVERTISING IS MORE up daily, with an estimated COSTLY AND LESS LUCRATIVE 12–24 million eCommerce THAN EVER BEFORE sites across the globe. However, with more brands competing for customers, digital advertising is more costly and less lucrative than ever before.

The aforementioned direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies sell products directly to end-users through their own e-commerce sites, or through social media shopping, instead of an aggregator site. Instead of investing in traditional retail processes, they capitalize on online communities to humanize their brands, increase customer retention, and overcome skyrocketing advertising costs. As a result, these businesses are set to increase in the future.

T HE NE W SHOP P ING E XP ER IENCE Advertising will continue to evolve in increasingly non-traditional ways, leveraging audio visual content on blogs and utilizing influencers (even AI influencers) and memes. Everything with a potential for virality will be pulled in and tested for its advertising potential. In fact, it is no surprise that already, digital marketer and social media marketer positions are so sought-after.

Ecommerce websites will try to compensate for the lack of human interaction with the online experience by mak-

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COVER STORY

ing their sites more customized, more customer-oriented, and personalized to the T. Think the ‘recommended for you’ section but far more fine-tuned to you.

Some delivery sites are also experimenting with drones, programmed with the flight trajectories, to replace delivery persons in reaching orders to customers. While they may be better for lighter goods, they are certainly faster than humans and will help in connectivity to unreachable areas or during bad weather conditions. We may reach a day when drones make 1-day shipping look tardy. Now that’s something.

Voice searches for all your shopping needs will become more common - In fact, statistics predicted that 50% of all online searches will be voice-based by 2030, meaning that search keywords will have to evolve accordingly.

Sustainable e-commerce will also become a priority with more environmentally friendly packaging and efficient supply chains. n Online stores All of these changes and advanceare popping ments mean that the workforce up daily, with of warehouse workers, delivery an estimated workers, and other blue-collar 12–24 million positions might increase in numeCommerce sites across the globe ber - but there is also a chance that AI and automation might n eCommerce push what are called ‘unskilled’ industry is workers out of business. Compaexpected to grow nies and policymakers will have by almost $11 to work together to ensure that trillion between 2021 and 2025 these workers are not left out in the cold as the world hops on to n by 2040, better technology and faster speeds. eCommerce Already, data is playing a sigwill make up nificant role in e-commerce and almost 95% of all purchases marketing strategies. Well, be ready to have that become even n It is predicted bigger. As spending across channels that 50% of all becomes complicated, businesses online searches will seek to become more frugal, will be voicethus relying on accurate attribution based by 2030 models to direct their spending and decision-making.

Even with all the evolution, one thing stays constant – the customer is king. Establishing trust with customers will be ever important, especially as competition heats up.

Customer centricity is likely to soar even higher.

The eCommerce industry is expected to grow by almost $11 trillion between 2021 and 2025. By the year 2023, it’s estimated that eCommerce purchases will rise from 14.1% to 22%. These numbers strongly indicate that while so much innovation has already taken place, e-commerce as a business is yet to reach its potential.

Statistics indicate that by 2040, eCommerce will make up almost 95% of all purchases. If you’ve got a big-selling idea, there is no time like the present to find your customer.

👇

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3.0 averse b e 3. W he Met and t

A

s we speak, the next version of the internet is churning. While we currently experience Web 2.0 in all its glory, we are on the cusp of Web 3.0, a decentralized internet that will be open, transparent, more secure than the existing one, and unmonopolized by the tech powers.

Every iteration of an existing technology promises to eliminate some issues, and Web 3.0 is no different. It will be one of the major innovations of the decentralized future, hand-in-hand with cryptocurrency and NFTs, combining machine learning, AI, and blockchain to enable real-time human communication.

What does a Web 3.0-based internet look like? With Web 3.0, information could be stored in multiple locations simultaneously, making the massive databases obsolete, which are currently held by internet giants like Meta and Google, thus offering greater control to end-users. The goal is to ensure ownership with the original creator.

Being open-source, Web 3.0 will also be trustless, with participants interacting directly with each other and platforms without a middle party, and permissionless, with no authorization needed from a governing body for any user. Given that it will be based on machine learning,

👇 n Web 3.0 its accuracy will improve thanks to the learning models employed as people use it more and more.

The USP of blockchain is that ownership is recorded on a shared, public ledger, thus letting you hold onto your digital assets as you move between platforms. This will also cause a massive change in the way we use social media and our virtual identities. In the future, each user may have one username for all their profiles on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (and whatever other social media comes up), and this single identity stores your data. Instead of these platforms owning and using your data, web 3.0 allows you to own your digital identity online, and you can switch services with the click of a button without losing years of data.

M AK ING V IR T U AL R E AL We are looking at a possible future of reduced censorship and more press and individual freedom online.

There will be fewer instances of social media platforms putting a stop to certain firebrands, for example.

allows you to own your digital identity online, and you can switch services with the click of a button n The Metaverse’s market value is estimated to be around 800 billion dollars by 2025 n In the Metaverse, you will be able to travel anywhere, meet strangers, and even interact with them and the native environment n the global Web 3.0 market size reached USD 3.2B in 2021 and may register a CAGR of 43.7% during the forecast period

There will also be fewer companies monopolizing the app store market (say, Apple and Google), allowing developers to develop and publish apps without restrictions.

But right now, Web 3.0 still has a few hiccups. For one, a lot of it is still in a stage of conjecture, with many psyched about its potential but still grappling with the execution. For another, and perhaps related to the previous point, whatever has emerged of Web 3.0 is nowhere near intuitive or user-friendly the way we are used to with our existing applications. Even MetaMask, the world’s most popular Web 3.0 digital wallet, could use some work on its user interface. Adding a network like Binance Smart Chain to MetaMask, for example, should be as simple as clicking a button, but it currently requires manual entry of URLs and numerical codes. In many ways, it is a primitive form of Web 3.0, which means that both users and creators have a long way to go before it becomes the norm.

According to Emergen Research, the global Web 3.0 market size reached USD 3.2B in 2021 and may register a CAGR of 43.7% during the forecast period. Revenue is projected to increase to USD 81.5 Billion in 2030.

The other development that has people excited and perplexed in equal measures is the Metaverse, championed primarily by Meta, tech heavyweights like Epic Games, Microsoft, Niantic, Decentraland, and Apple, amongst others. While the possibilities are endless, in a nutshell, Metaverse will create a virtual reality that IN THE FUTURE, EACH USER will have endless choices than the physical reality we are MAY HAVE ONE USERNAME FOR ALL THEIR PROFILES living in now.

In the Metaverse, you will ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM be able to travel anywhere, AND THIS SINGLE IDENTITY meet strangers, and even STORES YOUR DATA interact with them and the native environment. Not just in space but also in time. Studying the history of origin of nationhood? A virtual reality of 18th century France and Germany would let you not just study it but live the experience.

All realities will ascend to another level, where you could go to a zoo in the Metaverse and enter the enclosures, even adopt the persona of an animal, attend concerts on the other side of the world, run marathons even if you are differently-abled, ride roller coasters without moving an inch.

Of course, you’ll have to pay for travel or other services, which is where cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin come in.

Social interactions like hanging out with your friends and online dating may actually take place online.

The Metaverse’s market value is estimated to be around 800 billion dollars by 2025.

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COVER STORY

4. Susta inability

A

ll the tech in the world, all the decentralized coins, all the flying cars, and hyperloops are all for nothing without the continued existence of our terra, our mother Earth, in all its glory.

If the outcome of the COP26 Climate Summit is to be believed, we may already be too late. Thankfully, even if big tech corporations and crude oil honchos want to turn a blind eye to it, several other companies have heeded the wake-up call and are innovating and investing in the sustainable economy.

According to a BSR report, the three factors that govern how sustainable businesses operate in the future are • climate change and our collective response to it or our disregard for it • technology and how it will make our life easier while helping the ecosystem, and finally, • Structural economic change to ensure that when we look at humanity’s progress, it’s all of us and not just a privileged few.

Several established corporations and new startups are now focusing on sustainability initiatives. Walmart started with its initiative in 2017 to divert 78 percent of global waste from landfills and invest $25 million over five

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years on food safety projects THE WORLD POPULATION in China. Cisco and Dimension IS EXPECTED TO REACH Data have partnered to track 9 BILLION BY 2050, OF poachers at a game reserve WHICH 70 PERCENT OF THE in South Africa, successfully reducing rhino poaching in PEOPLE WILL LIVE IN CITIES southern Africa by 96%.

Apple is committed to the “Closed-Loop Supply Chain”, where their products are made using recycled or renewable materials only. To do so, they encourage customers to turn in their iPhones during upgrades, recycling materials, and disassembly sections in factories.

Most governments have taken a common pledge, but companies are setting individual targets to achieve sustainability. While it is admirable, one wonders if by not taking drastic measures and settling for soft targets, we will be unable to mitigate the disaster that is man-made global warming.

Currently, renewables made up 29 percent of electricity generation in 2020 globally, much of it from hydropower (16.8 percent). Unfortunately, the future looks a little bleak on this front because, according to the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario, modern renewables will account for 18% of total final consumption by 2030. much below the 32% share needed in 2030 to achieve the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.

Sustainable cities will be more pervasive due to climate change and a surge in population, given that the world population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, of which

ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVS) ARE PERHAPS THE MOST WELL-KNOWN TECHNOLOGICAL EFFORTS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

70 percent of the people will live in cities. Tenets of smart technology, organic sourcing, and using natural resources will become the governing principles of life.

To execute this, architects will design ‘urban hubs’, buildings for all-in-one use: residences, workspaces, social hangouts, farming, etc., creating localized communities of necessities to maximize space and reduce the carbon footprint per person.

SU S TAIN A BLE T E C HNOL OG Y Envisioning a new world order built on terms of sustainability will not be possible without the introduction of a different kind of technology: Green architecture will work to construct buildings to reduce energy consumption by utilizing existing natural light and adequate insulation, with the materials sourced from urban waste and landfills.

We’ve known about the potential of Nuclear energy for a while, but due to the disposability issues of radioactive waste, it has not been used to its fullest. Experts are eager to explore Thorium, which might be an expensive element to mine, but since it is more abundantly available, might allow us to use nuclear power more robustly.

Biomimicry is the invention of self-healing materials that can “heal” themselves when cut, torn, or cracked.

Another exciting development is artificial photosynthesis, a technology that will use sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce energy, which scientists are trying to work out how to scale up. Finally, Vertical farming can solve food production issues due to its eco-friendliness by growing crops in vertical layers instead of horizontally, and there can now be farms that don’t need any soil input.

A NE W L ANDS C AP E Electric vehicles (EVs) are perhaps the most well-known technological efforts to fight climate change. The challenge is that while greenhouse gas emissions directly come from EVs, they run on electricity that is mainly still produced from fossil fuels in many parts of the world.

👇 n Automotive

executives think that more than half of car sales will be those of EVs by 2030 n Experts are eager to explore Thorium, which might be an expensive element to mine, but might allow us to use nuclear power more robustly n Humanity could save a lot of money through a global shift to sustainable development. $26 trillion by 2030 n Vertical farming can solve food production issues due to its eco-friendliness

Automotive executives think that more than half of car sales will be those of EVs by 2030, an aim that President Joe Biden too patronizes EV sales goal, according to a new survey by KPMG. Eventually, we may witness a gradual change in our landscape - electric charging stations replacing petrol bunks, personnel trained in this to help citizens, and more renewable energy sources to power these charging stations.

The proof lies in the pudding and numbers don’t lie.

Some of the biggest companies including Unilever, General Electric, IKEA, Tesla, Chipotle, and Nike, are generating an annual revenue of a billion dollars or more from sustainable products or services.

And here’s the kicker, as per the 2018 New Climate Economy Report, humanity could save a lot of money through a global shift to sustainable development. - $26 trillion by 2030, to be exact.

A greener economy could also create 24 million new jobs globally by 2030, as per the International Labour Organization (ILO).

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s s e ln l e 5. W

ack in the day, humanity’s needs were simple - food, shelter, and clothing. People, both the individual and the collective, were too exhausted trying to achieve basic needs to ever reach the peak of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Working on our innate esteem and the evasive goal of self-actualization was a far cry.

Well, times have changed for the better. More people are committed to holistic healing, recovering from trauma, attaining peak physical health as well as more robust mental and spiritual health than ever before.

According to latest research by the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy is currently valued at 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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COVER STORY

more than $4.5 trillion and is projected to reach $7.0 trillion in 2025.

P H Y SIC AL HE ALT H Organic farming is gaining popularity. According to a survey by the Organic Trade Association, sales of organic food and other organic products in the United States will reach nearly $62 billion in 2020, up more than 12% from the previous year.

More people are also going vegan. The exact numbers are tough to estimate, but one survey suggests a 40% increase in 2020, bringing the total up to 1.5 million.

People are also looking at consciously-sourced meat, artificially made meat, and so on. These are for two reasons - to stop indulging in cruelty towards animals and to have a more holistic and wellness-endowed lifestyle where our choices do not harm others.

Apart from diet, fitness has never been more relevant.

The physical economy market, now worth $828.2 billion globally, includes sports and active recreation, fitness, and mindful movement, as well as the adjoining markets of equipment, apparel, footwear, and technology. According to fitness industry reports, there are 174 million club members worldwide.

When it comes to body-image issues, we are looking at a conundrum. Nearly one in every two women reported being more concerned about their appearance during the pandemic lockdowns of recent years. More than half of adults in the United States, the United Kingdom,

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Australia, France, and Germany reported weight stigma.

Of 50,000 adults, 41% of men thought they were too heavy and were self-conscious about their weight. In the same number of women, 60% of women thought they were too heavy and were self-conscious about their weight.

These numbers reveal some deeply problematic views that people hold of their bodies. Thankfully, there is a greater discussion of body neutrality and accepting ourselves as we are than ever before. However, given social media and the hyperfocus on appearance, we will see higher instances of insecurity and even body dysmorphia than in previous decades.

An essential aspect of wellness, thus, also involves legislation and social movements and discourse about how we can preserve the self and self-image in a world that forces comparison on us to put us down. Like the UK took a ruling that all edited and photoshopped images in media should be clearly marked as such, we could see more such legislation in coming years to preserve the sense of self of teenagers and adults alike.

MORE PEOPLE ARE COMMITTED TO HOLISTIC HEALING, ATTAINING PEAK PHYSICAL HEALTH AS WELL AS MORE ROBUST MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH THAN EVER BEFORE

MEN TAL HE ALT H As of 2020, 21% of U.S. adults experienced mental illness (52.9 million people). This represents 1 in 5 adults. The numbers rose sharply during the pandemic, with people grappling with isolation, anxi-

ety, depression, increasing work-related burnout, all compounded with a fear for our lives.

Mental wellness has become mainstream and will become more so in the future. Increasing in a big way are new “integrative” mental wellness approaches with hotels, wellness retreats, and spas bringing in psychotherapists and neuroscientists to assist in increasing body positivity, self-love, and total acceptance. On the same note, administration at schools, universities, and management at workplaces are adding practices like breathwork, meditation, yoga practices and more to calm and heal the mind.

This year, the number of psychologists who reported receiving more referrals nearly doubled compared to last year (from 37 percent in 2020 to 62 percent this year). Almost 7 in 10 psychologists (68 percent) who had a waitlist said it had grown longer since the pandemic began.

However, there is still work to be done to eliminate the gender gap in seeking help. Women are still more likely than men to receive treatment for all mental health conditions, with 15% receiving treatment versus 9% for men.

SP IR I T U AL HE ALT H As more and more people are awakening to spiritual self-care, dedicated centers offering a spectrum of spiritual activities (color and sound therapies, herbs and aroma therapy, full moon rituals, cacao ceremonies, grounding walks, to name a few) have sprung up that encourages one to disconnect with the world and connect with their higher self.

People are travelling to reconnect with nature in a big way and Wellness Tourism is currently at $436 billion in revenues.

Yoga, the ancient Indian practice, was especially espoused in a big way in the West, with the industry making billions of dollars. There are currently an estimated 300 million yoga practitioners worldwide. The global yoga industry is valued at $80 billion.

The global Yoga and Pilates market

👇 n Of 50,000

adults, 41% of men thought they were too heavy and were selfconscious about their weight n The physical economy market, now worth $828.2 billion globally, includes sports and active recreation, fitness, and mindful movement n The global Yoga and Pilates market is expected to reach USD 340 billion in 2030 n The global wellness economy is currently valued at more than $4.5 trillion and is projected to reach $7.0 trillion in 2025

is expected to reach USD 340 billion in 2030. Additionally, as it grows, it is safe to assume that all associated accessories will also see an increased demand.

Of course, when it comes to wellness, the numbers are secondary to the fact that we may see more holistic, accepting societies with not just good physical health but people with sound minds and souls and more content with life.

6. P oli tic al S cen ari os

O

ur forward progress is always eerily framed by how some regions collapse backward or are subjected to strife. Ironically, some people might never witness war in their life; for others, war and its aftermath are all they know. For citizens from prosperous regions, this may feel like a far-off concern; it is important to be cognizant of the impact of political insurgency and instability across the world.

A report from 2020 predicted that 88 out of 130 countries- from much of the developed world to markets like India, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil – are likely to experience more instability by 2023. Depending on the severity, this could slow down policymaking and make the investment environment less predictable. In fact, these effects are already making themselves known. In the worst-case scenario, instability could disrupt all but the most resilient businesses, force governments into default, and obstruct critical trade and commodity flows.

Instabilities will also pose a risk to hard-earned democracies, as is evident with the increasing polarization in countries like India, the USA, and Sri Lanka. If gov2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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👇 n Much of the

developed world to markets like India, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil – are likely to experience more instability by 2023 n 84 countries saw a concerning rise in their debt-to-GDP ratios of at least ten percentage points in 2020 n The United States’ inflation rate will be 7.7 percent this year, while the eurozone’s will be 5.3 percent n Geopolitical conflicts remain a top threat to the Global Economy

ernments focus on election-centric promises and fail to work on real issues like unemployment, sanitation, and women’s rights, they run the risk of their legitimacy fading and increasing civil unrest.

In fact, many countries have lost faith in the regime because of how the pandemic was handled. Ironically, China managed to recover despite being the point of origin of the virus, reopening quickly and with enough economic prowess to mitigate the pandemic’s global macro impacts.

Excessive borrowing will also add to crises. One major contributor to the global increase in political risk is 2020’s extraordinary credit binge by desperate leaders desperate to keep their economies afloat - 84 countries saw a concerning rise in their debt-to-GDP ratios of at least ten percentage points in 2020.

L OO SING MOR E T H AN JU S T BL OOD Geopolitical conflicts remain a top threat to the Global Economy. A war that is waging in the world right now is enough to tell us what the state of the world could be if instability, battle, and human rights violations became the norm. As Russia keeps up its attack on Ukraine, the rest of the world is seeing a domino effect due to the importance of both the regions in global supply chains.

Already, the pandemic had wreaked

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enough havoc in the form of global inflationary pressures, rising food and energy prices, and disrupted supply chains.

The war has further exacerbated supply and demand struggles and is threatening global economic growth.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States’ inflation rate will be 7.7 percent this year, while the eurozone’s will be 5.3 percent. The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a whole percentage point, from 4.1 percent to 3.2 percent, citing the strain on the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This is not an exact blueprint, but what it reveals is cautionary enough - when wars break out, powers might be destabilized, but lives are ruined, progress thwarted, and futures obliterated in one fell swoop. When one envisions the future possibilities, we should also be aware of what might destroy it and learn from our history to change what might be a fated course if not paid heed to.

INSTABILITY COULD DISRUPT THE MOST RESILIENT BUSINESSES, FORCE GOVERNMENTS INTO DEFAULT, AND OBSTRUCT CRITICAL TRADE AND COMMODITY FLOWS

id v o he C e rop h 7. T tast Ca

Some regions, like China, may make more economic progress than others, and others might see mass cultural proliferation and global acceptance, like South Korea.

Some might experience war they do not deserve, like Ye-

👇 n The number of

men and Ukraine, and others might experience economic erosion that threatens their identity, like Sri Lanka. But 2020 showed us that something invisible and minuscule, a virus, could affect all of humanity across borders and force us to realize how we are in this together, for better or for worse.

Economically, the stock markets of most regions have since been in flux, with recovery slow and painstaking.

Unemployment reached new highs, and some countries were pushed into recession. Travel came to a standstill, leading to the hospitality sector’s disastrous decline. On a personal level, people were gripped with fear for their life and that of their loved ones, and many had to endure irreversible loss and grief that can never be undone.

T HE IMPA C T COVIDs impact is not restricted to economies, the stock market, society, or health - it’s all of it and a lot more. Remote working increased and is now the norm, with some companies shifting to a permanent hybrid model. More students took to e-learning or graduated with online courses only, a development that had pros but also had a devastating impact on student life and university earnings.

Countries came to each other’s aid in providing vaccines to populations, and people realized the importance of a robust healthcare system for times like these. It also revealed that most governments were woefully ill-prepared for any disaster and that people would have to fend for themselves and rely on their community to escape such an invisible enemy.

Right now, we are not in the thick of threat but moving past it, recovering from the damage, and learning our

lessons. Every country has had its own unique challenges - some with crumbling healthcare, some with lack of resources or healthcare workers, others with poor inter-region connectivity, and others with skepticism towards the vaccine. While some professions have transitioned smoothly into ‘work from home’ mode, the class divide has never been more apparent as essential workers like janitors, sanitation workers, and delivery persons could not afford this luxury.

Humanity is resilient - we will take our lessons from the horrors of COVID-19 and build a better future in its stead. Our intelligence and capacity for imagination have given us a lot to look forward to - from decentralized currency to a greener environment to a virtual world that could compete with the real one in extending the experience of life. But ultimately, there is no bigger lesson than this - despite how wildly apart we are in race, region, ideology, and otherwise - humanity is on a common trajectory. There is one planet, and we are bound to it, past, present, and future. If one is free, so are we all. If one is doomed, so are we all. ✪

coronavirus-related fatalities was almost 6.4 million, and the U.S. is the country with the most COVID-19 deaths worldwide n The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that median global GDP dropped by 3.9% from 2019 to 2020, making it the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression

n 255 million full-time jobs were lost, and in just a few months of Covid-19, extreme poverty went up for the first time in 20 years. n The impact was greater for women, nonwhite workers, lower-wage earners, and those with less education

2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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INTERVIEW

BITCOIN WILL BE VALUED AT $6 MILLION PER COIN — says The Moon Carl Carl Runefelt is a serial entrepreneur and a crypto expert popularly known as ‘The Moon’. Aspire talks to him for his opinion as the crypto market cap fell below $1 trillion for the first time since January 2021

I

t’s all the rage and is the word on the street. Is this a flash in the pan or is the hype real?

Introduced on the scene in 2008, cryptocurrency has since enjoyed strong growth and massive public approval ever since its peaks over the years (the highest being in 2021), making many people millionaires overnight. Coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc., have all been the subject of great curiosity and scrutiny, with many being fully bought into it (literally and metaphorically) and others still on the fence about their potential.

But, despite the promises of crypto pundits, cryptocurrency has not been immune to market fluctuations and world events. With a downturn of the equity market, US interest rate hike, regulatory roadblocks, and several other factors, crypto prices seem to be a rollercoaster that has taken hapless investors for a ride. So, which way does the coin flip? How secure are your existing investments? And will Bitcoin

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ever touch the heights it had scaled?

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin expert Carl Runefelt, popularly known on YouTube as Moon Carl with over 560K subscriber base and who has recently crossed the one million followers milestone on Twitter gives us his seasoned predictions on the business of crpto, and if he’s putting his money where his mouth is.

Firstly, let’s ask the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind – were we all too soon to bank on crypto?

We are definitely not too soon when it comes to banking on crypto. We can definitely say that we are early adopters, which is a good thing. Bitcoin is still going to dramatically increase in value in the next few years, and crypto itself as an industry has a lot of developments to make and a lot of room to grow before reaching mass adoption.

There is some panic amongst the crypto community right now with the Bitcoin price plummeting down nearly 60%, trading well off their all-time highs of

around $69,000 in November 2021. What would you say to those who are heavily invested in the cryptocurrency market?

Personally, I never panic sell or panic buy. Instead, my strategy is always to accumulate crypto to average the buying dollar cost. I make sure to take all my income, salaries, and profits; everything is taken into crypto and try to be more aggressive when crypto markets are going down to accumulate more.

So, buying at the dip is an excellent opportunity for the long-term.

To the layperson, the closest parallel to cryptocurrency is the stock market.

But stocks are rooted in companies, and cryptocurrency isn’t. What according to you, is the fundamental difference between them?

The difference between Bitcoin and stock is that Bitcoin is money, and a stock is just a share of a company where you have to rely on a third party to deliver on promises. You have to rely upon and trust humans to defend the value of the stock. With Bitcoin, you don’t have to trust or rely on any hu-

“Personally, I never panic sell or panic buy. Instead, my strategy is always to accumulate crypto to average the buying dollar cost” 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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INTERVIEW

mans. You only have to trust and rely on mathematics. Math is something that is objective and true and can never change. As long as you believe that math is trustworthy, then you can believe in Bitcoin, and that’s precisely the point of Bitcoin, to cut out third parties to trust.

Many people are attracted to the cryptocurrency market because it looks like a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. But is that a good assessment?

There is no such thing as getting rich quickly. People don’t get rich quickly.

They do so but by taking risks, having patience, researching, and hiring great talent to help them navigate any field in any industry. I didn’t get rich quickly. It happened over 2 to 3 years because I have a great mindset, a huge passion for crypto, and then I also applied the law of attraction. However, there is a way to use your mindset and visualize your dream life in order to fulfill your goals.

When it comes to Bitcoin, the rule goes – “The more people sell, the less Bitcoin is worth because that’s how it works - its value is pegged to its desirability.” Do you see an inherent flaw in this mechanism? For example, if a currency has no intrinsic value and is unattached to an asset, can it ever be viable in the long term?

The problem with the dollar is that it has no intrinsic value. It is considered valuable because central banks tell us that it has value, and we are forced to use it and pay our taxes with it through the banking system. This is not a free market.

With Bitcoin, you can say that it has no intrinsic value. In my opinion, the inherent value itself is that no one controls Bitcoin, and it has a limited supply. This means it is the only currency in the world that is entirely free.

Bitcoin is only derived from the free market, which makes it very unique.

The only comparative would be gold.

However, gold is very hard to transport, unsafe to send, and very difficult to store. Therefore, Bitcoin is superior to gold and is fundamentally very different from the dollar, which has no intrinsic value, while Bitcoin, in my opinion, does.

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With NFTs and metaverse gathering recognition and traction, where do you think the future is headed for blockchain-based currencies?

I think that NFTs and the meta verse are going to play a role in the future, but I’ve been saying it for two years already.

I believe that NFTs will end up in a huge bubble where people lose all their money because they overestimate the importance of specific NFT collections.

Right now, we can see that exactly as I predicted, the NFT bubble is collapsing, and unfortunately, people are losing all their money. Nevertheless, I still believe

very quick, and now it’s going to be a domino effect where more and more countries follow from here on out.

Someone had to be first, and now I believe we will see the whole world migrate towards Bitcoin as a national currency and then eventually a global reserve currency. I presume that this will lead to a valuation of $6 million per coin.

Carl, in your earlier interview with ASPIRE for the April 2021 edition, you said, “Centralized and withholding in character, the average working indi-

“PEOPLE DON’T GET RICH QUICKLY. THEY DO SO BY TAKING RISKS, HAVING PATIENCE, RESEARCHING, AND HIRING GREAT TALENT TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE ANY FIELD IN ANY INDUSTRY. in the NFT and Metaverse technology as a whole. It will play a vital role in the future of blockchain technology.

Countries have gone in polar opposite directions regarding cryptocurrency – some have made it a part of their official currency, while others are conflicted on it or have outright banned it. Given its volatility, do you think it is okay for governments to validate a financial system that could destabilize its citizens financially?

I believe that most countries are going to be forced to accept Bitcoin in the future. As the dollar collapses, people will surely look for alternatives. Unfortunately, as almost all the currencies around the world are backed up by the dollar, the only viable solution would be to go back to the gold standard or to embrace something new, which would be Bitcoin. Today we live in a digital world, and I believe we will need a digital currency, but we need a digital currency that is decentralized.

This is because people are losing their confidence in governments and banks at a rapidly growing rate. So, some countries will have to be the first to make the change to Bitcoin and crypto as official currency. El Salvador was

vidual spends a lifetime nabbed into the clutches of the flawed banking system.”Are you still confident of the power of cryptocurrency to emancipate the average working individual? Or will the ordinary Joe forever need a safety net to withstand the vagaries of the system?

Everyone who’s using the banking system is basically a slave to the current monetary system which the banks control. Bitcoin is a perfect way to escape the current system. If you keep your money in the bank, you are immediately a victim of high inflation.

If you buy Bitcoin, you escape that organized robbery. I’m not saying that purchasing Bitcoin will make everyone financially free, but it is a great way to store wealth where you don’t have to put all your trust into a third party. To create actual wealth and become financially free, you must start businesses, create cash flow, and be an entrepreneur. There is nothing that changes this fact, no matter what industry you go into. Personally, I didn’t get rich from investing in Bitcoin; I got rich from co-founding multiple companies and investing in 400 crypto start-ups. I’ve taken many risks, hired many people, and have 150 employees to date.

in altcoins. (all the cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin are collectively referred to as Altcoin or alternative coin).

I think all alt coins are much more speculative than Bitcoin, and out of all the thousands and thousands out there, perhaps only a few dozen have any true value for the world currently.

What is a more important trait for a trader – a risk capacity, substantial assets, or the right mindset?

The most important thing for a trader or an investor is mindset and knowledge. You have to research and understand what you’re doing because if you don’t do the research and you don’t understand what you’re buying or selling, then you’re just gambling.

Lastly, as a Bitcoin expert, we seek your prediction of the crypto market. For instance, how long will the dip last?

Would you recommend crypto owners to buy, sell or hold?

Do you foresee a world where one day, all traditional money will be wiped out for borderless cryptocurrency? Or is there a possibility that cryptocurrency is a fad, a socio-financial experiment that will have a disastrous outcome but eye-opening lessons? Lastly, is there a chance they will simply coexist?

I am very convinced that Bitcoin is the best form of money that the universe has ever conceived; it will dominate the world in the future. It might take 20 years, but ultimately the dollar will be worth zero and Bitcoin will be the world’s reserve currency.

Tell us one belief about cryptocurrency that has changed since you learned more about it and from its performance in the current market scenario?

There are thousands and thousands of cryptocurrencies out there, but never forget that Bitcoin is king. In a volatile market or a bear market, Bitcoin is the one cryptocurrency that holds its value best because Bitcoin is the first currency, it is the most decentralized cryptocurrency, it is the safest, and it has the highest hash rate. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Bitcoin will always be number one. In the land of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is the King.

Today, Bitcoin falls under the category of safe or familiar cryptocurrency. But new coins are popping up each day. Where does their potential stand in the crypto market, and can that be predicted?

In a recession or Bear market, I personally don’t have a very strong belief

The current market is bearish at the moment, this current dip could last for another couple of years, but this is the best opportunity for people to buy.

I would keep dollar-cost averaging during the bear market, but more importantly, build businesses and create cash flow. Build while others are bleeding when there’s blood on the streets; that’s always the best opportunity to create massive wealth.

The most significant part of my wealth was not created in the bull market but was actually created in the previous bear market when I was sowing many seeds. And in the bull market, I could reap the rewards from the trees growing from those seeds. So, in the bear market, make sure to plant as many seeds as you possibly can because the roots take time to develop; they don’t happen overnight. In the bull market, people think they can just plant a seed and see the results the next day, but that is false; it’s not true. All of those people usually lose all of their money. Planting seeds takes time and patience, and I’m pretty sure it was Warren Buffet who said, “Successful investing takes time, discipline, and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time.” ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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INTERVIEW

Maverick of Acquisitions and Agglomerations Meet Jeremy Harbour, Founder of The Harbour Club, with a knack for training entrepreneurs in the art of buying, fixing, and selling businesses.

Written by Bindu Gopal Rao

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usinesses do not have a set formula.

But if anyone can triumph its many variables, it’s a seasoned businessman.

One such maverick is Jeremy Harbour, an entrepreneur who has changed the notion of business. He is an author, professor and businessman all rolled into one.

Growing up on a farm in the UK countryside, he was entrepreneurial from a very young age. “I did not get any pocket money but earned one pound per hour for my work. Since a very young age, the thought that constantly ran through my mind was that there must be a way of earning more than just ‘this much’ and this became one of the major driving factors for me.”

An enterprising young man, Jeremy got into trouble for destroying his mother’s garden trying to sell flowers. At only 14, he had businesses selling everything you could think of - Christmas trees, chocolate, watches and jewelry. Emboldened, the young lad left school to pursue business at 15 and failed at it. Unperturbed with the debacle, he persevered. “At 18, I started a mobile phone company called Unity, where we sent converged bills to people. Around this time, the whole industry went through a consolidation phase, with every company buying everybody else.”

Acquisition Cues When Harbour had been in business for over a decade, he experienced a shift in perspective. To him, there had been three key levers in business: marketing, sales, and staff. “Suddenly, when I had people coming in and trying to buy my company from me, I realized there was a fourth lever - mergers and acquisitions.”

Jeremy was introduced to a new dynamic – where big players purchased other businesses, with the offered deals deliberately structured to effectively mitigate them having to invest lots of capital. Jer-

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emy joined the bandwagon when he signed a 6-million-pound deal to set up mobile shops in Costco stores all across UK, selling more mobile phones than ever. “I realized then that I should be on the other side of the deal – as the buyer and not the seller.”

Executing an acquisition of his own, Jeremy shrewdly bought a company for next to nothing, taking it from a staff of 20 and about a 1.5 million pound revenue, to 135-strong-staff and 13.5 million pound in revenue in merely 18 months.

Small Business, Big Dividends After selling his telecom business in 2006, Jeremy kickstarted a new company called Unity, that has bought and sold over 50 firms in 10 years. “Looking at the world, what we really needed was to empower

small businesses, as they are capable of making a big difference to a country’s economy. That led to the inception of The Harbour Club, an educational community on tactical Merger and Acquisition training to help entrepreneurs understand how to buy and sell businesses for no capital upfront or debt, which has helped create hundreds of millionaires.”

Jeremy has penned a few books as well, such as Go Do Deals, Agglomerate: From Idea to IPO in 12 Months, Why You Should Never Buy A Company That’s For Sale, and Democratizing Wealth. At the crux of these books is a glaring truth - big businesses are disproportionately wealthy, and this inequality affects small businesses and the economy. “They never die, and they never pay tax, and they take money out of the economy. In fact, the top 500 asset managers have $93 trillion under management.”

He continues, “Small businesses in mature economies like the UK, Canada, USA or Australia contribute 50% of the economic output. And yet if

“Looking at the world, what we really needed was to empower small businesses, as they are capable of making a big difference to a country’s economy. That led to the inception of The Harbour Club you break down every asset class investment, more money is invested in Bitcoin which is effectively, an imaginary product. So quite clearly, there is a split – one economy with all the money, and one with people involved in it, and these are not connected.

Every time we have quantitative easing (more money introduced into the supply by a central bank), it goes into the asset economy and not into the real economy. This needs to be fixed. Because if we can get even a fair allocation, even to the degree of 10% investment of this money into the small business economy, that brings it to $9 trillion.”

As a seasoned businessman, Jeremy has his finger on the pulse of the economy. In fact, small businesses are an integral part of any country, rampant across every town and city in the world. Supporting and empowering them would parachute billions of dollars all around the world, creating wealthy entrepreneurs, solving social problems, and creating employment for millions of people.

Agglomeration Matters The disparate lessons of business came together to lead Jeremy to the concept of agglomeration. For the unfamiliar, agglomeration is when you get several businesses together and put them under one roof, thus creating a portfolio of companies that is

stronger together, effectively reducing risk.

Jeremy explains, “A portfolio of companies is resilient - if one goes bust, it doesn’t kill all of them.

If the company goes public, listed on a stock market that has liquidity, people can invest in it. So effectively, my mission now is to try and make small business an investable asset class.”

Take pause to understand what a gamechanger it would be. Today, the biggest companies get to participate on the stock exchange, and have customers show faith in them by trading in their stock. Small businesses however cannot do so, and thus are subject to the vagaries of the market. With agglomeration, they can avail the same security, diversifying faster, securely and enhancing their own value through public’s faith in their product or service.

Working towards this mission, Jeremy now holds two agglomerations, one in the clean energy space listed on the Paris Stock Exchange with a current market cap around 230 million euros. The other one is a diversified investment holding company called MBH Corporation PLC, listed on the Frankfurt and Dusseldorf Stock Exchanges and the OTCQX in New York (MBHCF). The company acquires small to medium enterprises across multiple geographies and sectors that are well established, profitable and looking to scale. By leveraging the Agglomeration strategy, MBH Corporation plc is able to create substantial shareholder value through the consistent and accretive acquisition of excellent companies.

28 acquisition companies have joined him since the listing in 2018, with many more planning to do so in the coming years. Most of the deals are happening in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, US, and Canada. The agglomerate is also actively looking in GCC region for further acquisitions.

Navigating Life A businessperson is identified by his risk appetite, and by determination in the face of change. Jeremy’s life and his business journey have seen more than their share of ups and downs. When he was only 14, his brother suddenly passed away, leaving him with a dreadful anxiety about the uncertainty of life, but also imbuing a sense of urgency in all that he did.

It is a testament to his innate business acumen that despite no formal education, he is a professor now at the Forbes Business School in the US. Today, Jeremy Harbour permanently resides in Dubai with his family, having relocated from Singapore during the pandemic.

In business, his entrepreneurial approach to creative problem solving and the tenacity to stay the course has kept him going regardless of failure. Ultimately, he hopes to use his skills as an entrepreneur to eradicate poverty and focus on education through well thought out collaborations that move the ground and make a difference. ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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FEATURE

BUILDING THE INNOVATION SKYSCRAPER

Government agencies everywhere are looking to set up and maintain Innovation ecosystems in order to create a healthy environment for entrepreneurs to flourish. This is especially relevant to the UAE. David Tee looks at the current trends and evolving needs of this nation of entrepreneurs

I

nnovation and entrepreneurship are two sides of the same coin. Being a good entrepreneur requires identifying a real-world problem and creating an innovative solution that customers are prepared to pay you for, profitably.

On the other hand, people often come up with fantastically creative concepts that end up looking for a problem to solve. This is not innovation; it is simply invention.

Innovation is sometimes confused with R&D (research and development). But there is a distinction here too. R&D is the process of turning money into ideas. Whereas innovation is the process of turning ideas into money.

But how can government support innovation and entrepreneurship to increase economic activity, create jobs and grow the economy? The best example of an innovation ecosystem, Silicon Valley, had no government intervention. Instead, it grew organically with the successful entrepreneurs funding and supporting new entrepreneurs.

This ‘virtuous circle’ continues and Silicon Valley remains the perceived goto place to ensure success.

Many governments have the aspirations to create a Silicon Valley in their own countries. Few have got anywhere close to succeeding.

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MODELS OF SUCCESS There are many models of innovation ecosystems, but one that is simple to understand and covers all key elements has been developed by CAMEO. https://cameonetwork.org/local-entrepreneurial-ecosystem-toolkit/ Under the CAMEO model, five key areas need to be developed: Coaching (support to entrepreneurs), Capital (financing of startups and scaleups), Connections (networks within and external to the ecosystem), Culture (including creating awareness and a positive feeling within civil society) and Climate (creating the right regulatory environment to encourage startups).

Following such a model, governments can support innovation and entrepreneurship. They need to take the long-term view of success and not let politics get in the way. Luckily, the UAE has a stable long-term government that is unlikely to change in the near future.

Also, the definition of success needs to be clear from the start. What are the KPIs that will be tracked? What results will indicate a successful outcome of the intervention? Over what time frame is success being measured?

How can progress be tracked?

THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE The model that can work well is one where government allocates a budget

each year for supporting new innovation and entrepreneurship. And this budget must be spent by defined innovation centers with experienced staff and a strong track record of success.

In Ireland, for example, four Business and Innovation Centres (BICs), established in different parts of the country, are allocated funds from the central government. They use these funds to pay for staff, facilities, etc. and support innovative businesses.

They promote their center in the local catchment area and encourage entrepreneurs to apply for support. A rigorous selection process ensures only high-quality, high-potential business

from a small amount of consumption tax), but the support model would still create the increased economic activity of the companies and employees, all of which go towards the success of the country.

SOFTWARE, NOT HARDWARE

ideas are accepted. Businesses are then provided a range of startup and growth services to accelerate their development. These services are the secret sauce that makes the model work.

The fiscal logic for this kind of support is as follows. Money invested in the BICs will cause more, better businesses to be started and grown, employing more people, trading with more suppliers, and ultimately generating income, corporation, and consumption tax. This tax revenue is larger than the initial government investment, so a positive return is generated.

Obviously, in the UAE context, the tax revenue is not relevant (apart

As mentioned above, support is the most critical indicator of success.

Many countries have focused in the past on building fantastic infrastructure, beautiful incubation centers, exotic co-working spaces, and huge technoparks. Politicians like infrastructure as it is visible to the voters and shows they are ‘doing something’.

However, this ‘hardware’ is of little value without the ‘software’ (services) to support the tenants.

In Ireland, all four BICs are certified by the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN). This certification ensures that the companies being supported get high-quality services from professionals with years of business support experience. The certification, coupled with a focus on continuous improvement and being part of a global network, is the main reason the Irish innovation and entrepreneurship system is so strong.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE UAE? As part of the UAE’s ‘Entrepreneurial Nation’ initiative, the country has set a target of 20 unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion-plus) based here by 2031. With the SkillUp, StartUp, and ScaleUp programs, they hope to

attract potential entrepreneurs and help them build great businesses.

This ambitious target has its challenges. Most people are attracted to the UAE by the offer of a job in a zero-tax environment. The vision of such people is not entrepreneurial. It is very short-term and about ‘making a quick buck’. True entrepreneurs take a longer-term view and are in it for a more significant win.

Zero tax is always helpful to any business, but entrepreneurs need access to skilled employees, easily available capital, and markets. A network of mentors, often previously exited founders, is also a bonus, and one that Silicon Valley provides is volume.

The challenge for the UAE is to encourage entrepreneurs to start their businesses here. Taxes can’t go any lower than zero, so the focus needs to be on alternative benefits. The ‘hardware’ is in place through entities like Dubai Silicon Oasis. But the focus is still on infrastructure. Structured, high-quality services need to be developed and delivered within that infrastructure.

UAE has great potential to build

UAE has great potential to build its incredible successes over the past decades to move from an employee’s paradise to an entrepreneur’s paradise its incredible successes over the past decades to move from an employee’s paradise to an entrepreneur’s paradise.

It has many of the ingredients in place and a desire to grow in this direction. And if the past has shown us anything, when the country puts its mind to building something, it usually succeeds. ✪ David Tee is a seasoned entrepreneur and innovation expert. He specializes in putting together innovation ecosystems at regional and national levels for governments and has successfully implemented projects across the Middle East and Europe. He is the author of UPSTART NINJA, the ultimate mentoring handbook for entrepreneurs.

2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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CEO, Cuberoot Technologies

Nishith Srivastava

PRO TALK

Marketing NFT

THE TOP 3 STEPS

Creating an NFT without effectively marketing it, is wasted opportunity.

These top 3 steps will ensure that your NFT is a resounding success

T

he hottest buzzword and one of the most sought-after ideas not going anywhere in the enigmatic Cryptoworld is NFT (Non-Fungible Token).

As a CEO of an established business or a founder of a startup you not only need to keep yourself updated and informed of the latest market trends but also succeed at them.

NFTs are taking the world of digital marketing by storm, and you surely don’t want to miss the boat if it can take you across the high seas.

The New Wave In Digital Marketing NFT or the non-fungible tokens, the unique and non-interchangeable tokens, have been garnering a lot of eyeballs across the globe.

Watching the latest trends and exactly how the selling and purchasing process is going, I can clearly foresee that NFT will further change and revolutionize the digital scenario and how the digital marketplace works.

NFT has been the primary route for artists during the pandemic, through which they reconnected and spread their art to their fans. The big brands are also taking NFT to

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promote and expand their brand name, thus making NFT one of the most valuable tools for marketing and branding.

The last year could be easily named ‘The year of NFTs’. Since the news of the sale of Beeple’s ‘First 5,000 Days’ NFT at a jaw-dropping $69 million became public, NFTs erupted into massive popularity, which was hitherto unseen. Due to this event, other major blockchain players like Tezos and Solana have also begun developing their own NFT marketplaces, leading to the soaring demand for NFTs. Let me give you a quick trivia- you’ll be amazed to know that Colin’s Dictionary even honored the term NFT by naming it the ‘Word Of The Year’ in 2021!

The following 3 steps are vital to the success of an NFT when marketing it.

Building Your NFT Community Talking about the success of NFTs, one of the most important factors behind their success is the community created around these NFT projects, which could be easily called their social media vanguards.

A renowned NFT community is an online group that possesses NFT enthusiasts who have taken on the crucial responsibility of actively taking charge of the NFT projects through: • Creating • Debating • Buying • Collecting • Selling • Hyping It is a highly dynamic amalgamation where all the creators, investors, fans, and enthusiasts of the nascent digital assets come together as well as collaborate on its development.

There are multiple social media platforms through which all these NFT communities are spreading their wings. Amongst the many forums with an active hyper fan base, the top four are Twitter, Discord, Telegram, and sometimes Reddit, which are mainly used.

Apart from gaining a lot of financial success through marketing, building an NFT community automatically leads to a lot of success for multiple NFT projects since it generates a lot of buzz and positive hype.

But you must also note that whenever you are building a healthy community, it cannot be achieved in a single day. Many enthusiasts would think it is a pretty easy job, but the reality is far from it. The driving force behind any thriving community, especially in this domain, would depend on how beneficial a particular project is to you and your community.

One should definitely have a proper vision and concrete road map reflecting how much care one possesses for the community, paying careful attention to the earnings, other monetary transactions, and also the worries that come with it. You must also visualize their project as if it is your own and, in the process, move it forward whenever any milestone is achieved.

Selecting a Media Channel For Your Community Social Media platforms are the perfect place to start building an NFT community and is gaining much importance in this realm.

The most common social media channels identified for community development are: • Twitter • Discord • Telegram Discord, which was a gaming platform at the beginning, has now completely transformed into a hugely influential medium designing instant messaging as well as discussions about crypto, NFTs and related topics.

Twitter, which has been a super successful microblogging site, is also considered highly suitable for brief announcements, on-spot

interactions as well messages between you and your community. Since it has a limited number of characters, Twitter is apt for the micro-messages.

Telegram rooms are an open platform for discussions that are detailed, long, and time consuming in nature within a community, if not been restricted only to administrators.

The audience can seamlessly navigate through all the information as well as announcements that are made public in their absence. It also aids the community in interacting in real-time.

Interacting And Engaging With Your Community When you are brainstorming to develop and build your community, one of the first things you must do is interact with the community members personally. This is a very different activity than making announcements or creating social media posts.

You can keep them associated at every step of the development by tagging them in different sessions on your projects and about your community, like the AMA or Ask Me Anything sessions which are Building an hugely popular today.

NFT community Telegram and Discord are gaining automatically leads massive popularity for these to a lot of success for sessions where you can host live and video sessions. Twitter multiple NFT projects audio spaces are also becoming a huge since it generates rage these days.

The first and foremost thing is a lot of buzz and to identify your target audience, positive hype and once you have done that, your next step should be to focus on your vision and create strategies to achieve it accordingly.

It would be best if you were not short-sighted and instead focused on what your intentions are to achieve with this community in the years to come.

You might have an exciting vision, but if you do not have a full-fledged strategy, then whatever idea you have will be ruined. Your strategy should be planned in a way to make your vision practically possible and also successfully convince your audience to hop in and trust you to lead them towards a golden future. ✪ EMAIL YOUR QUERIES TO NISHITH AT nishith@cuberoot.tech 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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PRO TALK

Cloud Security Expert

Hameedullah Khan

Cloud Computing

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will reach $600 billion Cloud computing is transforming how companies operate.

A closer look at this trend and why cloud hosting is better than traditional hosting

M

igration to the cloud has been widely adopted worldwide over the past few years. But the recent shift to remote working due to the pandemic has forced businesses to adopt cloud services more than ever before. In 2020 alone, 61% of businesses migrated their workloads to the cloud, which has now gained universal acceptance and is transforming how companies operate.

According to the latest Gartner report, worldwide end-user spending on cloud services is estimated to grow to $494.7 billion in 2022, up from $410.9 billion in 2021. In 2023, end-user cloud spending will reach nearly $600 billion.

Businesses adopting cloud computing technology have seen remarkable payoffs, with cloud-based resources redefining their data sharing, storage, project management, and marketing capabilities. However, many small businesses and startups are slow to adopt

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cloud services. But cloud adoption allows startups to develop core business processes to succeed.

This article highlights why cloud technology is essential for tech startups and how cloud hosting is better than traditional hosting.

WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING? Cloud computing is an on-demand availability of computer resources, including computing power, data storage, networks, servers, and software, without direct management by the user. It relies on resource sharing to achieve coherence and generally uses a ‘payas-you-go’ model that can help in minimizing capital expenses.

By leveraging cloud computing technology, individuals and organizations do not need to manage physical servers themselves or execute software applications on their machines. Cloud computing allows users to access files and applications from any device as the storage and

computing take place on the server in a data center rather than locally on the user device.

Features of cloud computing include • Resource pooling • On-demand self-service • Large network access • Easy maintenance • Automatic system • Availability & Security • Measured service • Pay as you go For start-ups, migrating to the cloud is beneficial as it removes IT costs and overhead.

For example, you do not need to maintain and update servers as cloud service providers do that for you. It’s particularly beneficial for small businesses that may not be able to afford in-house infrastructure.

BENEFITS OF CLOUD COMPUTING OVER TRADITIONAL HOSTING Cloud computing is now becoming one of the significant investments for startups. Here are some benefits of cloud computing resources for businesses of all sizes.

Cost-effective: 20% of businesses are worried about the initial cost of implementing a cloud server. However, the most significant advantage of the cloud is the IT operational cost saving. By leveraging cloud technology, easy access to your business’ data saves money and time in project startups.

Using a remote server eliminates the need for in-house application requirements, storage equipment, and overhead costs such as software management, updates, and data storage. Cloud-based services are much cheaper and can be deployed on a pay-asyou-go model. Many small businesses with limited budgets are reaping the benefits of cloud computing.

baseline protections for their users, such as access control, authentication, and encryption.

Improved Collaboration: The cloud environment provides significantly increased collaboration between communities and groups having access to the same data or files.

It eliminates the communication overhead of the traditional IT models and provides feasibility to employees working in remote locations to access data and collaborate with team members. It helps streamline processes and increase productivity.

Scalability: IT requirements vary based on the industry and company’s size. A startup won’t have the same requirements as a large enterprise. Leveraging cloud technology is a great solution as it enables businesses to quickly and efficiently scale up or down their IT resources based on their business demands.

Cloud-based solutions are great for businesses with fluctuating or growing demands.

If your company size and requirements increase, you can quickly expand your cloud capacity without investing in physical infrastructure and vice versa. The scalability feature reduces the risks associated with traditional hosting issues and maintenance.

Disaster Recovery: One of the major factors contributing to business success is disaster

Cloud-based services are much cheaper and can be deployed on a pay-as-you-go model.

Many small businesses with limited budgets are reaping the benefits of cloud computing

Data Security: Security is one of the primary concerns of every business, regardless of industry and size. Cyber attacks and data breaches can devastate an organization’s revenue, brand positioning, and customer loyalty.

Cloud technology provides advanced security features that guarantee data security.

94% of businesses realized an improvement in security after migrating to the cloud. In addition, 91% said that leveraging the cloud makes meeting regulatory and compliance requirements easier.

Features like access management and granular permissions can restrict access to sensitive data. Cloud service providers implement the 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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PRO TALK recovery and business continuity. By investing in cloud technology, startups can guarantee reliable and fast backup and disaster recovery solutions without the fuss of setting them up on physical devices. Investing in complex disaster recovery plans can be costly for many small businesses and startups, and backing up data can be time-consuming.

However, the cloud is designed in a way that data stored in it is copied across the server. In this way, data is instantly backed up if one server fails. Accessing data quickly after a disaster continues business operations immediately reduces business downtime and loss of productivity. In a recent survey, 43% of IT executives said they plan to invest in cloudbased disaster recovery solutions.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDER? As more and more IT infrastructures are externalized, choosing the right cloud service provider for your business can be critical. The available market is vast, with plenty of cloud service providers providing various services.

Here are some of the best cloud vendors, and you can choose one based on your requirements.

Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS has been on the market since 2006 and has grown into an invincible leader in the cloud market. It is a comprehensive and vast cloud with a massive scope of its operations, a significant reason behind its popularity. Amazon web services provide various services, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-aService (PaaS). Moreover, it offers temporary storage, mobile and application services, developer tools, virtual machines, networks, subnets, and many more.

Microsoft Azure: Just like AWS, Microsoft Azure is a well-developed platform. It’s an enterprise-level SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS cloud service provider. Azure providers mobile and web app development, scalability, database services, mobile backends, virtual machines, storage, and more. In contrast to highly flexible AWS, it emphasizes enterprise applications. It has broad experience in developing enterprise-based solutions.

Google Cloud Platform: GCP is the youngest player among the top three cloud service providers. However, it allows high-performing computing and provides storage, databases,

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94% of businesses realized an improvement in security after migrating to the cloud.

In addition, 91% said that leveraging the cloud makes meeting regulatory and compliance requirements easier. networking, and servers. GCP is particularly suitable for mobile applications. The App Engine of GCP enables mobile developers to develop applications without dealing with the server. Apart from these, GCP is considered highly secure due to its multiple layers of data encryption, authentication, and various security-oriented teams.

Final Words: By leveraging a cloud service provider, a startup can prevent many problems and eliminate the hassle of using the on-premise infrastructure. However, choosing the right cloud service provider for your startup might be a complex task. The three leading cloud service providers are comprehensive solutions with numerous features to develop reliable and robust applications.

However, AWS has been in the market for long, making it the most mature platform.

It’s a public cloud, flexible and ready to meet the requirements of every business, regardless of the size. Azure and GCP are comparatively new, but they also have significant advantages. You can make an informed choice based on your business needs. ✪ EMAIL YOUR QUERIES TO HAMEEDULLAH KHAN AT hameed@sudconsultants.com

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Yoga Styles

A BEGINNERS GUIDE

PRO TALK

I

f you are toying with the idea of starting yoga, you may feel a little overwhelmed when you have to decide which class is the most suitable for you. There are many different traditional yoga practices as well as a vast range of hybrid yoga classes, so deciding on a style can be confusing for a beginner.

Another critical factor in making a choice is one’s own present health condition and the yoga trainer must be informed about it. They can assist in helping you make a choice or advise whether you should even start the yoga practice. For example, even though yoga is a boon but can become a pain for someone with spine issues and can even have an adverse impact if not practiced correctly.

Presented below are different types of yoga style with a brief description on each to help you make an informed choice.

Certified Yoga Trainer

Anshuman Tewari

Here is a brief guide to the different styles of yoga and how to choose the right one for you

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HATHA YOGA A hatha yoga class is ideal for beginners who want to learn the basics of yoga. This is because the movements are slower than in other types of yoga. The focus is more on alignment and deep breathing. The postures are held longer and there is no flow between the asanas. It is a good start before trying more advanced and faster styles of yoga.

YIN YOGA Yin Yoga is based on the Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang. Yang represents athletic activities that generate heat in the body, while yin is the gentler and strengthening moves that heal the body. Yin yoga was developed to help practitioners go deeper into the muscles and address joints and ligaments through passive stretching.

Yin yoga has a slow pace and is usually held in stillness, with each pose held between one to twenty minutes. Traditionally there is minimal movement in Yin classes, and between 18 to 24 floor poses are held to stimulate the meridians. This type of yoga class is ideal for people who want to improve their flexibility and joint stability and heal their muscle tissue. It is also a great style of yoga for those who want to relax and balance their body and mind.

KUNDALINI YOGA Kundalini yoga is a different style of yoga than you may be used to. It is a very spiritual style that focuses on chanting and meditation.

Kundalini translates as ‘a spiritual energy’ and Kundalini Yoga aims to channel and awaken this energy.

These classes can be physically challenging and are ideal for those seeking more spirituality in their yoga practice. This type of yoga can help you feel an energy shift, although it can be quite strenuous for beginners. Kundalini sequences usually consist of asanas combined with breathing exercises to awaken each chakra. The class begins with a short chant, then usually follows a warm-up sequence focusing on spinal flexibility, then an asana sequence, and finally a meditation.

VINYASA YOGA Vinyasa translates to ‘arrange in a particular way’ and refers to the sequence of yoga postures. Vinyasa yoga focuses on movement and a flowing linking between the postures. It can be quite physically demanding and requires you to move your body in time with your breath.

Each Vinyasa class can be different, and depending on your teacher’s preferences, you can expect to use props or music. Most vinyasa flows include movements such as sun salutations, warrior poses, and many backbends and inversions. This type of yoga is ideal if you want to tone your body and improve your flexibility.

ASHTANGA YOGA Ashtanga yoga is based on ancient teachings and became popular in India in the late 1970s.

Ashtanga yoga is challenging and fast-paced - it consists of six poses practiced one after the other. It would be best to focus on the connection between your breath and the pose as you go through the sequence of breath-synchronized movements at your own pace.

This is a very structured yoga practice that is ideal for athletic people. You need to commit to at least 3-4 times a week and be prepared to practice some difficult arm balances.

POWER YOGA Power yoga is a very athletic yoga practice that is a great workout if you want to push yourself! It involves lots of flowing movements with strengthening poses in between to build strength. It’s a good practice if you want to push yourself and work up a sweat, but it’s not the most beginner-friendly practice - so if you are doing yoga for the first time, you might want to try this style first.

Vinyasa yoga focuses AERIAL YOGA Aerial yoga is a unique style on movement and a flowing linking between of yoga that uses silk hanging from the ceiling to support and the postures. It can deepen the poses. It can also be be quite physically called anti-gravity yoga. This demanding and requires type of yoga usually consists of inverted poses, and you may you to move your body need some upper body strength in time with your breath to pull yourself up the slopes.

Aerial yoga can be enjoyable and liberating and is great for treating back pain because of the gentle stretching of the spine.

IYENGAR YOGA Iyengar Yoga was developed and popularized by a famous yogi named B.K.S Iyengar. This type of yoga focuses on correct alignment and uses many tools such as blocks and straps to achieve this. Iyengar yoga is characterized by a lot of stillness, and you hold the poses rather than moving with your breath. This type of yoga is ideal if you are struggling with injuries or are not as flexible.

Once you have found your preferred style, you’ll probably find yourself on the mat regularly, ready to explore other styles as well. ✪ EMAIL YOUR QUERIES TO ANSHUMAN AT anshuman.ecs@gmail.com 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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COMMUNITY SERVICE

FATHER FIGURE

Destitute children in India find hope through Avinash Singh Alag’s initiative ‘Gyanoday Vatika’.

Megha Agrawal finds out more about this remarkable Educator and Youth Transformation Coach and his NGO’s tireless efforts

# Avinash giving medals to winners of races at Gyanoday’s Annual Sports Meet

W

hile at one end, the world is filled with marvels of technological advancements, the pendulum swings to the other end that is made of poverty, unfulfilled basic needs, and desperation. Poverty is not just the absence of money, food and shelter; it is the absence of nurture, happiness and hope for a different, better future. Belonging to this dark side are millions of children who beg, pick up trash, sleep on roads, refuse heaps, and experience neglect and even abuse at the hands of adults.

This state of deprivation and joylessness is neither shocking nor is it rare. Yet, while the plight of these children may make one feel sorry, very few are willing to do something to change it.

Avinash Singh Alag is one of those very few who have looked at this problem squarely in the face and taken decisive action to tackle it at a mass level. An alumnus of the prestigious Doon School and a practitioner of law at the Bar Council of Delhi, he

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has experience working with youth as a counselor at the University of New Hampshire, USA, and as a lecturer at the Indian Military Academy Dehradun and Fort William, Kolkata, India.

Avinash also founded the Blossoms School in Meerut in 1996 and, as its headmaster, has since set a high bar in imparting all-round education based on experience and observations for better growth and development.

The Unyielding Need to Do More Ambitious and driven, he possessed a relentless need to do something worthwhile. That is why, on a fateful rainy morning of 2001, when he looked outside at the empty courtyard of his school, realization dawned that he had an unspent reservoir of energy and eight hours to do something with it after his school students left for the day. The next morning, along with his colleagues, he devised a plan to find needy and deserving children in their vicinity and impart education of use to make them capable of uplifting themselves.

A decisive man, Avinash believes the secret to success is ‘Taking Action’. Every small action also makes a difference. He says, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

A study of slum children near his vicinity revealed that many children living there did not attend any form of school throughout their lives. Expected to become penny earners for their families, these chil-

! Avinash seen interacting with students

consequences. In addition, the curriculum includes arts, crafts, and vocational training.

Avinash’s work motto - “Know Yourself. Recreate Yourself. Elevate Yourself. Make a Difference,” is astute and deep, and Gyanoday’s goals are based on them. Gyanoday’s education imparts the underprivileged children with dignity, confidence, the ability to discern between right and wrong, and the capability to create a different path for their future, ultimately paving the way for the betterment of their families as well.

Forging Ahead Today, the school has 21 centers across three states and has transformed the lives of 1.2 million people.

It has provided scholarships for 0.5 million slum children to undergo formal schooling. As a result, 0.2 million people have gained employment, of which 180,000 are women. Gyanoday’s learning process, ‘Roots to Fruits’, accepts students from 3 to 21 years. Their Vocational Training and Livelihood Programs have gained enormous appreciation from renowned agencies worldwide.

Avinash’s immense contribution to the social upliftment of children has earned him many accolades like The International Duke Of Edinburgh’s Gold dren generally started begging or performing menial chores like trash picking and shoe polishing.

Without a nurturing environment at home, they often turned to petty crimes, drugs, gambling, and violence. Avinash and his team also realized that lack of proper nutrition and hygiene made them susceptible to diseases and disorders, thus making them miss a lot of school days. Moreover, schools were also shunning these children. The team concluded that a lack of community guidance and support was their biggest issue; thus, these children were not ready to become part of regular schools.

Today, the school has 21 centers across three states and has transformed the lives of 1.2 million people.

Planting a Garden of Knowledge Avinash and his team then came up with the idea of taking the school to the children rather than forcing children to come to a strictly structured environment. This is how GYANODAY VATIKA (The Garden of Knowledge) was born. An informal school with handpicked teachers from the same neighborhoods as the children, Gyanoday Vatika is designed to ensure that the children are comfortable coming to school. Classes are held in tin sheds, under the trees, and temporary shelters. The aim is not only to make the children literate but to also inculcate moral and social values in them.

So along with teaching reading, writing and math, moral science, social values, and basic hygiene lessons are also given. Special emphasis is laid upon raising awareness against getting into crime and its

# Mr. Ashok Verma, Former Municipal Commissioner, Meerut, distributing educational material at Gyanoday

Award, personally from His Royal Highness, Prince Philip; the ‘Master of Wisdom’ Award for rendering distinguished services in the field of Education and upliftment of the less privileged, from His Holiness, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of Art of Living; The National Award for his contribution towards Education, from Mr. Ashok Ganguly, Chairman, CBSE; the ‘Social Entrepreneur Of The Month’ Award from DASRA, Mumbai; and several Rotary and Lions International Vocational Awards for distinction in the field of Education and Youth Empowerment. He has also been invited as a speaker to deliver a TEDx Talk.

Avinash Singh Alag has inspired all by believing that ‘I can’ is far more powerful than ‘IQ’.

With the right motivation, underprivileged children can change their future, and their upliftment will lead to their family’s upliftment, thus transforming the world. ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Beyond Business / tr avel

R Remember the 2012 global phenomenon that was ‘Gangnam Style’? The music video broke Youtube’s view counter by achieving the then-highest count of 2.14 billion views, which was just a glimpse into the oncoming obsession with all things Korean.

Since then, South Korea has quite literally taken the world by storm. No longer does BTS mean Behind the Scenes or Blackpink signify the combination of two colors. The Korean wave (or the Hallyu Wave, as it is colloquially known) now thoroughly dominates every field, from electronics to entertainment, even cuisine.

Fun and frolic are an integral part of South Korea’s culture, and festivals are serious business for Koreans. We bring to you a unique but often overlooked festival in South Korea, the Boryeong Mud Festival, which will guarantee you relive your childhood bliss as you roll around in the mud.

A MUDDY GOOD TIME Centered around the mudflats in Daecheon Beach, one of Korea’s top summer getaway locations, the Boryeong Mud Festival is the perfect way to beat the summer heat while having oodles of fun. Named one of Asia’s top 3 Major Festivals by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA), this event regularly gathers as many as 1 million visitors annually!

Until the early 1990s, Daecheon beach was infamous as a nasty sea due to its mud and was touted as a beach in crisis, shunned by tourists due to high prices. Furthermore, the local

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Play in the mud

Festivals are all about having the time of your life and unleashing your inner child. Pallavi Biju explores the Boryeong Mud Festival and gives you a peek at all that the city of Daecheon has to offer

THE HOTTEST THINGS IN KOREA RIGHT NOW MOVIES • Parasite • Train to Busan • Oldboy • Minari • Memories of Murder

economy was in grave danger after the government’s coal sector rationalization shuttered a coal mine in Daecheon.

To increase tourism, the government of Daecheon banked on the many skin benefits that the natural silt on the beach offered and started a mud experience center - Daecheon Natural Mud Massage House, in 1994.

Purportedly, the mud contains valuable elements that have anti-aging and healing effects, leaving your skin pristine, glowing, and healthy. The first Boryeong Mud Festival was then conducted

in 1998 to further promote mud cosmetics to the locals as well as the international market. Since then, the festival has grown leaps and bounds in popularity through the consistent hard work and passion of the public officials and the civilians who support this cause.

A perfect amalgamation of merriment and well-being, the Boryeong Mud Festival also includes various associated events like city tour programs for major tourist sites of Daecheon and nightlife that take place through the festival's duration. The festival is particularly known for its elaborate opening and closing rituals, which feature massive musical performances, pyrotechnics, and unmissable parties. It is a time when the usually serene seashore turns into a chaotic mud playground.

Entry to the Mud Zone starts from 12,000 KRW per adult (around AED 35). While all the fun happens in the Mud Zone (including activities like Mud Wrestling and Mud Football), the festival also consists of mudthemed fairs, little shops selling skincare products, mud parades, and mud tram cars that can be accessed without any fee.

Have time to spare before the fun begins at Boryeong Mud

K-DRAMAS • Crash Landing on You • Squid Game • It’s Okay to not be Okay • Sky Castle • Hospital Playlist CUISINE • Tteokbokki • Kimbap • Jjajangmyeon • Korean Corn Dog • Bunggeopang KPOP IDOLS • BTS • Blackpink • Big Bang • Girls Generation • Stray Kids PLACES TO VISIT • Seoul • Busan • Daegu • Jeju Island • Gyeongju

2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Beyond Business / tr avel

Festival? Fret not, as the city offers so much more than that.

While cities like Seoul, Busan, Jeju, and Daegu get a lot of publicity and attention for being South Korea’s most sought-after hubs, Daecheon (another name for Boryeong) is not one to be overlooked. You are guaranteed to have the time of your life as you check out some of the top attractions Daecheon offers.

also see seven distinct ponds, waterfalls, and walking routes.

If you’re lucky, you might also catch a glimpse of a few wandering deers, bunnies, and ducks.

The museum’s main structure, with two stories and an orange roof, was constructed using five

MUCHANGPO BEACH A former military site, the Muchangpo Beach was the first beach to open on the west coast back in 1928. Surrounded by a lush green forest, it was widely known for its fishing spots and a phenomenon called the ‘Moses Miracle’ – a mysterious ‘S’-shaped chasm that opens up between Muchangpo Beach and Seokdaedo Island, much like the biblical event. In reality, this occurs due to the rise and fall of the tide, and people can walk along the parted sea.

Even if you don’t catch this phenomenon, the beach offers you a multitude of activities to choose from, including torchlight fishing experience and barehand fishing. In addition, you can gorge on a variety of freshly caught delicacies like sea cucumber, conch, clam, and crab.

GAEHWA ART PARK Housing 5 different parks and galleries - Herb Land, Music Hall, Yukpilsi Park, Birim Park, and Mosan Art Museum - visitors to the Gaehwa Art Park can

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Mud festival is Named one of Asia’s top 3 Major Festivals by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA), this event regularly gathers as many as 1 million visitors annually! stones, uniquely manufactured in Daecheon, for it can only be found there. A must-visit spot in the park is the highly aesthetic Riris Cafe, which is most whimsically decorated and offers delicious treats.

SANGHWAWON, JUKDO Jukdo is a lesser-known tourist destination 5 kilometers from Daecheon Beach, located away from the busy metropolis.

The highlight of Jukdo is the garden of Sanghwawon, which

was created to protect the island from the encroachment of development. With innumerable gardens, stone walls, wooden walking pathways, and traditional hanok resorts that combine and harmonize beautifully with nature, the main highlight of Sanghwawon is the traditional Hanok Village.

In this picturesque location, the cool sea breeze wafts in and out while mesmerizing views keep you enraptured, with beautiful flowers and bonsai gardens.

SAPSIDO ISLAND Sapsido Island is the third-largest island in Chungnam, and its structure resembles that of an arrow. Surrounded by gorgeous scenery decked with odd rocks and deep pine trees along the coastline, it also happens to be the major manufacturing site for the most incredible luxury mud clams, known for their medley of health benefits.

With the island strategically located along the shore of DulleGil, it’s the ideal location for people to experience and appreciate nature. Legend has it that if a person bathes here on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, it

merge to create a culture that can be enjoyed by the elderly and the youngsters, tourists, and locals alike.

Apart from its temples and mountains, Daecheon is also well-known for its recently completed Undersea Tunnel project.

Taken on by Hyundai E&C, the tunnel, whose construction was completed in late 2021, connects the Daecheon port to Wonsando Island in Ocheonmyeon.

Boryeong Undersea Tunnel is a 488.1 billion won project spanning 6927 meters. It is Korea’s longest tunnel and the world’s fifth-longest, built with the help of 800,000 workers per year.

From Taean to Daecheon, the tunnel is a two-lane road roughly 80 meters below sea level. will completely cure any illnesses or diseases they are plagued with.

COAL MUSEUM Honoring the history and significance of the city’s illustrious coal industry is the Boryeong Coal Museum. Its indoor and outdoor exposition halls include a diverse range of coal mining and transportation equipment. A film illustrating the mining process is also available to visitors.

A total of 1,700 relics, including mining tools and mineral samples, are housed in the Boryeong Coal mining Museum.

Six separate halls inside the museum display their unique collections. The Discovery Hall displays coal and other mineral samples and the history of the mining industry. The Guiding Hall also has a gift shop where visitors can buy souvenirs to remember their trip.

Today, many countries find that an establishment offering a little piece of South Korea can be very profitable indeed.

The economy of this small city is diverse. While businesses thrive in this area regardless of the time of the year, what catches one’s eye are the small establishments set up by elderly locals.

These shops carry everything that make Daecheon famous from mudpacks to fresh seafood.

Despite the rampant westernization, seafood is highly popular

and sold in huge numbers at public marketplaces in Daecheon.

Despite being a less-known tourist destination, Daecheon has cemented itself as a prime example of ‘Dynamic Korea’, the South Korean government’s phrase for itself in the 21st century.

Zooming out, the country of South Korea itself has solidified its place as the most happening place to be at. Over the last few years, the world was introduced to and swiftly enamored by South Korean music, TV shows, cinema, fashion, cuisine, and technology.

Today, many countries find that an establishment offering a little piece of South Korea can be very profitable indeed.

The wonderful Daecheon is a tourist haven, offering everything from bustling street shops, delicious cuisine, and affordable skincare and makeup. Although COVID-19 preventative measures are still in place in some parts, South Korea has opened its doors to tourists. So, if this beautiful country has been occupying your bucket list for a while, this is your sign to explore Korea and all the wonders it has to offer. ✪

ALL ABOUT DAECHEON If you’re craving a tranquil getaway, hidden from the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan city, Daecheon is the perfect place for you. The city of Daecheon provides a place where the traditional and modern 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

53

Beyond Business / health Do you feel tired all the time, no matter how much you’ve slept, eaten or relaxed? Read on to know what Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is and what the expert Dr. Almas Ali, Functional Medicine and Nutrition Coach says about it

Are you suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

F

or many of us, tiredness may seem temporary. But if exhaustion makes you feel like you are sleepwalking through life for months together, you could be afflicted by chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

While it may not seem life-threatening, chronic fatigue hampers the quality of your life. Maintaining a social life, going to work, or exercising all seem like insurmountable chores. Other symptoms include trouble sleeping, memory problems, muscle pains, aches, headaches, tender lymph nodes, and sore throat.

Treatment can prove tricky when a disease is hard to detect. Read through to understand what causes chronic fatigue and how a grounding and miraculous new school of thought called functional medicine could weed this and other bodily malaise from its very roots.

Understanding chronic fatigue The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. estimates that about 2.5 million Americans suffer from CFS, most undiagnosed. Multiple studies indicate that women experience acute tiredness twice as often as men, most between the ages of 25 and 45. It can also impact kids and teenagers.

CFS is not to be confused with fibromyalgia or long covid, which display similar symptoms. It is important to screen out conditions such as anemia, diabetes, thyroid illness, fibromyalgia, depression,

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and sleep disturbances before making a diagnosis or seeking treatment.

The suggested causes for ME/CFS include immunocompromised situations, viral or bacterial infections, hormonal imbalance, below optimal nutrition, chronic stress, or genetics.

Is it a real condition?

Despite three decades having passed Multiple studies since the syndrome was first deindicate that women scribed in scientific literature, people are still largely unaware of experience acute CFS and how it can affect them. tiredness twice as often If you are observant, your colas men, most between league who may be a repeated the ages of 25 and 45. absentee, often low on energy or It can also impact kids distracted, could be suffering from and teenagers. it and not even be aware. Instead, they may wrongly assume that they are demotivated or have an ‘attitude problem’, suffer in silence and not seek help.

Community awareness and destigmatizing the condition will help support the affected and also help them seek treatment. An illness like this will force you to take stock of your life, but early treatment will always prove effective over turning

a blind eye. That being said, one could implement a few steps to ensure optimal health, promote a healthier lifestyle and keep CFS at bay.

1. Adequate sunlight and stress management are crucial, along with mindfulness meditation practices in daily life. These work on two levels: • It prevents the so-called “stress hormone” cortisol from being released in response to everyday stressors.

• Aids the production of feel-good hormones like dopamine, which maintains motivation, concentration as well as combats fatigue disorders.

2. The way food is grown, prepared, and consumed in the modern era is highly deficient in micronutrients and has a variety of adverse effects on public health. A micronutrient deficiency reduces the amount of energy a person can access in their body. This then hampers their physical ability, decreasing their productivity and ability to contribute to society.

3. A highly processed diet and artificial lifestyle have inundated our life with toxins. While not the easiest thing to do, we must avoid food, cosmetics, environment, and materials such as plastics containing toxic substances.

The liver is the primary detox organ of the human body, and when it is overloaded with toxins, it cannot perform its normal functions. Therefore, a well-balanced detox protocol helps clear them out and consequently improves the health of our bodies and brains.

Taking steps toward healing Hijama or wet cupping is an excellent detox method when overcharged with chemicals, toxins, or stress.

Having been around for centuries, it remains one of the most effective and least invasive detoxifying techniques for the body.

Fasting, when done right, remains under-recognized but scientifically proven to improve health and wellbeing, increase energy, decrease stress, and improve memory. What might surprise people is its profound effect on the brain. Evidence proves that a regular fasting regimen allows the body to flush out harmful toxins before they can cause lasting damage (such as cancer).

In the same vein, Juicing is also considered an effective detox method. However, the juices need to be organic, pesticide-free, and not overtly acidic to preserve your digestive environment.

As awareness about the gut-brain axis continues to expand, improving your gut health climbs the rungs of importance in maintaining health. The gut microbiome is crucial to a healthy GUT-BRAIN axis, and your health suffers when it skews out of balance.

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF THE (CAUSES OF) WORKRELATED FATIGUE Physical Load • Forceful exertion • Awkward posture • Static load • Repetitive movement Mental load • Irregular work hours • Job demands • Job stress • Coworker relationship • Decision autonomy Environmental load • Temperature • Noise • Light level • Vibration • Humidity Source: (Ind. Psychiatry Journal)

Functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach that goes deeper than symptomatic treatment and aims to restore health and wellbeing by addressing the underlying causes of illness — DR. ALMAS ALI Adolescents with eating disorders commonly experience gut symptoms such as constipation, bloating, and indigestion, and some are even diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

The gut microbiome has also been implicated in various mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

In a nutshell, no indication of poor health can be ignored. Diabetes, hormonal imbalances, etc., play a vital role in impacting the individual’s overall health. Prolonged mental or physical exertion, baseless dieting trends, and unhealthy practices must be avoided.

Beyond the physical body, emotional wellbeing is equally important. The wellness wheel portrays the interconnectedness of emotional coping and physical wellbeing. Your ability to regulate your emotions and manage stress is the difference between healthful living versus a life spent battling illness.

As always, sleep is both an underrated and integral factor. Quality sleep of 8- 9 hours is a must.

A toxic body is an exhausted body. Your body will be unable to muster up enough healing energy if you don’t sleep enough.

A 360 on health with functional medicine The field of functional medicine and nutrition can tackle chronic fatigue, among other illnesses.

Functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach that goes deeper than symptomatic treatment and instead of superficially treating symptoms or over-relying on drugs to treat diseases, it aims to restore health and wellbeing by addressing the underlying causes of illness, such as inflammation, poor gut health, and nutritional deficiencies.

Every uncovered symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness, and working on these interconnections between illnesses works in overall healing and long-term health. If you are caught in the vice grip of exhaustion that won’t leave you, consider that the reasons might be bigger than a bad day at work or a poor night of sleep. When you prioritize health, you will achieve more than just elimination of disease – you will regain the zest for life that is crucial to a life well-lived. ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

55

Beyond Business / auto

PACE LIKE A JAGUAR

The 2022 Jaguar F-Pace delivers a smooth ride and some serious power and then some.

Deepika S explores this sleek machine that stands toe-to-toe with the competition Inspired by the fetching F-Type sports car, the F-Pace stands toe-to-toe with the Audi, BMW, and MercedesBenz compact SUVs. Combining sport sedan-like performance alongside the versatility of the SUV, the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace justifies its place as the British brand’s bestseller.

Design The Exterior • A seamless bonnet, deep grille, headlights, wider vents, and a double ‘J’ blade signature all add to Jaguar F-PACE’s dynamic stance.

• The bonnet and bumper have been redesigned, combined with a precision-engineered foiltipped front grill giving the auto a dynamic look.

• The headlights have double 'J' graphics with animated directional indicators. New valence panels with integrated exhaust finishes emphasize the car’s dynamic personality.

• As an upgrade, the pick of wheels available with an optional exterior black pack allows you to craft a dark, sultry exterior look.

Cabin style and interiors: • Re-engineered with premium materials and exquisite attention to detail, the F pace is a beauty of space and luxury.

• Its sumptuous double-stitch soft leather is paired with high-class finishing and chrome accents.

These are in perfect harmony with the steering wheel design that integrates hands-on access to key vehicle functions, such as the Jaguar’s all-new PV proinfotainment system features.

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• The auto’s legroom and

headroom are among the most spacious in this range.

• Its cabins have easy-to-reach secondary controls and enough window space for improved vision and room while still in line with Jaguar's minimalist interiors.

Tech and Infotainment

• Sports an expansive 11.4-inch

infotainment screen with a driver information display and navigation. You can pair it via Bluetooth, USB ports, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and

wireless chargers.

• It comes with a Meridian sound system with 6, 12, or 16 speakers, depending on trim.

• The advanced driver aid suite comes with an adaptive cruise control feature.

Efficiency and Mechanics • With varying operation levels,

the F-Pace is an authentic highperformance model in every way.

• The latest model consists of an eight-speed automatic allwheel drive transmission. Fuel economy is rated at a ten kmpl in combination mode.

Safety

• While the F-Pace doesn't sell

where it performs second to none other. The reliable steering and a suspension set-up deliver expertly once you’re used to the soaring driving position.

• The F-Pace offers a sharp driving experience, with its chassis components appraising a dominant rear-wheel drive, which conditionally diverts half the available torque to the front wheels.

• It begins with the F pace’s 2.0-liter turbocharged fourcylinder engine, pounding out 246 horsepower and 269 poundfeet of torque.

enough volumes to warrant its crash testing by the NHTSA or the IIHS, Jaguar comes to the rescue with its substantial driver-assist features, such as a surround-view camera system that watches every periphery.

• Also features blind-spot monitors, active lane control, parking sensors, and automatic emergency braking.

• Looking for something highly safe and robust? Seek the Driver Assist package. With this add-on, you can avail adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist, and a 360-degree camera system at an additional cost.

Near Misses

• Some owners have reported

• The 2022 Jaguar F-Pace’s fuel

economy has been an unsung hero. Its average fuel economy rating of just 8 L per 100 km with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine in highway mode is a surefire leg-up over the competition.

• The Eco mode automatically varies all driving parameters to ensure a more fuel-efficient experience. With this mode, you’re on the throttle, as you limit the use of climate and other functions that sabotage fuel economy.

Engine and Performance • On-road is where the allwheel-drive system gives the F-Pace an edge because that’s

that the car shows some engine overheating issues, while others have experienced coolant leakages, though the engine temperature doesn’t get impacted.

• The F-Pace lacks a reliable safety rating, so we recommend you test drive the car to get a more in-depth feel of its features.

• The adaptive cruise is sometimes slow and unresponsive, and its steering assist can be ineffective at keeping you in your lane if you start to wander.

X-factor

• Because of the sheer gener-

osity of its load space (up to a class-leading 793 liters), F-PACE is perfect for big families.

• The flat loading lip in the boot makes packing and stowing easier. Optional loadspace storage rails and functional accessories are available, including a fullsize luggage partition and quilted loadspace liner. What’s more, your adorable VIPs (Very Important Pets) are always welcome!

Nemesis

• The F-Pace is up against some

auto heavyweights: • Audi Q5 - flaunting a conservative style but innovative and unmatched tech • The BMW X3 - limited in size but capable of high performance and efficiency • The GLC-Class - making up for the difference between the above but with a more opulent cabin.

Price point

• The range for the 2022 F-Pace

varies between AED 196,200 - 226,590, competing with the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class.

When does it launch?

• The car was launched in January

2022 and is currently available for sale in Dubai. J 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

57

Beyond Business / a spire+ An entrepreneur needs to know a lot. Way more than the business idea he or she is growing. ASPIRE brings you a range of know-how to have you effortlessly conversing with everyone you meet. Success is not what you do, it is how you do it…

READ it

QUESTIONING THE TABOOS AROUND HOMOSEXUALITY

Badhai Do

LIFE IN THE DIPLOMATIC LANE

From humble beginnings in Montreal as the daughter of a taxi driver and a seamstress, comes a lively, candid, and laugh-out-loud account of a woman’s personal journey around the world and her endeavors to escape a traditional “wifeof” role in the stratified cosmos of diplomacy.

Carol Bujeau, a former communications strategist, Cordon Bleu graduate, and furniture designer, traveled the globe for more than three decades with her diplomat husband, John Holmes, as he climbed the foreign service ladder. From Barbados to Ghana, New York to Jordan, Indonesia to Turkey, and finally, the Philippines, her memoirs relate the many cultural and diplomatic challenges she faced, with humour, if not always aplomb.

During her decades of living abroad, she was privileged to meet extraordinary individuals, from princes to camel drivers. In the process, she learned about herself and about the world, and came to realize that everyone has something to teach us, regardless of their religion, culture, or sociology-economic background. The book’s ultimate message is delivered with wit and verve... we are all one.

Carol Bujeau’s story is full of passion and spirit.

Above all, it is a love story, celebrating a family, a life filled with adventure, and a world full of wonder. A must-read.

The book can be ordered at: www.burnstownpublishing.com

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WATCH it

Triple Sex & Other Tales from an Ambassador’s Wife

The great thing about Indian cinema in recent times is that they are choosing to use the best mass media we have at our disposal to deliver important messages. Films like Deepa Mehta’s Water, for example, brought to light the situation of widows in the country. The Lunch Box brilliantly captured the tiffin culture of Bombay and the daily humdrum of middle-class existence. But it’s been a while since we had a movie that covered all the bases. A sensitive and controversial topic, with brilliant direction, singularly fine acting, and spectacular cinematography.

Badhai Do delivers on all those fronts and then some more. What happens when a gay policeman and a lesbian school teacher decide to get married to escape the family pressure to settle down.

This film examines the taboos that exist around homosexuality, the absurd familial and social controls over the intimate lives of people, and the cloying hypocrisy that surrounds keeping up appearances for appearance’s sake. But it does so with such humour and sensitivity that it leaves one with a sense of questioning rather than a sense of shame.

Rajkummar Rao delivers a riveting performance as Shardul, the police officer, and Bhumi Pedneker delivers a powerful act as a feminist sports teacher, Sumi. If there is one Indian film you must watch, let Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s landmark film, Badhai Do, be the one. Keep a box of tissues handy… you’ll either be crying with laughter or weeping from the heartache.  Watch it on Netflix.

EAT it COLONIAL INDIAN INSPIRATIONS

Peppermill

Peppermill is a casual dining restaurant offering Indian cuisine with inventive recipes and alluring flavors to stimulate the palate and gratify the senses. At Peppermill, they redefine the notion that Indian haute cuisine can only be created using ageold recipes and ideas. Each element you experience at Peppermill upturns traditional expectations exponentially. The constant evolution of embryonic gastronomy and a blend of flavors curates a colonial fusion to satiate your cravings. Revel in traditional settings with a private dining affair amidst elegant and colloquial features.

Deepak Bhatia, CEO of Snowbell Restaurant Management, says, “While we have numerous brands under our company, Peppermill holds the most potential being the oldest in the market along with its heightened offerings. With new innovative curations, our Chefs are undoubtedly paving way for it to become one of the people’s favorite choices for Indian cuisine in the Middle East.”

With multiple branches across Dubai, the renowned ones are situated at The Dubai Mall, Dubai Festival City Mall, and Dubai Festival

Plaza. Panning the region of Abu Dhabi, they are located at Eastern Mangroves, Al Wahda Mall, and Bawabat Al Sharq Mall. There are multiple projects in the pipeline with restaurants opening across Sharjah and Qatar as well.

While the concept focuses on Indian cuisine, it does include a range of delectable dishes from various parts of the country. It includes the ultimate Butter Chicken, Kebab Platter, Chaat Platter, Palak Patta Chaat, Prawn Moilee, Soya Chaap Masala, Biryani, Shahi Tukda, and the list is endless.

Chef Mohammed Shokey, Brand Chef, Peppermill, states, “Being in the market for almost a decade, we have successfully created our niche brand identity. Furthermore, we intend to launch an entirely new concept with pioneering curations to remain at par with the evolving F&B industry and culinary landscape.”

To satiate your hunger pangs, you need to experience the range of delicacies that embarks you on a culinary journey of Indian flavors.

COMPILED BY SANGEETHA SHINDE ✪ 2 0 2 2 — J U LY — ASPIRE

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Beyond Business / the l a st word

R

The Other 10 Commandments

ecently there has been a spate of videos on social media about etiquette. Which fork, which wine, what shoes, how to cross your legs, how to shake a hand, some of it useful, most of it ludicrous. And this, unfortunately what most people have come to define as good manners and a show of class. Nothing could be further from the truth, though.

Good manners require no training and, in fact, require primarily cultivating a sense of gratitude and giving back.

Because at the end of the day, no one will remember if your napkin was folded right, but they will remember how you made them feel. And that feeling will be the result of your manners.

Here are some simple rules of good manners that serve well in the workplace or in your personal space.

1. Been helped? Acknowledge it publicly. Social media makes this incredibly easy to do.

2. Pay fair. Play fair. Be ethical in your financial dealings.

Pay your staff a decent wage. Don’t let others say you are spoiling it for them. When you borrow, pay back money and try not to live out of your means to impress others.

3. Return hospitality. Stayed in someone’s house. Leave them a nice gift, take them out for a meal, and always invite them back. Never accept that which cannot be offered in return.

4. Be present when you talk to someone. Put your phone away unless you’re dealing with an emergency.

5. Be well-mannered with yourself. Make your bed, put away dirty dishes and laundry, keep your home pleasant and clean.

6. Learn the difference between information and gossip.

One is useful, and the other is spiteful. Let gossip die when it reaches you.

7. Making amends is far better than making apologies.

8. Clap for others. It’s the most gracious of good manners to be happy for the success of another. Show this publicly too.

9. Don’t go around or over to access or exploit someone’s

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social contacts. Respect the boundaries of people who introduce you to their inner circle.

10. There is a difference between bragging about your lifestyle and sharing your achievements, especially online... the former excludes and the latter includes. Always choose the latter.

Yes, it’s a wonderful idea to learn the finesse of etiquette.

But never let that be confused with good behavior. It’s the difference between giving a gift from the unused gift collection we all have and going out and buying something special to give someone. It’s the difference between acting good and being ethically driven. Etiquette is how you behave in public, while good manners is who you are.

In a world where outer show is used as a mask for inner nature, the most powerful thing you can do to make the world a better place is to self-discipline yourself into being well-mannered. You can be the poorest person and still be the classiest person by having good manners because class has always been about manners and not money. Yes, it’s a great idea to learn things like white wine pairs with fish, but it’s even better to buy someone a glass of chardonnay because you know they enjoy it.

Elegance of thought and behavior is an act of courage in a world of fake appearances, online posturing, and spiritual entertainment. Good manners are about authenticity, and they will set you apart from the herd. For as the very wise Emily Post so eloquently said, “Good manners reflect something from inside - an innate sense of consideration for others and respect for oneself.” ✪ Sangeetha Shinde Tee is an author of four books, editor of 3 international magazines, an acclaimed healer, and reluctant entrepreneur.

Also an unconventional traveler, rebellious truth seeker, and inveterate animal rescuer, she is working on her fifth book - a collection of ghost stories from around the world. Find out more about her life, books, and work at www.sangeethashindetee.com

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