36_European_Business_Magazine_Winter_2020

europeanbusinessmagazine.com

WINTER EDITION | 2020

EUROPEAN BUSINESS

MAGAZINE Nicole Sahin

CEO of Globalization Partners Breaking Down Barriers to International Business BitCoin / Conscious Capitalism / Intimate advertising / Smart Cities / Ad Fraud / The Headlines in 2019 / Euro Exim Bank / Cannabis / Marketing Expo / Women in European Business / Saint Lucia

Special World Economic Forum Issue 2020, Crypto Trends, Artificial Intelligence and Cancer Interview with Romain GERARDIN-FRESSE, founder of the Award Winning Crisis Management Firm GFK Conseils - Juridis

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Table of Contents 14

News

64

Can Bitcoin Even Be Regulated?

18

What Hit The Headlines in 2019

66

Appnovation

20

5 Tech Trends to Look Out for in 2020

68

Euro Exim Bank: Always a Step Ahead

22

Crypto Trends For 2019 Reviewed

70

Most Popular Cannabis Tech Devices That Are

23

B2B Marketing Expo Returns to London Excel

24

Treasures from the Napoleonic Era

26

Bitcoin in 2019

29

Changing the Industry 72

Sharon Lechter and Women In Business

75

Women in European Business

What to Expect During the 2020 Davos Celebration Meeting

78

5 of the best tech developments of 2019

32

Big Data and the Financial Industry

80

Saint Lucia: Beyond the Beaches

34

Big Data - How Big is it?

82

Innovation as a new asset class

36

How Advertising Got So Intimate

84

From Data to Cancer

38

Conscious Capitalism

86

Cape Town International Convention Centre

40

Think Big: Go Global

42

European Business Magazine talks to Nicole Sahin

successfully hosts the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa 88

What Are Some Big Ecommerce Trends to Expect in the Upcoming Years?

45

Powerful Passports in 2020

46

Europe’s Newest Citizenship Programme

48

Why Iowa? Let’s Count the Reasons

50

Can Smart Cities Inspire The Creation of Smart Businesses

52

Cross-Border Payments are on the Edge of a Transformation

54

What You Need to Know About Ad Fraud

58

Gfk Conseils – Juridis: The Crème de la Crème of Business Strategy

60

European Business catches up with Romain Gerardin-Fresse

90

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Internet of Things

94

Your Brand: What’s at Risk?

96

Stealing Ideas – Prevention is Better than Cure

98

Kaiserwetter: Harnessing the power of big data and artificial intelligence to drive investment into renewables

100

The 10 Most Start-Up Friendly Countries

106

5 of the Biggest Struggles for Small Businesses in 2020

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 12 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

EUROPEAN BUSINESS

europeanbusinessmagazine.com

MAGAZINE

Publishers Note

Publisher Nick Staunton

W

elcome to another edion of European Business Magazine , Winter 2020.

We go into a new decade with more going on than ever. Traditionally this is our biggest edi on as it’s the edi on that covers the World Economic Forum (WEF) and some of its themes.

The WEF celebrates its 50th year at Davos and seems to be ge ng more influen al than ever before. Just in case you were in any doubt about that , there are rumours that Greta Thurnberg may make an appearance this year.

The WEF is the foremost crea ve force for engaging the world’s top leaders in collabora ve ac vi es to shape global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year. The theme of the 2020 meeting is Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.

Nicole Sahin is our front cover and main focus . The charisma c and very engaging Ceo tells us all about her path in driving Globaliza on Partners to where they are today and how they help companies expand globally without the need to set up costly interna onal subsidiaries. Essen al reading!

We also have interviews with Eric Major , Ceo of Latitude who discusses Montenegro’s Citizenship

by Investment programme .We also have Romain GERARDIN-FRESSE Founder of Crisis Management Firm

GFK Conseils - Juridis who discusses the many and varied aspects of how his firm helps deal with crisis management.

Some other great features to keep you awake at night include Big Data and just how big is it? We also feature a piece on In mate adver sing which inves gates if adver sers are actually listening to your mobile or not for adver sing purposes.Some people including me are convinced they do .

Conscious Capitalism is just that and looks at how stakeholder capitalism shi s corpora ons into refocusing on purpose, instead of profit.

As it is the turn of a new decade we will be including what to look out for in Bitcoin and in tech as well as a look back on what has happened in their respec ve industries. We also take a look at some of the leading women in business and feature Sharon Lechterthe interna onal author and entrepreneur.

As ever a read I hope you enjoy.

Editor Patricia Cullen Deputy Editor Anthony Gill Associate Publisher Brad Adams Features Editor Katie Winearls Head of Production Paul Rogers Head of Design Vladimir Mladenovski Subscriptions Manager Rebecca Hill Head of Business Development Paul Matthews Advertising Sales Brad Adams Tara Duckworth Advertising Sales Tara Duckworth, Mike Ray, Andy Ellis, Mark Holburn Contributing writers Patricia Cullen, Richard Fitzpatrick, Bala Murali Krishna, Shilpa Meen, Argee Laraya, Aimee Ni Mhaolcraibhe, Gordana Ristic, Jonathan Hooker, Jose Ignacio Latorre Head of Digital Stephen Scott Photographer Ben Fisher

Nick Staunton Publisher

NST Publishing Ltd, 19 Leamington Spa (studio 1) Leamington Spa,Cv324tf, UK The information contained has been contained from sources the proprietor believes to be wholly correct however no legal liability can be accepted for any errors. No part of this publication can be reproduced without consent of the publisher.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 13

Ireland Approves Two Canadian Firms To Supply Medical Cannabis

Product Officer at Aurora said: “We are very proud to be one of the first approved suppliers of medical cannabis…and will con nue to work closely with all par es and state agencies to facilitate further availability.”

The Medical Cannabis Access Programme was signed into law in June this year, by the Minister for Health in Ireland, Simon Harris.

80,000 New Jobs

Two Canadian companies have been approved as the first suppliers to the recently launched medical cannabis program in Ireland.

The Irish Government signed off on the launch of its five-year pilot in June, and now Aurora and MGC Pharmaceuticals have been selected to provide its first cannabis medicine.

Under the scheme consultants can prescribe to patients with spasticity, associated with mul ple sclerosis, chemotherapy-related intractable nausea and treatment-resistant epilepsy. The two products are Aurora High CBD Oil Drops and CannEpil,

both are CBD based drugs with the la er being used to treat epilepsy.

Weeks To Wait However, much like its U.K. neighbor there will be a me-lag of weeks between prescrip on and receipt of the drug. The Irish Journal reports that under the scheme the two companies have to apply for a licence to bring the product into Ireland for distribu on.

CannEpil is a product that ‘has been years in the making’, and was released into the market in 2017, says Roby Zomer, Execu ve Director and CEO at MGC. Dr Shane Morris, Chief

Mr Harris said at the me that the program would allow ‘compassionate access to cannabis for medical reasons’ in cases where conven onal treatment has failed. The Irish Government says it wants to encourage the development of a home-grown cannabis cul va on and hemp industry saying it the poten al to create over 80,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, a third Canadian company Province Brands of Canada, has appointed Irish drinks distributor Barry & Fitzwilliam, as its distribu on partner to bring its non-alcoholic CBD beer to the Irish consumer.

Barry & Fitzwilliam is Ireland’s largest independent drinks distributor, and the new venture is expected to begin offering CBD-infused, barley-based, non-alcoholic beverages across Ireland in February 2020.

Airbus surpasses Boeing with 863 deliveries in 2019 Airbus has become the world’s largest planemaker for the first me since 2011 a er delivering a forecast-bea ng 863 aircra in 2019, taking the crown from emba led U.S. rival Boeing.

The number represents an 8 percent increase over the company’s 800 deliveries in 2018.

Airbus, which had been forced by its own industrial problems to cut its 2019 delivery goal by 2-3 percent in October, deployed extra resources un l hours before midnight to reach 863 aircra for the year, compared with its revised target of 860 jets.

“I am happy to see our commercial aircra order and delivery numbers reflec ng the con nuous efforts to be er serve our customers and bring 14 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

our competitive products and services to the market. I sincerely thank our customers for their loyalty and the Airbus teams and our industry partners who made it possible,” said Guillaume Furry, Airbus’ CEO. What is more, Airbus had an extremely successful year with acquiring 1131 new aircra orders and 768 net orders.

Meanwhile, Boeing delivered 345 planes in the first 11 months of 2019, compared with 700 deliveries during the same period in 2018. Most of Boeing’s deliveries were for long-range planes, while Airbus shined in the single-aisle jet market. In the absence of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 in the market, Airbus delivered 640 single-aisle planes, surpassing previous records.

The European company is now planning to hire a total of 5000 new employees on its sites across the world in 2020, which should improve the supply chain and prevent any potential delays caused by technical issues.

Research-based online course contributes to a critical understanding of AI As generators of new ideas and innova ons, universi es play a key role in the efforts to build Europe’s future on competences and educa on. Research and higher educaon not only produce commercial applica ons, but also new social innova ons – such as this AI course – that have the poten al to benefit everyone. The Elements of AI is the result of both sustained research and teaching excellence at the University of Helsinki.

“Our University has a policy of making its research and exper se benefit society at large. As research into ar ficial intelligence is highly advanced in Finland, it came naturally to us to make AI teaching more widely accessible,” says Teemu Roos, Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki.

Ar ficial intelligence, and technology at large, carry an enormous poten al for Europe’s future.

“It is therefore vital that more and more individuals can understand how different solu ons work and what they can be used for. We are very excited that this course will be widely adopted in Europe, in many language versions,” says Ville Valtonen, Managing Director at Reaktor Educa on.

First published in 2018, the Elements of AI is already available in English, Finnish, Swedish and Estonian. The original goal was to have one per cent of Finns, equalling some 55,000 people, study the basics of AI. That goal was

reached in just a few months, and today the Elements of AI is the most popular course ever offered by University of Helsinki.

The ini a ve was launched in the context of Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Finnish Presidency has been working with the member states to reach a shared understanding of the condi ons for sustainable growth. Finland has stressed the importance of future development of the single market; taking full advantage of research, development, innova on and digitalisa on; and inves ng in the competences of European ci zens.

The cost of the ini a ve, a total of €1 679 000, will be funded from the budget of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

EU, U.S., and Japan agree on new subsidy rules

On January 14, 2020, the EU, the U.S., and Japan joined forces and announced their agreement to strengthen exis ng rules on industrial subsidies and condemned forced technology transfer pracces. In other words, this is exactly what China has long been accused of exploi ng.

According to the agreement, the current list of subsidies prohibited under the World Trade Organiza on’s (WTO) rules is insufficient to tackle market and trade-distor ng subsidiza on exis ng in certain jurisdic ons.

They concluded that new types of uncondi onally prohibited subsidies have to be added to the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

EU’s Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan noted that “This Joint Statement is an important step toward addressing some of the fundamental issues distor ng global trade. The EU has been arguing consistently that multilateral nego a ons can be effec ve in resolving these problems. I welcome the fact that the United States and Japan share this view. This Statement

is also a symbol of a construc ve strategic collaboration between three major players in global trade.“ The EU, U.S., and Japan also agreed that for particularly harmful types of subsidies, such as excessively large subsidies, the burden of proof should be reversed: the subsidizing WTO member must demonstrate that there are no serious nega ve trade or capacity effects and that there is effec ve transparency about the subsidy in ques on.

In the mee ng, which took place in Washington, the signatories of the statement also reaffirmed the importance of technology transfers for global trade and investment, and discussed possible core rules to be introduced to prevent forced technology transfer prac ces of third countries. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 15

Cyber readiness levels stall as attacks reach new intensity International study shows no improvement in corporate defences despite soaring cyber losses

A sharp increase in the number and cost of cyber-a acks is the key finding in a study of 5,400 organisa ons across seven countries, commissioned by insurer Hiscox. More than three out of five firms (61%) report one or more a acks in the past year, yet the propor on achieving top scores for their cyber security readiness is marginally down year-on-year.

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2019 surveyed a representa ve sample of private and public sector organisaons in the US, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Each firm was assessed on its cyber security strategy and execu on, and ranked accordingly. Only 10% achieved high enough marks in both areas to qualify as cyber security ‘experts’.

Among the key findings: • Cyber-a acks reach a new intensity: More than three in every five firms (61%) experienced a cyber incident

in the past year, up from 45% in the 2018 report. The frequency of a acks also increased. Belgian firms were the most heavily targeted.

• Cyber losses soar: Among firms reporting attacks, average losses associated with all cyber incidents have risen from £180,000 last year to £291,000 – an increase of 61%. For large firms with between 250 and 999 employees cyber-related losses now top £551,000 on average compared with £128,000 a year ago. German firms suffered the most, with one repor ng a cost for all incidents of £38 million.

• More firms fail cyber readiness test: Using a quan ta ve model to assess firms for their cyber readiness, only one in ten (10%) achieved ‘expert’ status this year, slightly down from 11% in 2018. Nearly three-quarters (74%) ranked as unprepared ‘novices’. There was a sharp drop in the number of larger US and German firms achieving ‘expert’ scores.

Gareth Wharton, Hiscox Cyber CEO, commented: ‘This is the third Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report and, for the first me, a significant majority of firms report one or more cyber a acks in the past 12 months. Where hackers formerly focused on larger companies, small and medium-sized firms now look equally vulnerable. The cyber threat has become the unavoidable cost of doing business today. The one posi ve is that we see more firms taking a structured approach to the problem, with a defined role for managing cyber strategy and an increased readiness to transfer the risk to an insurer by way of a standalone cyber insurance policy.’

LinkedIn names fastest-growing jobs across Europe At the very end of last, LinkedIn released its third-annual LinkedIn Emerging Jobs Report, highlighting the fastest-growing jobs across the world and specifically Europe, skills associated with them, and the ci es and industries where these jobs are located.

LinkedIn looked at all its members with a public profile that have held full- me posi ons within the past 5 years. From this pool it then calculated the share of hiring and growth rate for each occupation between 2015 and 2019, to identify which roles would be on the rise in the coming year.

According to the report, the fastest-growing job in Europe is Ar ficial 16 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Intelligence Specialist — typically an engineer, researcher or other special es that focus on machine learning and ar ficial intelligence, figuring out things like where it makes sense to implement AI or building AI systems.

This job was the fastest-growing one in the UK, Spain, and Germany last year, and the second-fastest growing in France.

On the blog for the report, LinkedIn commented that “Ar ficial intelligence and robots are no longer on their way.

They’ve arrived. In a big way.“ Guy Berger, the principal economist at LinkedIn added that “AI has infiltrated every industry, and right now the demand for people skilled in AI is outpacing the supply for it. This is

the third year in a row a role related to machine learning or ar ficial intelligence has topped the list, and we can only expect demand to increase.“ Besides AI specialists, other tech-related jobs, such as cybersecurity, marke ng automa on specialists, robotics engineers, data protec on officers experienced the fastest growth in Europe.

Finland To Invest In The Future Skills Of Europeans – Training One Per Cent Of Eu Citizens In The Basics Of Ai During 2020–2021, Finland will provide European citizens with free access to a successful online course, the Elements of AI. The course will be made available in all the official EU languages. This ini a ve by the Finnish Presidency aims to respond to the challenges posed by the transformaon of work and to reinforce the digital leadership of the EU. The Elements of AI is a series of free online courses realised by the University of Helsinki and the Finnish tech company Reaktor. It is designed to encourage people to learn the basics of artificial intelligence, whatever their age or educa on.

The initiative was made public in Brussels on 10 December 2019, in the margins of the mee ng of the EU employment ministers.

“Our investment has three goals: we want to equip EU ci zens with digital skills for the future; we wish to increase prac cal understanding of what ar ficial intelligence is; and by doing so,

we want to give a boost to the digital leadership of Europe,” said Minister of Employment Timo Harakka.

“The significance of AI is growing.

To make use of it, we need digital skills. Changing labour markets, the transformation of work, digitalisaon and intensifying global compeon all mean one thing for the EU: we must invest in people. Every EU

ci zen should have the opportunity to pursue con nuous lifelong learning, regardless of age and educa onal background,” the Minister said.

“As our Presidency ends, we want to offer something concrete. It’s about one of the most pressing challenges facing Europe and Finland today: how to develop our digital literacy," the Minister said.

UK tech investment grew faster than the US and China in 2019 2019 was the record-breaking year for the UK’s tech sector: investments in the sector reached the highest level in the UK history — $13,2 billion, which means a $4,1 billion increase compared to 2018.

In 2019, the UK’s technology sector secured one-third of all European tech investments. What is more, this is the third year in a row that growth in the UK’s venture capital investment has exceeded 40 percent. To compare, investments in France grew by just over one-third, while Israel’s rose by one-fi h.

The figures were prepared for the Digital Economy Council by entrepreneurial network Tech Na on and research company Dealroom.co.

8 new unicorns — Rapyd, CMR Surgical, Babylon Health, Sumup, Trainline, Acuris, Checkout.com, and OVO Energy — were created in the UK last year, bringing the country’s total number of billion-dollar companies to 77.

The research also showed that nearly half of the total amount invested in UK tech came from U.S. and Asian investors.

Ma Warman, UK’s minister for digital, noted that “This roaring success is testament to our business-friendly environment, talented workforce and a long-standing reputa on for innova on. As we head into a new decade, we want to keep up this momentum, ensuring the tech sector flourishes right across the country, helping more entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into business successes and strengthening the na on’s digital skills.“ On a global scale, the UK’s performance in 2019 means it now sits behind only the US and China in terms of total venture capital funding received last year. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 17

What Hit The Headlines in

The US-China Trade War This year’s news cycle has been dominated by the escalating US-China trade war.

It all started back in May 2019, when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese exports to the US, accusing China of unfair trading prac ces and intellectual property the . In China, on the other hand, there’s a percep on that the US is trying to curb its rise as a global economic power.

Nego a ons are ongoing: in December 2019, both sides announced a preliminary deal, also known as “the phase one deal“, but some issues remain unsolved.

Uncertainty surrounding the trade war has hurt businesses and the tension between the US and China have cut 2019 global growth to its slowest pace since the 2008 financial crisis.

So far, the US has imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion of Chinese goods, and China has retaliated with tariffs on more than $110 billion of US products.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Co-founder, Arrested in London In April 2019, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, ending his seven-year asylum spell there.

He took refuge in the embassy back in 2012 to avoid extradi on to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.

The US Department of Jus ce confirmed Assange had been indicted on a single charge of conspiring to steal military secrets with Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who supplied thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.

The arrest came just a day a er WikiLeaks held a press conference saying it found Assange had been a vic m of an “extensive spying opera on.“ 18 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

2019

Greta Thunberg — Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Teenage ac vist Greta Thunberg has been named Time Magazine’s 2019 person of the year. According to Time’s, Thunberg “has succeeded in crea ng a global a tudinal shi , transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxie es into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change.“ Thunberg, who is only 16 years old, quickly became one of the world’s most notable and youngest climate change ac vists. She sparked a collec ve movement to fight climate change a er protes ng alone outside the Swedish parliament during school hours on Fridays when she was 15. Back then, Thunberg held up a now universally recognized hand-painted sign that read “skolstrejk för klimatet,“ which translates to “School Strike for the Climate.“ Earlier this year, Thunberg, along with 15 other young climate ac vists, filed a legal complaint with the United Na ons against 5 countries under the UN Conven on on the Rights of the Child alleging the na ons are not doing enough to combat climate change and that their inac on is affec ng their right to thrive.

France’s “Yellow vest“ Movement Anniversary A year ago, more than a quarter of a million people took to the streets across France, in what became known as the “gilets jaunes“ protests.

Protests began as a reac on to an increase in fuel tax, which was supposed to help the environment, but the protesters said meant they could no longer afford to drive their cars or get to work.

What started as a protest against high fuel prices, later evolved into a broader social movement over income inequality and President Emmanuel Macron's leadership.

November 2019 marked a one-year anniversary of the protest, which brought thousands of people on the streets in central Paris: demonstrators occupied a top Paris department store, burned barricades, vandalized banks, set rubbish bins on fire and hurled cobblestones at police.

Macron a empted to quell the protests with promises of tax cuts, higher pensions, and reforms, but many s ll feel he has not done enough.

Notre Dame Cathedral Fire A massive blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church. The fire nearly destroyed the French landmark: the church’s wood la cework roof and iconic spire collapsed, but many of its most valuable religious relics and cultural treasures were spared.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a televised address to the na on, said he wants the Notre Dame Cathedral to be rebuilt in 5 years and “even more beau ful“. However, restora on expert Frederic Letoffe, the head of the group of companies for the Restora on of Historic Monuments commented on the situa on, no ng that “the full restora on of Notre Dame Cathedral will take between 10 to 15 years.“ Many theories revolved around the claim that the fire had been deliberately started. There was even a fake account created on Twitter, which looked just like CNN’s channel, claiming that the fire was caused by terrorism.

The First-ever Photo of a Black Hole On April 10, 2019, the world has seen something unprecedented — the first-ever image of a black hole that sits inside Messier 87 (M87), a galaxy located more than 53 million light-years from Earth.

Accomplishment, which was previously thought to be impossible, contains many years of hard work involving astronomers, observatories and scien fic ins tu ons from all around the world, and it’s a huge milestone for the study of black holes.

Working for well over a decade to achieve it, the team improved upon an exis ng radio astronomy technique for high-resolu on imaging and used it to detect the silhoue e of a black hole. The informa on used to make the image comes primarily from data taken in April 2017. Over the past 2 years, researchers have worked to turn that informa on into the clearest image possible by syncing up the measurements taken concurrently around the world. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 19

5 Tech Trends to Look Out for in

2020 5G

The next-genera on wireless technology, which began its deployment in 2019, will gain even more momentum in 2020. Cris ano Amon, president of Qualcomm – the world’s biggest wireless chipmaker, noted that “2020 is the year 5G goes mainstream.”

5G, the most significant advance in mobile network technology since the introduc on of 4G a decade ago, will have a major impact on our lives.It can run 10 to 100 mes faster than a typical cellular connec on today, and promises to significantly boost the speed, coverage and responsiveness of wireless networks.

The new-genera on mobile networks based on 5G technology are also speculated to give a push to developments such as self-driving cars, smart city projects, robots and drones, enabling new experiences that would come from connected devices.

Human Augmenta on From automa on to augmenta on, it looks as though, in 2020, we will talk more about what technology can do with humans rather than without them. The human augmenta on trend is confirmed by Gartner – a global research and advisory firm – predic ng that in just five years, 40% of companies will shift their focus from designing tools for humans to designing humans for augmentation technology. Generally speaking, human augmenta on is the use 20 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

of technology to enhance a person’s cogni ve and physical experiences. Physical augmenta on, once implanted in a human being, will enable the person to execute tasks that were impossible for him before, whereas cogni ve augmenta on will enhance a person’s ability to think and decide. It also has the poten al to make the world a lot more accessible. Human augmenta on, AI, virtual reality and other new technologies are expected to result in the number of people with disabili es being employed to triple by 2023.

Distributed Cloud Cloud storage and cloud computing trends are not new, but there’s one big advance that is going to hit the tech ecosystem this year – the distributed cloud system, which is expected to be a significant breakthrough in the cloud infrastructure.

We’ve always thought of the cloud as being loca on independent – it’s just “out there”. But the distributed cloud will change this, as it will allow data centres to be located anywhere, bringing them much closer to users’ devices. This will enable users to access large volumes of data more quickly. It is expected that in 2020, 75% of all enterprise-generated data will be processed regardless of the centralised data centre.

According to Gartner, this represents a significant shi from the centralised model of most public cloud services and will lead to a new era in cloud compu ng.

Hyper-Automa on One of the top tech trends in 2020 – hyper-automation – is about to elevate task automa on to the next level.

Hyper-automa on is the applica on of advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to automate processes, not just tasks, in ways that are significantly more impac ul compared to tradi onal automa on capabili es.

This trend first emerged a few years ago with Robo c Process Automa on

(RPA). However, hyper-automation not only validates automation, but also elevates it to show how the combina on of RPA and disrup ve technologies such as AI, machine learning, process mining, decision management, natural language processing and others can be used together in an end-to-end automa on solu on.

In 2020, hyper-automation is expected to support dynamic and complex business processes, including loan processing, insurance claims, warehouse dispatch and more.

Prac cal Blockchain Blockchain has been around for a few years, but its commercial deployment has been slow due to some technical and management issues in the technology.In 2020, blockchain is expected to rise above it all, reshaping industries by enabling trust, providing transparency and enabling value exchange across business ecosystems, potentially lowering costs, reducing transac on se lement mes and improving cash flow and the movement of materials.As complementary

technologies such as AI and the IoT begin to integrate, blockchain will see tremendous growth in the enterprise.

Gartner says that by 2023, blockchain-inspired technology will underlie the movement and tracking of $2 trillion of goods and services every year.Elabora ng further, blockchain is also expected to innovate iden ty management. Smart contracts will be programmed into the blockchain where events can trigger ac ons: for example, a payment being released when goods are received. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 21

decent liquidity. Many businesses and personal investors have moved towards futures trading in crypto as it allows them to invest in a different way than normal trading. It seems certain that this will con nue to grow in 2020 carrying on the increased exposure it saw during 2019.

Fintech and Blockchain

Crypto Trends For 2019 Reviewed

F

rom Bitcoin to Ethereum, many in the European business world will have heard of cryptocurrency. This entirely digital form of money has grown in popularity since being first developed and can now be used on a global scale. Whether you plan to invest in this sector or make cryptocurrency part of what you do, knowing the major trends in the market is vital. This will help you to make the correct decisions around crypto and have a decent understanding of how it all works. With 2019 now just a memory, it is the ideal me to review what happened in this sector during that year. What were the big trends to take note of?

Crypto trading robots A trend that hit the crypto market in 2019 was the rise in popularity of trading robots. If you have never come across these before, there are lots of places online to learn more about crypto trading with these handy pieces of so ware. Using computer programs to trade in this way is not a new thing and has been part of the forex market for a while. 2019 really saw it take off in the crypto trading space though as more businesses new to digital currency began to use it.

Using a trading robot helped businesses not experienced in cryptocurrency to 22 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

trade successfully and reduced the amount of me they spent on doing so. Once the robot has been set up with the parameters it will use, you can simply get on with your core work and let it handle inves ng for you.

Bitcoin had an awesome year Bitcoin is s ll the premier coin in the whole crypto sector and as such is used as a barometer on how the sector is faring. The trend around Bitcoin in 2019 was very posi ve overall and saw some traders make a ROI of 200% and over by the year’s end.

The upward trend around Bitcoin in 2019 saw it reach highs of $13,000 at one point and it had a great year overall. This was par cularly pleasing for BTC investors as 2018 had not been as good in general. The return to form in 2019 of Bitcoin was a major story .

A move toward futures trading Although the futures market in crypto started in 2017, it was 2019 which saw it emerge as a trend in the sector. That was down to the market itself experiencing large growth in the last 12 months and the major exchange pla orms allowing futures to be traded. Some, for example, even offered futures on Altcoins which had

Another trend in 2019 for crypto saw the Blockchain technology that underpins it gain major attention.

Many financial ins tu ons realised how useful the secure DLT tech used in Blockchain could be for them and started to look at how they could integrate it into their services. This led to the FinTech sector seeing major growth in 2019 as more companies developed systems which used Blockchain to offer secure transac ons.

Be er educa on around crypto Last year also saw a trend towards better education around crypto in the mainstream. This allowed people interested in it to learn more and also brought it to the a en on of the general public. The mainstream media exposure was significant in 2019 and helped crypto gain more followers.

It also allowed it to build up its reputa on and sense of authen city as the year went on. From more seminars and events around the sector to more informa on on how crypto can be used in daily life, the trend for digital currency to go more mainstream in 2019 was a big one.

2019 was an epic year for digital currency As the above indicates, 2019 really was a great year for cryptocurrency and there were some major trends to enjoy. Now that 2020 is underway, it will be interes ng to see what happens in this sector in the coming 12 months and how it will change things.

It therefore makes sense for any European business that is looking to invest in crypto or make it part of their services to keep an eye on how things develop.

B2B Marketing Expo Returns to London Excel

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he B2B Marke ng Expo returns once again, bringing you the very latest innovations, technologies and marke ng strategies to London’s ExCeL on the 25th & 26th of March!

Under the new ownership of Roar Techmedia, the B2B Marke ng Expo and Marke ng Technology Expo will be bigger than ever in 2020, as we provide you with the latest in the world of marke ng and martech all under one roof.

Industry-leading experts from the likes of VanillaSoft, Cognism, Adzooma, and Lead Forensics will be on hand to enlighten visitors with the very best marke ng guidance available; while an array of the industry’s biggest brands and most innova ve suppliers will be showcasing the soluons shaping the future of marke ng!

The B2B Marke ng Expo will introduce a plethora of masterclasses.

This will allow you the opportunity to apply the latest marke ng solu ons to real-world business scenarios, enabling you to improve your marketing abili es. These fully-interac ve

sessions will look at the future of specific marke ng trends, how we can prepare for them, and even work on them at the show! This way you can benefit from free consulta ons and demonstra ons to provide your marke ng team with that crucial competi ve edge.

Join thousands of targeted Marketing Professionals as you engage with the industry’s leading experts and enhance your own professional development. You will also be provided the opportunity of coming face-to-face with Europe’s leading exhibitors! This means that you will be presented with hands-on experience of their latest technology!

Furthermore, in 2020 we will be bringing you a vast array of the industry’s leading keynote speakers who will be detailing their experiences in their specialist sectors. These invaluable insights will enrich you with talks on how they progressed in their industry, the main challenges and solu ons that they have come across, and any innova ve techniques that they use in the world of both

marke ng and martech. In between these talks you can explore many different seminars which are specifically tailored to cover every aspect of the industry! Some of the largest companies in the world will be represented as we hear from professionals from Lead Forensics, Distract and Leadfeeder with many more headline keynote speakers yet to be announced for the show this March!

With such a wealth of knowledge all in one place, you will be able to take your business to the next level by applying your well-developed marke ng skills and build las ng connecons.

An invaluable part of the event is to meet and network with like-minded industry peers and share new ideas and approaches to marketing and advertising. You’ll meet a range of marketing and advertising professionals including Marke ng Directors, Chief Marke ng Officers, Heads of Marke ng and many more!

Make sure to register for your free cket now so that you don’t miss out on the conversa on! europeanbusinessmagazine.com 23

A NEWLY ORDERED WORLD

Treasures from the Napoleonic Era English translaঞon: Sabine Goodman

www.schmuckmuseum.de/en

The Sumptuous Sides of the Napoleonic Era An exhibition at Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum illuminates interrelationships between the artistic crafts and politics Through 1 March 2020 Dressing table set of the Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Baden (1789-1860) Silver, gold, enamel, glass Mar n-Guillaume Biennais, imperial court goldsmith Paris, 1811-1812 Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe

Cradle in the Empire style 1815-1818 Mahogany, metal/gold, silk taffeta Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe

[Copyright for all images:] Photo Thomas Goldschmidt

24 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

of honour Sabre o Paris, presump vely about 1805 Damascus steel blade blade, mother-of-pearl, gold Badisches Landes Landesmuseum Karlsruhe

A glimpse of the special exhibi on, showing a cradle in the Empire style on loan from the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe

T

here are many possible star ng points for delving into the subject of Napoleon. We can focus on his fate, his rapid ascent from Revolu onary general to Emperor of the French and his downfall only a few years later. We can highlight his achievements such as the Code civil, the first code of civil law in France, or concentrate on his campaigns, or on his legacy: born 250 years ago on the island of Corsica, Napoleon profoundly changed the poli cal geography of Europe. The current exhibi on at Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum spotlights his legacy – and also showcases the jewellery and fashion created during his era. Depicted here, a few of the exhibits will give you an impression.

One of the first exhibits on a tour through the exhibi on is a very unusual object for the Jewellery Museum

due to its size: a cradle, which stands for the new era that started with Napoleon. But it is also directly related to his descendants, because this elegant cradle is presumed to have been created for one of the younger children of Napoleon’s adop ve daughter Stéphanie Napoléon and the Grand Duke Charles of Baden.

Through adop on, the niece of Napoleon’s first wife Joséphine Beauharnais had become Stéphanie Napoléon and thus a good catch, even for members of the tradi onal ruling dynasties. Hence the marriage in 1806 between the Hereditary Prince and future Grand Duke Charles of Baden and Stéphanie was contracted for poli cal reasons. When she was pregnant with her first child, the Grand Duke Charles Frederick of Baden commissioned the imperial court goldsmith in Paris in 1811 to cra “a

dressing table set, made partly of vermeil (gilt silver), partly of pure Rhine gold, for Her Imperial Highness the Hereditary Grand Duchess’s upcoming first postpartum period.” The exhibition at Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum shows several items from this sumptuous set, including lidded containers, a candelabrum, a cassole e (burner) for vaporising perfume, as well as very prac cal items like a toothbrush and a manicure set.

A superbly cra ed sabre of honour with matching scabbard was presumptively a gift by the Emperor Napoleon I to his future son-inlaw and Hereditary Prince on the occasion of his engagement with Stéphanie. The hilt is enhanced with mother-of-pearl, and tapers into an eagle’s head. The sabre also features the Margraviate of Baden’s coat of arms. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 25

Bitcoin in 2019 An overview and analysist – What is happening in the Bitcoin industry?

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hat a year 2019 has been for the Bitcoin industry, with pricing more than doubling since the turn of the new year. In fact, Bitcoin prices have even outpaced the US tech stock returns (31%), which was previously deemed by Goldman Sachs to be the best asset class performance.

Bitcoin prices currently sit at $8,200, but reached as high as $12,902 back in June 2019. Despite this drop, the Bitcoin industry is not done yet, as experts expect the value to hit new highs by the end of the year, with under a month to go un l 2020. As a result, you would have to look long and hard to find an asset class with a be er 2019 performance than Bitcoin, with is only a testament to the cryptocurrency’s immense last 12-months.

How does Bitcoin rank against other asset classes in the year of 2019. Gold is said to be up 17% since the end of 2018, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned 21%. The US Treasury bond is opera ng at just 1.6%. But what of Bitcoin? The cryptocurrency has seen increases of a whopping 114% throughout 2019 alone, with any clever investors who bought on December 31, 2018 having doubled their money in under a year. Many of Wall Street dismissed and cri cised Bitcoin for its infancy and lack of underlying values, but the price increases are now silencing these cri cs.

What will the end of the year bring for Bitcoin?

Historically, November and December have been prime times for big market moves, one way or the other. For example, November 2018 brought with it a halved Bitcoin price from $6,000 down to just $3,000.

26 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Compare this to November 2017 when prices shot up to an impressive $20,000. Even if you take a look back at the cryptocurrency’s infancy in 2013, the price climbed 500% from $200 to $1,000 between November and December. As a result, any Bitcoin trader in the know is expec ng something to happen towards the tail end of this year, even if they find it difficult to explain exactly why this happens so consistently. The Bitcoin price dropped 6% in the first half of November 2019, while some have predicted tough mes ahead for the cryptocurrency. Watch this space.

2019 vs 2018 – Loyalty wins While from an outward perspec ve, 2018 was an absolute disaster for Bitcoin, it was anything but for those with a bit of knowledge in the cryptocurrency. Experts in Bitcoin already knew that a 2018 winter crash was to be expected and therefore did not view the inevitable event as something to run away from. Instead, they leapt at the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. For those clever people who waited for Bitcoin to reach its lowest value, they are now enjoying an incredible 346% ROI on the vast majority of coins. While many were convinced that the 2018 crash labelled Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a failure, a li le pa ence would in fact result in major pay-outs. Once the inexperienced dri ed away from Bitcoin towards the end of the year, the experts rode the volatility and took advantages of the growth into the new year. The rises seen in 2019 prove that their faith in Bitcoin was well-placed.

Margin trading 2019 also brought with it the introduction of margin trading to the Bitcoin world, with multiple large exchanges launching this. Margin trading is a popular and well-known feature within the big world of trade, but a rather new concept to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It essentially allows the more experience traders to borrow money from the exchange to fund a trade, before repaying that sum once the trade is complete. The exchange would welcome back the money it loaned to the trader, as well as an extra commission, while the trader would see far improved profit margins due to the increased trade

value. This essen ally leverages trading to the traders themselves, allowing them to double, triple, or quadruple their profits, while injec ng more money into the exchange simultaneously.

What is the forecast for the end of the 2019 Bitcoin year?

Where is Bitcoin expected to be as we roll into 2020? Qiao Wang, Messari’s head of product, claims that a poll conducted by himself revealed an average expected 2019 forecast of $13,252. This would represent a very healthy 2019 12-month return for investors.

What does the future of Bitcoin have in store for investors?

Business Wire have reported that the Bitcoin technology market is predicted to grow 8.3% (CAGR) between 2019 and 2024, which is determined from transac on volume data. In 2018, the en re Bitcoin market was valued at around $275 million, with zero risk of infla on. Coindesk add that some industry experts believe that the Bitcoin industry could be in for another rally in the near future, ci ng the Trump/America trade war with China as a poten al catalyst behind this boost.

Some expect 2020 to be the year of digital currencies, with a number of strong global economies tipped to

consider their own versions. This list could include the likes of the EU, the US, China, Japan, Australia, and more.

China has already developed its own cryptocurrency in order to combat Libra, and others could soon follow to challenge the Chinese. 2020 could just be the year that the major players make their own crypto moves on the world stage, star ng with the economic superpower that is China and rippling throughout the globe. With this, Bitcoin could well sore to an all- me high.

What a year 2019 was for Bitcoin, and if 2020 can bring anywhere near the same level of success, investors will be star ng the new decade o in the best possible way. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 27

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The World Economic Forum Turns 50:

What to Expect During the 2020 Davos Celebration Meeting

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eading into the final weeks of not only the year, but the decade, is perhaps a me where many reflect on the state of the world from a global perspec ve, and what has, and hasn’t, been achieved as a global society.

Rather aptly, the organisa on built with exactly this in mind will be reaching an impressive milestone early in the new year, when the World Economic Forum (WEF) will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its Annual Meeting in January.

Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and execu ve chairman of the WEF, once said that it was his childhood during World War II that inspired him

to build an organisa on that would make the world a be er place. And this is exactly what he did.

Today, the World Economic Forum represents an eort to bring together global leaders and influencers to address problems that go beyond na onal borders.

The WEF first came to Davos in 1971. The snowy, remote town in the Swiss Alps was first chosen as a loca on so that par cipants would feel relaxed enough to speak frankly, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation. Back then, the event was known as the European Management Symposium (EMS) and lasted two weeks.

Since the very first meeting, Klaus Schwab championed the idea that businesses should serve all stakeholders – customers, employees, communi es and shareholders. So he asked business leaders from Europe to come together and discuss how they were compe ng in a global marketplace, particularly against American companies. But the overall vision of the founder was deeper. Poli cal events influenced the processes, and in 1973 the Forum expanded its focus from solely management, to economic and social issues. The following year, in 1974, poli cal leaders were invited to join the Forum for the first me, and finally, in 1987, the EMS changed its europeanbusinessmagazine.com 29

name to the World Economic Forum and established a platform for dialogue between countries globally.

In 2015, the Forum was formally recognised as an interna onal organisaon. Officially, the next long-term aim of the WEF is to become a pla orm where both public and private coopera on can take place.

O en referred to as the “Magic Meeting Place”, Davos is known for its ability to get business and poli cal leaders to open up and find solu ons, and has had many notable successes.

In 1988, Greece and Turkey were on the brink of the war, but managed to sign a no-war agreement – also known as the “Davos Declara on”.

In 1989, North and South Korea held their first ministerial-level mee ngs here. In 2018, the Greek and Macedonian prime ministers met face to face for the first me in seven years, paving the way that led to the end of a 27-year dispute over Macedonia’s name.

Over the years, Davos has joined together many leaders: former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 30 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Israel’s President Shimon Peres, French Premier Raymond Barre, South Africa’s Frederik Willem de Klerk, Nelson Mandela and others.

In 2019, more than 3,000 participants came together for more than 600 hours of events, sessions and parties, also attracting celebrities such as Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean, in addi on to poli cal powers including Angela Merkel, Sebas an Kurz, presidents of Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, as well as prime ministers of Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and Vietnam. The UN chief Antonio Guterres, heads of the UN agencies for trade, labour, refugees and human rights, and the heads of the World Bank, the Interna onal Monetary Fund and NATO were also present.

However, although the Annual Meeting brings together such an impressive number of poli cians, business leaders and academics, the real ac on in Davos is known to happen outside of the conference. Rich Stromack, a

venture capitalist who started a ending the WEF more than 10 years ago, noted that “Those people are coming here because they can have mee ngs with maybe 50 potential clients or investors in the space of three days, which would take them 10 years to do outside of this.”

Today, the WEF is an invite-only event, although even those with an invite might not be able to afford the cost of admission. Most badges require par cipants to be an official member of the Forum, which costs between $60,000 and $600,000, plus an addi onal fee of more than $27,000 per person to get into the conference. Top members also get access to private sessions with their industry peers and can enjoy an individually dedicated car with a chauffeur.

However, non-business par cipants, young world leaders, some media, heads of state and ministers from more than 70 countries do not have to pay to par cipate in the WEF. There are also some specific scholarships

available to help academics attend the event.

In 2020, prime ministers, presidents, top CEOs and social entrepreneurs will come together for the celebra on in Davos once more.

The exact guest list of next year’s mee ng is not yet known, with more details expected to be revealed as the event gets closer. However, speculaon regarding the a endees already abounds, particularly with regards whether the US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Pu n will be par cipa ng in this anniversary event.

Among global business leaders, Michael Dell of Dell, James Dimon of JP Morgan, Deloi e’s Punit Renjen, Ginni Rome y from IBM, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Rajiv Suri from Nokia and Axel Weber from UBS are expected to par cipate in the Annual Mee ng.

Bearing in mind the names in a endance, there are many police officers in Davos during the WEF Annual Meeting. Soldiers and snipers can be seen patrolling the streets, security checks take place throughout the town, and the Swiss federal government has made provision for the deployment of up to 5,000 armed forces personnel to keep the high profile a endees safe and secure.

The bill for security services is also an impressive CHF 9 million Swiss francs each year. The Swiss government jus fies these high costs, saying that the WEF is “an excep onal event for Switzerland as it provides a unique opportunity to cul vate relaons with a great many leading figures in a special se ng.”

The World Economic Forum has already announced the theme and details for its 50th Annual Mee ng.

The Mee ng’s theme will be “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”, and it will aim to give concrete meaning to “stakeholder capitalism”, assist governments and interna onal ins tu ons in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance.

Professor Klaus Schwab commented on the upcoming Forum’s theme, saying that, “People are revolting against the economic ‘elites’ they believe have betrayed them, and our efforts to keep global warming limited to 1.5°C are falling dangerously short. With the world at such cri cal crossroads, this year we must develop a ‘Davos Manifesto 2020’ to reimagine the purpose and scorecards for companies and governments. It is what the World Economic Forum was founded for 50 years ago, and it is what we want to contribute to for the next 50 years.”

The program of the Mee ng will priori ze six key areas: ecology, economy, technology, society, geopoli cs and industry.

The ecology segment will focus on how to mobilise businesses to respond to the risks of climate change and ensure that measures to protect biodiversity reach forest floors and ocean beds. The economy focus will be mainly on how to remove the long-term debt burden and keep the world’s economies working at a pace that allows higher inclusion, while the technology segment will focus on how to create a global consensus on deployment of “Fourth Industrial Revolu on” technologies and avoid a “technology war”. The society segment will focus on how to reskill and upskill a billion people in the next decade, while the geopolitics segment will talk about how the “spirit of Davos” can create bridges to resolve conflicts in global hotspots.

Finally, the industry-related sessions will focus on how to help businesses create the models necessary to drive enterprise in the Fourth Industrial Revolu on, and how to navigate an enterprise in a world exposed to political tensions and driven by exponential technological change, as well as increasing expectations from all stakeholders.

Elaborating further, a WEF spokesperson said that the big message at the 2020 Mee ng will be renewing stakeholder capitalism: “This year represents a real tipping point when it has become obvious that ‘business as usual’ capitalism is no longer fit for the purpose. We need more investment in skills and green growth to li producvity, and hence the business performance. There need not be a trade-off between long-term growth through sustainability and inclusiveness and short-term economic performance.”

The 50th Anniversary Meeting will be one of the most sustainable interna onal summits ever held. Back in 2018 it was awarded the ISO 20121 standard for sustainable events, and it is fully carbon neutral through reducing, calcula ng and offse ng event-related emissions.

The event will use only locally-sourced food suppliers, introduce alterna ve sources of protein to reduce meat consump on, source 100% renewable electricity, introduce more electric vehicles and reduce or eliminate the use of such materials that cannot be easily recycled or re-used, such as carpets.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 31

Big Data and the Financial Industry: Where Does It Go From Here?

Data rules the world. And that isn’t an overly dramatic statement – it’s a simple matter of fact.

G

oogle processes more than 40,000 search queries per second, Facebook users send about 31 million messages and watch 2.8 million videos a minute, and the New York Stock Exchange alone writes more than one terabyte of informa on per day.

David Richards, CEO, President, and co-founder of WANdisco, a so ware company that specialises in the area of distributed compu ng, highlighted that “We create more data every 20 minutes than is currently held by the Library of Congress”, whilst according to the Interna onal Data Corpora on (IDC), by 2020 the digital universe

32 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

– the data we create and copy annually – will reach 44 ze abytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes. Furthermore, they es mate that worldwide revenues for Big Data and business analy cs will surpass $260 billion in 2022, compared to $130.1 billion in 2016.

In some ways it’s perhaps not a surprise. Over the past years, many different industries have been adopting the use of Big Data: healthcare, marke ng, technology and financial services, to name just a few. But the banking industry in particular has been notably present in the adop on of Big Data, and is set to be one of the

top five biggest drivers of this con nued growth.

Discussing the use of data within financial services, FinTech specialist Joris Lochy noted that, “As the financial services sector is probably the most data-intensive sector in the global economy, the impact of Big Data on the sector is hard to overes mate.”

But today, the financial industry is witnessing “the Big Data flood” – a trend that started a few years ago, and is s ll seeing numbers consistently increasing. Essen ally, it means that the amount of data generated

each second is growing at a phenomenal rate, and a GDC prognosis es mates that by 2020 the growth per second will reach 700%.

This specific trend can be described with “3Vs”, as explained by Jennifer Trelewicz, chief business officer of blockchain platform Credits (CS): “When we consider the 3Vs of Big Data – volume, velocity, and variety – it is hard to think of many sectors whose requirements fit nicely into the guidelines.”

But the finance industry is the excepon that proves the rule.

Let’s start with variety: banks and other financial institutions have to deal with various types of data every day – transaction details, credit scores, risk assessment reports, etc.

Furthermore, they produce extremely high volumes of data, for example, JPMorgan Chase, China Construc on Bank Corpora on, BNP Paribas and other serious players in this field generate terabytes of data daily. Being able to process such volumes of data means gaining a serious compe ve advantage over the rest of the financial ins tu ons.

Then there’s velocity. Generally speaking, storing and processing Big Data in the order of 105 transac ons per second or more is considered a normal speed. Financial markets, however, can generate data at these speeds with no problem at all. In fact, today, handling more than 1,000 transacons per minute is not unusual.

However, you also have to consider that these 3Vs would be absolutely useless without one more “V” – value.

In the financial industry, value corresponds to applying the results of Big Data analysis in real- me and making business decisions based on that informa on and analysis. Think customer segmenta on based on individual customer profiles, cross-selling and up-selling, customer service delivery improvements based on customer feedback, discovering specific spending pa erns, making customised offerings, risk assessment, iden fying the main channels where a customer transacts their credit or debit card payments and ATM withdrawals, fraud management, and preven on.

Looking at that last point as an example: according to ExeisCounseil, thanks to the Big Data – which was used to create analysis models for fraud management and prevention – Visa recorded $2 billion in annual savings in 2011. However, Hassan Mohamed, financial opera ons and credit management analyst in the EU markets, says that, “Not all Big Data will provide sophisticated insights with value. Therefore, industry leaders must ensure inves ng in their own data will be profitable and is aligned to their business capabili es, people skills, and corporate vision.”

So what does that mean for the future – if the finance industry is already one of the world’s most data-driven sectors, where do we go from here? Well,

experts in the industry say that we’ve seen nothing yet.

David Gledhill, group chief informaon officer at DBS Bank noted that so far “We have only just scratched the surface. Over 98% of the data analy cs world has yet to be explored.

The next step is to scale up the use of analy cs.”

A report on the future of digital banking by KPMG says that over the next decade we will see more changes in the financial industry – and par cularly in banking – than we’ve witnessed in the past 100 years. According to KPMG, by 2030, data will fundamentally transform the nature of financial services and most sectors of the world’s economy, as it will be at the heart of how banks will deliver value to customers.

Perhaps it is hard to imagine right now, but financial institutions will use Big Data to build a 360-degree view of their customers, not only for compliance with regula ons but to increase the value of services they offer. It is predicted that in ten years, traditional boundaries within the financial services industry will disappear, with a move towards “pla ormica on” – where banks allow customers to choose services personalised for their needs from a range of providers.

The future relies heavily on Big Data.

This also means that financial companies and ins tu ons need professionals that can work with it. An EY study, which focused on the future of finance, revealed that 53% of respondents agreed that Big Data and advanced analy cs will be the most necessary financial skills five years from now.

Financial institutions around the world also know that the sector has been recrui ng and hiring data sciensts at rapid speed in recent years. As a result, new roles – such as the financial data scien st – have emerged.

No doubt: the financial industry is taking advantage of technology trends, and it looks like financial services will be seamlessly integrated into our lives in the future, helping financial companies understand us like never before. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 33

Big Data How Big is it?

Data rules the world. And that isn’t an overly dramatic statement – it’s a simple matter of fact.

G

oogle processes more than 40,000 search queries per second, Facebook users send about 31 million messages and watch 2.8 million videos a minute, and the New York Stock Exchange alone writes more than one terabyte of informa on per day.

David Richards, CEO, President, and co-founder of WANdisco, a software company that specialises in the area of distributed compu ng, highlighted that “We create more data every 20 minutes than is currently held by the Library of Congress”, whilst according to the Interna onal Data Corpora on (IDC), by

34 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

2020 the digital universe – the data we create and copy annually – will reach 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes. Furthermore, they estimate that worldwide revenues for Big Data and business analy cs will surpass $260 billion in 2022, compared to $130.1 billion in 2016.

In some ways it’s perhaps not a surprise. Over the past years, many different industries have been adopting the use of Big Data: healthcare, marke ng, technology and financial services, to name just a few. But the banking industry in particular has been notably present in the adopon of Big Data, and is set to be one

of the top five biggest drivers of this con nued growth.

Discussing the use of data within financial services, FinTech specialist Joris Lochy noted that, “As the financial services sector is probably the most data-intensive sector in the global economy, the impact of Big Data on the sector is hard to overes mate.”

But today, the financial industry is witnessing “the Big Data flood” – a trend that started a few years ago, and is s ll seeing numbers consistently increasing. Essen ally, it means that the amount of data generated

each second is growing at a phenomenal rate, and a GDC prognosis es mates that by 2020 the growth per second will reach 700%.

This specific trend can be described with “3Vs”, as explained by Jennifer Trelewicz, chief business officer of blockchain platform Credits (CS): “When we consider the 3Vs of Big Data – volume, velocity, and variety – it is hard to think of many sectors whose requirements fit nicely into the guidelines.”

But the finance industry is the excepon that proves the rule.

Let’s start with variety: banks and other financial ins tu ons have to deal with various types of data every day – transaction details, credit scores, risk assessment reports,

etc. Furthermore, they produce extremely high volumes of data, for example, JPMorgan Chase, China Construc on Bank Corpora on, BNP Paribas and other serious players in this field generate terabytes of data daily. Being able to process such volumes of data means gaining a serious compe ve advantage over the rest of the financial ins tu ons.

Then there’s velocity. Generally speaking, storing and processing Big Data in the order of 105 transac ons per second or more is considered a normal speed. Financial markets, however, can generate data at these speeds with no problem at all. In fact, today, handling more than 1,000 transacons per minute is not unusual.

However, you also have to consider that these 3Vs would be absolutely useless without one more “V” – value. In the financial industry, value corresponds to applying the results of Big Data analysis in real- me and making business decisions based on that informa on and analysis. Think customer segmentation based on individual customer profiles, cross-selling and up-selling, customer service delivery improvements based on customer feedback, discovering specific spending patterns, making customised offerings, risk assessment, iden fying the main channels where a customer transacts their credit or debit card payments and ATM withdrawals, fraud management, and preven on.

Looking at that last point as an example: according to ExeisCounseil, thanks to the Big Data – which was used to create analysis models for fraud management and preven on – Visa recorded $2 billion in annual savings in 2011. However, Hassan Mohamed, financial opera ons and credit management analyst in the EU markets, says that, “Not all Big Data will provide sophisticated insights with value. Therefore, industry leaders must ensure investing in their own data will be profitable and is aligned to their business capabili es, people skills, and corporate vision.”

So what does that mean for the future – if the finance industry is already one of the world’s most datadriven sectors, where do we go from

here? Well, experts in the industry say that we’ve seen nothing yet.

David Gledhill, group chief informaon officer at DBS Bank noted that so far “We have only just scratched the surface. Over 98% of the data analy cs world has yet to be explored.

The next step is to scale up the use of analy cs.”

A report on the future of digital banking by KPMG says that over the next decade we will see more changes in the financial industry – and particularly in banking – than we’ve witnessed in the past 100 years. According to KPMG, by 2030, data will fundamentally transform the nature of financial services and most sectors of the world’s economy, as it will be at the heart of how banks will deliver value to customers.

Perhaps it is hard to imagine right now, but financial institutions will use Big Data to build a 360-degree view of their customers, not only for compliance with regula ons but to increase the value of services they offer. It is predicted that in ten years, traditional boundaries within the financial services industry will disappear, with a move towards “platformication” – where banks allow customers to choose services personalised for their needs from a range of providers.

The future relies heavily on Big Data.

This also means that financial companies and ins tu ons need professionals that can work with it. An EY study, which focused on the future of finance, revealed that 53% of respondents agreed that Big Data and advanced analy cs will be the most necessary financial skills five years from now.

Financial institutions around the world also know that the sector has been recrui ng and hiring data sciensts at rapid speed in recent years. As a result, new roles – such as the financial data scien st – have emerged.

No doubt: the financial industry is taking advantage of technology trends, and it looks like financial services will be seamlessly integrated into our lives in the future, helping financial companies understand us like never before. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 35

HOW ADVERTISING GOT SO INTIMATE

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hanks to today’s world of social media and technology at your fingertips, marketers are able to use tremendous amounts of data to produce personalised content to target poten al buyers.

Sometimes, that content has go so hyper-individualised that people start asking the question: whether facebook is listening to them and why are digital ads star ng to feel so psychic?”, Is it an urban legend ?More and more people have no ced that, following a private conversation they’ve had with someone about a specific product, place or subject, they will start to receive ads for that very same thing, even though they never searched for it online. European Business finds out.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – commented on the endless debate, stating: “We don’t look at your messages, we don’t listen in on your microphone, doing so would be super problema c for a lot of different reasons. But I recognise you’re not gonna really believe me.”

And he’s right: many people are convinced that Facebook isn’t telling the truth, and believe that these ads keep appearing for a reason. This belief first dates back to May 2014, when Facebook added a new feature to its smartphone app allowing it to iden fy the music playing around you, and use that informa on for your Facebook status update. To do so, users had to give Facebook access to their phone’s microphone. Although the new feature was not created in order to listen to our conversa ons, the idea that it does, started to circulate rather quickly.

36 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

As a response to the rumours, Facebook issued a statement in June 2016 with the to-the-point headline: “Facebook Does Not Use Your Phone’s Microphone for Ads or News Feed Stories”.

Elaborating further, it stated that, “Some recent ar cles have suggested that we must be listening to people’s conversa ons in order to show them relevant ads. This is not true. We show ads based on people’s interests and other profile informa on – not what you’re talking out loud about.”

However, the New York Times responded with the informa on that there is actually a programme that may be behind it all. And it turns out this programme is not only legal, but the amount of grey area surrounding the concept means that we really don’t know when someone – or something – might be listening to our phones.

The programme is called “Alphonso”, and it uses automated content

recogni on technology, which enables certain signals in television ads to be heard and recognised, in order to see what you’re currently watching.

Once collected, this data is sold for adver sing and marke ng purposes.

According to the New York Times, by “iden fying audio signals in TV ads and shows, some mes even matching that informa on with the places people visit and the movies they see, the information can then be used to target ads more precisely and to try to analyse things like which ads prompted a person to go to a car dealership.”

The so ware can also detect sounds even when a phone is in a pocket, so long as the apps are running in the background.

The biggest contra-argument so far is that wiretapping users would not only be illegal, but it would also require storing unrealistically large amounts of data, as well as so ware

sophis cated enough to analyse the ambigui es of human language and pick out the valuable informa on.

David Soberman, professor of marketing at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School, commented on this argument by explaining that we are not being eavesdropped on, and that the whole process is far more advanced: “I think what happens is people don’t realise that their clickstream path is actually extremely informa ve of the thought processes that are going on in your mind. Even if you don’t Google something or speak about something, from your thought processes, they can sort of infer what’s on your mind, what’s your state of mind, what you’re thinking about.”

Furthermore, this kind of informa on is sourced from masses of people who all have similar habits, which helps to figure out what we might like next.

John Pracejus, director of the school of retailing at the University of Alberta, also noted that “They know such a scary amount about you that they’re able to guess the topics that you’re thinking about, even without listening in on your verbal conversa ons. The algorithm is be er at knowing how things you think about are related than you are, in terms of your own thought process, because they have informa on across millions of people and you only have access to your own experiences.”

However, even if Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other apps aren’t listening to us without our permission, that doesn’t mean they aren’t using several tools to figure out what will make us click.

The way Facebook determines what ads to show you is based around the informa on you provide by your online activity. It uses everything: age, location, interests, page likes, app use, data from the mobile websites you browse, purchase history … you name it.

It then profiles you into certain categories, which adver sers can use to target ads specifically to you on Facebook and Instagram.

Jim S ckley, a cybersecurity expert, explained that “Facebook and Instagram – they’re able to build a profile

on you based on what you do, so every me you click ‘like’, every me you click on an ad, the apps you install – even the things not directly related to Facebook s ll have partnerships, o en mes, with Facebook.”

In other words, Facebook doesn’t need to spy on your private conversa ons, because you hand over so much informa on anyway – star ng from where you live and who your friends are, and ending with your poli cal beliefs. And there’s more, as with a few key partnerships in place, Facebook can match data that is gathered through shopper loyalty programmes, to individual profiles. This way, it can further influence and track the ads you see.

The secret term behind it all is “Ar ficial Intelligence”.

Facebook’s AI division uses many different machine learning techniques, including the famous GBDT – gradient boosted decision trees, which is used for adver sing. GBDT is known for its ability to achieve state-ofart performance in various machine learning tasks due to its efficiency, accuracy and interpretability. Then there’s also Phrasee – an AI-powered tool that writes Facebook and Instagram ads for you, from absolute scratch. Those ads are designed to convert into clicks based on what’s worked in the past. What’s more,

Phrasee gets be er over me on its own, as it learns from each new ad.

Phil Lieberman, the tech industry veteran, noted that “The FB AI engine can determine intent from textual and visual material you provide. With intent, they can find products and services that you might be interested in.

This is all about ‘recommender systems’ similar to what Amazon offers, but FB has more informa on on an ongoing basis to determine what you might be interested in buying.”

Facebook isn’t the only one using AI in digital adver sing. Google, Amazon, eBay and other ad-tech giants have been using AI to op mise their adver sing offerings for years. The number of ways to ac vate and use AI is also growing.

As a result, hyper-individualised ads are able to read us more clearly than our friends, which o en makes us feel scared, because it makes us feel seen.

Speaking about the future, Michael Bjorn, head of research agenda and quality at Ericsson Consumer and IndustryLab, dotted all the i’s and crossed the t’s, by no ng that, “The spooky thing is that the more digital traces we leave, the be er these inferences will become and the more this uncannily correct adver sing will freak people out.”

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 37

Conscious Capitalism: Redefining the Purpose of Businesses

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mazon, Apple, Coca-Cola, Dell, Ford, Walmart, Bank of America, Ci Group, Goldman Sachs… these are just a few of the names from the list of 181 mul national companies and large financial firms whose CEOs have already expressed a fundamental commitment to all stakeholders, differing from the long-standing view that shareholder profit is the sole purpose of corpora ons.

Also known as “conscious capitalism”, stakeholder capitalism shi s corpora ons into refocusing on purpose, instead of profit. In theory, it underscores the importance of all of a company’s interdependent “stakeholders”: employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, community and the environment. And it’s been a hot topic for quite some me now. So hot, in fact, that the World Economic Forum (WEF) decided to focus on “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World” as part of its 50th anniversary celebra ons.

In January of the coming year, the Forum’s founder and executive 38 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

chairman Klaus Schwab, together with 3,000 notables from around the world, will discuss the evolving no on of “stakeholder capitalism”, aiming to help governments and institutions track their progress towards meeting the aims of the Paris Climate Agreement and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to join forces on the conten ous issues that technology and trade governance present.

As Schwab has explained, “People are revol ng against the economic ‘elites’ they believe have betrayed them, and our efforts to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius are falling dangerously short.” And so, he hopes that the World Economic Forum 2020 will be the pla orm to re-imagine the purposes of governments and the metrics by which their performance should be judged.

The World Economic Forum in Davos has centred many of its discussions on how businesses could help solve global problems for many years now. Back in January 2009, in the very depths of the global financial

meltdown, speaker after speaker emphasised that we were in the middle of a transforma on, no ng that the days of “mercenary capitalism” were over and that we have now entered the age of sustainable “stakeholder-based capitalism”.

What this means is that today there is too much short-term thinking in business, and companies need to take into considera on the long-term impact of their plans on the future, as well as think about the ecosystem and the environment in which they operate.

Klaus Schwab is more than familiar with the stakeholder theory: he developed it almost 50 years ago, clearly recognising that businesses need to be aware of more than just maximising profits; that they are stakeholders in something greater than their bo om line: they are partners in the future.

He believes that the solution to today’s problems relies on businesses roundly rejec ng the Council of Ins tu onal Investors’ unrealis c posi on that: “it is government, not companies, that should shoulder

the responsibility of defining and addressing societal objec ves.”

But Schwab is certain: “Big issues in the world cannot be solved by governments alone.” He also adds that, “Businesses are not only responsible to their shareholders, but also to the wider array of ‘stakeholders’ – employees, governments, customers, and others that it impacts.”

The founder and execu ve chairman of the WEF also knows how businesses and governments can put an end to the economic short-termism and focus on goals and scorecards that look at sustainability and well-being.

According to him, we must start with rethinking GDP as our key performance indicator in economic policymaking. Today’s economies are expected to serve an en rely different purpose than they did 75 years ago: it’s now all about maximising well-being and sustainability, and no longer about mobilising war me produc on. In which case we should be embracing independent tracking tools for assessing progress under the Paris agreement and the SDGs. And finally, we must implement stakeholder capitalism by introducing an environmental, social and governance scorecard for businesses.

Schwab further noted that, “Fears of a global recession, the US-China trade war, the fallout of the Brexit talks, and a dangerous debt overhang make this the most stressful economic juncture in a decade.

These issues must be discussed, and we should all hope that they can be resolved with minimal damage. But they should not deflect a en on from even more pressing long-term challenges: achieving the United Na ons Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, delivering on the Paris climate agreement over the next 30 years and reforming our global economic system to make it fit for the next 50 years and beyond.”

Faced with new social, poli cal and market pressures a er the financial crisis, even the CEOs of the largest companies in the world admit that capitalism has lost legitimacy and needs to be “saved from itself.”

Many chief executives, including Larry Fink from the Black Rock, the world’s largest asset manager, have begun calling on companies to be more responsible and to par cipate in a fight against climate change, to reduce income inequality and to improve public health.

The good news is that many businesses are moving in this direc on.

And what’s more, they will soon be able to rely on a common scorecard that is being developed by the International Business Council, a group chaired by the Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan. The effort is also supported by the Big Four accounting companies, and Schwab is confident that, “If enough stakeholders embrace the new scorecard, it could become a leading indicator for business performance globally.”

In the summer of 2019, 181 chief execu ves from the Business Roundtable – a lobbying organisa on that represents many of USA’s largest companies, including leaders of Apple, JPMorgan Chase, Pepsi and Walmart – got together to try and redefine the role of business in society. They stated “the purpose of a corpora on”, noting that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders. Instead declaring that they

must also invest in their employees, protect the environment and deal fairly and ethically with their suppliers.

The companies also vowed to “protect the environment by embracing sustainable prac ces across our businesses” and to “foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.”

As a WEF spokesperson said, “This year represents a real pping point when it has become obvious that ‘business as usual’ capitalism is no longer fit for the purpose. We need more investment in skills and green growth to li produc vity, and hence the business performance. There need not be a trade-off between long-term growth through sustainability and inclusiveness and shortterm economic performance.”

To build a new economic system that works for the many, and not just for the few, is undoubtedly the task for the 21st century. And it’s certainly a great thing that the CEOs, ac vists and poli cians from around the world are star ng to pave the way towards a more equitable, human and democra c economic system that recognises the role of business and corpora ons in crea ng value in ways that better benefit society. Their words ma er. However, in the end, it is their ac ons that will ma er the most. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 39

Think Big: Go Global

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aximised your customer base? Decreasing returns in your home country? Dreams of expanding your business and branching out? Going global can be a great way to speed up growth and capitalise on returns, and companies of all sizes are establishing opera ons

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in foreign markets to bolster their bo om line.

One of the most exci ng milestones in a company’s lifecycle is when it is ready to expand into new territory, and more and more UK based businesses are looking to develop overseas, hoping to mitigate the Brexit

risk and reap the rewards of an interna onal stage.

Stronger economic conditions, accessing more revenue, compe ng for new sales, investment opportuni es, diversifying, gaining competi ve advantage, reducing costs and recrui ng new talent are just a few

of the reasons that are driving businesses to look toward interna onal expansion. The world has become more connected and broadly-available technology enables businesses to reach interna onal markets faster than ever before, facilita ng expansion for ambi ous business leaders.

However, expanding into a new territory can be a culture shock and going global isn’t easy. It’s complex, it’s messy and there are numerous hurdles. Between establishing a fresh customer base, learning new laws and regula ons, finding trustworthy partners and trusted staff and becoming

familiar with the local customs, the road to becoming a global company is difficult to navigate.

However, organisations can overcome differences in geography, language, regula on and culture to forge and create a successful global business with the help of an expert ally like Globaliza on Partners. Globaliza on Partners can eliminate barriers to business and make it easy for companies to hire in more than 170 countries within days, without the need to set up costly international subsidiaries.

Expanding your team, product, and operations internationally is an exciting period, and going global should fuel your company’s growth, not slow it down. It is crucial to be one step ahead of your compe tors, capturing all the benefits of the firstmover advantage. However, in order to capture global marketshare, companies have to get people on the street in those countries as quickly as possible, so having a company like Globaliza on Partners take care of the logis cal landscape is indispensable.

The bar for successful globaliza on is continuously rising, and it is not enough anymore for globaliza on to merely be a business priority. A company like Globaliza on Partners can help you gain access quickly and easily by sor ng out the legal, regulatory and hiring logis cs of interna onal expansion, so you don’t have to.

Going global will always have its challenges, but you can be certain companies that have opened subsidiaries in other countries and navigated complex legal, tax and regulatory environments on their own in the past wish this solution had been available a long me ago. Globaliza on Partners deals with all the red tape of cross-border recruitment so business leaders can stay 100% focused on their role.

A er being in the doldrums the past few years, the global economy is set to pick up steam in 2020. The me is nigh for ambi ous businesses to look further afield to global expansion. h ps://www.globaliza on-partners. com/ europeanbusinessmagazine.com 41

European Business Magazine talks to

Nicole Sahin

CEO of Globalization Partners, about breaking down barriers to global hiring, facilitating organisational growth, building global teams and the importance of diversity and inclusion.

Nicole, could you tell us about the company you founded, Globaliza on Partners, and what the company does?

Globalization Partners facilitates global expansion in a totally new way.

Traditionally, when a high-growth company wanted to hire employees in another country, they would have to figure out numerous fundamentals, including country specific labour laws, how to run payroll and how to set up a company in that par cular country, amongst other procedures.

Instead of doing all that, once the company knows who they want to hire, Globaliza on Partners can put that employee on our payroll which eliminates the need for the client to set up their own en es around the globe. Globalization Partners gives clients the access to capture global market share. We have our own subsidiaries on the ground so we know the legal infrastructure underneath the business is compliant.

Global expansion is very lucrave and an end goal for many businesses, but it can also be very challenging hiring people in different countries when factoring in different tax, legal and cultural obliga ons. How has the model for global expansion changed in recent years, and has this added to or abated this complexity?

Global expansion opportunities for companies have changed thanks to our par cular business model, because legally the employees in the various countries are ours, but for all intents 42 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

and purposes they work for, and report to, the client. This changes the whole hiring and expansion landscape, allowing companies to employ quickly and easily. Coming into 2020, companies want to go global quicker than ever before and they want to expand into new markets more than ever before, but the world is a small place with regards to business. For example, if companies only focus on the US market, which represents 20% of global GDP, they would be leaving 80% of global opportunity behind. While governments are getting more restrictive and regulations are getting more complicated, businesses are increasingly mo vated to go global, and our pla orm enables companies to meet in the middle: to remain compliant, while moving at the speed at which they want.

Global business expansion comes with a variety of risks, but when you have the right partners and exper se in place, going global doesn’t have to be as arduous or costly as many companies find it to be. How does Globaliza on Partners, with its Global Expansion Platform, tackle and overcome this fundamental concern?

Globalization Partners makes the cost mostly predictable by eliminating all the additional work of setng up companies, hiring premises, etc., making expansion and growth less expensive in terms of cost, time and energy. This means that fundamentally, our clients just get what they really want – the talent.

Ul mately, the ability and ease with

which companies can capture global revenue and market share is so compelling, the expense almost becomes nominal. Our business model allows companies to focus on what they are good at and minimises the risk of getng it wrong.

The people on your payroll are employees who are paid in ways that are compliant with local laws. What are the most important factors for these employees, and what is most important to the companies they are working for?

What’s most important to the employees is that their pay is received on me, their benefits are well run and that they are treated with respect. From the clients’ perspec ve, local presence is invaluable. They also want to avoid the complexity of global expansion.

Globaliza on Partners li s the burden from the clients’ shoulders, allowing them to move quickly and hire global teams without complica on. It is difficult enough to find the right people and build a global team, so you don’t want anything to jeopardise that.

How do you handle benefits like healthcare and issues such as severance pay in other countries, whose laws may vary tremendously?

Globaliza on Partners is required to follow the law and we also follow the market norms for whatever country we are opera ng in. With regards to benefit plans, we have these set up for all of our clients. For example, in the UK we would have three levels of

benefit plans that a client can choose from. In terms of severance it comes down to what’s in the contract but it’s also very emo onal for everybody on both sides. Our local HR person on the ground will navigate a solu on that meets the needs of both pares, and our clients’ appreciate having someone that is aligned with their interests to navigate that solu on.

Globaliza on Partners is changing the way companies are doing business globally, and has been growing 10% month on month.

Is this due to the increased demand for going global or is there something unique in your approach that is driving this growth?

The business model is unique. There is no company with a product line that parallels ours. As we have our own en es on the ground all around the globe, we have built it with a really sound

legal team. The main thing is that most companies don’t even know that this business model exists yet, and I think the best is yet to come in terms of our growth. The alterna ve – to grow globally independently – is not that producve. It’s not produc ve for companies to figure out how to set up companies around the world if they don’t have to, as it’s not their core job func on and takes up so much of their me.

Globaliza on Partners has won numerous awards, including the Interna onal Award for Global Workforce Management Soluon Provider of the Year, the Associated Industries of Massachuse s 2019 Global Trade Award and has been named as one of the Top Places to Work by The Boston Globe. Was this your original vision for the business, and what have been the biggest influences on the journey?

Yes, this was my original inten on for the business. I knew that if I could figure out how to make the global legal platform work, making this a valid way for companies to expand internaonally, it would be a great business opportunity. It was equally important to me not to just have a high growth company but to prove you can do it while building a company that people love. We have a net promoter score of 33 and a 95% client sa sfac on rate. Globaliza on Partners has a very engaged team, a positive company culture and a wonderful team spirit that make it a joy to do business. I think that a company that goes for growth at all costs is shoo ng themselves in the foot. Our mission is to change the way the world does business, and our side mission is to prove that corporate life doesn’t have to be unpleasant. We work with people all over the globe so we understand their cultures and communi es, and that breaks down barriers between

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 43

people. It’s exci ng to be a key part of the trend of globalisa on and getng to know people across the globe.

We are going through huge poli cal and cultural changes in both Europe and the US right now, which will no doubt have an impact on business. How do these cultural changes and challenges get interpreted overseas, and how does Globaliza on Partners navigate and manage these differences?

There’s a big difference between people and governments around the globe. There is certainly more proteconism in different economies right now but global commerce has always been what unites countries and people across borders. From the earliest days with the Silk Road there were people travelling across borders and countries, and commerce was what triggered that. If we look forward to where we are now, people will continue to work together. The broad trend line is towards progress.

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While diversity and inclusion has been on the radar of forward-thinking organisa ons for years, in recent months the push for true inclusion has increased significantly. What advice would you give to other CEOs on building a diverse and inclusive leadership team?

My advice is to really focus on diversity and inclusion, and make it a daily part of your recruiting practice. It doesn’t happen unless you make it a priority. It’s important to be conscious of what the balance of a team looks like and to be cognisant about it. In terms of other types of inclusion, Globalization Partners just celebrates people for who they are. We take the approach of celebrating the places that everybody is from, and everything that everybody is, and being supportive of that. The Pride celebra ons for example have been really interes ng because in some countries that is s ll quite looked down upon, so people are s ll struggling with acceptance in their own countries. However, celebra ng people for who they are globally helps

to show that other things are possible. We can build a be er business by trea ng people with respect and making company culture important. Things are moving in a posi ve direc on.

More and more companies are realising that carrying out business on an interna onal scale is a great opportunity to improve overall growth and poten al.

With this in mind, and the subsequent increase in demand for Globaliza on Partners services, what can we expect from you in 2020?

Globalization Partners is planning to take over the world in 2020! We are growing quickly and bringing on about 100 new clients every quarter. We aim to triple the number of incoming clients and we are also setng up offices in London and throughout English speaking Europe and Asia.

We have just scratched the surface of the market, and you will be hearing about us a lot in the UK and Europe this year!

Powerful Passports in 2020

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etween 2011 and 2018, the number of ci zenship by investment programs (CIP) worldwide grew from two to twelve, and annual investments in CIP increased from US$43 million to US$3 billion in the same period. The interna onal demand for such programs is soaring, and the CIP industry has doubled since 2017, worth $5 billion today.

European ci zenship is par cularly attractive, offering free settlement and movement in any EU country, where 512 million people are based.

However, a second EU passport is expensive. With more choice today than ever before, subject to how much me and money you’re willing to spend, European Business Magazine looks at the newest op ons available to ensure full considera on and prepara on.

Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Portugal and Latvia are amongst the main CIP options available in Europe, with Cyprus topping the list, offering a CIP whose passport power increased during 2019, according to the latest Passport Index. Looking ahead, with demand continuously growing due to benefits such as global mobility,

flexibility and access to private clients, where are the new, most promising programs based in 2020?

Moldova launched its own CIP in 2018 and Montenegro is also home to a brand-new offering. Moldova, located in the north-eastern corner of the Balkan region of Europe, entered into an association agreement with the EU, and is aiming to become a candidate country for EU membership shortly. Its passport currently affords visa-free travel to 122 countries, including Europe, Russia and Malaysia.

Benefits include ci zenship for life, a low cost of living and no interview or residency requirements, and Moldova offers foreign companies and individuals an attractive climate in which to do business, ranking 47th out of 190 countries in the Doing Business 2019 classifica on. A minimum non-refundable contribution to the Public Investment Fund ranges from €100,000 for a single applicant to €155,000 for a family of five or more, making it the cheapest ci zenship in the EU, that simultaneously offers a fast, clear road to a valuable second ci zenship.

Alterna vely, located in south-eastern Europe, Montenegro is one to watch. It’s CIP opened last year, setng it alongside 13 other European countries. It offers high-net-worth investors substantial opportunities in a booming regional market, a powerful passport and visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Area.

Montenegro, a NATO member since 2017 and a future EU candidate country, is offering an exci ng, new program. Classified as one of the fastest growing Balkan economies by the World Bank, the economic growth rates in 2017 and 2018 were 4.7% and 4.9% respectively. This multinational and multilingual European community enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, beau ful scenery, and a low cost of living.

Poten al candidates donate €100,000 for development of poor communies and invest either €250,000 into development projects in northern and central Montenegro or €450,000 into projects in the capital Podgorica or along the coastline. In return for concrete investment in the development of the country, the CIP offers investors a Montenegrin passport, with all the advantages of residence and onward travel.

Ge ng a second passport could be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 45

Latitude’s Major Expansion Includes Montenegro’s Citizenship by Investment

Europe’s Newest Citizenship Programme

Mr. Major, please give us an introduc on to La tude and what you specialize in.

We are an investment migra on firm with an interna onal presence spread across 12 countries. Latitude combines innova ve solu ons with a global reach and a transparent approach to provide excep onal service to our private clients seeking to acquire alternave residency and/or ci zenship. We offer the top 20 investment migra on programmes available in the marketplace, ranging from North America to the Caribbean and across the pond to the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as con nental Europe and all the way down to the South Pacific.

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La tude also has a Government Advisory Team that has over 25 years of experience establishing some of the most successful residency and ci zenship programmes available today.

Our most recent mandate was with the Government of Anguilla, which was established to a ract high value residents to its beautiful shores in exchange for providing them a very compe ve tax regime.

What is mo va ng your clients who are seeking a second ci zenship or a residence abroad?

There are 7 key drivers that typically mo vate our clients to proceed with an applica on:

1. Mobility: Opens travel to countries previously restricted by me consuming visa applica on processes.

2. Security: Freedom of movement which provides a secure and truly permanent alterna ve place to go.

Effectively, a ‘Plan B’ insurance policy if ever needed.

3. Quality of Life: Be er quality of life, climate, public services, environment and personal security for the whole family.

4. Education: Graduating from a high-ranking school and learning key language skills are increasingly important as the basis for a successful career.

5. Business: Alternative residency and citizenship can open new markets for those who wish to set-up or relocate their business in a new market.

6. Re rement: Providing the possibility of re ring in a safe and desirable country.

7. Tax Planning: Global Ci zens with many residences around the world could orchestrate their lives to achieve a lower tax burden.

Are there any new ci zenship programmes being offered in Europe that would be of interest to our readers?

The latest Ci zenship-by-Investment Programme (CIP) is in Montenegro and we are expec ng it to be quite popular. It involves the purchase of real estate from €250,000 in the North of the country or €450,000 in the South and a government dona on of €100,000.

There are a few addi onal due diligence and processing fees, but the programme will be half the of cost of the Malta CIP and a quarter of the cost of the Cyprus CIP. As such, it is very a rac ve for clients looking for a reasonably priced CIP that provides a passport that will grow in value in the coming years, as Montenegro is expected to ascend to the EU in a few years’ me. And with this programme being limited to only 2,000 applicants, it is likely to be a very exclusive offering.

visa-free countries) and Malta (183 visa-free countries).

Montenegro also boasts one of the fastest growing real estate markets in Europe as it’s both a picturesque and a rac ve travel and living desna on. As the country is located in the Adria c Sea, Montenegro is also experiencing tremendous growth as a luxury yach ng des na on. It’s quickly becoming a mandatory stop on the Mediterranean yach ng circuit.

Lastly, Montenegro offer one of the most a rac ve tax systems in Europe.

They have a simple and straight forward flat rate of 9% for personal and corporate income tax.

How is La tude posi oned to assist clients with this programme?

We have just opened an office in the capital city of Podgorica, joining our network of over 12 offices across the globe. Our Montenegro office allows us to be er serve our clients and truly hand hold them through the en re applica on process. We

are actively vetting the available qualifying real estate developments to ensure they meet our clients’ high demands of their interna onal property investment por olios. We ensure that that the developer has a proven track-record, the property is high-quality, and there is a clear exit strategy a er the required five-year hold period.

Our local team has in-depth local knowledge of the country, which allows us to provide a convenient and personalized service, including post-approval services for clients who want to develop a stronger footprint i n the country through incorporation, banking or investing services.

Our office is a one-stop shop for our clients.

How do our readers learn more about this exci ng new ci zenship programme?

For more informa on, clients based in UK can contact our Jersey office +44 1534 281 118 or our local Montenegro office +382 20 33 15 93 or via email at info@la tudeworld.com.

What are the main a rac ons of the Montenegro CIP? While the country is not yet a member of the European Union, it began the process of accession in 2006 and is expected to join in 2025. This would certainly bolster the power of the passport. If EU membership was granted, citizens would have the same rights as any other EU citizen, such as the right of establishment in all the EU Member States.

Currently, the passport affords visafree travel to around 123 countries, but this would increase substan ally once the country officially joins the EU and likely be closer to Cyprus (173 europeanbusinessmagazine.com 47

WHY IOWA? Let’s Count the Reasons

By Debi Durham, Director, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority

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hile experts around the world speculate about the direc on of the global economy, we choose to focus on the facts here in the state of Iowa.

And thanks to our low cost of doing business, business-friendly regulatory environment and diverse mix of industries, the facts show that Iowa’s economy remains steady and stable as we head into 2020. As a result, Iowa con nues to be a great place to operate in the U.S. – and a great place to grow – for homegrown and interna onal corpora ons alike.

Don’t just take it from me. A steering commi ee of economic developers annually interview businesses in Iowa to keep our pulse on trends and needs. The resul ng report is called Iowa’s Business Expansion and Strategic Trends (BEST) and in 2018, 726 companies from across the state were interviewed.

My biggest takeaway from the BEST report is that we are doing a lot of

48 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

things right in Iowa. First and foremost, many of the businesses offering the primary products and services Iowa is known for are growing – 62 percent to be exact. An additional 5.8 percent reported an “emerging” primary product or service. These are clear and factual indica ons that we’re not slowing down.

Why is this happening? In Iowa, you’ll find an unwavering dedication to innova on, a strong commitment to collabora on and a keen understanding of the value of rela onships. State and local officials engage with business leaders to understand the business headwinds and opportuni es in our key industries so we can help enable their future success.

Moreover, we have plenty of room for businesses to grow and a high-quality, efficient workforce that is primed to help companies across industries innovate and excel. These strengths and unique a ributes have led many global businesses – BASF, Bayer, Barilla and DSM to name a few – to set up shop here in America’s Heartland, where we treat them like our own.

Sustainable Energy Iowa placed a strong focus on wind energy before it became trendy. It started with forward-thinking policy, was augmented by Iowa’s business-friendly approach and has succeeded due to an all-in, collective effort. In 2018, Iowa generated 34 percent of its electricity from wind.

It’s a major reason why companies like Google, Facebook and Microso have chosen Iowa for energy-intensive facili es. Bo om line, if low-cost, reliable, renewable energy is important to your company, Iowa is the loca on for your next expansion.

Most recently, various types of energy storage have been analyzed. Energy storage is appealing for a variety of reasons, including cost savings, resiliency poten al and grid stability. The state has developed a plan that outlines the first steps towards better understanding this new technology and how to best u lize energy storage in Iowa. By preparing now, Iowa will maintain its na onal role as an energy leader and be poised to capture the poten al economic benefits that accompany energy storage.

Booming Businesses According to the BEST report, Iowa’s biggest growth area is in the biosciences, with nearly 83 percent of companies interviewed reporting products and services that are increasing in demand. Of these companies, 26 have introduced new products in the last five years and 27 an cipate new products coming in the next two years.

This is not surprising. Iowa’s Governor has priori zed advancing Iowa’s bioscience industry, so much so, that the state has an economic development roadmap focused on some key aspects of the sector: vaccines and immunotherapies, precision and digital agriculture, biobased and medical devices. This strategy leverages our ample natural resources and a racve incen ves, such as America’s first Renewable Chemicals Produc on Tax Credit, which went into effect in 2016.

Par cipa ng companies can receive up to $1 million annually in tax benefits for producing renewable chemicals in

Iowa. Specifically, the program incenvizes the produc on of 30 high-value chemicals derived from biomass feedstocks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has called Iowa’s tax credit the “strongest” incen ve package for the global bio-based chemical industry.

The BEST report also revealed the following: • The information services, digital media and technology cluster trails right behind the biosciences, with 77 percent of companies interviewed repor ng they have growing or emerging offerings. In fact, 36 of these companies have introduced new products in the last five years, while 35 others plan to introduce a new product or service in the next two years.

• The agriculture and food produc on sector also reported sustained growth. This cluster, represen ng Iowa’s agrarian heritage, had 81 companies par cipa ng in the survey. Of those companies, nearly 76 percent reported growing or emerging products or services – 64 introducing products in the last five years and 61 planning to do so in the next two years.

While these industry clusters represent the highest reported product growth, companies in a variety of industries are booming across Iowa.

The state’s diverse industrial landscape also includes thriving companies in the areas of transporta on, insurance and finance; advanced manufacturing, health services, avionics and communica ons electronics, renewable energy and more.

Said simply: Whatever your business may be, we likely have an ecosystem in place for you in Iowa.

Room to Grow As business booms, expansion is inevitable. More than half of the companies interviewed for the BEST report plan to expand in the next three years, represen ng nearly $2 billion in investment and an es mated 4,424 new jobs.

Fortunately, there’s plenty of room in Iowa, both for growing companies to expand and new companies to plant their flags. If your company is considering building a facility in Iowa, our Cerfied Sites program makes the site-selec on process as simple as possible.

All due diligence has been performed on sites certified by the program, including environmental assessments, archaeological and historical inves ga ons, soil sampling, tle searches, infrastructure planning and more. In other words, Cer fied Sites take the guesswork out of the development processing, allowing companies to move toward construc on – and ul mately, opera on – more quickly.

Our transporta on and u li es infrastructure also provide for an easy transition and cost-efficient workflow. Major interstates and highways, more than 3,800 miles of railway tracks, 60 river barge terminals and international airports all serve businesses in Iowa, allowing them to transport goods in and out of the state efficiently. On top of that, the state’s industrial electricity rates are seven percent lower than the na onal average.

A World-Class Workforce As encouraging as these economic vital signs may be, our people – who blend intensive training with an even more intense, innate work ethic – are the driving force behind our success.

Wherever you look across the state, you’ll find a talent pool tailor-made to help your business.

In recent years, we’ve increased our focus on technical trade skills in our community colleges— where curriculum aligns with the needs of business.

For example, programs such as Iowa’s Industrial New Jobs Training Program, which is administered by the state’s 15 community colleges, helps ensure

the workforce is equipped to meet the advanced manufacturing industry’s evolving needs.

The program provides training funds financed through bonds sold by the colleges. Businesses divert 1.5 percent to three percent of withholding taxes generated by the new posions to re re the bonds. This means the training comes at essentially no cost to businesses, since withholding taxes would otherwise go to the state.

Furthermore, par cipa ng businesses may be eligible for up to 50 percent reimbursement of the reward amount for on-the-job training and a corporate tax credit if they increase their employment in Iowa by at least 10 percent.

In addi on to the Industrial New Jobs Training Program, we see companies throughout the state emphasizing skills development for their employees. In fact, more than 90 percent of the companies interviewed for the BEST report stated their investment in workforce training was increasing or stable.

While on-the-job training is vital, we understand that workforce development doesn’t just start there — access to a pipeline of well-prepared talent is a key considera on for every business. That’s why we’ve ramped up our STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) educa on across the state and have streamlined collabora on between business and educaonal leaders. And in our research-focused universi es, the next genera on of biomedical engineers, data analysts and other innovators are gaining the knowledge to compete in the global economy.

Please visit https://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com for more informa on about how Iowa can benefit you. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 49

Can Smart Cities Inspire The Creation of Smart Businesses

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t is difficult to imagine a world where businesses, and especially, the manufacturing industry, would need to get smarter. Chaplin has long demonstrated, in his iconic Modern Times film, that machines have come to replace manual labour. What would be the need for new smart technology when most of the hard work is already le to automated equipment?

The answer to that ques on lies in our understanding of smart tech, and more importantly, its environmental and economic benefits. Indeed, households have already developed a smart hub, which uses the Internet of Things and hyper-connec vity of all appliances and systems to create a safe and manageable environment for all. At home, smart tech serves mul ple purposes, not only saving costs but also maintaining 50 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

high independence levels among the popula on with limited mobility and handicapping diseases and condions. But automa on, even though it can be part of your smart household, remains confined to isolated tasks.

It’s only when smart tech is integrated into the whole organisa on of ci es that it has the most significant impact on the popula on. Knowledge, data, and processes are interconnected to support collec ve growth and shared goals. Can smart tech do the same for the manufacturing sector?

Reminder: What are smart ci es?

The increase of smart ci es in Europe is on the rise since up to 80% of Europeans live in towns and ci es. Indeed,

at its core, a smart city doesn’t only make the most of IoT integration, but it also implements smart tech in the purpose of developing funconal and sustainable services for its inhabitants. In the long term, there is no doubt that the push to increase smart cities is changing the future landscape of Europe. But, it can also drama cally help to reduce our global carbon footprint. Indeed, making informa on available via digital technologies enables infrastructure to innovate and op mise all the me.

As a result, reducing urban pollu on becomes a manageable goal.

What would the future of smart manufacture look like?

Ideally, smart manufacturing should imitate the core principles of smart ci es. In other words, IoT and innovative technology need to come together to create a sustainable manufacturing process. In essence, manufacturing equipment and process would be able to capture and transfer data smoothly and safely, not

only to meet its produc on objec ves but also to develop a comprehensive green structure. In theory, smart manufacturing appears both feasible and accessible. In prac ce, however, there are several obstacles to clear out.

Unique requirements and smart technology The theory of an intelligent structure that expands to a large industrial scale relies on standardised requirements and objec ves. For smart ci es, for instance, while every town might be different, the day-to-day needs of its popula on remain the same. As such, the introduc on of automated data processes and solutions appears a logical approach. Manufacturers don’t share a common goal or process. In fact, it’s something that expert B2B suppliers, such as RGP balls, manufacturer of precision balls since 1973, know be er than anybody else. Suppliers have had to develop varia ons of their offerings to meet the unique

needs of every single one of their B2B clients. When every piece of equipment needs to be individually set with specific precision balls, measurements, and pressure factors, it’s hard to imagine how a standardised smart algorithm solu on could bring manufacturers together.

Can we nevertheless aspire to smart manufacturing?

Admi edly, while there is no room for a single standardised approach in the manufacturing industry, analysts and environmentalists agree that some innovative strategies could make a difference in the long term. Indeed, developing monitoring and data capturing technology for industrial applica ons could help manufacturers to work towards a shared sustainable goal. There’s a need for precise and reliable energy consumption monitoring at equipment and produc on line’s levels, to gain an understanding of energy use. With the services of

professional energy auditors, there’s no excuse for manufacturers to fail to implement smart meters throughout their structures. Additionally, automated produc on rules can then be reviewed individually to serve an environmental purpose. As such, the individual use of smart tech can support the crea on of smart manufacturing.

It’s fair to say that individual se ngs and technology can only go so far.

Innovation in the industrial sector has become a problem. While some businesses are dedicated to inves ng in R&D, factory workers con nue to lack the skills needed to drive innovaon. Indeed, skills such as data analysis and tech-savvy educa on can not only encourage workers to iden fy areas of improvement but also boost the innova on process towards smart manufacturing. Unfortunately, manufacturers exist in a world of isolated innovation where the smart invenon of one company may take several years to reach the global market and even longer to drive investments.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 51

CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS ARE ON THE EDGE OF A TRANSFORMATION

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lobal trade has been domina ng the headlines all over the world recently. The tension between the US and China has resulted in 2019 seeing the slowest pace in global growth since the 2008 financial crisis.

However, there’s something else that deserves equal a en on when discussing global trade these days, and that is how innova ve technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolu on are transforming it, bringing efficiency and dynamics to the table. Global trade has never been more dynamic than it is today – new types of providers are emerging, banks are digitalising their internal processes, and innova ve technologies are entering the arena.

Roberto Azevedo, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, noted that, “From the inven on of the wheel to the railways to the advent of containerisa on, technology has constantly played a key role in shaping the way we trade – and this phenomenon is accelerating like never before.”

In recent years, various innova ons such as op cal character recogni on, radio frequency identification, QR codes and basic digitalisa on of trade documents have improved the efficiency and reliability of global trade.

What’s more, new, unprecedented 52 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

developments such as the Internet of Things (IoT), ar ficial intelligence (AI), advanced robo cs, 3D prin ng and Blockchain are unlocking many opportunities and changing the global trade system from many different angles: from reshaping consumer habits to increased product diversity, technological advances in cu ng trade costs and changing the overall structure of the global trade – all of which are leading to an expansion in global value chains.

And what about the cross-border payments – an expensive, me-consuming and overall tense area for financial institutions? According to McKinsey, the elite consul ng firm that advises many of the world’s largest and most powerful ins tu ons, the global cross-border payment landscape is now at the centre of several trends that could fundamentally change compe ve dynamics.

Today, everyone expects goods and services to move more quickly and across greater distances than ever before. The same goes for money: payments need to go from account to account faster – even instantaneously.

The World Trade Organisa on es mates that as much as 80% of global trade relies on trade finance or credit insurance, making this sector of particular importance. As a result, the

world of cross-border payments is undergoing a digital transforma on, which is all about eradicating long delays, fric on and elimina ng high transac on costs.

Furthermore, cross-border payments are becoming a key driver of economic growth. According to McKinsey, the global payments market is expected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2022, and more than a half of this growth – $1.6 trillion – is expected to come from the Asia-Pacific region.

It is estimated that the global cross-border payments market will grow by 74% by 2026.

According to Michelle Bullock, the Assistant Governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia, “Cross-border payments are widely regarded as an area in which significant efficiency gains exist. Current processes are slow and costly, involving significant compliance burden and a number of different financial ins tu ons in different jurisdic ons. New technologies and new business models could be used to address some of these fric ons.”

One of the new technologies sweeping the cross-border payments system is Blockchain.

It is estimated that investment in Blockchain technology will rise by 90% this year – from $1.5 billion to $2.9 billion. This impressive rise is driven by a huge interest in how

Blockchain and smart contracts could facilitate cross border payments, making them faster and requiring fewer intermediaries.

Even though at first glance Blockchain technology might seem hard to understand, it’s actually not that complicated. Essen ally, instead of comple ng several steps, Blockchain provides direct transac ons between the sender and the receiver, whilst also storing all the related data in a secure distributed ledger.

Deloitte, a leading global advisory firm, es mates that business-to-business and person-to-person payments with Blockchain result in a 40–80% reduction in transaction costs and take an average of 4–6 seconds to finalise, compared to 2–3 days using the standard transfer process.

The International Data Corporaon (IDC), the world’s leading market research company, noted that “Blockchain is maturing rapidly, and we have reached an inflec on point where implementa ons are moving quickly beyond the pilot and proof of concept phase.”

Several financial ins tu ons, including the Bank of America, HSBC, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and Barclays, seem to have already figured out that

Blockchain might just be the future of the cross-border payments system. And a group of European banks have also joined forces, launching a trade finance Blockchain pla orm in July 2018. That same year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced plans to launch a trade finance Blockchain pla orm as well.

Trade organisa ons such as the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry have also launched an ini a ve to leverage Blockchain technology to address the main global trade and cross-border payment issues – high costs, lack of transparency and security.

It turns out that Blockchain can solve all these problems, and provide significant advantages to both businesses and consumers. Blockchain-based payments are cost-effec ve, almost immediate, secure and transparent.

Christine McDaniel, international trade economist and a former senior economist with the White House Council of Economic Advisers, commented that, “A large number of intermediaries and corresponding administra ve costs in trade finance tend to fall par cularly hard on SMEs and the rela vely higher cost of each transacon makes SME financing less a racve to banks. If Blockchain can reduce

the costs of trade finance, more small and medium-sized businesses could trade globally.”

Due to strict collateral needs and credit history checks, as many as 50% of all SME funding applica ons are rejected by banks today. This has resulted in a $1.5 trillion gap in trade finance.

Blockchain can change that, Not only can it help expand the pool of companies that can access trade finance, but it also has the poten al to bridge the trade finance gap.

Furthermore, as we already know, cross-border payments is a centuries-old business that has progressed very li le throughout the years – it s ll follows certain procedures and processes and is heavily paper-based.

Kerstin Braun, president of Stenn Group – a provider of trade finance – noted that, “On average, a cross-border transac on requires the exchange of 36 documents and 240 copies.”

But that’s about to change. Corporates, banks and financial technology companies are now endeavouring to develop a proof of concepts (POCs).

These efforts are concentrated on using smart contracts to digitalise trade documents and register these new documents into the Blockchain.

According to McKinsey, Blockchain can help to reduce up to 20% of the actual physical paper costs associated with global trade.

Tim Cummins, president of the Interna onal Associa on for Contract and Commercial Management, says that, “Many of the documentary contracts currently used in trade finance could eventually be replaced by self-executing smart contracts that run on Blockchain. This would mean contracts could be executed quicker and more simply, for instance when someone speaks into their phone to confirm shipment.”

At the end of the day, global trade is ini ated by individuals connec ng with one another. Up until now, it was based on a handshake. But as the future of global trade and cross-border payments is, indeed, digital, that handshake will indisputably and increasingly be taking place in a digital universe. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 53

A $50 BILLION PROBLEM: What You Need to Know About Ad Fraud

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new study from Juniper Research, an independent UK based researcher, forecasts that adver sers will lose $42 billion of ad spend globally this year to fraudulent ac vi es commi ed via online, mobile and in-app adver sing. To be more specific, for every $3 spent on digital ads, $1 is lost to fraud.This is a 54 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

21 percent increase from the $35 billion lost to ad fraud in 2018.

According to the World Federa on of Advertisers (WEF), such numbers mean that up to 30 percent of adver sing is unseen by consumers, aec ng about 21 trillion online ads annually. The WEF predicts that ad fraud will become the biggest market

for organized crime by 2025, worth $50 billion.

Such an increase will be influenced by diering factors but the main one will be the fact that fraudsters will start to rely on more advanced techniques such as spoofing ad networks to falsify clicks, or exploi ng the programma c ad buying algorithms that

online adver sing relies so heavily on.

Fraud is obviously a global problem but Juniper Research predicts that the cost of online ad fraud in China alone will amount to $19 billion in 2022.

More worryingly over 80 percent of the world’s advertising fraud originates in China, according to Group M. Ronen Mense, the president and managing director for APAC at AppsFlyer, commented on the numbers, saying that “Marketers are not paying enough a en on to new an -fraud technology and neglect the threat of fraud overall because the number of

app installs remains high. Countries like India and Indonesia are experiencing massive growth in their digital economies, but this results in marketers being distracted with scaling quickly because it presents temp ng business possibili es.“ In general, ad fraud is defined as “a type of online fraud where fraudster deceptively makes an advertiser pay for low quality and fake traffic.“There are many ways to commit ad fraud.

The most common are cookie stuffing, ghost sites, ad stacking, domain spoofing, app spoofing, bots.Ad fraud tac cs evolve and grow more innovave every year, spreading to emerging channels.

A few years ago, the Department of Jus ce unsealed indictments against eight people, who ran the infamous online adver sing scams, dubbed 3ve and Methbot. The defendants were accused of collec ng more than $36 million from companies.

They managed to infect 1,7 million computers with malware that remotely directed traffic to empty websites designed for bot traffic. To be more specific, websites were designed to fool adver sers into thinking that an impression of their ad was served on a premium publisher site, like Vogue or the Economist.

Meanwhile, views were faked by malware-infected computers with marvelously sophisticated techniques to imitate humans: bots faked clicks, mouse movements and even social network login informa on to imitate engaged human consumers. Computer security company White Ops, which was the first to first reveal Methobot’s existence back in 2016, commented on the scheme, saying that “It was bringing whole new levels of innova on to ad fraud, opera ng at an unprecedentedly large scale that spooked adver sers.“ But let’s take a closer look at the most popular ad fraud tactics. Today, as much as 40 percent of internet traffic comes from bo s, making it the number one source of ad fraud.The Times recently reported that for a certain period in 2013, a full half of YouTube traffic was “bots masquerading as people“.And there’s more, The Times also

found out that you can buy five thousand YouTube views — thirty seconds of a video counts as a view — for as low as $15. Most of the me, customers are led to believe that the views they purchase come from real people. However, more likely, they come from bots.

As you’ve already understood from the example above, bot traffic refers to automated systems, designed to mimic human ac vi es o en at the center of an ad fraud scheme. Malicious bots are programs that infect devices and perform tasks in the background, sapping computing power from legitimate tasks. Each bot instance can be controlled by one controller, crea ng a botnet on individual programs that can be used to create fake traffic to scam adver sers.

Unsophisticated bot traffic can be spo ed easily: if there’s a high number of visitors simply opening and closing a webpage, you can be sure that behind this scheme is a hacker.

However, as hackers understand what triggers suspicion, today they manage to adapt algorithms to mimic mouse movements, browsing behaviors, and any other interac on, making it look more believable.

Then there’s also domain spoofing: any scheme that reroutes ads to a different website than expected, usually to maximize traffic, qualifies for the term. Consequences of domain spoofing can range from a waste of money to a brand safety disaster.

A new type of ad fraud that has been increasing in recent years are websites, known as “ghost sites“. At first sight, these websites might look like real sites with real content, but when you take a closer look, most of the content is actually stolen from other sites.

The en re purpose of a ghost site is to look as real as possible, so it can get approved on ad networks and display ads. Then, once it has the ads up and running, it buys fake traffic to generate impressions on the website.

In the end, generated impressions get turned into adver sing commissions from the oblivious networks, which usually pay on a per-impression basis. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 55

For one thing, in order to use blockchain to effec vely combat ad fraud, all par es to a programma c transaction must agree to use it — and use the same system.Another important factor is speed: Dan Slivjanovski, CMO at the DoubleVerify, says that “To prevent ad fraud, it’s necessary to operate in virtually real-time.

Digital adver sing transac ons require a 10-millisecond response interval. The fastest blockchain transaction takes 1,5 seconds. If latency issues could be overcome, the technology might have a more material role in comba ng fraud.“ But there are also other ways to combat ad fraud. Most adver sers work with a certain partner to place their digital ads. And that’s the first step right there: to start a conversa on with the digital partner, making sure they have all the necessary steps in place to combat ad fraud.

Guy Tytunovich, founder and CEO of Cheq, a cybersecurity company, noted that “Hackers look for loopholes.

The more convoluted an environment is, the easier it is for fraud to occur.“ Today, fraudsters show a special interest in mobile apps: industry reports revealed that fraudulent transac ons from mobile apps have increased by 300 percent since 2015.

Mobile adver sing fraud, which has been a concern since 2010, con nues to be one of the most serious challenges for businesses: according to AppsFlyer, it is cos ng brands between $700 and $800 million globally quarterly. However, the Asia Pacific region is suffering the most: from November 2018 to April 2019, the region experienced an average fraud rate that was 60 percent higher than the average worldwide.

What is more, the 2018 Mobile Ad Fraud Report by Interceptd revealed that Android suffers from a slightly higher level of digital ad fraud than iOS, with 26,9 percent of app traffic fraudulent, compared to 21,3 percent. The report also found out that some app categories are more vulnerable to fraud than others: on Android, 56 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

finance tops the list, followed by shopping, gaming, and social media.

On iOS, the most vulnerable category is shopping, followed by gaming, finance, and travel.

The ques on is, how to combat the ad fraud, especially when it comes in so many different forms that aren’t always obvious. Well, there’s no catch-all ad fraud solu on, especially keeping in mind that web fraud and mobile fraud behave differently.

However, there are some beneficial tac cs for comba ng ad fraud.

John Malatesta, CEO, and President of the ad tech company Codewise, noted that today the ad ecosystem is fully globalized in nature, so the challenge of regulating against ad fraud requires a truly global approach.

According to him, an ul mate soluon to ad fraud could be “the crea on of a global ad blockchain, a distributed ledger of online interac ons that unites all actors in the ad ecosystem under a single and open platform. This could drive transparency and detect and eliminate fraud nearly instantly.“However, this solu on , although an effec ve one, might still take some time to implement.

The recent TAG report carried out by the 614 Group showed that working with cer fied partners, channels, and vendors reduced fraud rates across the European markets from an industry average of 8,99 percent to 0,53 percent. The situa on is improving, and collabora on within the industry has proven to be a crucial tool for comba ng ad fraud on a global scale.

It’s also important to look at the metrics, which show real engagement and conversions and to focus on organic traffic, not just exclusively on ads. The problem of ad fraud is a complex one, and it will not en rely go away anytime soon, if ever. But to maintain reputa ons in the digital adver sing space and to protect their budgets, brands and businesses should concentrate on making reasonable and proac ve efforts to avoid ad fraud.

There is some good news, too: according to the fourth Bot Baseline report from White Ops and the Associa on of Na onal Adver sers (ANA), for the first me ever more ad fraud will be stopped in 2019 than will succeed.

Bob Liodice, the ANA CEO, commented on the news, saying that “The decrease in ad fraud suggests that the war on fraud is winnable. Less fraud means more resources can be devoted to brand and business building.”

G Conseils – Juridis: The Crème de la Crème of Business Strategy

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ver the past ten years the wealth management landscape has undergone huge growth and change due to increased regula on, advances in technology, greater access to capital and affluent individuals demanding more say in their financial future. This rapid evolu on is also due to the expansion of the super-rich segment, and mul -family office firms are on side to meet the investment, estate planning, lifestyle and tax service needs of these affluent individuals.

While family offices are nothing new, over the last decade the number of family offices have increased ten-fold according to recent EY data. Are you a high net worth individual stunned by the web of financial compliance your wealth has created? Is your high net worth family unsure about how to navigate the unique concerns your capital has created? Do you want assistance handling the various challenging financial aspects of your personal and professional life?

Winning European Business Magazines Luxury Crisis Management Firm of the Year 2019 Award, alongside ne ng the category of Luxury

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Multi-Family Office in France in the Luxury Lifestyle Awards, G Conseils – Juridis is the one to watch in 2020.

With incomparable networks and superb technical knowledge, the firm has also forged solid links with several pres gious private banks and management funds, increasing solu on possibili es and opportuni es for its high-end clients.

Established in 2017, G Conseils – Juridis was founded by Romain Gérardin-Fresse and Ségolène Kenney, and has since become the very defini on of an exclusive, mul -family wealth management office. Romain Gérardin-Fresse, a former poli cal advisor and brilliant legal expert set out to solve the legal problems of his clients and defines strategies to protect their legal and financial interests, and Ségolène Kenney specializes in financial engineering, developing and managing financing files for commercial en es and individuals. In less than two years the firm’s turnover has increased by more than 183%, it conquered 14.8% of addi onal market share last year and has since opened a prac ce in both New York and Dubai.

A real key player in consul ng - covering complementary fields, law, taxaon, management, business strategies and crisis communication - the firm has built a solid reputation in facilita ng a synergis c influence of collabora ve knowledge and skills. Then, for each specific case, G Conseils Juridis analyses the administra on and management system of the commercial en ty, and proceeds where necessary to a social restructuring plan.

Across numerous industries concentra ons of returns are genera ng significant financial wealth, and G Conseils – Juridis, with a core focus on iden fying issues and defining soluons, is a rising star of business strategy. The firm manages me, image, assets, sets up the necessary strategies and defends clients’ interests before the jurisdic ons concerned.

Operating under the principles of exper se, discre on, efficiency and reliability, Gfk Conseils – Juridis is already a legal expert and advisor to several big names in the finance and business community.

The firm advise companies, ins tuonal and poli cal actors, mul naonals, star chefs, wealthy families

as well as high-worth individuals on complex legal and financial issues.

Registered in the professional chamber of the council of Provence and affiliated to the Na onal Federa on of Chambers of the Council, the Nice cabinet is characterized by its varied scope of interven on including lawyers, accountants, communicators, and lobbyists.

The legal exper se and financial strategies firm specializing in business law, corporate strategies and outsourced human resources, acts as an external support, managing the growth and development of multinationals and solving any legal or judicial complicaons. Instantly recognising issues and emphasising key points for improvement, Gfk Conseils – Juridis offers op mum quality for its eli st clientele, improves operational profitability and implements administra ve strategies.

The Headquarter is located on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. Gfk Conseils-Juridis clients include public figures, hotel chains, real estate development groups, members of the government and royal families, for whom the firm can help mend a crisis situa on and offer tailor-made soluons to resolve li ga on. Due to its professionalism and exper se, G Conseils-Juridis has won over many influent and pres gious clients. The

French Riviera firm carried out for some of them the en re cons tuon of their French structure and supported these atypical clients in their real estate projects on the Riviera.

Present in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, G Conseils-Juridis con nues its development in France and abroad, and the firm has a strong global presence in more than 11 countries across 5 con nents. A key crisis management expert, this firm is dedicated to suppor ng leading figures in their management procedures and the resolu on of issues related to their ac vi es and has built up a customer’s por olio of rare quality.

Strategies for international expansion, tax issues, support for growth development, restructuring, outsourced human resources and legal exper se rela ng to social or commercial disputes fall under G Conseils – Juridis remit, and they put all their knowledge and experience into serving their customers. Whether it is property and asset management, administra ve and tax services or dispute resolu on with public ins tuons, G Conseils-Juridis is the crisis management firm firmly in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

“We are the shoulder on which our customers can rest, the attentive ear that hears their every need, and

this under the seal of confiden ality that is so dear to us” Romain Gérardin-Fresse, CEO of G Conseils-Juridis.

The rise of the family office is set to con nue not least because of sustained global uncertainty and an increase of new wealth, with plenty of changes expected within this sector along the way. At a me where sustainability and social responsibility is high on the agenda, clients appreciate that their favourite handler happens to be a socially and economically responsible company.

Gfk Conseils-Juridis are strongly involved in chari es, like the construc on of a school building in Sri Lanka for example, and they donate 5% of their annual profit to humanitarian organiza ons.

A family office is not for everyone, but for individuals with a substan al amount of capital, a complex financial set-up or for those who require collabora ve solu ons, a family office is the way to go. To succeed in 2020 and beyond, companies and individuals must delegate certain business and personal tasks. Finding a reputable handler for sensi ve and confiden al ma ers is not an easy job, but look no further. h ps://www.g conseils-juridis.fr/

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 59

European Business Talks to Founder of Award Winning Crisis Management Firm GFK CONSEILS JURIDIS

European Business catches up with

Romain Gerardin-Fresse

Founder of the Award Winning Crisis Management Firm GFK CONSEILS JURIDIS (https://www.gfkconseils-juridis.fr/) who not only scooped a prestigious award at the European Business Awards this week but he also won a second award from our extensive readership base where under 40,000 votes were cast . The award was for luxury crisis management agency of the year 2019 and in our interview we find out what he does , the challenges he faces everyday in running this unique business and what keeps him ticking!

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You’ve decided to start G Conseils-Juridis two years ago, in 2017.So let’s go back for a second. Tell us how and why did you decide to start G Conseils-Juridis?

I come from the world of counselling, in its broadest sense.

My role has always been to advise decision-makers, bringing them my strategic vision of a given problem.

From the experience gained from my previous positions and obligations, I realised that entrepreneurs were looking for a comprehensive business consulta on and resolu on solu on that would allow them to be accompanied fully and effec vely.

The idea was therefore to propose an all-encompassing mission, which ranged from thorough audits to the accompaniment in the day-to-day administration of a company, the development of growth and the resolu on of disputes encountered.

A businessman whose profitability is at half-mast not only has to idenfy the problem, but also address the cause and prevent the consequence.

In order to do this, it was necessary to create a concept that would eliminate the herme city of different professions, which are yet complementary, but which o en acts with a compartmentalisa on that removes any possibility of an overall vision.

By crea ng G Conseils-Juridis, we wanted to offer a high quality of service by completely rethinking the approach of the concept of advice.

Our core business is strategy, applied to different paradigms.

We iden fy issues, define solu ons to implement, and mandate external professionals where appropriate.

Gfk Conseils-Juridis offers turnkey services to private customers and businesses and has a solid reputaon of being the company that can be entrusted with ma ers of any nature.

Could you tell us a bit more about what the company does?What’s the most common task in the company’s por olio?

We are “solu on makers”.We actually have a more omniscient and much less obtuse point of view, because we integrate several trades, while

remaining the unique link and the only reference for the customer.Where lawyers prac ce only law, accounting experts only accoun ng, and bailiffs mainly recovery, we have created a concept that encompasses them all, with an inter-exchange of all the tasks carried out by each of them.

In fact, we know how to take a different perspec ve on a given situa on, and take a different view.

We can be requested in two cases: We intervene on a problem already facing the client, for example a commercial dispute. We study the situaon, define the strategy of defence or a ack, and accompany the client in the resolu on of the dispute, building on the complementary skills of our teams.

We intervene following a problem encountered by the client, but which is not yet defined or understood (e.g. a decrease in profitability or in cash flow, for which the cause or explanaon is not yet known). In this case, we first conduct an audit of the structure and func oning of the client’s en ty, we identify the problem explicitly, define the strategy to adopt, discuss implementation practicalities and finally accompany the client in the restructuring of their en ty.As part of a growth development, especially interna onally, we carry out a complete collec on of the necessary data (economic intelligence), and we verify the realisa on of the project according to the norms and laws in force.

The company was created in 2017 and has already become the definion of a top-class Mul -Family Office firm. That’s an amazing achievement.

In your opinion, what were the biggest challenges during these few years?

We have a significant focus on being a Family Office.

In fact, in September we won the award for the best Mul -family Office de Luxe in France, awarded by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards in front of more than 80 firms in compe on.

As part of this ac vity, we have various agreements signed with several pres gious private banks, especially within the Principality of Monaco.

This mission of Family Office that we lead is to take in the broad sense, and fits perfectly into the ini al dimension of the firm.

For example, for the acquisi on of a luxury property for a client, we will inform our client about French specifici es, u lise a private partner bank, build their financing file and accompany them in the various steps, carrying out all the due diligence with the notary and the services of the State.

If the client has a par cular project of modifica on for the property, we will enquire about the possibili es, manda ng a well-known architect, carrying out all the steps on his behalf, checking the sales documents, being present at the various interviews, etc.

As part of a bank introduc on to a private bank, the fund manager will

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invest their assets differently depending on the client’s profile.

Our role is to define, in advance with the bank, the investment strategies, a er having exchanged with the client about their willingness to take risk and profitability, and then to ensure that the bank complies with the instruc ons.

Every quarter, we complete a full point with the Por olio Manager and report back to the client.

We also manage the day-to-day expenses related to the assets held by our clients, represent them in the various bodies, manage their expense accounts, carry out declarations and administrative formalies, etc.We even take care of the registration of these clients’ yachts or private jets, and of all the formalities related to them with the General Directorate of Civil Avia on or with the harbour offices. We are

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op mising the management of their assets.This ac vity has led to us gaining a different clientele, for example royal or princely families of the Gulf and Southern Asia, actors, sportsmen, public figures, etc. We are a shoulder they can rely on.

The biggest challenge was to succeed in becoming a trusted partner and to take our posi on between the great houses that have already been present for decades.

Through hard work, efficiency and availability, it seems to be successful!

G Conseils-Juridis just won an award from European Business Magazine: it has been chosen as the Luxury Crisis Management Firm of the Year 2019.

Congratula ons!In your opinion, what were the main pping points this year that resulted in winning this award?

An important part of our business today, which is part of the continuum of protec ng our clients’ interests, is crisis management.

Crisis management is really a hybrid mission, where legal defence, strategy and intelligent communication are combined.

We intervene in the support of public figures or large groups in the context of, for example, financial poli cal affairs or health scandals.

As such, we deal with the cause and prevent the consequences, in par cular by defining the media strategies to be implemented.

On the one hand, we solve the problem, on the other hand our communication teams intervene by preserving the image of the leader or personality, by destock informa on par ally if necessary and an cipating the consequences, while also repairing their image – which could

The breadth of knowledge we are able to show in the apprehension of a problem differen ates us from other strategic consul ng firms.

Entreprendre, Les Echos, Contrepoints, Forbes — you write ar cles about poli cal, legal, economic subjects for these magazines. Is wri ng your passion, or just a way of staying aware of what’s going on in the areas that areimportant for G Conseils-Juridis?

have been diminished and which could suffer from the ravages of the hyper-media in which our society today revolves.

Crisis management is the typical approach for the cases in which we must act with quasi-surgical precision, in record me and whose global approach must be relevant and without pi alls.

Destocking of information, legal security of assets, containment of scandal, pooling of all actors (experts, lawyers, communicators, etc) offers our customers that are affected by a situa on of this kind, the feeling of being protected, accompanied and defended, without a single potenal aspect of the situa on being le uncovered.

To be serene when amongst turmoil such as this is vital, so that one can effec vely ensure their defence and that the economic, social and personal impacts are minimised to the maximum.

Celebri es, upper-class families, royal dynas es, big corpora ons, and government officials —G Conseils-Juridis have worked with different clients from all over the world. You’ve even worked with the African government at some point. How do people — who are so different — find out about the company?

The company has always be on top of its game: how do you guys achieve it?As you see it, what are the main things that make G Conseils-Juridis different from other companies?

Perfec onism in the accomplishment of our missions is a vector of confidence.

Our customers know that we work efficiently and responsibly, while maintaining a very high level of confiden ality.

This profile of decision-makers and public figures has a par cular need for their problems to be treated seriously and quickly, without any risk of informa on leaking.

It’s a very closed circle, and so the recommenda ons from those sa sfied with our services, to other high-profile clients, are almost immediate.

But this proximity also obliges us to maintain a very high level quality of service, without which our reputa on would not be what it is today.

We are currently working with two African governments, because in addition to our knowledge of public law, we have an Economic Intelligence Department that monitors and continuously collects informaon while managing reputa on and communica on.

While we must of course keep the exact content of our projects confiden al, our role is to provide strategic support, par cularly for certain legisla ve direc ons.

The ques on is very relevant!

Actually, wri ng these types of ar cles is a real passion for me.

I like to be informed in detail about subjects in important areas such as poli cal, economic or budgetary law, to condense the informa on obtained through various channels, and inform readers about these topics, which are of obvious importance in order to understand the world around us and the society in which we live.

It is also an obvious honour for me to contribute by wri ng these lines to such pres gious magazines.

Of course, digging into topics related to immediate news in areas that affect G Conseils-Juridis is an undeniable gain in the efficiency and enrichment of our database.

Let’s talk about the future. In your opinion, how will the company change over the next 5, 10 years?What are the biggest goals for the upcoming years?

We are in full expansion.We earn customers and market share every month. So I’m par cularly confident that our firm will con nue to grow.

To meet the growing demand of our interna onal clientele, this year we opened an office in New York on Park Avenue, and another in Dubai.

Quite frankly, I don’t think we’re going to stop at those two des na ons, and there are other des na ons that are under considera on.

Within five to ten years, I hope that we will have strengthened our posion a li le further on the various sectors in which we operate, and that we will have become a key player in the council, on each of the five con nents. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 63

Can Bitcoin Even Be Regulated?

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s Bitcoin and other digital assets continue to grow in adoption and popularity, a common topic for discussion is whether the U.S. government, or any government for that ma er, can exert control of its use. There are two core issues that lay the foundaon of the Bitcoin regula on debate: The digital assets pose a macro-economic risk. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can act as surrogates for an interna onal currency, which throws global economics a curveball. For example, countries 64 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

such as Russia, China, Venezuela, and Iran have all explored using digital currency to circumvent United States sanctions, which puts the US government at risk of losing its global authority. Interna onal polics and economics are a very delicate issue, and o en sanc ons are used in place of military boots on the ground, arguably making the world a safer place.

The micro risks enabled by cryptocurrency weigh heavily in aggregate. One of the most attractive features of Bitcoin and other

digital assets is that one can send anywhere between a few pennies-worth to billions of dollars of Bitcoin anywhere in the world at any me for a negligible fee (currently around $0.04 to $0.20 depending on the urgency.)

However, in the hands of malicious par es, this could be very dangerous.

The illicit ac vi es inherently supported by a global decentralized currency run the gamut: terrorist funding, selling and buying illegal drugs, ordering assassinations, dodging taxes, laundering money, and so on.

wrangle full control over the network and manipulate it as they please.

By being distributed, Bitcoin exists at many different locations at the same me. This makes it very difficult for a single regulatory power to enforce its will across borders. This means that a government or other third party can’t technically raid an office and shut anything down.

That being said, there are several chokepoints that could severely hinder Bitcoin’s adop on and use.

Targe ng centralized en exchanges and wallets

es:

A logical first move is to regulate the fiat onramps (exchanges) , which the United States government has finally been ge ng around to. In cryptocurrency’s nascent years, cryptocurrency exchanges didn’t require much input or approval from regulatory authori es to run. However, the government started stepping in when cryptocurrency star ng hi ng the mainstream.

Where are we at ?

Before diving deeper, it’s worth asking whether Bitcoin can be regulated in the first place. The cryptocurrency was built with the primary purpose of being decentralized and distributed– two very important qualities that could make or break Bitcoin’s regula on. By being decentralized, Bitcoin doesn’t have a single controlling entity. The control of Bitcoin is shared among several independent en es all over the world, making it nearly impossible for a single en ty to

The SEC, FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), and CFTChave all played a role in pushing Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and An -Money Laundering (AML) policies across all exchanges operating within U.S borders. Cryptocurrency exchanges have no op ons but to adhere to whatever the U.S. government wants. The vast majority of cryptocurrency users rely on some cryptocurrency exchange to u lize their cryptocurrency, so they will automa cally bend to exchange-imposed regula on.

Regulators might not be able to shut down the underlying technology that powers Bitcoin, but they can completely wreck the user experience for the great majority of cryptocurrency users, which serves as enough of an impediment to diminish the use of cryptocurrency for most.

Targe ng users.

The government can also target individual cryptocurrency users. Contrary to popular opinion, Bitcoin (and even some privacy coins) aren’t anonymous. An argument can be made that Bitcoin is even easier to track than fiat because of its public, transparent ledger.

Combined with every cryptocurrency exchange’s willingness to work with U.S. authori es, a federal task force could easily track money sent and received from certain addresses and pinpoint the actual individual with it. Companies such as Elliptic and Chainalysis have already created solid partnerships with law enforcement in many countries to track down illicit cryptocurrency uses and reveals the iden es behind the transac ons.

Beyond that, we dive into the dark web and more professional illicit cryptocurrency usage. Although trickier, the government likely has enough cyber firepower to snipe out the majority of cryptocurrency-related cybercrime. In fact, coin mixers (cryptoMixer.io), coin swap services (ShapeShi ) and P2P bitcoin transacons (localbitcoins.com) have been inves gated for several years now and most of them have had to add KYC and adhere to strict AML laws. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 65

key areas include financial services, life sciences, automotive, travel/ tourism, healthcare/pharma, retail, media and government.

As for our expansion into Europe, we were looking to build on the great success we have been having in North America. Right now, we have 350 people working in 15 offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia. A sign of our ambition in EMEA is that we recently strengthened our UK and EMEA management teams by appointing former R/GA client service director Jez Proctor as UK managing director and award-winning digital creative, Amanda Glasgow, as head of experience for EMEA. What is Appnova on’s USP? How do you posi on yourselves against big consultancies (Accenture, Deloi e, Cap Gemini)?

APPNOVATION

Andrew Dunbar, General Manager, Appnovation, Discusses Digital Transformation and Pan-European Growth

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n just over a decade, Appnovation has transformed itself from a website development start up into a global digital consultancy that generates revenues of around $50m a year. General Manager, EMEA, Andrew Dunbar talks to European Business Magazine about Appnovation’s passion for driving digital transformation for clients and its rapid expansion in Europe.

Appnova on has its HQ in Canada. Can you describe what the company does and why it has established itself in Europe?

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Appnovation is a new breed of consultancy that specialises in helping businesses engage more effectively with key audiences through their digital ecosystem (websites, apps etc). Whether the client’s goal is to double sales through ecommerce, streamline their global web presence or grow brand awareness within a target audience, our core focus is on solving real-world problems and driving improved results. We do this by focusing on digital strategy and deep industry focus, with an emphasis on user-centric, design-led Experience and Open Technology platforms. Our

A key differentiator is the way we form our proposition. First and foremost is our focus on user feedback and the deliberate placement of user testing early on. This leads to proof points where we affirm our chosen direction before we commit time and resources to build. The second key point is that we have carefully selected every individual on the team to ensure the right fit in terms of attitude, competence and personality. Our culture is one of genuinely wanting to make a difference. The desire to do a good job, build a craft and leave customers feeling excited about the next stage is at the heart of what we do. It’s what our new brand is all about, inspiring possibility for our clients and their customers.

Regarding larger, more well-resourced companies, I’m a firm believer in the Steve Jobs mantra that ‘A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players’. One thing we certainly have on our side is that we are more agile and nimble.

We don’t spend months in discovery – we find out what the client wants then give them a tangible solution fast.

It’s also worth noting that we have done a lot of work in financial services and pharmaceuticals both high compliance sectors. As

a result, Appnovation has a lot of experience in overcoming regulatory obstacles to help clients innovate quickly.

What are the opportuni es for the business going forward?

The opportunities are primarily around clients that want a visionary partner to show them ideas that can disrupt and improve their engagement. Clients don’t just want a supplier - they want a team that is just as passionate as they are about their products, and that genuinely wants to help them advance their position. Of course, the fact that we are rigorous about delivering on time and on budget lends credibility to our advice.

Tell us more about the client projects you work on?

Recent projects include multinational enterprise platforms for the pharma industry, highly effective contentbased reporting tools for the financial sector and robust, scalable portals for international trade organisations.

In addition, Appnovation has also delivered a number of engagementfocused solutions such as an awardwinning app and website to support smokers wishing to quit, using the power of their social network.

You have been GM for 18 months. Can you describe your role?

I lead the EMEA team, setting our strategic direction and leading the region in line with our global objectives. I am very hands on because I am passionate about the advances digital makes possible and I like to be part of the solution process with clients.

What’s your background and what persuaded you to join?

My background is in large consultancies - I was with Sapient for 10 years, where I built and delivered enterprise platforms for a variety of clients. I left to find out why we were losing on more creative pitches to agencies like AKQA and Wunderman - and

then spent nearly 10 years working for marketing agencies in WPP and understanding their approach. I joined Appnovation because I saw an opportunity to create something new - something that draws from the best of both worlds.

Is there a big difference between the company’s North America offering and what you deliver to clients in EMEA? We have a particular strength in Experience Design and Design Thinking in EMEA that is often used to support the other regions.

But Appnovation is actually designed to function very collaboratively across markets and regions. There is very much a ‘family feel’ to what we do and the approach we take – which makes sense when you consider that many of our clients are multinational and need consistent support across geographies.

What are your plans for expansion in Europe?

We recently secured a substantial injection of equity financing, some of which is specifically tied to our EMEA expansion. So, over the next 18 months, I expect our EMEA division will continue to expand both geographically and into new client areas. We have a number of clients in discussion that I am particularly excited about; not only in terms of digital transformation but because they give us a chance to make a positive difference to the world.

How important is the UK in driving business in Europe?

The UK is a critical part of our EMEA offering. The very best global creative talent can be found in the UK and the entrepreneurial spirit and desire to innovate here is one that lends itself very well to our approach and how we work with the rest of our teams. The arrival of Jez Proctor and Amanda Glasgow is an example of us choosing the best of the best - people who are strong enough in both their background discipline and their clarity of thought to help us carve out a new path and help our clients find ways to both differentiate and better connect with their users.

Finally, what challenges and opportuni es does AI present?

AI and machine learning can transform businesses by giving them invaluable insights into customers.

But a lot of companies struggle with innovation because of legacy tech.

There is also a big challenge around the volume of data they work with.

It’s complex to identify, generate and analyse data in a way that unlocks insights and innovation. But that’s where Appnovation comes in. We have helped many of our clients integrate their existing systems and leverage the wealth of data they have, to form meaningful and “ready for consumption” dashboards that can actively guide the business.

When you pair that with a deep focus on Experience design and an understanding of the relationship between brand, audience and the machine-based interfaces we use to enhance the connection, you can get some very powerful results. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 67

Euro Exim Bank: Always a Step Ahead

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f you haven’t heard of Euro Exim Bank (EEB) you soon will. It is fast becoming a leading name in trade finance but is also becoming a major name as a leading smart bank. It is head-quartered in St. Lucia, with a representa ve office in London from where it currently deals with Africa, Middle East and Far East clients. The company specialises in connec ng corporate buyers and sellers, enabling businesses to economically and efficiently export and import goods and services.

The world-renowned financial ins tu on holds a “Class A” interna onal banking licence from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of St. Lucia and is an associate member of the Caribbean Associa on of Banks Inc., affording it global reach and authorisa on. The bank differen ates itself through the cost-effec veness

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of its products, specialisa ons and its qualified, expert staff.

The state of trade Trade finance is at the core of EEB’s portfolio of products and services, and speed, reliability and security con nue to be at the crux of EEBs trade finance offering. A key player in international trade - EEB was founded in 2015 - and aims to speed up its clients import & export business transac ons and connect customers to new opportuni es.

It has earned an envied reputa on for its comprehensive pricing and compliance policies, with approximately 40% of staff specialised in AntiMoney Laundering and Know Your Customer processes.

Furthermore, its trade-tailored soluons and strong due diligence ensure

deal integrity and trust. Coupled with the company’s compe ve rates, EEB is a trusted partner that helps businesses extend their footprint by tapping into lucra ve new markets.

With years of experience in trade and an ability to rapidly generate instruments dra s, complete complex KYC processes and remit instruc ons for clients, EEB connects buyers and sellers across borders, transac ng with ease and confidence, ul mately facilitating global trade in an interconnected world.

The bank has had an exci ng 2019, serving corporate clients and import businesses, while facilitating issuance and relay of authen cated trade finance instruc ons.

Amidst tightening regulations and increased compliance requirements in the financial sector, EEB maintains an undisputed quality of services for

its clients, and through 2020 plans to open up new offices in Singapore and Chennai with other regions to follow.

Technology Fintech has become highly visible and with digital banking, electronic wallets, crypto-currencies and other innova ve financial solu ons, technology and new network facili es are disrup ng and benefi ng the trade ecosystem. EEB is globally recognised for this growing influence and received the 2018 and the 2019 Best Global Trade Services Bank Award, not least due to its long-term relaonships with its clients. Established and new networks underpin our cutng-edge technology pla orm, further supported by accessibility and par cipa on with leading payments network technology provider, Ripple.

EEB partnered with Ripple; a blockchain based financial se lement system that is reliable, secure, cost-efficient and fast. This strategic partnership strengthens EEB’s compliance process and ramps-up speed and efficiency. Deploying the latest technology ensures uninterrupted payment processing, issuance and settlement of trade finance instruments from a single point within a shorter period of me.

Using the xCurrent system for payments and having recently accomplished the fastest implementa on of ODL (On Demand Liquidity), which uses Ripple XRP cryptocurrency as the key element in local currency realme se lement processes, EEB enables incorporates to instantly communicate and settle cross-border payments with end-to-end visibility and monitoring.

As the first regulated bank to ac vely use the Ripple services, EEB provides fric on free trade solu ons to allow money to move instantly. To further assist its customers, EEB recently launched Euro Exim Bank Smart Banking applications, now available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Our innova ve service and platform help breakdown barriers and create a more equitable environment for global payments. By taking advantage of new technology

the bank is central to the digital revolu on in interna onal payments.

Emerging markets EEB facilitates small and medium enterprises in emerging markets to access the global market place through easily available financial services. For example, through issuance of le ers of credit, the trusted mechanism used in international cross border trades providing an economic guarantee to the exporter of goods and settling trade transactions via RippleNet, EEB is a highly valued partner to ins tu ons wishing to import especially in emerging markets.

Advantages include increased accessibility, low transac on costs, established links to players across the trade ecosystem and a holis c payments process.

There are many countries with growing economies, especially in Africa that are ready, willing and able to trade successfully and securely, and these countries require financial instruments to facilitate bilateral trade. Also, areas where major banks are de-risking and with-drawing their services, have become key opportuni es for EEB. In terms of global trade, the increased acceptance and use of cryptocurrencies has the potential to empower emerging markets and allow them to

rise above economic challenges and thrive, and EEB is becoming recognised as the ‘go to’ industry leader in trade finance.

Free Trade In countries where corrup on, confidence and risk of non-recoverable losses prompt global businesses to actively avoid conducting trade, building trust through guaranteed instruments and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) are just two of the tools that can help rec fy such issues.

Even with more than 400 regional trade agreements in place worldwide, governmental self-interest, diverse political influence and a surge in regional na onalism con nuing to challenge the trade landscape remain. EEB works with trusted buyers in these challenging areas providing services in the most economic, compliant and equitable way.

New trade corridors will open up to assist trade flows with disintermediated countries, help them out of poverty and allow them to become compe ve in global markets.

Simultaneously, SMEs are going global at a faster rate than ever before and facing new challenges when entering the interna onal arena, and EEB is the prime choice to support them to stay on top of their game. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 69

Most Popular Cannabis Tech Devices That Are Changing the Industry

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he cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world. That should not come as a surprise considering its popularity among people. The more we talk about it, the more it is being researched, which further leads to even bigger interest. That is one of the main reasons why more and more tech companies are also inves ng in the industry.

Even though the industry is s ll young and the technology has yet to catch up, there are some interes ng cannabis devices already available. From medical vaporizers to metered-dose devices, here is the cannabis tech hardware that is completely changing the industry.

Wisp (Disposable Pod-Based Vaporizer)

Resolve Digital Health (Cannabis Pod Vaporizer)

Wisp is a company based in Boston that created a simple and intuitive device that uses disposable Wisp Pods to create consistent vaporizing results. The device was launched in 2016, and it has been known ever since as the Keurig of cannabis consumables. With the help from the former Keurig execu ve Dave Manly and funding of $7.5 million, this device became one of the most popular in the cannabis industry.

Resolve Digital Health is another company from Toronto that has raised more than $5 million in the last three years for crea ng a product known as the Resolve One Smart Inhaler. Same as with Wisp, the vaporizer uses disposable Smartpods that are only for single use. They are designed specifically for caregivers and pa ents to track the dosage and effects. The startup launched in 2019.

Lobo Gene cs (Cannabis DNA Analysis) Lobo Gene cs is a Toronto based company. Unlike Resolve Digital Health, it offers a unique cannabis DNA analysis that will be able to determine a person’s ability to metabolize THC. One simple mouth swab is all that is needed. The results will be able to provide the safest and best cannabis experience for the user. The company launched its product in 2019.

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tCheck (Cannabis Potency Analysis Device) tCheck is a company based in California, with a mission to help cannabis users understand the potency of home-cooked edibles.

It launched its second-generation hardware in 2018. tCheck is a userfriendly device that uses UV spectrometry in order to determine the levels of THC and CBD in concentrates, butter, or oil infusions. The most interesting thing is that the

device can transmit test results via Bluetooth to a mobile app.

Hound Labs (Cannabis THC Breathalyzer) Hounds Labs, a company based in San Francisco, is in the process of creating a device that will be able to detect THC through breathalyzer devices.

This innovative idea has already raised $8.1 million in funding and the creators are hoping to help those in the workforce and law enforcement get detailed THC cannabinoid readings from simple breath samples.

Puffco (Cannabis Concentrate Vaporizer) Puffco is a company based in New York that introduced the first concentrate vaporizer in the world. The product was launched in 2018. The luxurious hardware has ceramic, metallic, and glass features. The interface is pre y much straigh orward and user-friendly.

Ardent (Home Cannabis Decarboxyla on Device) Ardent is a Boston based company that collected $600,000 in funding for its unique decarboxyla on device.

It is the first of its kind. The device, which was launched in 2016, gently heats the cannabis product and activates the therapeutic CBD and THC, the most important cannabinoids. The new wave of legaliza on means an increase in demand for this product and it is expected to become one of the most popular in the cannabis industry.

Syqe Medical (Selec ve-Dose Cannabis Inhaler) Syqe Medical is a company based in Tel Aviv, known as the front-runner in the industry of medical cannabis inhalers. All this was possible because of a staggering $20 million investment by Philip Morris. The device consists of 75 VaporChip cartridges that can supply a consistent dosage of cannabis with each inhala on.

Corsica Innova ons (Smart Hydroponic Grow Box) This company based in Colorado managed to raise $4.5 million in funding and launched a fully automated

plug-and-plant cannabis home grow system. The hardware is elegant and has a lot of features. At the same me, it is completely manageable by a mobile app that connects with the product via Bluetooth.

Kassi Labs Inc. (IoT Connected Cannabis Storage) Kasi Labs Inc. is another company based in Tel Aviv. It seems that there are many Israeli cannabis tech startups that keep on bringing new products to the market.

The Kassi comes with numerous features that allow cannabis users to track consump on, humidity levels, and treatment eec veness. Its product should be on the market by the end of 2019.

The Peak Smart Rig (Tabletop Vaporizer And Filtra on Device) The Peak is an elegant device, running on smart technology that is specifically designed to work with concentrates. In short, it is somewhere between a tabletop vaporizer and a filtra on device that comes with four different temperature settings for be er control. Its best feature is the 20-second hea ng mechanism combined with intelligent temperature

calibra on based on the temperature of the bowl. It is compact, portable, and user-friendly. There is even an LED light band.

Mighty Fast Infuser (Herbal Infuser) This unusual device can infuse cannabis (or any other herb) into bu er, syrup, oil, honey, while completely transforming your cooking experience. It is very easy to use. You simply add the ingredients into the infuser and wait for it to finish its job. A stressfree device for >ge ng rid of stress.

There are several dierent cycles and levels of concentra on, depending on what you want to make. The fastest cycle lasts only 45 minutes, allowing you to go about your business when you cannot aord to sit around.

The Bo om Line Undoubtedly, the cannabis industry is growing fast, but the technology is moving faster. With the increase in demand for cannabis products, more and more tech companies are creating innova ve devices that have the poten al to change the en re industry. The devices we men oned mark the beginning of the new approach to cannabis use. We are excited to see what comes next.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 71

Sharon Lechter

and Women In Business

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haron Lechter has issued a challenge to women in business. It is time to change the dialogue.

Lechter shares, “Instead of complaining and criticizing about the men who have stood in our way in rising through the ranks of business, let’s celebrate the progress that has been made by women and applaud the men who have championed us along the way.

It is as simple as applying the Law of Attraction. By criticizing and complaining we attract negative response and defensiveness. But when we celebrate and applaud those that have supported us, we attract others to the cause and bring positive attention to the forward and upward momentum women have and are achieving. Positive momentum creates more positive momentum.”

Equality surrounding women in business has come a long way in the past two decades, as we now see a greater number of female workers occupying high company positions. The gender pay gap is being addressed, and women are finally being granted a sense of equal opportunity in the workplace. Not to mention the fact that rules and procedures on sexism in the workplace are in the spotlight more than ever. However, the spark that lit the fire of change did not happen overnight. It took years and years of tireless work from female trailblazers, pushing the boundaries of gender stereotypes and carving a path for those who come after them. We often use the phrase that some have to walk so that others can run, yet a number of women in business have been able to burst through that glass ceiling and set the pace themselves.

Sharon Lechter is a prime example of a businesswoman who has busted through ceilings her entire career and for decades has inspired and challenged others to do the same. Lechter graduated from Florida State University magna cum laude with a degree in accounting, before being one of the first women to start working with one of the ‘Big Eight’ accounting firms. In 1980, she met and married her husband of 39 years Michael. Sharon went on to hold a number of jobs in the computer, insurance, and publishing industries, before launching her own entrepreneurial endeavours.

In 1996 Michael introduced Sharon to her future business partner, Robert Kiyosaki. The two shared a passion for helping people take control of their financial lives and worked together in creating their company, Rich Dad. As a co-founder and during her tenure as CEO, Sharon built the Rich Dad Company into the largest global personal finance brand. This was the very start of the journey that would launch Sharon Lechter to the very top of the business world and to becoming a global authority on financial literacy.

Although many stages primarily feature men, Sharon has become a leading Professional Inspirational Speaker and Mentor who has also written some of the most influential books in business. Sharon’s exceptional publishing repertoire includes the international bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad, which graced the New York Times Bestseller list for over 7 years, along with 14 other books in the Rich Dad series.

In 2007, Sharon left the Rich Dad Company and created Pay Your Family First, which she still serves as CEO. Pay Your Family First empowers women, children and families to use financial literacy education to build positive and prosperous futures for themselves. All aspects of Sharon’s career have been about laying a foundation and helping those who come after her with teachings that transcend time.

After her departure from Rich Dad, Sharon was asked by then President Bush to join the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy - where she served both President Bush and Obama. She also joined forces with the Napoleon Hill Foundation to elevate the teaching of Napoleon Hill in light of the financial crisis in 2008.

Her bestselling books with the Foundation include Three Feet From Gold (2009), Outwitting the Devil (2011), Think and Grow Rich for Women (2014) and Success and Something Greater (2019).

Sharon’s 2014 release, Think and Grow Rich for Women, expands upon this idea of celebrating women and applauding the men who have supported us in creating progress for

women. The book highlights almost 300 women and shares their success stories providing women with the knowledge and inspiration they need to build their self-confidence and succeed in their endeavours (even those in industries that have historically been male dominated.)

After building the world’s largest personal finance brand at Rich Dad, Sharon’s invitation to step into the largest personal development brand on the planet with Think and Grow Rich showed her that, “sometimes you have to close one door for other doors of opportunity to open.” Sharon continues to work closely with the Napoleon Hill Foundation and has additional books in the works, including the upcoming 10th anniversary edition of Think and Grow RichThree Feet From Gold.

Give a person a fish, and they will eat for a day. Teach a person to fish, and they will eat for a lifetime. Sharon Lechter has been a firm believer in this concept throughout her business career, as she preaches the fact that inclusive and non-discriminatory financial education is the gift of a lifetime. Businesses should be providing financial wellness programs to employees in order to reduce stress, increase employee engagement, and boost the bottom line of the company.

Sharon Lechter’s success and prominence in the business industry has been recognized repeatedly over the years. She was also the first woman inducted into the Personal Development Hall of Fame. In 2018, she received the Global Voice Award from the World Woman Foundation, as well as the Literary Achievement Gold Medal from the Napoleon Hill Foundation. These are just a few of the awards Sharon has received for her dedication to elevating the financial well-being of humanity.

On the role of women in the economy over the next decade, Sharon said emphatically: ‘You are the CEO of your own life, so take control. You are either the master of your money, or you are a slave to it. Stop seeking worklife balance and start seeking work-life fulfilment by living ONE BIG LIFE.’ As it relates to financial freedom, she europeanbusinessmagazine.com 73

100 CEOs. Emma Walmsley of GlaxoSmithKline, is the only woman within the top 25 highest FTSE 100 CEO earners in 2019. As if this didn’t sound bleak enough, a FTSE 100 CEO is currently more likely to be called Steve (7) than to be a woman.

Let’s take a look at the top women in business in 2019, according to the FTSE 100 CEO list: Emma Walmsley – Age 49 Company – GlaxoSmithKline Hired as CEO: April 2017 Other: Was named as the Most Powerful International Woman in business by Fortune Magazine in 2018.

Alison Cooper – Age 52 Company – Imperial Brands Hired as CEO: March 2010 Other: BBC’s Women’s Hour voted her as one of the most powerful UK women Dame Carolyn McCall – Age 57 Company – ITV Hired as CEO: January 2018 Other: McCall was given an OBE back in 2008 for services to women in business

shares a simple formula: ‘Assets are sexy! Financial freedom comes when the income from your assets exceed your expenses. Invest your time into buying, building or creating income producing assets.’ As it relates to the economic future: ‘Women are the greatest economic power for the future. When women join men at their rightful seats at the table and work side by side, we will achieve the greatest economic results in history.’

However, the battle for female equality in business is far from over, as 2019 statistics still show a very real imbalance remains in our modern society. Out of all CEO positions across the FTSE 100 companies, only six are currently women.

This was down from seven in 2018.

These six women also earn just 4.2% of the total pay awarded to the FTSE 74 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Liv Garfield – Age 43 Company – Severn Trent Hired as CEO: April 2014 Other: Currently the youngest serving CEO of a FTSE 100 company Alison Brittain – Age 54 Company: Whitbread Hired as CEO: January 2016 Other: Brittain was awarded a CBE in 2019 and oversaw a deal to sell Costa to Coca-Cola for £3.9 billion in 2018.

Alison Rose – Age 50 Company – Royal Bank of Scotland Hired as CEO – November 2019 Other – Rose became the first woman to lead a major UK lender.

What will 2020 bring?

Sharon’s excitement for the new decade is well founded as she is highlighted in the current television series called The World’s Greatest Motivators airing on February 22, 2020.

In addition, The April release of Exit Rich- The 6P Method to Sell Your Business for Huge Profit marks her 24th book as readers all over the world continue to seek out her knowledge and wisdom. Sharon is still as committed as ever to financial education and to changing the dialogue around women in business.

While the numbers are clearly still lagging behind the necessary levels of equality, we may see a few more steps towards balance in the new decade. The UK set targets back in 2016 with regards to female hirings in executive positions within FTSE 100 companies. If it is to meet these targets, one in every two FTSE 100 executive appointments over the next 12 months will go to a woman.

This is necessary if they are to hit their target of women making up for a third of all executive-level leadership teams by the end of 2020. The Hampton-Alexander review, commissioned by the government, has come to the conclusion that more women across these firms will have to be propelled into the aforementioned positions across the next few months. While this would not mark an end to inequality in the workplace, it would provide a very steady base from which to build. It is all about promoting equal opportunity with regards to senior positions so that we can one day reach a point where people are hired and promoted based on merit, rather than their gender, age, or colour of their skin.

The World Economic Forum predicts that if the global economic gender gap were narrowed, the world’s GDP could grow by $12 trillion by 2025.

Join Sharon Lechter in her challenge and join us as we celebrate the progress that women have and are making while recognizing that there is still much work to be done. Then let’s work together to start opening doors for and supporting younger generations of women ensuring continued progress and growth.

For a complimentary download to discover your Personal Success Equation, a complete listing of Sharon’s books and to learn more about her teachings and speaking initiatives, please visit www.sharonlechter.com

Women in European Business In our first part series on ‘Women in Business” , we take a quick look at some of the leading women entrepreneurs in Europe ,who they are and where they are at .

founder.” Zoe studied computer engineering, cultural science and informa cs at university.

Before Neufund, she founded Xyo – a company that re-imagines how people discover apps, Priori Data, and Concise Software, which provides so ware development and engineering services.

Zoe Adamovicz has also held posions at Deloi e, Fox Entertainment Group and the Nasdaq-listed Digital Turbine Inc. Today, she also advises the German and Maltese governments and is a member of the Innova on Board, where she advises the Minister of Digitalisa on in Germany.

Corinne Vigreux

Gillian Tans Gillian Tans, a Dutch businesswoman, was the first female CEO of booking. com. She held this posi on for three years, and is among the world’s highest-paid CEOs with a net worth of $40 million. She stepped down from the posi on in June 2019 and is now a chairwoman of the group’s division.

Gillian Tans joined booking.com in 2002 when the company had only a small global footprint and was based in Amsterdam. During her tenure, the company expanded to more than 10,000 employees across 174 offices worldwide.

Before joining Booking.com, Gillian spent four years with the internaonal Golden Tulip Worldwide hotel group, where she served as a product manager, marke ng manager and director of sales. She also worked for the Intercon nental Hotel Group, and with many independent hotels.

Zoe Adamovicz Zoe Adamovicz is the CEO and co-founder of Neufund, a Berlin-based blockchain-enabled platform for investors, which has raised $14 million to date. She is also an experienced entrepreneur and occasional angel investor, as well as a co-founder of a blockchain pla orm named Founders Bank.

She originally wanted to become an ar st, but, as she says: “Since I had no talents, I ended up as a startup

Corinne Vigreux, a French business execu ve and entrepreneur, is one of the co-founders of TomTom, a Dutch naviga on and map-making company that is known for its mission to create the most innova ve technologies that can help shape tomorrow’s mobility and create a safe, connected, autonomous world free of conges on and emissions. TomTom was founded in 1992, and today is valued at more than $2.4 billion.

Voted as one of the top 50 most inspirational women in European tech, she champions women in the workforce and advocates passionately for improved social mobility through educa on.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 75

Corinne Vigreux is also a founder and main financer of Codam College – a free peer-to-peer coding school for 18-30 year olds, which currently teaches up to 700 students.

Her career began in London, where she worked for Psion, the consumer electronics company, and was responsible for managing exports.

Natalie Massenet Natalie Massenet is a fashion entrepreneur and former journalist, known for revolutionising luxury retail. In 2000, she launched Net-a-Porter, a magazine-format website selling designer fashion, which became the world’s premier online luxury des na on. The concept behind the site was to be able to click on an image of an outfit within a magazine format, and buy it. Natalie Massenet says that the idea came from when she was a emp ng to source products online for a fashion shoot. It took her several years to realise that she had created the magazine format of the 21st century.

In 2015, she stepped down from her role at Net-a-Porter and joined the British Fashion Council as a Chairman, where she promotes UK fashion and London Fashion Week. In 2017, she also joined a fashion e-commerce pla orm Farfetch as a co-chairman, saying that it is the space that she knows and loves.

Amber Atherton Amber Atherton is a Bri sh entrepreneur who founded Zyper, a marke ng so ware company that helps brands 76 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

In 2019, she was featured in Forbes 30 under 30, Europe: Retail and E-Commerce list.

Karoli Hindriks

connect to their superfans in order to build community. The company works with many big Fortune 500 companies, such as Kellogg’s and Nike, to help them iden fy who their top 1% of fans are, and then bring them into a space to co-create a product or to become brand ambassadors.

She was a creator of the popular UK reality television show Made in Chelsea, which is when she understood that brands are doing it wrong when it comes to influencers: “There were no product placement laws in the UK, and brands were willing to pay me even though I’d never heard of them. They were throwing silly money around. It was eye-opening.”

Amber Atherton started her first company when she was nine, and her multi-million-dollar jewellery company My Flash Trash when she was 16. She sold My Flash Trash in 2016 for an es mated $2.6 million. She is also a founder of the visual recogni on app Rubric, which generates cap ons for Instagram.

Karoli Hindriks, an Estonian entrepreneur, started her first business when she was 16: she participated in a school fashion project, which led her to invent a so reflector for pedestrians, which could be worn as clothing or jewelry. She patented and marketed her invention, becoming the youngest inventor in Estonia. Thousands of her products have been and are s ll sold in Northern Europe. As of this day, she has registered 2 patents, has 3 registered design solu ons and 2 interna onal trademarks.

At the age of 23, she helped to establish MTV in Estonia and worked in marketing and public relations for MTV Baltics. Half a year later, she was appointed CEO of MTV Estonia and became the youngest MTV CEO ever. Together with Fox, she successfully launched 7 interna onal television channels in Estonia and the Balc States.

In 2014, Karoli was following a graduate program at Singularity Univesity in California and was inspired to found Jobba cal: a company, which connects technical and media people from around the world with those who were interested in hiring them.

The company has raised $8,9 million since its incep on.

In 2016, she was selected among Top 50 Europe’s most influen al women in the startup and venture capital space by EU-Startups.

Nathalie Gaveau Nathalie Gaveau is a serial entrepreneur and an expert in e-commerce and digital transformation, mobile data, and social marke ng. She has co-founded and developed many e-commerce and mobile pla orms in Europe and Asia.

In 2011, Nathalie founded mobile and web social commerce pla orm Shopcade. It allows users to stay updated with trends, celebrity looks and deals all in one place, powered by magazines, celebrities, bloggers, and its users. Shopcade is o en referred to as the “Instagram for shopping“ and also offers a click-through purchasing func onality and its own e-commerce pla orm.

Today, it has more than 1,5 million users worldwide, and has raised around $4 million in funding.

Before Shopcade, Nathalie co-founded French eBay compe tor PriceMinister, which was successfully sold to Rakuten as one of the largest exits in the European consumer web.

top investors in the world — founders of PayPal, LinkedIn, DeepMind, TransferWise, Zoopla, etc. and is valued at $1,5 billion.

In 2012, Alice no ced that most of the individuals, applying to Entrepreneur First were male, so she co-founded Code First: Girls, a non-profit ini a ve, which provides free web programming courses for female university students with an art background, giving them skills to switch to the tech sector. In its first year, 500 students graduated from the program.

In 2017, Code First: Girls won the e-Skills Ini a ve of the Year at the Women in IT Awards, and Alice was named as one of the most influen al women in the UK’s IT sector.

realized that this device offered a way of learning about the human body.

And so, she moved from Denmark to Berlin in 2011 and started a business with her family. A er a few years, the company launched the first version of the app. Two years later, in 2015, Clue already had around 1 million ac ve users. So far, Clue has raised $27,4 million.

Ida is also known for coining the term “Femtech“: it describes the sector of technology focused on improving women’s health, which is expected to be worth $50 billion by 2025.

Ida Tin Alice Ben nck Alice Ben nck is a Bri sh entrepreneur and business execu ve. In 2011, she co-founded Entrepreneur First, the world’s leading talent investment program that funds individuals and companies across Europe and Asia.

The program is backed by some of the

Ida Tin is a Danish entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of the leading female health tracking app, Clue. Today, Clue has over 10 million users from 190 different countries.

Prior to Clue, Ida ran a motorcycle tour company based in Denmark with her father and didn’t see herself as a tech company founder. However, when the smartphone emerged, Ida europeanbusinessmagazine.com 77

5

of the best tech developments of 2019

5G

The next-genera on wireless technology, which has begun its deployment in 2019, offers faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices like never before.

To be more specific, 5G technology is going to improve processing speeds by more than 10 mes, with average download speeds of around 1GB per second.

Autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, supercomputers — none of it would be possible without 5G networks.

Verizon surprised most of the world by launching its 5G network in April 2019, and became the first company to oer the next-genera on network.

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More 5G networks are expected to appear and to launch across the world in 2020.

Quantum Compu ng (Supercompu ng) Perhaps one of the most fascina ng things researchers, organiza ons and governments have been working on this century so far is Quantum Compu ng.

In 2019, the amount of investment in this still-emerging technology has increased, and the race towards building the first fully-func onal, fully-working quantum computer has intensified.

To be more specific, in classical computers, information is encoded in binary bits, where each bit represents

either a one or a zero. The memory of a quantum computer is made up of bits that can represent a one, a zero, or some combina on. The combinaon is known as a quantum superposi on, and bits with these quantum proper es are known as qubits.

In October 2019, Google announced that it’s a state-of-the-art quantum computer, called Sycamore, completed the complex computation in 200 seconds. That same calcula on would take a classical computer approximately 10000 years to finish.

Smart Homes The growth of home automation and smart home technology has been growing at a rapid rate in 2019.

According to the accountancy and consul ng firm PwC, as much as $14 billion will be spent on smart home devices in 2019 alone.

As of this day, North America still reigns as the largest market for sales of smart home tech, but Europe is not far behind, with the UK named as the fastest-growing and second-largest market for sales of smart home devices.

Several things are fueling this consumer adop on of connected smart home technology: the convenience of always being connected, even when you’re not home, is of huge value to a millennial genera on who value freedom, control, and interac on.

Blockchain In 2019, Blockchain is no longer viewed as an abstract technology suppor ng cryptocurrencies: it has become an internal part of the business pla orm.

According to Deloi e, a leading global advisory firm, Blockchain adoption reached a turning point this year: momentum had begun shi ing from “Blockchain tourism” and explora on toward the building of prac cal business applica ons, with financial services and the financial technology

(fintech) sector leading in Blockchain development.

Different industries, such as technology, media, telecommunica ons, life sciences and health care, and government — are expanding and diversifying their blockchain initiatives, finally moving from the test stage to the end-users, enabling transac onal transparency across a variety of business func ons.

Ar ficial Intelligence (AI) AI has already received a lot of buzz in recent years, but it con nues to be one of the most important trends

to watch. In 2019, we’ve witnessed increased investment and competition in the AI realm, which also resulted in reduced costs.

5 out of 6 Americans use AI services in one form or another every day — think naviga on apps, streaming services, smartphone personal assistants, car-sharing apps, home personal assistants, etc. Among other tasks, AI is also used to schedule trains, assess business risk, predict maintenance and improve energy efficiency.

Perhaps the most rapid improvements in AI during 2019 was seen in autonomous vehicles and robo cs technology.

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Saint Lucia: Beyond the Beaches

A

s we enter a new decade it is vital that investment decisions and ra onale evolve as markets evolve. With over US$ 1.5 billion in foreign direct investment commi ed to St Lucia over the next two years, this unique island na on deserves your attention. So, what makes this Eastern Caribbean sovereign country really stand out?

Ranked as the second freest economy in the Caribbean, based on the Economic Freedom Index 2017, it boasts a strategic geographic loca on, a stable economic, business and political climate, modern infrastructure, a solid history of a rac ng and cul va ng great investments, an industrious, well-educated workforce and a rich biodiversity. It also oers comparative advantages regarding regula on, star ng a business, market access, incentives, transportation, 80 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

infrastructure and quality of life, making St Lucia the place to invest in in 2020 and beyond.

The posi ve momentum experienced in 2019, including record tourism arrivals, con nued na onal economic

growth, further reduc ons in unemployment and numerous initiatives that have benefited the island na on and those that invest there, are all set to con nue this year. Furthermore, St Lucia has been recognised in several investment-related awards including winning the Best Caribbean Island to Invest In, European Business Magazine 2018 and 2019 and the Best Investment Award for Latin America & the Caribbean, AIM Awards 2018.

Invest Saint Lucia (ISL), the prime agency that offers guidance and direcon to new and established investors who are interested in pursuing investment opportuni es in St Lucia, have recently adopted “the Royal Standard” of investment promotion and facilitation, endorsing the island’s natural and physical a ributes, alongside its economic advantages, facilitating both na onal and foreign clients.

Addi onally, the St Lucia Business Incubator & Accelerator Program, established

by ISL, is in the pipeline and will offer invaluable support to assist entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.

Current investment opportunities cover a range of sectors, promising that 2020 is going to be an exci ng year in St Lucia. These include Fond d’Or which is ideal for development in eco-tourism, touted at US$ 150 million - US$ 200 million to Anse Canot suitable for call centre and related BPO/KPO opera ons, with an investment range of US$ 1 million - US$ 1.5 million. In other industries, a record 760,306 cruise passengers visited St Lucia in 2018, owing to the expansion of Berth No. 1 at Pointe Seraphine, and 2019 is projected to be an even greater year for the mari me industry.

For example, for the month of March last year, there was an estimated

145,000 tourist arrivals from cruises, with twelve cruise ships calling at the island on the first three days of the month, highlighting the enormous scope and opportunity within the tourism and mari me sectors.

Upgrading and building new roads and the sprucing up of the capital city of Castries are more improvements set for 2020, further enhancing St Lucia’s a rac veness for business and commerce. Moreover, the expansion of Hewanorra Interna onal Airport, which will accommodate 1 million visitors per year (the current setup is designed for 300,000) is set to complete in 2021, and will further enrich the loca on’s accessibility and a rac veness.

St. Lucia offers much more than just sun, sea and sand, and ISL is on hand to answer all investment queries. h ps://www.investstlucia.com/ europeanbusinessmagazine.com 81

Innovation as a new asset class

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he post-Bre on woods world driven by profits is not a par cularly inclusive or equitable one. Assets globally are governed by accountants while GDP remains the global benchmark for na onal performance, despite it reflec ng an unsustainable and inequitable economic model. It all seems like a very myopic way of looking at the world. The me is well overdue to review what we value as a society. Valuing people and the planet seem to be no-brainers, and yet they are not baked into the global economic system.

As measured by GDP, the USA went through the longest period of economic expansion in the last decade, in its history. Yet, despite this relentless growth, the country is recording its highest ever income inequality. Two American ci zens are reported have more wealth than half of the country. Growth has in many cases, not meant development.

We now live in a world of breath-taking digital transforma on. In the past 10 years the innova on ecosystem has changed our lives. We all carry mobile phones which increasingly rule our lives. The biggest companies in the world are the giant platform companies of Facebook, Google and Amazon. Data is heralded as the most precious resource of our me.

Yet, we also live in a world that is failing to capture the value of innova on. To be clear, innovators are not those incrementally reshaping products; but those offering fundamentally new and superior ones. On occasion, they make the quantum leap and create an en rely new market. We have not been fostering an innova on ecosystem that encourages this, but one where investment piles into the incumbents, rather than the insurgents. To concentrate their market share, these companies then con nue to snap up much of the talent, only to then smother its originality. Its le innovators and entrepreneurs not effec vely addressing the major social challenges of health, educaon, food, water, jobs, finance, security and environment.

The Economic Innova on Group’s own research discovered that despite all this talk of ground-breaking change, the most striking feature of modern business is the complete lack of dynamism and innova on. One figure that stands out in its Dynamism in Retreat report was that the number of businesses created in the US between 2010 and 2014 was less than a quarter of the number created between 1983 and 1987.

Our innova on culture is being s fled. Many of our brightest, high potential innovators with tech start-ups are struggling to survive. Research conducted by Harvard Business School found three out of four start-ups will fail, never to return any cash to investors. Far fewer than that ever return the original investment. Raising capital for start-ups has become an almost impossible process and innova on stops where fear begins. Now more than ever we must establish the right environment and incen ves

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for innovators. We need to create an ecosystem where industries can work together with start-ups, universi es, corporates, governments and investors to solve societal problems effec vely.

The centraliza on of capital is killing innova on and slowing down economic growth. We must be able to deploy capital accurately at speed and at scale - which only decentraliza on combined with knowledge transfer can reach. Innova on is happening outside of universi es – in co-working spaces, garages, accelerators and start-up collabora ves. Some of today’s most innova ve ideas are coming from these groups. We need to embrace, engage and propagate these communi es.

Entrepreneurs are already leading the start-up community; investors must focus on how we find and support this talent. It’s me to fix the funding and incen ves for innova on and build a culture based on collabora on and research. We must change the paradigm that has been created by accountants and let the balance sheet reflect innova on as a new highly inves ble asset class.

Kevin Monserrat is the CEO of Consilience Ventures, a disrupve new collabora ve community connec ng capital, growth companies and business exper se.

From Data to Cancer

How Can AI Help Save Lives

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rtificial intelligence is not new, but recent years have been par cularly interes ng, bringing many exciting opportunies, developments, and experiences.

Especially in the healthcare industry.

Today, cogni ve compu ng systems can diagnose heart diseases be er than cardiologists do, smartphone apps can detect skin cancer with expert accuracy, and algorithms can diagnose eye diseases just like specialized doctors.

Major technology companies — Google, Microso , IBM — are inves ng in the development of AI for healthcare and research. The number of AI startup companies, oriented towards medical AI, is also increasing.

We have a few impressive numbers for you right here.

The total public and private sector investment in medical AI is expected to reach $6,6 billion by 2021. What is more, medical AI is forecasted to become a $10 billion market in the US by 2025.

Accenture, a leading global professional services company, predicts that the top AI healthcare applicaons may result in annual savings of $150 billion by 2026.

It is expected that by 2025, AI systems will be implemented in 90 percent of the US and 60 percent of the global hospitals and insurance companies, replacing as much as 80 percent of what doctors currently do.

Excellent pa ent outcomes, reduced treatment costs, and elimina on of unnecessary hospital procedures with easier hospital workflows and pa ent-centric treatment plans are the prime reasons for the wide adopon and successive growth of the AI market in the healthcare industry.

What is more, AI has the poten al of solving some of the biggest problems of our me: including cancer treatment.

Every year, more and more people are ge ng diagnosed with cancer.

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According to UK Cancer Research Magazine, over 17 million cancer cases were diagnosed across the globe throughout 2018. The same research suggests that there will be 27,5 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year by 2040.

When it comes to treating cancer, me is one of the most essential things. Between diagnosis and the first day of treatment, days and even weeks may pass by un l doctors decide on the treatment plan, perform tests and gather all the necessary informa on.

“If a patient is diagnosed early, the chance of survival increases exponenally. It is known that more than 80 percent of breast, ovarian, prostate, lung cancer deaths are en rely preventable if detected early. Early detec on and diagnosis are key to higher cancer survival rate,” said Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit, whose chest imaging solu on Lunit INSIGHT CXR is currently being used in hospitals in Mexico, Dubai, and South Korea.

This is where AI steps in: it can help to be er predict pa ent’s diagnosis and determine the most effec ve treatment plan for their type of cancer, based on other pa ents with similar medical histories.

With this vision in mind, the Knight Cancer Ins tute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), in partnership with Intel, created a “collaborative cancer cloud“: once doctors have met a pa ent, within hours, they can diagnose him and begin treatment. To be more specific, the diagnosis-to-treatment time period is expected to be shortened to 24 hours in 2020.

What is more, researchers from the Houston Methodist Research Ins tute in Texas have developed AI software that can accurately predict breast cancer risk. To compare, a manual review of 50 charts took 2 clinicians 50 to 70 hours, whereas

the AI so ware reviewed 500 charts in just a few hours, saving the human doctors as much as 500 hours of their me.

Stephen Wong, chair of the Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering at the Institute, noted that “This so ware intelligently reviews millions of records in a short amount of me, enabling us to determine breast cancer risk more efficiently using a patient’s mammogram. This has the poten al to decrease unnecessary biopsies. An accurate review of this many charts would be prac cally impossible without AI.“ Although medical AI is s ll in its early stages, it has already achieved high levels of accuracy.

For example, AI technology developed by the RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) in Japan was able to iden fy features relevant to cancer prognosis that were not previously noted by pathologists, leading to higher accuracy of prostate cancer

recurrence compared to pathologist-based diagnosis.

According to Resistance to Medical Ar ficial Intelligence study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, in some cases, AI truly outperforms human healthcare providers.

We have a few examples for you right here.

When the performance of IBM’s Watson was compared to human experts for 1000 cancer diagnoses, Watson found treatment op ons that doctors missed in 30 percent of the cases.

When UK researchers compared the accuracy of 3 diagnoses made by doctors to those made by AI, doctors were found to be correct 77,5 percent of the me, whereas AI reached an accuracy rate of 90,2 percent.

Doctor Jack Kreindler, a physician, psychologist ad serial technology entrepreneur, founder, and director of The Centre for Health and Human Performance says that “I would sooner

today trust computer scientists and data scien sts to tell me how to treat a really complex system like cancer than my fellow oncologists. I would not have said that two to three years ago.“ However, Maciej Mazurowski, associate professor of radiology and electrical computer engineering at Duke University noted that “The final queson, even if we can show that ar ficial intelligence work as well as humans, will be whether and to what extent it will be adopted into the healthcare system. It’s not just whether it works.”

Today, medical AI is being used for a range of healthcare and research purposes: detection of diseases, management of chronic condi ons, delivery of health services and even drug discovery.

However, although machine learning is a powerful tool, it requires a huge amount of data.

Up un l now, one of the main things, causing slower progress, was that researchers struggled with finding

enough data, all in the same place and all in the same format, which would be accessible to everyone.

You see, as data sharing has always happened between colleagues and experts who know of each other’s work, it has gained traction on an interna onal level just in recent years.

Dr. Robert Miller, medical director of CancerLinq, which gathers anonymized pa ent data from electronic health records nationwide, noted that “There are more than 100 types of cancers with different gene c variations. Data sharing and AI have the poten al to help us further personalize care for each individual pa ent.

For example, if a physician is trea ng a patient with rare cancer, he or she can examine the outcomes of pa ents across the country with same cancer and similar characteris cs to help choose the right therapy for the right pa ent at the right me.“ As medical AI is gaining more and more momentum all over the world, one ques on stands out: what about the future?

Experts in the healthcare industry seem to have similar opinions.

“AI is never going to fully replace physicians, but researchers have made impressive strides in developing AI that specializes in par cular tasks, like reading images from CT scans or pathology slides,“ says Ryan Schoenfeld, vice president of scien fic research at the Mark Founda on for Cancer Research, a New York City-based philanthropy. “I expect we will con nue to see further advances in this area.“ “All of this AI stuff is really new. It’s been out for about five years and hasn’t taken hold in many places. It has a lot of promise: I think the way we treat cancer in 10 years will be a lot different than we do today,“ added Dr. John Vu, a board-cer fied medical oncologist and director of clinical informa cs at Bap st MD Anderson Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Florida.

Although AI is not the cure for cancer that the world has been wai ng for, it sure is a phenomenal way to improve treatment, un l the cure is discovered.

And who knows, maybe one day AI will also help scien sts to discover the cure itself. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 85

Cape Town International Convention Centre successfully hosts the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa

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he Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) boosted Cape Town’s reputa on as Africa’s foremost mee ngs des na on during the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA).

The CTICC contributes to realising the con nent’s potenal by providing a pla orm for regional and global leaders from politics, business, civil society and academia to exchange ideas and knowledge, essen al to building capacity in business and society.

WEFA convened with around 1 000 delegates under the theme ‘Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolu on’.

According to research done by the Cape Town and Western Cape Conven on Bureau, an interna onal conference that a racts such a endance numbers would have an es mated economic impact of R19 million.

The three day global event boosted the Cape economy through direct spending by the delegates, as well as boosting the brand of the Cape and the CTICC as an economic and ideas hub on the con nent.

In addi on to fostering growth through various events, WEF con nues to pay a en on to its carbon footprint during conferences, the results are used to improve the organisation’s sustainability performance, event after event.

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This aligns with the CTICC’s focus on sustainability as a core business prac ce. This commitment is executed through strategically formulated environmental sustainability ini a ves maximising the centre’s sustainable impact while crea ng real value for beneficiaries.

WEFA 2019, hosted at the CTICC, was able to reduce its carbon footprint by ren ng or reusing decora ve elements whenever possible to keep waste to a minimum.

In addi on, no printed programme leaflet was used and paper used for other purposes was sourced from sustainably managed forests.

The event u lised the centre’s mul -bin system for recyclable waste, while meals prepared by the centre’s kitchens were prepared with diverse local and healthy ingredients. The CTICC procures all food and beverage within a 50km radius where possible and dependant on clients requirements. In addi on, food is ordered on a just-in- me management process, only ordering what is required for an event, ensuring fresh food and minimising food wastage.

Water at the CTICC is also produced by the centre’s reverse osmosis plant, this plant has proven to be a highly effec ve water-saving interven on. The plant produces 200 000 litres of purified and fully potable water in a 24-hour cycle and is able to supply sufficient water to meet all of the conferencing centre’s needs.

During WEFA 2015, also hosted at the CTICC, the forum incorporated the Grow Africa Summit, with a focus on the separa on of recyclable from non-recyclable and compostable waste, as well as the ‘upcycling’ of valuable waste such as wood. This ini a ve achieved an 83% diversion of waste from landfill.

The CTICC’s is ISO 14001 cer fied for environmental management and the centre’s increasing focus on the environment has led to tangible benefits for the community and the planet.

As part of the CTICC’s overall sustainability objec ve, the centre strives for ways to green both its own business, through its sustainability efforts, and the events hosted by their clients.

Sustainability falls within the CTICC’s focus on the triple-bottom-line, people planet and profit, which has translated into tangible and ecological benefits for the City of Cape Town, their clients, the surrounding community and the planet.

For more informa on on the CTICC, go to c cc.co.za, connect with us LinkedIn, Cape Town Interna onal Conven on Centre, like us on Facebook @CTICC or follow us on Twi er @CTICC_Official and Instagram, official_ c cc #ExperienceExtraordinary.

For more informa on, contact the Corporate Communica ons Department at +27 21 410 5000 or email media@ c cc.co.za europeanbusinessmagazine.com 87

What Are Some Big Ecommerce Trends to Expect in the Upcoming Years?

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ith how things are going at the moment, there is no denying that ecommerce will con nue to grow at a rapid speed.

It just so happens that more and more individuals prefer to do their shopping online rather than visi ng brick and mortar stores.

Despite all the competition, there is s ll room to find your place here as well. And once you establish your business, no ma er how big or small it is, you will want to ensure that others do not overtake you.

One of the best ways to accomplish that is by staying ahead of the curve with predicting future trends. This article will give you a general idea of what you will need to implement into your venture to gain an edge and stand out from others.

Print on Demand It so happens that certain markets of ecommerce have more poten al than others. One of the examples of that has to be print on demand.

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What started as a few projects to print custom stuff on t-shirts has slowly turned into a much bigger industry.

People are looking to purchase pillows, mugs, calendars, mousepads, phone cases, and everything else that can have a print on it.

Star ng a similar project on your own is not that diďŹƒcult, especially if you have some experience with ecommerce already. And you can learn about Prin fy print on demand integra on op ons and everything else about print on demand in just a few days.

Environmental Problems Our planet is suering quite heavily and there is a big emphasis from certain individuals on s cking to products that are environment-friendly.

Whether it is possible to expect that this trend will become big enough for companies to go completely green is diďŹƒcult to predict, but if you want to do some good for Earth and gain customers who are into vegan skincare

products, recyclable bags and all that, then look to become more eco-friendly.

Mobile Shopping It is no secret that mobile shopping has been around for a long me now.

However, it has grown a lot recently and has overtaken desktop users.

What this means is that every business should look to focus more on providing the best possible experience for their mobile shoppers. Otherwise, they stand to lose a lot of money.

It is mostly Millenials and Generation Z that spend their time on smartphones, but the elderly are also becoming technology-aware and like to browse the internet using both tablets and smartphones.

Social Media Social media is another big player.

While the likes of Facebook and Instagram have been around for years, there are new platforms popping

every now and then and they are also making an impact.

The two big ones also are not remaining sta c. Facebook has its own “Buy� bu on now, which makes it possible to shop using it directly. Not to men on all those groups that you can sell on.

As for Instagram, well, influencers are the first thing that comes to mind and how much of an impact they make in both raising brand awareness and driving sales.

The role of social media is ever-evolving, and it would not be a stretch to say that things will con nue to go in that direc on.

Ar ficial Intelligence Virtual reality gear itself has a lot of poten al, but one cannot underestimate how it will impact the way everyone treats customer service and other shopping habits.

For instance, it has been shown that conversa ons with customers have a posi ve impact on how they react to you. But there will not be enough people in the customer support department to ensure that.

Thus, Chatbot AI will be your virtual assistant and be in charge of handling a lot of workload. Of course, it is not something that is easy to implement, but as technology connues to grow, so will the number of companies that integrate it into their business prac ce.

Voice Search Voice shopping is also finding its place. Some experts believe that the number of people who do most of their shopping via voice command will reach about 50 percent in the next couple of years.

It can be challenging to implement a system that ensures the quality of voice shopping as it requires a lot of work with longtail keywords, product descrip ons, etc. Nevertheless, if you were to make it happen and be the first in your niche, there is no telling how much money you would make.

Mul -Currency and Mul -Language Those who are looking to make themselves available to more than just local markets ought to think about introducing mul -currency purchasing op ons as well as translating the website’s content into languages like Spanish, French, German, Russian, and so on.

So to give a conclusion, ecommerce will certainly see some changes in the future and you need to be at the top of your game and do everything in your power to run a sustainable business.

These trends are going to play a big role, so do not miss out on any of them. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 89

THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS: WHAT IS HAPPENING NEXT?

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he past three industrial revolutions each transformed the “modern” society of the mes, fundamentally changing the world in which we live. And we are now in the age of the fourth industrial revolu on – which one again, is totally disrupting businesses and completely changing the way in which we have lived and worked un l now.

And just imagine what might lie ahead, ten years from now, given that some of these new disrup ve technologies, such as Ar ficial Intelligence (AI) or the Internet of Things (IoT), were not even conceivable just a few short years ago?

What does the fourth industrial revolu on bring to us?

inven on has brought us more opportuni es – Ar ficial Intelligence (AI), Big Data analy cs, machine learning or the Internet of Things (IoT).

We can now more easily complete work, and with more precision than before. With the help of robo cs and Big Data, we can be er op mise business processes, which also brings us many opportunities in our private lives. Companies can now be er custom their offers to our specific needs; banks have introduced new advanced ways of paying such as mobile wallet, face paying, etc., and smart ci es are sure to improve our lives significantly.

S ll, one of the main engines of the fourth industrial revolution is the Internet of Things (IoT), which is set to completely reshape our future with the many opportuni es that it brings.

The fourth industrial revolu on has brought us many changes. Instead of traditional competition, businesses now func on through connec on and collabora on, by crea ng ecosystems where par cipants exchange ideas, informa on and resources to improve efficiency and product quality, reduce costs and boost innova ons, which have all resulted in new disruptive technologies that un l recently we could only imagine in movies, yet now –are our reality.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of interconnected devices that allows easy transfer of data and twoway conversa on with no need for human-to-computer or human-to-human interac on, because all devices are connected to the Internet through WiFi or sensors, enabling unlimited opportuni es for users.

Even though many of these new inven ons are s ll in the ini al phases of development, we can already see how our lives are changing as a result of them. It really cannot be said which

IoT allows us to have smarter devices that we can control by applica ons on our mobile phones or computers. Now you can turn on your washing machine even if you are not at

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The main driver of the fourth industrial revolu on – Internet of Things (IoT)

home. Your smart thermostat can learn your preferred home temperature. You can turn on the lights in your house using just your voice, or you can check which ingredients you have in your refrigerator while you are at the supermarket. IoT also enables endless opportuni es for businesses, such as improved data analy cs, monitoring devices, predic ng maintenance needs, tracking the efficiency of a produc on line, etc.

As a result, all companies simply have to adopt these new technologies if they want to survive today. Digitalisa on and especially IoT have already increased efficiency, reduced costs, improved product quality and accelerated innova ons to an extent that a company not adapting to these new circumstances will be sure to fall behind its compe tors, eventually disappearing from the market.

control autonomous cars or a city’s power sta on, for example.

And such cases have already happened. For example, Amazon’s Alexa wrongly sent an individual 1,700 voice recordings from another person’s device, while another couple’s home Nest system was recently hacked by someone who raised their smart thermostat to 90 degrees and played “vulgar” music throughout their home.

We can therefore also expect some new legisla on in this field.

What is next?

The value of IoT in our lives is shown in the es ma on that the IoT market will be worth $267 billion by 2020 and generate $3.7 trillion in revenue by 2028. Its con nued development will also be much faster, given that adding devices to the current network is less costly.

On the other hand, people generally have already recognised the many opportuni es that IoT offers, and are more and more interested in using it. For example, Americans have already purchased over 40 million smart home-devices, with this trend being sure to con nue over the coming years.

The fourth industrial revolu on and IoT offers endless opportuni es Cloud computing will soon be replaced with edge compu ng, which enables extra-fast speeds for sharing large amounts of data. Also, with the help of IoT, Samsung and Sony have introduced Gigabit LTE, based on Qualcomm Snapdragon technology, so as to link current LTE and future 5G networks.

Giants like IBM, Microso , Cisco, SAS and others have already invested a lot in IoT analy cs, allowing, among other things, the further development of smart ci es with parking, weather and traffic jam sensors, video cameras in streetlights, incident detection devices, etc., which will make transporta on, and our lives generally, much easier.

However, although our future with IoT will surely be bright, there are some issues with data security and privacy that need to be solved. As all devices are connected to the Internet, there is always a risk that someone can hack the systems. The consequences may be smaller in the cases of someone intruding your personal life and misusing your data, but they have the potential to create some incredibly dangerous situations if someone were to hack systems that

Future direc ons of IoT also include the emergence of new IoT devices, and we can expect the integra on of network sensors into robo cs, ar ficial intelligence and business processes, with further development of driverless cars and smart ci es, etc.

Machine learning based on ar ficial intelligence that learns from data received and a faster 5G network will also accelerate further development of IoT and expand its use in other devices.

There is also the Internet of Everything (IoE), which unites connec vity and intelligence in devices, thus enabling even more opportuni es than IoT. Taking into account its strategic value, the IoE market is es mated to reach $7 trillion by 2020.

Indeed, the fourth industrial revolu on and IoT is completely transforming our lives and the world in which we live. Although we cannot imagine how our future will look, or an cipate the further disrup ve inventions ahead, we can be sure that there is s ll a lot yet to come as part of this transforma ve period in human history. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 91

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Your Brand: What’s at Risk?

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uilding and maintaining a strong brand idenঞty is not a simple task. It was not an easy job a few decades ago, and now, as we thrive in the digital age, it has become even more complicated. European Business Magazine Reports ( Nick Staunton) The internet, social media, mobile development — consumer expectaঞons have changed so rapidly in the last ten years that businesses need to find new ways to adapt — and keep up.

Today, people want to be a part of an experience. They want it all, and they want it immediately, and this is perhaps the most signiCcant change to branding: it’s in real-ঞme, and besides Cnding an emoঞonal connecঞon with their customers, brands need to pay considerable a enঞon to staying protected.

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As businesses have moved online, so have the counterfeiters and pirates, causing signiCcant risks for the supply chain, product integrity, as well as threats to revenue as well as the overall reputaঞon of the brand that took ঞme to earn.

however online tools can help customers destroy a brands name in just a few seconds. In the age of the internet, words spread like a virus, and a single mistake can erase years of hard work dedicated to growing a reputable brand.

With this in mind, a brand’s reputaঞon is — without a doubt — one of the most important things to consider.

Cybersquatting, hacking, domain hijacking, intellectual property the[ — are all potenঞal threats for brands, and it doesn’t end there. Counterfeit products and pirated products online are an approximately 350-billion-dollar market — and it’s sঞll a relaঞvely new phenomenon.

Research, commissioned by the Confederaঞon of Briঞsh Industry (CBI), has shown that over half of customers are willing to pay a premium price for a product if it comes from a company they consider having a particularly good reputaঞon. However, the digital age has made it more challenging to keep brands and businesses safe online.

Tremendous e@ort, ঞme and budget are spent on securing product integrity through the supply chain;

Typically, brandjackers set up fictitious social media accounts or hack legiঞmate accounts to spread anঞ-commercial, misleading or provocaঞve messages that are inconsistent with the brand’s communicaঞon strategy. These acঞons have one goal: damaging the brand’s reputaঞon, and

not necessarily for Cnancial reasons, although, there are many brands out there that have suffered financial losses due to spurious acঞons.

Brandjackers create enঞre websites that look like the original ones but aren’t. A few years ago, yours truly was a lucky co@ee break away from buying a luxury watch from one such site. As the price was quite high, I decided to ring them to confirm if I could pick up the watch in Spain, where they said they were based.

When they explained that they had moved to Germany — alarm bells began to ring. SuLce to say a[er a little more digging around and discovering more miserable customers; I realised that the website was merely a front for nothing!

Brandjackers find ways to attract customers who Cnd it diLcult to tell the di@erence between the original brand’s website and the fake one.

To make it believable, they add various supporting channels, including social media pages, claiming to represent the original brand. Step by step, many customers Cnd themselves buying products from these fake websites, escalaঞng the severity of the problem, which is one of many reasons why it is imperaঞve to keep a brand’s idenঞty and reputaঞon safe.

Thinking globally is imperaঞve: successful brands don’t merely focus on their home countries. On the contrary, they move into other jurisdicঞons and register their trademarks and patents, especially if the business is evolving and there’s a prospect of opening a foreign branch or division in the future which, over ঞme, is used to protect the brand in building a strong brand presence.

Building a powerful brand presence is where brands need to invest, creaঞng a high-level consumer experience, especially online, which makes it harder to imitate the brand’s presence for pirates. Many brands nowadays respond to reviews, comments, and messages while always keeping a calm, collected, professional and polite tone.

It’s all about ensuring customers know what to expect from the brand and how it communicates, once they do — it’s easier to spot if something is wrong or unusual.

Another check-point for every brand to consider is developing a set of digital guidelines. Having clear guidelines makes represenঞng the brand easier, while consistency in communicaঞon helps customers to spot the possible idenঞty the[ more quickly.

Then there are visual elements: using the brand’s logo and other visual design elements consistently — and everywhere, from physical products to social media pages — makes the identification process more manageable.

Brands have regular checks on the main search engines from time to ঞme, searching for your business taglines and other relevant keywords.

Not only does it help to keep an eye on the market and your competitors, but it’s also an excellent tool for Cnding out if they are copying your brand’s visual elements or idenঞty.

If an idea or product has the potential to become the next big thing and informaঞon is leaked before the launch, huge revenues could be at risk as counterfeiters and pirates will act immediately and Yood the market before the actual authenঞc product is on the market.

Even after you’ve taken appropriate acঞons, it’s diLcult to remove the stolen product or service from the market enঞrely. There are thousands of examples of slightly redesigned logos, slogans, and designs of exisঞng brands, and pirates manage to pass them o@ as an enঞrely new business.

So how can you protect your brand from the[ in this digital age? Firstly, it starts by registering the brand’s trademarks. Signs, logos, imaging, letter font, numbers, slogans and even sounds (the luxury brand Hermes has a horse sound when you ring their offices) — everything that distinguishes your brand from compeঞtors needs to be registered and trademarked with the competent authority in your country.

Then there’s content marketing.

With so many businesses building an online presence, content markeঞng has become one of the most criঞcal aspects to a ract consumers and turn them into acঞon takers. It’s essenঞal to copyright a brands content, including images, wri en posts, and videos, to prevent plagiarists from stealing and using the material as their own, europeanbusinessmagazine.com 95

Stealing Ideas – Prevention is Better than Cure

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rcan Demiralay, Partner at Wellers, one of the UK’s leading accountancy firms, looks at why prevention is better than cure when it comes to protecting your business ideas and explains how to ensure they stay safe.

Perhaps it is a reflection on how easily connected we are nowadays, making us unguarded and more open than ever, but it no longer comes as a surprise to hear that the act of stealing business ideas occurs. No matter whether it happens intentionally or accidently, it can have a huge impact on even the most established of businesses.

So, how can businesses protect, plan, and respond?

In its most simplistic form, it is always better to be proactive and plan ahead, so that your business concept is protected, rather than react to a situation once it has happened. Playing catch 96 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

up after the event is much harder than setting plans in motion when things are operating smoothly.

For those that want to follow the prevention line, there are some established ‘safety measures’ that can be put in place to stop business ideas being stolen, for example, trademarks, patents, and/or copyrights. If a business uses any of these solutions, they are in an incredibly strong position from which to fight against anyone looking to steal their concept.

However, the process of actually putting these measures in place can be lengthy, so in the meantime, I would suggest taking three steps to protect your intellectual property: Non-compete agreement – It is important that you ask all employees to sign a non-compete contract. This prevents them from starting any business that might rival or impede yours.

Non-disclosure agreement – Similar to the non-compete, asking everyone who has worked/is working on your

idea to sign an NDA is an absolute must. By doing this, they are bound by confidentiality, and are therefore not able to talk to third parties about your idea. Do be wary of an expiry date, because not having one might be preferable.

Work-for-hire agreement - If you have people helping you improve your idea or product, then make sure that you have it in writing that all improvements are owned by you.

Doing this means that any advancements that are made during their work will still come under your ownership.

Cure not preven on I have discussed why prevention is better than cure, but in some instances you might not have been aware it was necessary, or never got around to doing it because you were so carried away with your fantastic idea. So, if no protection measures

have been put in place and your idea is stolen, there are some important things to remember.

Firstly, do not confront the person/s involved. Wait for an hour or two, making sure you are thinking rationally about the situation. Thinking with your head over your heart in these situations will always have a more desired outcome. Then, calmly contact them and ask to discuss the issue in person.

At this stage, you might find that it has all been a simple mistake, in which case the problem can be resolved amicably. If it is not, then it is likely that legal steps will be required. Approaching the situation calmly makes the most business sense at this stage, because if the issue can be settled without involving third parties, it is a much cheaper and quicker option, which for many entrepreneurs is always a preferred route.

Once the dispute has been settled, in person or in court, there are three things that need to be considered – learn from the experience, keep your idea and then move on.

Learn from it – Put plans in place to stop it happening again in the future.

This is fundamental, and is certainly a case of ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’.

Though it is incredibly tempting to share your concept with anyone willing to listen, it might be better to only share it with those you implicitly trust.

Useful idea – Although the process and concept may seem useless to you now, this isn’t the case. The only thing that has been taken is the actual idea itself, not the strategy or plans you were going to put it place in order to establish a successful business.

Having the vision is only one part of creating a successful business, so keep your strategy and implementation to yourself for next time around.

Also, having your idea stolen does not mean you can’t launch it to market. It is still your creation, so you know it better than anyone else. Just make sure you are clear on how you are going to launch and ignore the disturbance that has taken place beforehand. You had plans, stick to

them, and innovate wherever possible to affirm your position as the leading product/service available.

Leave it – Your other option is to move on. If the process has left you feeling uninspired about the idea or less passionate about your initial vision, you can just walk away.

Starting again isn’t for everyone, so don’t feel embarrassed if this is the avenue you take. Don’t give up though. You can start a new project, or find a different market to operate within, but don’t give up. The entrepreneurial spirit is not in everybody, so don’t waste your talents feeling sorry for yourself, pick yourself up and be an improved version second time around.

In Summary Stealing someone’s idea is underhand and unethical, but it does mean that someone thought your idea was worth taking. No matter if you are just starting out, looking to grow, or have had your idea stolen in the past, the same rules apply. Protect your concepts and plan against them being taken. If you have all the appropriate protocols and systems in place, it minimises the risk of them being taken, and helps you rest slightly easier at night.

For more information and insight into how to asses and implement your business idea visit: h ps://www. wellersaccountants.co.uk/blog/howto-assess-and-implement-your-business-idea. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 97

KAISERWETTER:

Harnessing the power of big data and artificial intelligence to drive investment into renewables

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t is no secret that we are currently facing a climate emergency. The Global Climate strikes which dominated world news in recent weeks, alongside the UN Climate Change Summit in New York, underlines the scale of the existen al crisis we are facing and the urgency with which we must proceed to avert further irreparable damage to our planet.

Regre ably, the debates and discussions around Climate Change are o en nged with despair and hopelessness. The reality is that we have the knowledge and the soluons required to address this situa on, and that investment into renewable energy sources should be at the core of confron ng this climate emergency as an ethical investment solu on to global warming. Indeed, governments are already aware of this, and the European Union hopes to mobilize up to â‚Ź177 billion of public and private investment per year from 2021 in order to meet its own climate change goals.

Investment into renewables is one of the solu ons to address global warming pragma cally in a way that will produce mutual benefits for the planet and the global economy. In turn, this development will steer decision makers into suppor ng policies that will ins tu onalize these sustainable economic prac ces. Private investment in the sector using digi za on such as the Internet of Things and Ar ficial Intelligence is essen al for transi oning away from fossil fuels and towards investments which are both ethically a uned to the climate emergency we are facing, and 98 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

economically viable and profitable. Kaiserwe er is at the vanguard of this drive towards increased digitaliza on in the renewables energy sector.

The reluctance to invest in clean energy sources stems from a number of misconcep ons about the sector, notably that it is riddled with investment and performance risks, as well as suscep ble to market vola lity. The crux of Kaiserwe er’s strategy is based on the premise that these misconcep ons must be changed to drive investment into the sector, and that data is the key to a rac ng the required capital to unlock the full poten al of the renewable energy assets that are driving the clean energy transi on. As the market’s first ‘IntelliTech’ company, Kaiserwe er’s business model is centered on digitaliza on performing Data Analy cs as a Service (DAaaS) for the management of renewable energy produc on facili es, combining the opportunies offered by the Internet of Things (IoT) with Smart Data Analy cs, Predic ve Analy cs and Machine Learning to maximize the efficiency of power genera on.

For example, Kaiserwe er´s award winning IoT Platform ARISTOTELES uses Smart Data Analy cs, Predicve Analy cs and Machine Learning based on Ar ficial Intelligence. Those provide more certainty over changeable factors that impact renewables, like weather patterns, making investment in this sector more a rac ve and thus helping secure climate change targets. These methods of securing leverage over capital would provide the kick that the market needs right now to make these ambi ous goals a ainable.

Machine Learning allows ARISTOTELES to present such a dynamic set of opportuni es for investors, through its ins nc ve and intui ve approach to data analysis based on cu ng-edge algorithms. We are building upon our exper se in this area and as a result we have been recently presen ng our newest Machine Learning innova on, able to predict future wind turbine failures and surfacing alerts to maximize wind farm performance and to minimize investment risks. This story, involving data scien sts, is a success, especially by knowing that 85% of all AI projects are failing. Being part of the 15% shows Kaiserwe er’s great capabili es for future AI innova on.

Kaiserwe er provides the key to the push that the market needs right now urgently to a ract and maintain the profitability of private investment into renewable energy technologies in an agile and intelligent manner across borders through data analy cs and digitaliza on. Through this, the ambi ous goals set forward by the EU can be reached and carbon emissions reduced.

IoT, Big Data, Smart Data Analy cs, Predic ve Analytics, Augmented Analy cs and AI present the future of renewable energy and a means of helping to change the situa on around climate change. But without con nued investment, strategic partnerships and commitment, we risk backtracking. Through partnerships with companies like Kaiserwe er, energy investors can invest in these renewable energy funds with confidence that they will have higher protec on against market vola lity and will be turning the de on the climate crisis.

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5 of the Biggest Struggles for Small Businesses in 2020

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mall and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. They account for 99% of all Bri sh businesses and are more varied than you could imagine.

But despite the huge number of small businesses out there, more than 5.8 million at the last count, life can be hard. They have to deal with all the challenges faced by larger organisations but without the added security provided by scale. That can leave small businesses dangerously exposed to the fluctuations of the wider economy, increasing compe on, changing customer preferences and much more.

In this guide, we’re going to explore the top challenges small business owners will face in 2020. That includes challenges experienced by businesses of every size, such as the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, as well as some that are unique to small businesses.

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How Many Small Businesses Fail?

It’s often said that half of all small businesses fail in their first year. However, the latest figures from the Office for Na onal Sta s cs show that’s not necessarily the case.

In fact, of the 672,890 new businesses registered last year, that’s the equivalent of 70 new businesses every hour, 91% can s ll be opera ng in certain industries a er the first year. However, fast-forward five years and just 40% will s ll be trading.

Small businesses fail for many reasons.

Some just don’t pass the market test.

There’s no way to shield small businesses from compe ve forces, and given the constant cycle of innovaon, risk-taking and crea ve destrucon, it’s not surprising that many ventures fall.

However, many other businesses fail due to circumstances that could have been avoided if they had been iden fied early and properly managed.

Top Challenges for Small Businesses in 2020 (1) Bri sh Businesses are Wary of Brexit The next struggle small business owners expect to face in 2020 is the post-Brexit impact. According to a YouGov survey, 39% of small business owners think that exiting the EU will leave their business worse off, while just 10% believe they’ll be be er off.

The survey shows that entrepreneurs in London are the most likely to have concerns for their business post-Brexit.

Nearly half (49%) think their businesses will be worse off overall once we leave the EU, followed by 47% of business owners in Scotland and 44% in the south west of England.

The level of concern business owners have also varies depending on the sectors they operate in. 47% of small manufacturing businesses feel they’ll be worse post-Brexit, followed by 45% of retail and 42% of hospitality business owners.

Those in the professional services sector are the most bullish about their post-Brexit prospects, with 57% of legal firms and 52% of accountants saying they will not be affected.

With many business owners believing they’ll be worse off a er Brexit, there will inevitably be an impact on business insolvency rates. Figures from Euler Hermes forecast business insolvencies will rise by 9% next year in the event of a ‘so Brexit’, and increase by 20% if there’s a ‘hard Brexit’. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 107

(2) Cashflow is S ll the Biggest Concern Cashflow is a perennial concern for small business owners and it will connue to be their greatest challenge in 2020.

According to the recent Small Business Trends report from Guidant Financial, 33% of more than 2,700 respondents said that cashflow was a problem for their business. That’s despite the fact that 78% said their businesses were currently profitable and 53% ranked their happiness with their current situa on as 9 out of 10 or higher.

No ma er how profitable a business is or how many assets it has, without cash, there is no business. You will not be able to cover major recurring costs like rent and payroll, pay business tax, fulfil supplier invoices or purchase supplies and equipment to maintain your opera ons. Effec vely, the business will be strangled.

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Cashflow issues can be caused by factors such as falling sales, high levels of spending and a lack of rigorous cashflow management, but it’s late payments from clients and customers that are the leading cause of cashflow problems in the UK. According to the latest figures from the BACS payment scheme, 54% of small businesses are currently experiencing overdue payments, which is the highest level since 2015. The average late payment debt burden has increased to £25,000 per company, with SMEs repor ng that a debt burden of £35,000 could jeopardise their business.

The UK government has introduced Payment Prac ce Repor ng, which requires large organisa ons to report on how quickly they’re paying their suppliers in their annual accounts to expose poor payment practices.

Small businesses are using this publicly available data to determine who

they supply to, and this could help them overcome the challenge posed by late payments in 2020.

(3) The Threat of Cybera acks Con nues to Grow Cybera acks occur every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, and, if you run a small or medium-sized business, you’re a prime target. According to the latest figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), small businesses in the UK are collec vely subject to nearly 10,000 cybera acks a day, with the cost of these attacks estimated at £4.5 billion a year.

UK small businesses have been subject to 530,000 phishing attacks, 374,000 instances of malware, 301,000 fraudulent payment requests and 260,000 cases of ransomware over the last year. Small businesses are par cularly suscep ble to cybera acks because they:

• Lack sufficient security measures and trained personnel • Hold sensitive data that could be valuable to hackers (credit card numbers, protected health information, etc.)

• Do not use third-party services or an off-site source to back up their files or data • Connect to the supply chains of larger organisations and can be used as a way to break in The FSB has put the average cost of a UK cybera ack at £1,300, but even breaches that do not cause financial consequences or data loss can s ll have a nega ve impact.

Most commonly, breaches lead to businesses taking up new measures to prevent future attacks and staff time being spent dealing with the consequences of the breach, rather than focusing on their day-to-day work.

(4) There’s a Lack of Affordable Housing Housing is not o en considered to be a critical part of the UK’s small business infrastructure, but in 2020, it will become more important than ever before.

Just 25% of business owners who responded to a recent YouGov survey said they believe the availability of affordable housing is ‘good’ in their area, and this causes several challenges.

Perhaps the most obvious issue business owners experience is difficulty a rac ng the best talent. Small

businesses can rarely afford to compete on wages with larger organisaons, and when housing in the area is expensive, workers will o en have li le choice but to follow the money.

A lack of affordable housing can a l s o c a u s e p ro d u c t i v i t y co n cerns. Research from VitalityHealth, the University of Cambridge and the Mercer consultancy, found that employees whose commute to work takes less than half an hour, gain an addi onal seven days of produc vity a year when compared to those with a commute of an hour or more. Hours spent on trains and sat in bumper-tobumper traffic is clearly detrimental to the UK’s small businesses.

The availability of affordable housing is par cularly problema c in southern England and London. 65 percent of small businesses in London think the availability of housing is poor, with the average home cos ng 17 mes the average local household income.

Compare this to a city like Liverpool, where the average house costs just five mes the average income, and it’s clear why some business owners are concerned.

(5) There’s a Growing Shortage of Talent While small business owners in London might bemoan the lack of affordable housing, one resource they’re not short of is talent. In many other parts of the UK, business owners face an ongoing challenge to fill their skilled vacancies, and those talent shortages can have serious consequences.

The YouGov survey found that London is the only region where more small business owners said they found it easy to recruit skilled staff.

Business owners in the Midlands, the East and Scotland found it nearly twice as challenging as those in London, while those in Yorkshire and the Humber found it the most difficult.

These recruitment challenges mean it can take months for some business owners to find suitable candidates, which can prevent small businesses from growing as quickly as they could. Businesses are le with li le choice but to rely on contractors, who tend to be significantly more expensive.

There can also be a knock-on effect on staff reten on, with workers able to chop and change posi ons regularly due to the high demand for their skills.

Reducing this talent shortage is where investment in transport infrastructure such as the HS2 network will pay off.

The hope is that it will put an end to long, unreliable and extremely busy journeys and improve the mobility of the workforce so that skills can be distributed more evenly.

What are Your Concerns For Your Small Business in the Year Ahead?

At Company Debt, we work with the directors of small businesses to help them overcome the financial challenges they face. Whether it’s a cashflow shortage, HMRC tax problems, an inability to access finance or a business that’s struggling to grow, we can provide expert advice and assistance to help you thrive in 2020. Just get in touch for a no-obliga on discussion of your circumstances. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 109

T H E B O A R D D I R E C T O R S’ P R O G R A M M E

Board members: take a 360° view Understand how to: • äçç ùäïøè äñç Ĥñç æòðóè÷ì÷ìùè äçùäñ÷äêè • êäìñ ÷ëè æòñĤçèñæè ÷ò ðäûìðìöè üòøõ õòïè òñ ÷ëè åòäõç • ëäñçïè ìñĥøèñ÷ìäï ö÷äîèëòïçèõö Ýëìö ìñ÷èñöìùè ÷úò çäü õèöìçèñ÷ìäï óõòêõäððè ìö ïèç åü Ùõòéèööòõ Êñçõèú Ôäîäåäçöè úëò ëäö æäõõìèç òø÷ èû÷èñöìùè ìñ÷èõñä÷ìòñäï åòäõç õèöèäõæë úì÷ë äççì÷ìòñäï ìñóø÷ éõòð ìñçøö÷õü èûóèõ÷ö Öòõè ìñéòõðä÷ìòñ hly.ac/bdp Îðäìï exec@henley.ac.uk Ýèï +44 (0) 1491 418 767

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Every aspect of the centre’s offering has been considered – from the more than 140 000m² of flexible space across two state-of-the-art buildings to world-class technology, delicious cuisine, and servicedriven staff. Turn your knowledge and vision into potential with events that shape your future at the CTICC.

Call +27 21 410 5000, email sales@cticc.co.za or visit www.cticc.co.za and connect to possibilities.

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