31 European Business Magazine Summer Edition 2018

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SU S UMM MMER MER ER EDI DITI TION N | 20 2018 18

EUROPEAN BUSINESS

MAGAZINE MARIANNA POLITOPOULOU Chair man of B oD & CEO of NN Hellas

Blockchain / Crypto Kings / ICF / Social Influencers / Brompton Bikes / Miller Heiman Group / Gail Emms / Medical Tourism / Money and Happiness / Fintech / Bitcoin Bubble / Croatia FDI

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Table of Contents

13

CEO Shuffle

45

Top of Their Game

14

Latest Technological Gadgets 2018

47

European Business Meets Marianna Politopoulou

16

Trends and Statistics

19

Brexit: Australian minister sees expansio

Chairman of BoD & CEO of NN Hellas Leading Life Insurance into the New Era

plans for Ireland 19

New Customs Facilities Being Constructed

51

Asia: The Future is FinTech

53

We talk to Arvie de Vera SVP & Head of Fintech Group at UnionBank

In Dublin Port Ahead of Brexit 20

Uber to develop flying taxis in Paris with new research centre

20

London’s Fastest Growing Sectors in 2018

22

Has the Bubble Burst?

24

Brompton Bikes - The British Success Story

26

Coaching: Sourcing Solutions

28

Transforming Lives Through Coaching

30

P2P lending is being taken over by Millennials

31

Revolut - Fintech’s Unicorn Disrupts

34

56

Medical Tourism Boosting Turkey’s Economy

58

The New Era Social of Influencers

62

The Money Factor And Is It Making us Happier?

71

Innovating The Payroll Sector

73

European Business Meets Ruairi Kelleher

76

European Business Magazine meets Laurent de Veyrac

90

Star Embraces Business and Innovation

the Traditional Banking World

92

UMB Makes Giant Strides in Its Digital Agenda

Miller Heiman Group

94

US — China Trade War

How to Build World Class Sales

Advances to the Semi-Finals

and Service Organisations 38

Banking Sector Meets Digitalisation

41

European Business catches up with

European Business caught up with the ever engaging Gail Emms

96

The Entrepreneur Bringing Supply Chain Know-How To The UK’s NHS

98

Simon Tribelhorn 43

Ghana: Africa’s Latest Economic

But guess what, football is not the only thing Croatia is good at

100 Where Next with Blockchain?

europeanbusinessmagazine.com

EUROPEAN BUSINESS

europeanbusinessmagazine.com

MAGAZINE

Publishers Note

W

elcome to the Summer edition of European Business Magazine!We are excited and yet relieved to bring you our new summer issue and possibly our best yet.

Focusing on changes and disruptions, we lift the curtain on all the best stories that are turning the business world and various industries upside down.

There are various words around that describe various business climates and industries! Disruptor, innovator, game changer, startup, entrepreneur etc but melting is probably the best word that currently describes how we are right now in London.Not only with the never ending hot weather but with both Brexit and now with the new trade deals being negotiated from the Trump controlled government.

Brexit negotiations and its supposed exit with the EU are fair to say in meltdown while the USA are imposing new trade deals with the EU with seemingly special treatment singled out for both China and now Russia.These negotiations are affecting business on a large scale and as a result, alot of Trans-Atlantic relations are on a rocky edge.

In the UK, the more the negotiations go deeper, the more we know how little anyone in Britain knows of the consequences of how it will affect trade, as we found out when Theresa May was quizzed recently in Parliament on which country would actually levy the import tax on products from abroad when entering into Europe. The actual country where the product enters or the UK? A very murky, unclear yet skilled political response from Theresa May. Even the very basic stuff seems difficult.

While It doesn’t help most of the UK now want a second referendum and so negotiations are being deliberately delayed, Trump it seems, is wasting no time in exercising his new economic power on countries that they have been doing business with for years.

Trump may well be within in his right to renegotiate these deals and will no

12 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

do doubt make huge revenues for the treasury but at what costs to its farmers and exporters who rely heavily on foreign markets. He has also slapped twenty five per cent on millions of dollars of goods from China and will be taxing automotive manufacturers who trade with the US.The immediate backlash being that countries like Germany have now increased multilateral trade systems with non US countries such as China and will be continuing to do so.

Interesting times ahead not only for the USA but for EU exporters.

Moving on to other features of our summer edition of European Business Magazine. It truly has a diverse range of topics that we have covered. We bring you Africa’s latest economic star Ghana, while we also report on how the Fintech scene in Asia is managing to travel at the speed of light and what happens when the banking sector meets digitalisation. We additionally look at Fintech being the major disruptor in Europe and how it is piloting major industry shakeups as they find their way into new sectors (Payroll and Taxes). Moving on from that we look at unicorns, blockchain and the latest in cryptocurrency and technological innovations, to special interviews with the likes of Gail Emms. We also share impressive success stories such as our font cover Marianna Politopoulou, Ceo of NN Hellas Greece in an issue that has it all covered. A read, as always, we hope you enjoy.

Publisher Nick Staunton Editor Katie Winearls Deputy Editor Anthony Gill Associate Publisher Brad Adams Features Editor Patricia Cullen Head of Production Marija Hajster 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 NST Publishing Ltd, 19 Leamington Spa (studio 1) Leamington Spa,Cv324tf, UK

Nick Staunton Publisher

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.

CEO SHUFFLE

European Business Magazine gives the low down on some of the recent reshuffles amongst the highbrow in the business world CHANGING THE GAME

David Solomon

NEW ERA AT THE WALL STREET BANK Goldman Sachs has a new CEO. The Company’s current chief operating officer David Solomon will be taking this role over from current Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein in October, who has been in this position for 12 years. Last month, D. Solomon said that New York investment bank is looking in to adding further bitcoin and cryptocurrency services to its portfolio, and experts say that such declaration could give a further boost to bitcoin’s price.

New CEO will take over the role in the beginning of 2019.

Nintendo is going through a major shift in leadership right now, and there are a few intriguing news, as company has appointed not only a new CEO, but also a new President in Europe. Koji Miyake, who previously worked as a general manager of Nintendo’s HR in Japan is now taking up the role of CEO, while Stephan Bole, who used to run Nintendo France, will be company’s new European President. Nintendo is doing really great right now: its latest earnings report in April announced that company had sold nearly 18 million Switch systems, and is on track to sell 20 million more by the end of the year.

EXCITING TV SCRIPT Jennifer Mullin is a new CEO of production and distribution giant FremantleMedia. Taking one of the biggest jobs in international TV, J. Mullin will be company’s first American CEO. She will start her new role on September 1st, and will have to move to London JJen Je een nnif niif n ifeerr M Mul Mu ullllin u liiin n for it.

FremantleMedia is one of the biggest production and distribution groups outside of Hollywood, and can be proud of such unscripted formats like “Idol“, “Got Talent“ and “X Factor“, alongside scripted drama series such as “American Gods“ or “The Young Pope“.

Kojji Ko Koj Miyake Miy (left) (le ft) Stepha Ste phan Bol oe ol

Haan Han ns Veeessttb V tbe b rrgg be

FRESH EYES FOR 5G Verizon aims to clarify company’s strategy, and — as a part of this plan — starting August 1st, new CEO will run the company. Hans Vestberg, who is relatively new in Verizon (think April of 2017) will replace current CEO Lowell McAdam, who’s held the position since 2011.

Experts say that Verizon’s choice of new CEO signals about company’s plans to retain focus on network improvements, and L. McAdam told that the board wanted “a fresh set of eyes““ as the company focuses on its 5G future.

NEW DRIVER IN A FRONT SEAT There’s a new man behind Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ helm — Mike Manley. Several challenges are waiting for him in a new position — from electrifying the manufacturer’s lineup to boosting luxury brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati, to raising the profile of Jeep in China.

M. Manley was picked Mike Manley to replace Sergio Marchionne, the automotive icon who had to leave his position due to serious illness and unexpected deterioration. M. Manley has been head of company’s Jeep brand since 2009, and helped to reach impressive results there. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 13

Latest Technological Gadgets 2018 Samsung’s Unbreakable Smartphone Display Flexible OLED displays have been around for quite some time now, but it looks like Samsung just got it to a new level: can you imagine a flexible OLED panel that has a transparent plastic cover already attached, emulating the properties of glass, but retaining the screen’s innate flexibility at the same time?

Underwriters Laboratories certified an unbreakable Samsung panel — which is capable of surviving all of it without damage: tests included dropping it 26 times from 4 feet and a drop from 6 feet, and subjecting it to extreme temperatures. Samsung even posted a video, in which the plastic-covered OLED panel survives direct strikes from a hammer.

However, no mass production date has been announced yet, so we will have to be patient on this one.

Muhdo - Genetic Profiling and Fitness Plan

14 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Health lifestyle and personalisation have never been so accurate as it is with Muhdo.

This company specialises in a more personal than genetic profiling, offering the most advanced and comprehensive DNA testing and bio-maker analysis for health, fitness and performance of any other genetics health company in the world, helping you discover and take advantage of your genetic gifts to achieve your goals.

All you have to do is simply spit in a tube, stick a stamp on it and send it through the post. Then, Muhdo team will run a bunch of tests and build up a fitness and nutrition plan especially for you.

They can tell you all of it: the nutrients your body needs and doesn’t need, complementary workouts and what exercises you will benefit the most from.

Philips SmartSleep

Nearly 40 percent of people ages 25 to 54 get less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night, which is reported to result in difficult concentration, memory and focus. Studies suggest that deep sleep plays a critical role in resetting our brains to be more alert and focused.

PainPod

Philips SmartSleep is designed to help you get more sleep — and get you the most of it. The headband emits a tone that improves slow wave sleep. Two sensors on the headband detect when you fall asleep and identifies when you enter deep sleep. Then, an algorithm

customises the volume and level of the tone being emitted in a way that the company claims will boost slow wave activity in the brain.

70 percent of chronically sleep-deprived users who have already tried SmartSleep for 2 weeks reported feeling less tired during the day.

We all know that feeling of a headache — or any other ache, for that matter, especially the chronic one.

But it seems like PainPod is here to change this situation. Meet an absolutely new wearable gadget that is a drug-free alternative to painkillers. It is FDA listed and is presented as “able to change the face of medicine as we know it“.

PainPod is powered by a combination of micro-currents and biomedical technology that is not available on any other device in the arena right now. It is able to understand human’s peripheral nervous and body systems and how they actually work to manage pain, improve performance and speed recovery.

All you have to do is just put it on an area that is in pain and it will work like magic. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 15

Trends and Statistics Record Breaking Apple just reached the historic milestone and became the world’s first trillion-dollar company. Company’s shares hit $207.05 just the day after it posted strong financial results.

Experts say that the rise in Apple’s share price was powered by these quarterly financial results which were better than Wall Street had expected. Company’s finance chief, L. Maestri, said that “growth was strong all around the world.“ Since T. Cook has replaced the late S. Jobs as company’s CEO in 2011, Apple’s share price has grown fourfold. It means that company’s stock market value is now more than a third size of the UK economy, and even larger than the economies of Switzerland and Turkey.

Dethroning China China just lost it’s ranking as the world’s number 2 stock market. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, numbers showed that Chinese equities are now worth $6.09 trillion, while Japan reached a number of $6.17 trillion.

The US remains the world’s largest stock market at just over $31 trillion.

B. Lam, head of research at CEB International Investment Corporation in Hong Kong said that “losing the ranking to Japan is the damage caused by the trade war.

The Japan equity gauge is relatively more stable around the current level but China’s market cap has slumped from its peak this year.“

Changing Numbers Barclays half-year profits have fallen by a third — 29% — following a major US settlement and mis-selling provisions. Lender reported the fall in pretax profit to 1.7 billion pounds for the 6 months to June 30, while total income for the period was flat at 10.9 billion pounds.

Rolls-Royce faced some troubles, as company has slumped to a half-year loss and admitted fixing problems with 2 jet engines that would cost 1.3 billion pounds over the next 3 years. Problems with engines have forced company to carry out expensive inspections, various repairs and redesigning.

Global demand for gold has just reached its lowest level since 2009.

According to the industry-funded World Gold Council, sales slowed to 1.959,9 tonnes between January and June. Stronger US economy, political uncertainty caused by Italian elections, significantly less jewellery purchases in India — these are the main reasons for changing numbers according to experts.

Japanese car giant Toyota has posted a 7.2% jump in quarterly net profits, beating expectations and surprising analysts.

New net income reached $5.88 billion dollars, and company sold 2,236,131 vehicles during the period, which equals to a 21,020 vehicle increase compared to last year. Toyota’s operating income increased to 18.87%, but company says that the continuation of a trade war sure brings certain worries to the future.

16 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Opinions “$1 trillion market capitalisation was not the most important measure of company’s success, but was instead a result of its focus on its products, customers and company values,““ — said Apple CEO T. Cook, who had not previously publicly commented on the company’s $1 trillion valuation.

“There is a very broad range of potential outcomes to these Brexit negotiations and we are entering a crucial phase. The UK has taken all the steps, all the secondary legislation it needs to be. The EU authorities still have some steps they need to take,““ — Bank of England governor M. Caney about No-deal Brexit risk.

“If we see a rise, it would raise the cost of locally produced vehicles by around $1800 each, and increase costs for models imported from Japan by $6000. This would be a big impact,““ — Toyota senior managing director M. Shirayanagi on facing the US tariff threat.

“Cooperation between China and the US is the only right choice for the US and China. It’s the universal expectation of the international community. We are willing to resolve the concerns of both sides via talks on the basis of an equal footing and mutual respect,““ — the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, about the cooperation between China and US.

E-Fun The 2018 World Cup might be over, but the FIFA eWorld Cup has brought some new excitement to the arena, as a virtual tournament kicked off in London on August 2, 2018. This 3-day finals events contained 32 elite players, distilled from all over the world of 20 million starters worldwide, hoping to win not only a shiny trophy, but also an impressive prize of 250 thousand dollars.

After a hectic weekend of action in London’s O2 Arena, Saudi Arabia’s “Msdossary“ became the ultimate champion for 2018.

Space News J. Bezos, the founder of an amazon.com, is determined to pull his private space company out of the start-up model and move into production.

Blue Origin, an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight company, owned (and founded) by J. Bezos, has added hundreds of new engineers over the past 3 years, and is looking to double its current workforce to around 3 thousand employees over the next few years.

The main reason for such urgency is New Glenn — a rocket, which J. Bezos promises will be able to haul satellites and even people into orbit.

Company hopes to finish this project by the 2020, and while the clock is ticking, some say that such time frame is no less than “very aggressive“.

New Glenn already has its first customer as Blue Origin is also in conversation with the French satellite firm Eutelsat. Companies have padded their contract, which states the launch of the geostationary satellite in the period 2021 to 2022. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 17

Top 10 Unicorn Startup Companies With the Highest Value 10. Flipkart — $20.8 billion (India) 9. Tencent Music — $23 billion (China) 8. Space X — $24 billion (US) 7. Airbnb — $30 billion (US) 6. Meituan-Dianping — $30 billion (China) 5. Ali Coud — $39 billion (China) 4. Xiaomi — $45 billion (China) 3. Didi Chuxing — $56 billion (China) 2. Uber — $62 billion (US) 1. Ant Financial — $150 billion (China)

Quality of Life Index for 2018 Mid-Year Numbeo released a new Quality of life index, which is defined by such indicators like purchasing power index, safety index, cost of living index, property price to income ratio, traffic commute time index, pollution index and climate index.

10. Unites States — 182,67 points.

9. Japan — 184,25 points.

8. New Zealand — 185,08 points.

7. Germany — 189,13 points.

6. Netherlands — 190,22 points.

5. Austria — 191,99 points.

4. Australia — 192,41 points.

3. Switzerland — 193,97 points.

2. Finland — 197,32 points.

1. Denmark — 199,95 points.

Country Brand Ranking for 2017-2018 Bloom Consulting released the 5th edition of Country’s Brand Ranking. This one is truly interesting, and digitalisation is a big part of it. Bloom Consulting used 5 main dimensions while calculating the indexes: attraction of investment, attraction of tourism, attraction of talent, strengthening prominence and strengthening exports.

10. Italy 9. United Kingdom 8. Germany 7. China 6. France 5. Australia 4. Hong Kong SAR, China 3. Spain 2. Thailand 1. United States of America 18 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

Brexit: Australian minister sees expansion plans for Ireland

A

number of Australian companies operating in Europe are likely to look at locating activities in Ireland because of Brexit, the country’s trade minister said in Dublin in June.

While speaking at an event organised by the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce, Steven Ciobo said that while many Australian businesses would continue to maintain a presence in London after Brexit, some would look to establish operations in Dublin and Ireland.

Mr Ciobo also encouraged Irish businesses to avail of the preferential market access that Australia affords as a bridge into Asia. “You will not regret expansion into a highly dynamic, competitive and developed economy like Australia nor will you regret having access to a market [Asia] with in excess of two billion people with the best market access than any other country globally.

“Likewise, I will be speaking to Australian businesses about the incredible opportunities that exist in Europe and why they should consider, with the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a destination like Dublin ... as a possible destination for the expansion plays in Europe.”

Australia and the European Union recently initiated formal negotiations on what Mr Ciobo described as a “high-quality” free trade agreement. “I want to make sure that we are opportunistic in terms of making sure we can reach our full potential between the EU, including Ireland, and Australia,” he said.

Mr Ciobo said Australia was not looking to swamp European markets with its agricultural produce, contrary to popular opinion. “We produce enough food to feed about 60-70 million people. We have a domestic population of 25 million

people ... the demand we have from the 1.3 billion people in China, and the hundreds of millions of people in Japan, Korea, and Indonesia ...We cannot meet the demand that’s coming out of our region.”

He said it would be a “great shame to see the tremendous potential of this [free trade] deal being hijacked by narrow interests in the agricultural sector”, especially as agriculture accounts for just 2-3 per cent of the Australian economy.

“Our offensive interests in terms of Australia and the EU with respect to a trade agreement is driven by the 75 per cent of the Australian economy that is actually driven by services. Let’s grow the pie together,” he said.

New Customs Facilities Being Constructed In Dublin Port Ahead of Brexit

D

ublin Port this week started to erect new buildings for Irish customs officials to check vehicles coming off ships and ferries after Brexit.

Eamonn O’Reilly, chief executive of the port, said people travelling by sea will again be met with uniformed officers as necessary checks are put in place when the UK pulls out of the European Union.

“We are building the basic infrastructure that is needed, if you like, to put the man with the peak cap with the harp on it, to check vehicles when they are coming off,” he said.

“But the checks will be much more sophisticated than that. We are doing a lot of work with government

agencies. We had 11 civil servants down at five o’clock in the morning last week to have a look at ships discharging at that time, to get a sense of the scale of what is going to be necessary, precisely so we don’t get queues when the necessary checks are put in place, whenever that may be.”

Mr O’Reilly has previously stated that if the new customs checks are not needed in March 2019, he has “reasonable certainty” they will be needed 12 months after that.

Discussions have been ongoing between Dublin Port and the Office of Public Works and other State agencies about “what they require in Dublin Port”.

Speaking to the national television broadcaster on Wednesday 25th July , he said that works are also being carried to “strengthen, deepen and build new piers and jetties” as bigger ships circumventing the UK are already arriving.

“We are seeing larger ships coming already, tending now to go on routes directly to continental Europe,” he said.

Prior to that Dublin Port had announced on Tuesday it would invest up to €1 billion in new facilities over the next 10 years. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 19

Uber to develop flying taxis in Paris with new research centre Uber said that the Paris base will allow it to more easily work with European aviation regulators, such as the European Aviation Safety Agency.

U

ber is going to open a new research centre in Paris as part of the the firm’s plan to develop flying taxis which is part of its Elevate programme.

The new Advanced Technologies Centre, which will open in the autumn, will be Uber’s first development site outside the US. Uber said that it would be investing €20m over the next five years . It will take over five years to engineer all the backend technology, including AI algorithms and air traffic control systems, necessary to support a full-scale aerial taxi service. Tand is partnering with École Polytechnique on alot research schemes.

“Nearly a decade ago, the idea for Uber was born out of a need to get a ride on a cold night in Paris,” said Eric Allison, head of aviation for Uber. “That’s why we’re excited to announce our new Advanced Technologies Centre in the city where it all began.”

Uber’s chief executive,Dara Khosrowshahi said: “With world-class engineers and a leading role in global aviation, France is the perfect place to advance our Uber Elevate programme and new technology initiatives.”

The development centre in Paris will join other global sites, and will initially focus on the machine learning and simulation systems needed to manage flying taxis.

The choice is an interesting one as the company faced alot resistance from taxi groups as it has expanded across France. The government shut down its low-cost UberPop service in 2015, and arrested two executives on charges of operating an illegal transport operation. Uber actually shut down its uber service in 2016 to protest new government regulations aimed at cracking down on ride-hailing apps.

The company recently gained permission to test drone systems in the US as part of a series of 10 projects greenlit by the Federal Aviation Authority that are designed to explore the technologies and the regulations that would be needed to govern their use.

The Paris lab will open this fall, staffed with engineering, machine learning, and computer vision talent, said Eric Allison, the newly appointed head of Elevate, in a blog post. Research will focus on capabilities across airspace management, autonomy, real-time communication networks, energy storage, and charging systems, Uber first decided to bring ride-sharing to the skies in 2016, but the project still faces huge hurdle. The kind of aircraft Uber envisions shuttling passengers from rooftop to rooftop — electric, autonomous, with the ability to take off and land vertically (also known as eVTOL, pronounced ee-vee-tol) — don’t actually as yet, nor does the infrastructure to support such a vehicle and faces competition from Google co-founder Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk, which recently unveiled a two person 110 mph electric drone that is currently going through testing and regulatory approval in New Zealand.

London’s Fastest Growing Sectors in 2018 London’s economy has experienced strong growth over the past decade, according to Instant Offices. Their research found the three biggest business segments currently driving London forward are information and communication, financial and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services.

The UK Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) showed distinct trends in growth for specific sectors, in London and in the UK as a whole.

Key findings for the period between 2015 and 2016 were as follows: • The number of employees in the UK increased by 1.8%, from 29.5 million to 30.0 million.

20 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

• The biggest increases in employees were concentrated in London (up 2%) and the East of England (up 3.2%).

• The largest increase in employees was in the professional, scientific and technical industry, up 4.7%.

• Accommodation and food services also experienced growth of 4.7%.

• Employees in the professional, scientific and technical industry accounted for 21% of the UK’s total increase in employees.

• Employee numbers dropped in the following sectors: retail (by 2.2%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (1.4%), education (0.4%), property (0.6%) and public administration (0.2%).

Where are London’s Top Sectors Based?

According to the Greater London Authority, London’s biggest sectors are concentrated as follows: Inner London: Employment in London’s three key industries is largely concentrated in the inner London sub-region. Inner London also has a large entertainment and hospitality industry, employing people in accommodation, food, arts, entertainment, and retail services.

Outer London: Employment in the outer London sub-region is typically more concentrated in sectors that serve the local population. These

include healthcare, education, business administration, and retail services.

In some parts of the city’s outer reaches, the most prominent sectors are more industrial, in areas such as transport and storage, wholesale, manufacturing and utilities. In outer west London in particular, there is a high concentration of jobs in the transport and storage sector around Heathrow airport.

the coming months, driving the city’s economy forward.

Design and creative industries: Research from Nesta and the Creative Industries Council recently revealed that creative industries are driving economic growth across the UK. Local economies have grown their employment rates in creative industries by an average of 11%, growing at twice the rate of other sectors.

Top London Sectors to Watch

Pros and Cons of Starting a Business in one of London’s Competitive Business Environments

There are a few sectors that are expected to see especially rapid growth in 2018 and beyond. These include: Tech: Digital technology continues to grow and thrive, with £28 billion invested in the sector since 2011.

In fact, the digital economy is growing faster than the UK economy as a whole, as reported by Tech Nation.

Looking to future trends in the tech sector, there is a growing demand for cybersecurity professionals. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) has predicted a significant increase over the coming year, as more businesses look to protect themselves from potentially debilitating cyber-attacks.

FinTech: The financial technology sector in the UK and London had a record year for investment in 2017, with more than $1 billion in investments with over 90% of which were made in London-based firms. FinTech looks set to keep growing in

With such a high concentration of companies operating in the same sectors and the same regions of

London, the city’s business environment is highly competitive. Positioning close to other competing companies in the field can have its challenges, but there are many potential benefits as well.

Disadvantages of competition: • Decreases market share • Decreases customer base • May force you to lower your prices & decrease your return Advantages of competition: • Motivates businesses to innovate and improve on their offerings • Prevents complacency • Facilitates networking, collaboration and industry connections • Encourages business owners to improve customer relationships • Competitor behaviour can offer insights into consumer behaviour and market trends UK business owners can capitalise on London’s prestigious reputation by renting serviced or managed offices in the city.

London office space is highly sought after and therefore very costly. Serviced office rentals, however, offer short-term, flexible leases, as well as essential workplace infrastructure, connectivity and support as part of their standard offerings. This helps to significantly reduce expenses and allows businesses to enjoy a well-respected London address without long-term commitment and costs.

ENDS

The Instant Group: Flexible Workspace Specialists The Instant Group is the global flexible workspace specialist. Underpinned by unrivalled expertise, Instant tailors unique solutions to help businesses of all sizes to grow, drive savings or gain invaluable insight. Established in 1999, The Instant Group has achieved 23% compound growth over the past four years and continues to expand with private equity funding secured from MML Capital in 2012. With offices in London, Berlin, Dallas, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney, The Instant Group employs more than 100 experts and has clients in 113 countries. For more information, visit www.theinstantgroup.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jakiya Rahman at MediaVision +44 (0) 208 481 0196 Jakiya@mediavisioninteractive.com

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 21

Has the Bubble Burst?

T

urn the clocks back to last December. That’s when Bitcoin rush started — and this cryptocurrency reached its All-TimeHighest point with a number that was more than impressive: $19,498.63.

A crazy period , and the hype was full steam ahead with some industry commentators predicting $200,000 ( Max Keiser and J Mcafee two huge advocates of Bitcoin) due to its limited production.How high will Bitcoin go?News reporters, financial analysts and media talked about it and made predictions, raising people’s interest in it even more.

Well, both of these questions have been answered rather quickly, as soon after Bitcoin reached its highest price record, the situation turned upside down and prices of the most popular cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum — dropped massively.

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However, this was not the first time, as Bitcoin’s price has crashed many times over the years. And so “Has the bubble truly burst?““ or “Will Bitcoin and its crypto peers rise this year?“ European Business reports The start of 2018 has not been so great for cryptocurrencies, it seems like now we can finally see a ray of light, as new numbers — for a change — look a little more promising.

There are many opinions and guesses about the December of 2017 and why did Bitcoin’s price drop down that much.

One of them says that Bitcoin’s highs were artificially inflated at that time.

Others believe that the ban on cryptocurrency advertising from the likes of Facebook and Google was one of the main causes for the dramatic drop down.

Revolut experts see it differently, saying that “what many seem to ignore, is the fact that the prices started declining as early as January, long before any of these actions had ever taken place.

What’s more, the slow and steady rate of decline seems to suggest a different cause altogether.“ E. Cooper, the Head of Mobile at Revolut adds that “the price swings in crypto that are caused by news stories are generally much more extreme than we are seeing now. It’s a natural cooling off period following an unprecedented bull run towards the latter part of 2017.

This run up was fuelled by speculation rather than technological advances and so many people entered the space drawn by the price headlines only.“ By and large, there’s a simple reason why cryptocurrencies — and Bitcoin in particular — are so appealing to the public, and why the price of

Bitcoin managed to climb so high in the first place.

It all comes down to a fact that this currency is easily accessible to amateur investors, as downloading an app and spending a few dollars investing into Bitcoin is truly simple.

Problems begin when those amateur investors start to invest more than just a few dollars — exactly what happened in December, when a lot of people lost their money after a massive crash in the beginning of the new year.

However, governmental agencies and other regulatory bodies are now starting to react, as they already realise that despite it all cryptocurrencies are actually here to stay. Countries around the world — South Korea, Japan, China, France and United States, to be more precise — started implementing stricter regulations, and although cryptocurrencies are decentralised and impervious to direct manipulation, governments still have the ability to regulate the usage of cryptocurrencies indirectly.

That’s what happened when China banned all coin exchanges within its borders. Now it plans to add increased taxes on Bitcoin mining operations.

However, at this point it is important to note that even though countries want to create new regulations for cryptocurrencies, it could take a long time. And — what is more — it might not affect the price of Bitcoin after all.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe that “Bitcoin could be looking at a strong recovery“ this time which seems in line with the fact that blockchain-related startups are still getting a lot of attention and even more money, and corporations are testing ways to use blockchain in different areas, such as energy distribution and supply chain management. In addition blockchain jobs are the second fastest growing market that even offers premiums on salary.

A few months ago, due to an exceptional interest, CoinDesk — a leading source of cryptocurrency news and organiser of major industry conferences — launched an online “Career Centre“ with job listings. At the same

time, Upwork released a report, saying that job listings containing blockchain-related skill requirements are up 6,000 percent compared to a year ago.

Many people are coming out of government and insurance companies to work in blockchain and many financial institutions are building up their own blockchain teams.

Oh, and if you didnt know Russia is about to launch its own cryptocurrency ( Cryptoruble) in 2019.That will not have been launched without some of the leading crypto minds that Russia has to offer so without doubt they see a big future in it.

Each month, panelists from Finder release a new set of insights and predictions based on fintech leaders. Numbers in July’s report are interesting: TRON, Cardano and EOS are forecasted to experience the greatest price growth both this month and by December 31. Bitcoin is expected to see the greatest increase in market cap growth by the end of the year (155 percent), followed by Ethereum (112 percent).

J. McAfee, the founder of McAfee Security, also added a his opinion on this one, predicting that the Bitcoin price will keep increasing this year and will multiply by 10 by the end of the year.

Saxo Bank thinks that Bitcoin will increase a lot this year as well, with its price rising above $60,000.

S. Bogart, Blockchain Capital partner, predicts an increase to more than $50,000 due to big investments being made by large companies and investment banks.

Although this does sound promising, many might still question the decreasing progression that was recently happening with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

E. Cooper also added his word on this one, noticing that “this same cycle of hype and then a return to normality happened in 2011, 2013, and 2017, and will doubtless happen again. ICO’s and cryptocurrencies have faced a lot more serious problems in the past and have emerged stronger. This time is not going to be any different.“ Want an example on this one? This time last year Ethereum was trading at 51 dollars, now it’s trading at around 500 dollars.

He might be just right, as even historically it is not uncommon to see prices ranging up and down of 20 percent — and all during a single day of trading.

In general, all cryptocurrencies have a value that is based on speculation, which is the prime reason why the prices can vary so much and so quick from week to week or even on a daily basis. Naturally, this fact makes Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple a risky investment. But high risks often bring high rewards — that’s why it’s really hard to believe that the bubble has bursted for good.

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 23

BROMPTON BIKES -

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ay Kroc once said, “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it. But if you love what you’re doing, success will be yours.” To be truly successful, you have to put your heart into the process, and this is exactly the case of Brompton Bikes — a one of a kind company that still believes in British copper craftsmen and somehow manages to turn the simple steel frame into a beautiful work of art.

Brompton Bikes’ success story can be easily equated to a fairy tale where details, timing, quality, and imagination play the most important roles.

But let’s start at the beginning.

It was the mid-1970s, when Andrew Ritchie, an engineering graduate was making his way through life working as a landscape gardener. Maybe everything would have stayed this way, but his friend, who was a cycling enthusiast, asked Andrew to help and come up with a better fold-up bike than the ones that were available at that time.

Andrew was hooked — he liked the idea so much that once the first

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design was ready, he knew that actually…it was just the beginning for him.

What he did not know, however, that it’s also the beginning of a major manufacturing success story — one that Britain is extremely proud of.

In 1976, Andrew went for it and established a company that was named Brompton Bikes — after the Brompton Oratory, a landmark that was visible from his bedroom workshop where the first prototypes were built.

At first, Andrew had a little help from his friends, but five years later he finally made a huge step forward and started to manufacture the bicycle design all by himself. It was not all easy and simple, and production of Brompton Bikes faced a serious standstill in 1982, but Andrew never gave up: he continued to search for new possibilities of how to extend manufacturing processes whilst undertaking other jobs.

After 4 years, in 1986, Andrew had a little help from his friends once again — alongside former customers that

believed in his vision. Having enough money to start production processes on a larger scale, Andrew went for it, and just in a few years, by early 1988, mass production Brompton bicycles were once again on the market.

Since then, the numbers went only one way — higher and higher, and the niche product turned into a cult and absolute necessity for many urban devotees.

The time frame from 2002 to 2003 was a particularly interesting period for the company, as production increased from 6 thousand to 40 thousand bicycles per year.

And that is not all. In 2010, Brompton Bicycles won two Queen Awards for Enterprise — Innovation and International Trade. This is the second time that company won such award: the first one was received in 1995.

In 2015, Brompton Bicycles built 44 thousand bicycles, and 80 percent of them were exported. The number of employees reached 230, although in 2002 there were only 25 of them.

In case the numbers do not persuade you, let us say that Brompton Bicycles is now Britain’s biggest bike manufacturer and exporter company. This fact is truly amazing, especially in this age, when most of the world’s bikes are produced in Asia.

Interestingly, although exports have been the primary source of company’s growth, it was also a major strategic decision for Brompton Bikes. At first, the main export market of the company was the US, but Will Butler-Adams who joined the company in 2008 as a Managing director and witnessed the most astonishing production increase at that time, saw some new opportunities and worked towards diversifying its markets and finding some new options: “We analyse new markets’ potential, but doing so is so much more powerful than endless procrastinating analysis — the assumptions are usually wrong anyway.

There is a role for market research, but we’re not swayed by it.”

Today, 78 percent of company’s sales come from exports, and its employees live by the statement that “the key to success is to be obsessed by the product more than by profit.”

So what makes Brompton Bicycles so unique? Experts say that the success story of this company is a direct result of a long-term market expansion strategy, underpinned by a constant and even obsessive commitment to make the highest quality production.

This is the company where details matter, and perhaps the best example of this are devotees that request that the braze points on their bicycles are lacquered, instead of being covered by paint — as such technique highlights workmanship.

Speaking about workmanship, there are 44 brazers working in Brompton

Bikes right now, and all of them were taught this craftsmanship step by step, highlighting quality above everything else. Such traditional skills are quite rare nowadays — what is more, they have faded away in the country over the last 40 years due to cheap competition from China and Taiwan, as these are the places where biggest numbers of world’s bicycles are manufactured.

When it comes to competitors, Will is more than relaxed and lets them look around Brompton Bikes factory for as much time as they want. How is that possible, you might ask?

Actually, bike construction involves a lot of time and even more attention, but the company works with this incredible perspective that the accumulated know-how is locked up in employees’ memories or set up in thousands of drawings that are kept within the company. That’s why it’s so hard to replicate company’s ideas and actions.

And what about future plans? Well, for one thing, Brompton Bikes aims to double its output by the early 2020s and is also working on a new project which involves an electric version of Brompton Bike. It is developed with the engineering help of Williams, the F1 racing team.

Will Butler-Adams once said that, “we make our bikes with incredible tolerances and using some special materials, but we have some fun while we’re doing it.”

Brompton Bikes is a one of a kind example of how far innovation and entrepreneurship, accompanied by outstanding quality and determination to overcome obstacles can go.

A company that was started by one person who searched for ways to stay in the market is now known by… well, everybody in the world. Brompton Bikes story is also a major British success story and a one of a kind tale to high quality and engineering, showing that innovation — if perceived right — can do no less than wonders. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 25

E

xecutive coaching began in the US but in the last few years it has been sweeping through meeting rooms across Europe because employing a coach to help your career move forward makes perfect sense in today’s marketplace. Companies with a strong coaching culture are more at ease implementing change and engaging in meaningful business relationships, both of which are paramount to success in 2018. European Business reports .

Helping to improve confidence, communication and create vitality in the workforce alongside assisting in big career changes, coaching has become a sought-after service and therefore a popular career choice for many. As many companies continue to grapple with the digital age, the global coaching industry has grown rapidly with more than 53,300 professional coach practitioners generating nearly $2.4 billion in revenue. This is a 19% 26 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

increase since 2011; and while business leaders continue to look for the next big thing in learning and development, the industry remains fraught with conflicts of interest and blurry lines around the application and authority of coaches, with the lack of firm regulations and protocols a tangible cause for on-going debate.

While coaching as a business tool continues to gain legitimacy in 2018, the coaching field is unfettered for professionals, and consequently can be problematic for consumers to navigate.

Nevertheless, there is certainly a need to modernise the approaches to workplace learning as e-learning, one-size-fits all training and traditional strategies don’t always reflect the new ways in which people are upskilling and working. For example, attending whole-day courses or weekly workshops may be a burden on an already busy schedule,

whereas coaching, with its non-directive approach, builds a trusting and equal partnership in which people can flourish and realise their true potential. The modern workforce is also in a state of flux, and while traditionally people stayed in one job for the majority of their working life, it’s increasingly common to see people float from one job role to another, never sticking with one company for long. This fluidity can cause major problems for growing businesses wanting to retain high quality employees, and where coaching can play a big role in your staff retention strategy.

Think about the team you lead or the colleagues you work alongside.

Their talent and knowledge may be undisputed but the challenge for business leaders’ today is to keep staff motivated, engaged and productive. Coaching is important if you are a manager, but it is also an

indispensable tool for inspiring and empowering individuals at every level of an organisation. Traditionally, coaching was for top executives and focused on developing the capabilities of high-potential performers, but the goals of coaching – to facilitate learning, offer opportunities for growth and encourage continuous development – are ones that employees at all levels could benefit from.

Enlisting the help of a coach or implementing coaching practices shows you care about your staff, value their contribution and want them to reach their full potential. Furthermore, instilling a coaching culture generally translates into more interested, communicative and involved employees that will, in turn, boost growth and productivity, allowing the business to remain competitive.

Merely managing employees work in today’s business landscape is no longer enough to keep talents engaged and the huge increase in technology in recent years has led to a breakdown in communication skills in the boardroom. With this declining human interaction, managers in innovative, successful companies need to be able to coach and inspire, and organisations should deploy a strategy that allows coaching to permeate throughout. Marshall Goldsmith, a renowned executive coach in the US, wrote a book called What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, highlighting the need for continuous development for all staff.

While the numbers continue to rise, there’s no definitive answer on how many executive coaches there are in Britain. There are 2,636 people who call themselves executive coaches on LinkedIn, but it is hard to know how legitimate they all are. Credibility in this field is very important, and approximately 89% of coach practitioners attend accredited or approved coach-specific training, typically making greater annual revenue from coaching than their credential-less counterparts. Choosing the right coach for your employees, or indeed, the right coaching accreditation if you wanted to become a coach yourself, is fundamental to success. The three main professional

bodies to gain accreditation or to locate a qualified coach from - the Association for Coaching (members from more than 40 countries), the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (5,000 members across 67 countries and 20 affiliated countries) and the International Coach Federation (more than 19,000 members in more than 100 countries) - have formed a global alliance, which has created some much needed clarity in the world of coaching and mentoring, where untrained individuals who call themselves coaches remain a sticking point within the industry. Over 4/5 of clients’ value certification as a professional standard of quality assurance and customers report better results working with certified coaches.

level. An experienced executive coach can measure strengths and weaknesses, develop leadership competencies and act as an impartial sounding board, offering new perspectives to the table. They will help clients enhance their strategic thinking and improve their productivity. A PWC survey of global coaching clients concluded that the mean ROI for companies investing in coaching was seven times the investment and over one quarter of respondents reported an ROI of 10 to 49 times. These are good odds.With those kinds of returns, it’s no wonder that executive coaching is in hot demand.

While the global network for professional coaches is going from strength to strength, advances in technology, a volatile geopolitical landscape and the increasing influence of younger generations in the workplace have significant implications for the future of coaching. Leaders who encourage personal connections will have more committed, satisfied and productive workers, and companies like GSK are already reaping the rewards, reporting a return on investment of $66 million from their Coaching Centre of Excellence, that makes coaching available to their employees’ worldwide.

Coaching is fast approaching either self-regulation or government regulation. If coaching self-regulates, it will be through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). If coaching becomes government regulated, the ICF (https://coachfederation.org) will be a main player. Either way gaining accreditation is a growing necessity in this growing industry and the ICF holds the gold-standard in coach certifications. Offering three credentials - Associate, Professional and Master Certified Coach – the ICF, the world’s largest professional coaching association, provides an external and objective validation of training programs and coaches, offering vital knowledge and skills to this growing community.

For global businesses to thrive in a post-Brexit world, they will need their leaders to perform at a world-class

Maintaining High Standards

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 27

Transforming Lives Through Coaching

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oaching is in the news more and more as a growing number of individuals and organizations credit it with their personal and professional success.

Why? The answer is simple: Coaching produces results. According to the 2017 Global Consumer Awareness Studyy commissioned by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the most frequently

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cited outcomes of coaching include improved communication skills, increased self-esteem and self-confidence, and increased productivity.

Companies turn to coaches to help better their employees and invest in their talent. According to Building a Coaching Culture with Millennial Leaders, a 2017 research study conducted by ICF and the Human Capital Institute (HCI), 92 percent of organizations employing external

coach practitioners and 95 percent of organizations with internal coach practitioners plan to expand or maintain the scope of these modalities in the next five years. These organizations are also investing in their cadre of managers and leaders using coaching skills.

Increasingly, coaching is also becoming a preferred modality for driving social change. More than half (51 percent) of coach practitioners who

coaches. Getting accredited coach-specific training will give you credibility and help you build your professional network.

Before you invest in training to become a coach, ask yourself the following questions:

hold an ICF Credential. To receive an ICF Credential coaches must:

• Am I passionate about helping clients pursue their own solutions? Many people consider becoming a coach because they’ve been told that they “give great advice.” However, coaches aren’t in the business of giving advice. Coaching is driven by the client. The coach’s responsibility is to discover, clarify and align with what the client wants to achieve; encourage client self-discovery; elicit clientgenerated solutions and strategies; and hold the client responsible and accountable.

• Partner with a Mentor Coach

• Do I have the skills and knowledge to start a coaching business? If you’re planning to launch your own coaching business (as opposed to working as an internal coach practitioner within your organization), be prepared to identify your coaching niche, develop your personal brand, market your services and build your client base. This information isn’t covered during coach training, so it will be up to you to get the training and skills you need for developing a coaching business.

responded to the 2016 ICF Global Coaching Studyy said they believe to a large extent that coaching can influence social change. A further 33 percent said they hold that belief to a moderate extent.

If you’re passionate about driving individual and organizational transformation, now is the perfect time to get involved in coaching. If you’re serious about becoming a professional coach, your first step needs to be obtaining coach-specific training. The professional coaches who responded to the 2016 Global Coaching Study said the No. 1 obstacle to the coaching industry is untrained individuals who call themselves

• What else do I have to offer?

Although some coaches build successful businesses based entirely on coaching, for a majority coaching is only one source of overall revenue. According to the 2016 Global Coaching Study, coaches spend an average of just 13.9 hours per week working as coaches. Other common revenue streams cited by external coach practitioners include consulting, training, facilitation, mentoring, teaching, counseling, speaking engagements, workshops/webinars and publications.

If you’re serious about developing your coaching business, consider pursuing an ICF Credential after your coach training. More than 22,000 coaches

• Complete coach-specific training that meets ICF’s standards • Achieve a designated number of coaching experience hours • Demonstrate appropriate understanding and mastery of the ICF definition of coaching, Code of Ethics and Core Competencies Earning an ICF Credential is one of the best ways to invest in yourself and your professional development.

In an interview earlier this year with TD magazine, ICF Assistant Executive Director George Rogers said, “Earning a credential provides a sense of professional and personal achievement, allowing individuals to benefit by being part of the larger community of practitioners and helping professionals demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and commitment to high ethical and professional standards.”

ICF-credentialed coaches find that this investment in themselves and their careers is worthwhile. Among coaches who responded to the 2016 Global Coaching Study, 77 percent said that clients expect their coach to be credentialed. Meanwhile, among 2017 Global Consumer Awareness Studyy respondents who’d experienced a coaching relationship, 83 percent said it was important for coaches to hold a credential. The same study also showed that clients are more likely to be satisfied with their coaching experience and recommend coaching to others when they used a credentialed coach versus a non-credentialed coach.

Becoming a coach can give you the tools to change organizations and lives; it can also change your life.

For many ICF-credentialed coaches, coaching is a way of life, enabling them to step out of their comfort zones and help others meet their goals and unlock their potential.

To begin your coaching journey today, visit becomea.coach. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 29

P2P lending is being taken over by Millennials Alternative lending observes a continuously increasing number of Millennials and Generation Z. According to the Latvian P2P platform Robo.cash, this tendency is supported by the interest of young investors in a simple and comfortable source of additional income and the positive experience gained at the existing peer-to-peer platforms.

Against stagnating interest rates on deposits and cautious lending policies of banks, alternative lending is attracting a greater attention of investors and borrowers among the younger generation, who are used to digital technologies and consider P2P platforms as a profitable and comfortable financial tool.

The own data of Robo.cash show that Millennials are steadily taking over the leading position from the older generation of investors. Six months ago, the average age of investors of the platform was 38 years, and the age groups were distributed as follows: Silent generation (7390) — 0.8%; Baby boomers (54-72) — 9.5%; Generation X (38-53) — 38.6%; Millennials (22-37) — 50.3% and Generation Z (18-21) — 0.8%. Today, the typical investor has grown younger to 37 years old due to the increased share of Millennials — 53.9% and Generation Z — 1.8%.

At the same time, tactics used by investors can be classified by several basic types having the same goal to maximize profit. For example, beginning investors usually allocate spare money less than 1.000 Euro, and experienced investors planning their budget willingly invest larger amounts. This is confirmed by the average size of investments in different age groups: 18-21 years — 670€, 22-37 years — 1.939€, 38-53 years — 3.488€, over 54 years — 4.907€.

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“The growing demand for P2P lending and the increased share of the younger generation prove the potential for alternative lending in Europe. It is evident that the interest of investors, particularly young, in a simple and comfortable source of additional income and positive experience gained at the existing P2P platforms will have a significant impact on the future development of the industry,” — commented Sergey Sedov, Founder and CEO of Robo.cash.

Read on Google Docs: https://goo.gl/RJJJ6k ROBOCASH Duntes iela 23A, Rīga, LV-1005 Dmitry Balakhnin Chief Brand Officer dmitry.balakhnin@robo.cash Olga Davydova Public Relations Manager pr@robo.cash +371 67 660 860 The 23d of May 2018 https://robo.cash/ https://twitter.com/Robocash1 https://www.linkedin.com/robo.cash https://www.facebook.com/robocash.invest/

REVOLUT - Fintech’s Unicorn Disrupts the Traditional Banking World

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ikolay Storonsky, the co-founder, and CEO of Revolut makes it sound simple: “I needed this service myself, so I created it. I didn’t need a social network so I wouldn’t have made one.” He managed to find a problem and solve it differently than other professionals in this field. How did he do that? “I like finding the most simple and elegant solutions to problems. Every time we evolve to a new level, we uncover new questions, which need new solutions.”

Working with such an positive outlook has got Nikolay and his fintech startup — Revolut — to reach a quintupled value in just 6 months, which is a rare story in Silicon Valley and in London, where it all started. European Business reports.

Revolut was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko and was presented as an app-based banking alternative with a multi-currency card. It fell under the so-called ‘challenger bank’ category of which there are several of these digital banks in Europe where they are looking to compete with larger lenders.

Let’s look at few examples. German challenger bank N26 recently announced that it has 1 million users signed up to its platform. Revolut generates 2 billion dollars a month in transaction volume, while N26 has a monthly transaction volume of 1.17 billion dollars.

You might think that there are many competitors in this field that could influence Revolut’s success in the

future. But Nikolay admits that Revolut is actually not concerned by similar fintech competitors — interestingly, he expects that main competition for this Europe’s new fintech unicorn will come from such tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Having huge amounts of customer data, capital and employees would let them break into the banking sector quite easily.

Yes, you’ve read it right — Revolut is Europe’s latest fintech unicorn. In case you did weren’t aware , Europe now has 41 tech companies that are valued at more than one billion dollars and have earned the right to be called unicorns. About a month ago, it announced the newest numbers from inside: Revolut has raised an europeanbusinessmagazine.com 31

additional 250 million dollars in additional funding and increased its valuation 5 times in less than a year to 1.7 billion dollars. All this makes Revolut one of the fastest tech companies in Europe to reach the unicorn status.

Revolut now has more than 250 thousand daily active users, and it’s obvious that Nikolay’s mission to convince people that there are better alternatives to traditional banks is working.

“Our focus, since we launched, has been to do everything completely opposite to traditional banks,” Nikolay explains.

And so they did. Revolut allowed users to spend globally at the real exchange rate and eliminate unfair fees for standard transactions, countless payments, and ATM withdrawals.

It gives users an opportunity to open an account quickly and easily in just 60 seconds, transfer in 23 currencies to any bank in the world and spend

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fee-free in 120 currencies with a contactless MasterCard.

Besides financial service offerings, Revolut also aims to position itself as a great alternative to traditional banks offering a wealth of technological advantages. Think real-time spending alters, budgeting controls, bill splitting and the ability to immediately freeze cards in case they are lost or stolen. It also gives its users overseas medical insurance, a doubling of limits on ATM withdrawals and 24 hours customer support 7 days per week.

And that is not all when it comes to Revolut’s services and features.

Nikolay wanted to find some new uncrossed waters in the banking and fintech industry, and offered Revolut’s customers an opportunity to save money with ‘Vaults’ and invest in ‘Bitcoin Cash’.

Vault can be set up in seconds and is represented as an easiest and fastest way to save for your financial goals. It can be done via automatically rounding up your every transaction, setting up a recurring payment or simply making one-off contributions.

Now, when it comes to cryptocurrencies, Revolut has a strong opinion: “Last year, we promised to add new Cryptocurrencies to the Revolut app, so say hello to XRP and Bitcoin Cash. We have always believed that the world of Cryptocurrencies should be open and available to everyone, and not reserved for the tech-savvy and digital currency enthusiasts.” And so, last December in Revolut marked the launch of a Bitcoin Cash that allowed its users to instantly buy, hold and sell in 3 cryptocurrencies — bitcoin, litecoin, and ether — with just a touch of a button.

Speaking about services, Revolut has always aimed to disrupt traditional banking systems and its services — including investments. Just a few weeks ago, the company announced that Revolut is building a commission-free trading platform on its app.

Basically, this means that Revolut users will be able to invest in stocks from British and US-listed firms, as well as exchange-traded funds and options — in seconds and without paying commissions.

If you’re questioning why they decided to do that, we have a quote for you: “we want to break down barriers to entry in investing, which include high costs, confusing interfaces and complicated sign-up processes.”

Actually, after a little research, you would definitely find some fintech companies that focus on commission-free trading (think ‘Robinhood’ in the US), but Revolut is about to become the first digital bank to integrate an investment platform into its app alongside all other everyday banking services that it provides to its customers.

However, such success cannot come without hard work and amazing team.

Nikolay is a strong believer in hard work and Revolut employees ( at this time there are about 350 of them ) typically work 13 hours per day, including the weekends. Nikolay says that “as you make the world better, you really need to try hard, and unfortunately trying hard means — in many cases — you need to spend time on it.“ Such long work hours are not formally enforced in the company, but Nikolay always aims to hire people that are really motivated — and so, long working hours often come out as a result of it. Interestingly, company’s CEO assures that over the past 3 years there has never been a burn-out employee in Revolut, and he is even ready to pay for a 2 week holiday for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the job and just can’t handle the demands.

And what about the CEO himself?

Nikolay admits that on a typical day, he is in the office from 8 am to 10 pm, and definitely agrees that working in Revolut is not that simple, as personally, he is really demanding.

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And what about the future? No secret that for now, Revolut is only available in Europe: approximately 900 thousand Revolut customers are UK-based, with France and Poland emerging as the second and third largest markets. However, in the next few months, this situation is about to change, as the company is expected to finally launch in the US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

Another big thing is coming up in Revolut as well: in order to take Revolut to the next level and expand its services even more, the company applied for a European Banking License late last year.

While many Revolut users already feel like they’re using a traditional bank account with an IBAN and a payment card, it’s almost hard to believe that this fintech startup still doesn’t have a proper banking license in its pocket. But this situation is expected to change in the nearest time.

Interestingly, Revolut expressed its willingness to establish a financial institution and get a banking license in Lithuania, collaborating with the Central Bank of the country. Nikolay says that “we are delighted to collaborate with the Central Bank of Lithuania. This is an important step for us to improve our service for our existing customers, and demonstrates Lithuania’s

willingness to collaborate with the biggest fintech startups to bring innovation to financial services.”

In Leymans terms what this actually means is that the customer funds will be protected under the European Deposit Protection Scheme, which will allow its users to safely and confidently store higher balances in personal Revolut accounts.

It is also expected to bring personal loans to Revolut’s account, which can be more than helpful in case of planning a bigger purchase, taking a longer holiday or basically anything else that requires a small cash injection. Having the banking license in place will also let Revolut support direct debits and, if Revolut shuts down, the European Union will cover the funds of its customers and pay back up to 100 thousand euros per user.

How do you measure one’s success?

Numbers are one way to do it. In Revolut’s case, another way is customer’s satisfaction factor — the one that goes beyond numbers and truly reaches people, making them happy and eager to use its provided services, as well as wait for new exciting announcements about fresh disruptions that usually happen to be no less than great. So, “Welcome to a world Beyond Banking. Welcome to Revolut.” europeanbusinessmagazine.com 33

ales organisations are currently experiencing a performance crisis. In fact, according to research carrrie ca ied d out by CSO Insights, average quot qu otaa attainment fell from 63 percent t 53 percent in the fiv to ive e ye ear per erio io od beginning in 2012. Thiis is pri be rima mari rilily ly because the sales industry is going through a period of significant disruption and businesses are struggling to adapt and evolve to the new reality they find themselves in.

The challenges that sales organisations are facing are numerous. Customers have higher expectations, while technology is disrupting not only the way sales organisations operate, but also the way customers make purchases. Meanwhile, the increased availability of information allows customers to enter discussions with greater knowledge.

Essentially, what this means is that sales teams that stand still are actually moving backward. Miller Heiman Group itself has also had to adapt, moving from a company that primarily 34 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

offered sales training services, to a company that is recognised as one of the world leaders in providing business performance solutions, helping sales and service orga g nisations to acchi hiev hie eve op eve pti tima ima mall pe perf rfor for orma manc ma nce nc ce by by proro o vidi vi idi ding ng g cust ussto tomers tome mers me rs wit ith h th the he ex exttr tra va tra vallu lue lue they crave.

So how do you build world-class sales organisations in the current climate?

Sales Force Enablement The challenges being posed by this new reality have led to sales force enablement emerging as the industry’ tr y’s fa f st stes e tes t gr growing discipline. In fact fa ct, t 59 59.2 2 percent of organisations now have a dedicated enablement function, according to the CSO Insights 2017 Sales Enablement

Optimisation Study, compared with just 19.3 percent in 2013. A further 8.5 percent stated they had plans to introduce the function in 2018.

At Miller Heiman Group, we define sales force enablement as a strategic, collaborative discipline, designed to increase predictable sales results by providing consistent, scalable enablement services that allow customer-facing professionals and their managers to add value to every customer interaction. We also help companies ranging from SME’s to large multinational corporations in implementing this discipline.

It is critical that sales leaders understand that enablement is about more than delivering training and coaching.

While that is part of it, enablement involves providing all customer-facing professionals with the right tools, the right content, the right training, the right coaching and the right processes to maximise performance.

To assist with this, we have created the Sales Enablement Clarity Model, which breaks down the various facets of a successful and well-rounded enablement strategy, in order to improve understanding.

Furthermore, one of our company’s priorities when working with organisations on enablement is to improve

alignment and execution. A major finding from CSO Insights’ studies on sales enablement has been the importance of alignment, based on the customer journey, with different departments working together.

Relationship Process Matrix Through extensive research, Miller Heiman Group also created the Relationship Process Matrix, which highlights the importance of forming the right kind of relationship with customers, and implementing the right sales methodologies, in order

to maximise sales potential. A visual breakdown of this matrix can be seen below: On the lower end of the relationship axis, an approved vendor has acceptable products or services and is usually one of a number of businesses the customer can buy from.

At the top end, however, a trusted partner will provide excellent products or services, but also has industry and domain knowledge, can assist with application, understands the customer’s decision-making process, delivers additional value and serves as an advisor.

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Results included a more healthy, predictable ‹sales› funnel, significantly shorter ‹sales› cycles and deeper relationships with key customers.

“We had to know our customers’ problems before we stepped into the room, and after reading Conceptual Selling it all came together,” said Ed van Ingen, Managing Director of Esri Nederland. “We feel the Blue Sheet from Strategic Selling gives us the possibility to upsell and cross-sell.

That is the real benefit of Strategic Selling. The solutions we use from Miller Heiman Group have played a strong role in our overall growth.”

In terms of sales methodology, organisations need to document their process, demand that reps adhere to this process, inspect and reinforce the process regularly, and make use of technology and analytics to identify any changes to process metrics quickly and early on so that necessary changes can be made.

Over the course of the CSO Insights World-Class Sales Best Practices Report, it was established that, on average, organisations in performance level one of the matrix achieve win rates of 41.3 percent and revenue plan attainment of 84.1 percent.

Yet, among organisations that fall within performance level three, the average win rate increases to 53.3 percent, while revenue plan attainment reaches 88.9 percent.

Miller Heiman Group has worked with many organisations to improve their processes and relationships.

One of the most notable examples has been our work with Esri Nederland, a company that specialises in graphical information systems (GIS).

Over recent years, the company had been struggling to adapt to growing demand for GIS services, in a wider range of fields. Esri determined that they needed a new sales methodology to help them cope with the change.

The company implemented Miller Heiman Group’s Strategic Selling® methodology, with the training becoming mandatory for all salespeople, ‹sales› managers and business development staff. Later, Large Account Management Process (LAMP®) and Conceptual Selling® were also implemented.

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Customer Experience Excellence Many organisations are held back by their attitude towards sales and the customer experience, with customer experience being seen as the responsibility of the customer service team, while sales teams deal with sales. Yet, this attitude is at odds with the current reality, where sales and customer experience are inextricably linked.

The most successful businesses and brands understand that in the modern ‘sales’ environment, they are competing primarily on customer experience, rather than on their products, services, and prices. Over the course of the CSO Insights 2018 Customer Experience Study, it was found that 73 percent of leading organisations have a senior leader that views customer loyalty as the core of business success.

In terms of improving the customer experience, the keys are to invest sufficiently in CX solutions, adopt a cross-functional approach to the customer experience and ensure there is ownership of CX at the executive level. At present, only 18 percent of organisations are ticking all three boxes, yet 85 percent of those that do, reported an increase in levels of customer satisfaction over the past year.

Customer experience was one of the primary focuses of Miller Heiman Group’s work with Boubyan Bank in Kuwait. The bank was suffering from an inconsistent approach to both sales and service, resulting in some branches offering an excellent

customer experience, while others fell short. As a result, the bank began to lag behind others in the country in terms of both sales performance and its reputation for customer service.

The bank enlisted the help of Miller Heiman Group and opted for the Professional Selling Skills® course, as well as its Creating Stellar Customer Relations® course. Over a two-year period, 225 salespeople were given the ‘sales’ skills training, while a total of 500 were trained to deliver superior customer relations.

Results were seen almost instantly.

The staff adopted a much more customer-centric approach, while sales and service functions were standardised. As a result, the bank is now recognised for having the best customer service in Kuwait, winning the Service Hero award for its efforts.

“The award has catapulted us to being perceived as the vanguard of customer service in Kuwait,” says Rashaad Price, executive manager of the human resources group at Boubyan Bank.

“Within our country, we are seen as a great example of what customer service is all about. I give a strong recommendation to Miller Heiman Group.

It focused on our requirements and delivered just what we needed.”

The Role of Technology A big part of enablement, using consistent ‘sales’ methodologies and delivering an excellent customer experience relies upon ‘technology’ and innovation. In fact, according to the LinkedIn State of ‘Sales’ Report 2017, 98 percent of ‘sales’ professionals currently make use of ‘sales’ ‘technology’ to manage opportunities and perform their day-to-day duties, while 75 percent of them expect to bring in even more tools by the end of the year.

One of the most important uses for technology and sales tools is to reduce what we refer to as the ‘tedium of sales’ - the non-selling activities that salespeople must perform, such as administrative tasks, service tasks, and meetings - so that sales staff can instead focus more of their time on the thing they were hired to do: selling. Unfortunately,

This neatly highlights one of Miller Heiman Group’s most important concepts - methodology powered by technology - and it is with this in mind that we are set to launch Scout: a cost-effective ‘sales’ analytics platform, which combines the trusted MHG ‘sales’ methodology with technological innovation, in order to drive seller actions, change deal outcomes and replicate winning strategies.

Scout launches in the EMEA region on the 10th July 2018 and will help sales organisations to deliver world-class performance and service in a number of different ways. For instance, it will prompt sellers to act on sales training in the moment, improve adoption of a defined sales methodology and help them to better manage their time.

In addition, the tool’s analytics features will help to show sales leaders precisely why they win and lose. As a result, they will be able to identify the traits and behaviours that lead to success, replicate these across their organisation and build a more complete picture of the ROI generated by adopting a clear methodology.

Finally, it will also improve the quality, quantity, and timeliness of CRM data, leading to excellent customer service.

Conclusion

at present, salespeople are spending just 36 percent of their time on sales activities.

Examples of sales technology that is being used by world-class sales and service organisations include CRM applications and analytics tools. CRM software, for example, is linked to

excellent performance when paired with a strong sales process, improving both win rates and quota attainment substantially. However, as the following chart shows, without a formal sales process in place, CRM software is not driving performance to the same extent.

The new reality for sales - customers with higher expectations and greater access to information - has impacted on performance across the board, because it means companies standing still are actually gradually falling behind. However, world-class sales and service organisations are simply those that have adapted to the changes and are delivering the kind of added value that customers now expect from vendors.

Miller Heiman Group delivers a range of business performance solutions, including training, coaching, sales tools and new technology, in order to help sales leaders to enable their teams.

When companies adopt a consistent methodology, align enablement to the customer journey and place the customer experience at the top of their agenda, they are able to achieve long-term customer satisfaction and greater all-round performance. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 37

Banking Sector Meets Digitalisation

N

o sector or business can deny the impact and speed of this digital wave that is currently sweeping the global economy .The digital era has managed to turn everything upside down and had truly integrated itself in the banking and finance sectors. Digitalisation has taken a hold of both industries by its horns and times are changing and fast. Challenger , Transformer, Disruptor are just some of the phrases that describe some of the entrepreneurs and companies that are going up against the old guard . Brett Nicol reports on the latest waves affecting the industry.

It’s almost hard to imagine that a few decades ago, convenience, speed and flexibility were considered as attractive add-ons when it comes to customer-bank relationship. Nowadays, it’s a standard expectation. Challenger banks has sure helped to change the game and its rules .They were the first ones that started offering their customers more personalised and efficient services. Metro Bank in the UK is an excellent example . Being open to 8 pm each evening as well as both Saturday to Sunday while customer service is of the highest quality. So much so, yours truly was even persuaded to switch!

As the new wave of technology swept the banking sector, in order to stay competitive, traditional banks had to step up and rethink the way they do business, evaluating social and mobile capabilities.A few years ago, Deutsche Bank did a study on digitalisation and banking, called “Digitalisation and the Future of Commercial

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Banking“, in which authors H. Forest and D. Rose said that “digitalisation is a trend, driven by 3 major forces: customer experience, technology push and economic benefits“.

Digital revolution and digitalisation is not just about banks — it’s also about customers all around the world that are looking for ways to transform the way they bank and manage their money. Digitalisation also means the emergence of new markets, products and services.

But it’s also a challenge to the financial sector, because reaching customers and making their experiences

one of a kind is not so easy anymore — maybe because at some point customers’ base have actually changed.

Why? Sometimes referred to as “Generation Z“, and other times referred to as “Generation Y on Red Bull“, these customers of today have never lived in a world where information was not readily available at the touch of their fingertips, or through other interfaces, such as voice commands or fingerprint recognitions.The banking sector is no different from other businesses , they must think about providing additional value to customers.

However, in order to provide that value, one must know its customers really well, even in times when consumer behaviours are changing and evolving really fast which is the point itself as digitalisation has transformed manual processes, transactions and activities into digital services. And millennials — as well as their behaviours — are a really big part of this.

The reason for mentioning l? What do they have in common with banking sector and digitalisation? A great deal !!The millennial customer base is growing, and soon it will be more

important than any previous generation. Reason being is simple , it all comes down to the fact that millennial generation is the largest one in history, with more spending power and technical knowledge than any other generation before it. They are highly mobile, technically savvy and prefer to have new ways to conduct their banking. They also want financial institutions to make banking less boring and more interactive and have their wants catered for...like ..yesterday!.

A report by ABA showed that banking providers actually tend to have

troubles talking with millennials, as 71 percent of them would rather go to the dentist than listen to what banks are saying. It gets even better.

As much as 85 percent of millennials, according to a study by Varo Money and Segmint, say that artificial intelligence could help them better manage their finances, so banks and credit unions should use digital tools and AI to deliver the financial insights that they crave for..

“It’s a new era of banking. Adjusting to new regulations, pressure to reduce operating costs and refocusing on core operations have made it challenging for banks to realise the full benefits of digitalisation and maximise the time they spend providing value to their customers. Those who succeeded are using internal and external data, AI and the power of technology to create completely new experiences for their customers and employees alike and provide more value to customers.“, said D. Judge, Head of Business Commercial Excellence at Ulster Bank.

Banks are generally good at gathering data, but the problem is that they are not always good at interpreting it and revealing the most important insights from it that are necessary to provide new, exciting and sophisticated experiences to customers.

It is essentially massively important for banks to strategically connect their businesses with the vast amount of data available to them: this way they become capable of building intelligence on customers’ evolving needs, which results in driving value.

Banks must invest in technological capabilities that allow them to become more intelligent about their customers. Ideally this means understanding the needs of the customer without taking any direct feedback. It is also one of the reasons why banks are investing huge sums into AI. Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds and other major players have already announced billions of euros of investment in this area. And others will follow as well.

Europe can be proud of having a number of banks that responded to the digitalisation challenge and embraced it with open arms. Barclays was one europeanbusinessmagazine.com 39

of the first banks to switch to internet and digital banking, a switch we now know went down extremely well with customers..

Metro Bank — as mentioned above is already a hugely successfully digitalised retail bank . It has been very clever as it has managed to outsource its IT component entirely, ensuring that its digital offering is infinitely scalable and able to fulfil regulatory reporting requirements fast and cost-effectively.

SEB Bank, one of Sweden’s leading bank, won an award in last year’s World’s Best Digital Banks ceremony, claiming the title of the “Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank for Central and Eastern Europe“. It was highly commended for launching an innovation centre and labs to enhance user experience, by incorporating external businesses and internal experts to create new products, improve daily operations and create new user experiences. Social media is an important part of SEB’s online banking strategy, and this bank has a dedicated team that monitors social

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media to guarantee responses within few hours.

CaixaBank - one of Spain’s biggest banking group, won an award for being the best corporate digital bank in Western Europe. This bank has more than 90 percent of its products and services available online and was also awarded as the best bank for social media.

Just a few days ago, on June 29th, MarketForce hosted a two-day conference in London, called “The Future of Digital Banking“. Besides bringing global banks together to inform and present ideas and strategies to one another, this conference also aimed to discuss the future of banking sector — including the latest digitalisation challenges . An event very well attended by all accounts, with all the leading honchos in attendance. Questions were raised as to what does the future hold for banking sector? With blockchain and cryptocurrency still high on the agenda , and still hugely important , challenger banks artificial intelligence , alongside with millennial banking were the key topics.

In the upcoming 12 months for the banking industry some of the most important trends will be a mixture of :removing friction from the customer journey, the use of big data, AI, advanced analytics and cognitive computing, and improvements in integrated multichannel delivery.

Mention banking to most however we really are in some quite interesting times for the industry. Customers and businesses are evolving and changing in such ways that we did not even think was possible five years ago. How they think about banking, money and success has shifted upside down, and it’s all about experiences now.

Although not just about digitalisation for financial companies anymore, customers are eager and ready, and the financial sector must simply keep pace.

Banks are aware it’s about re-inventing dated policies, processes and products for new and more discerning generations of connected consumers for bank not only to attract, but to stay.

European Business catches up with

Simon Tribelhorn C of the Bankers Association in Liechtenstein about the CEO ccurrent state of the Banking Industry in Liechtenstein and tthe new regulations that have come in and the effects of ddigitalization

You are the CEO of the Bankers Association in Liechtenstein. Could you please share your career journey with us and how tell us how you came to hold this position.

As often in life it was by pure coincidence. The whole duration of my law studies saw me working in a bank to finance my studies. Thanks to my bosses, I had the opportunity to gain some practical experience in various areas and get a great overview of the functions of a bank: what is done and how it works. It was pretty clear for me and a logical consequence that, once having finished my studies, I would want to work in a legal department of a bank. But first, I wanted to make my bar exam which I actually did in Switzerland. Twelve years ago and after having worked for several years in legal departments of various banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, I was looking for a new challenge. Coincidentally, at the same time there was a job vacancy at the Liechtenstein Bankers Association (LBA) which I then took. From the first moment, I was fascinated and very impressed not only by the work of the LBA, but also by its CEO at that time. The following years, I was in the great position to learn really a lot from my boss. After he left the LBA at the end of 2009, I was appointed as his successor and new CEO of the LBA. What set of skills do you feel is most important to be successful in your position and what is a typical day as CEO of the Bankers Association?

It‘s really hard to describe a typical day at an association like ours because no day is like the other.

However, that’s what makes the work even more still interesting as every day is fascinating and keeps you on your toes. Nowadays, the range of issues a business association in the financial sector has to cover is very broad and includes all kinds of activities from lobbying, media relations and financial education to participation in the drafting of legal texts and of course their practical implementation, to name but a few. In addition, we are currently living in very dynamic times dominated by constant change.

Sometimes, this can be very challenging, in particular for a smaller association without the resources comparable with bigger ones and in the privileged position to have an own expert for each and every dossier. Against this background, there are no standardized curriculum vitae for becoming or being a CEO of an association like ours. Obviously, my legal background was very instrumental but I do not believe that it’s imperative to have studied law; it’s more about having an understanding of legal issues. What is essential is to prioritize, have a good sense of future trends and issues which will affect your work to be prepared to actively drive the chance. One also needs to have a strong service mentality, the ability to deal and communicate with various stakeholders and be able to rely on a great team which is clearly the case at our association.

2017 has been hard for Liechtenstein — new regulatory aspects caused challenging environment for Banks in the country. This year there are new challenges for Liechtenstein’s Banking sector — Payment Services Directive and the Data Protection Regulation.

Can these challenges make it more difficult to operate businesses in Liechtenstein?

The year 2017 was indeed a very challenging year, not just for us, but I think for everybody it was dominated by an unprecedented regulatory agenda. However, I’m convinced that Liechtenstein managed quite well to meet all these standards in transposing and the financial center in implementing them. In terms of results, our members can look back at a very successful past year: both in asset under management as well as net in new money inflows which reached an all-time high. The tier-1 ratio still amounted to more than 21% on average by the end of 2017 which is really exceptional and make them very sound and stable. Having said that, I’m pretty confident that through joint forces, we will this year again be able to cope with the current and upcoming challenges.

2016 marked an adoption of a new strategy for Liechtenstein’s banking and financial centre, named “Roadmap 2020”, with its main focus on quality, stability and sustainability. Strategy was adopted for the 5 upcoming years, and one of its main europeanbusinessmagazine.com 41

goals was to position Liechtenstein as an attractive employment location in the field of international banking.

What is the situation in this sphere today?

Core business of our banks is primarily private banking which is and will remain a people’s business. Even the rapidly increasing digitalisation won’t change this phenomenon, although it will indisputably change the landscape dramatically and disrupt the financial services industry. This will also have a ripple effect on the entire value chain. However, experienced professionals and dedicated knowledge is key for the future of a bank and the financial center in order to be competitive and attractive. This is why we attached such a high importance to these measures with respect to the attractiveness of the working environment in our vision, the Roadmap 2020. One of the probably most untypical but really satisfying and intriguing projects was the creation of our day-care center, the so-called “Villa Wirbelwind.” However, this is clearly not enough and we feel that the development of the working conditions remains a permanent task which we will devote our full attention.

Blockchain is booming in Liechtenstein. The Blockchain law — also known as the Blockchain Act — was announced a few months ago at this year’s Finance Forum by the Prime Minister of the country, Adrian Hasler.

How this new Blockchain law affects the business climate in Liechtenstein? Can this Act become a challenge for the financial sector?

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The ongoing digitalisation is a fact.

Our members are open to and embrace these developments and challenges. Digitalisation and fintech are seen more as an opportunity than a threat and they want to seize them - front-end in order to create added value for the client and back-end to improve their processes. In most cases, this will entail cooperations with other or new innovative service providers. Besides that, the Blockchain law announced reflects very well the ambition of our government to create and maintain an attractive business environment in order to stimulate and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Digitalisation and Fintech — these topics are very important for Liechtenstein’s financial centre. In order to shape the future, new opportunities and challenges must be embraced within these sectors. Could you say that Liechtenstein’s Bankers Association is seizing the moments and taking advantages when it comes to Fintech? How? Associations in the finance sector have to deal with this issue. Digitalisation in general and Fintech in particular will have a huge influence on our industry. The only question is how active you want to address it – do you want to be a driving force or a follower in your association? This means that each association has to find and define its own role depending on how important it thinks the topic is. For us and our members digitalisation is one of the key game changers besides sustainability and sustainable finance. For this reason,

we perceive our role as facilitator to ensure that new business opportunities can be realized in and out of Liechtenstein, as information sharing platform between our members and other stakeholders. Also not forgetting, supporting our government in finding and creating the most attractive and favourable business environment possible. Personally, I’m convinced that we should even more look into the possible opportunities that digitalisation may open up in order to ensure a more sustainable financial sector and investments.

What do you feel are the major benefits of companies coming to Liechtenstein?

We often hear from people coming to Liechtenstein that they have a list of things they love about our country, among them the accessibility of our regulator and the government, the open-minded culture and the business friendly environment in general. I‘m a strong believer that “time to market“ is crucial, in today‘s fast–moving world more than ever.“ Moreover, I think that Liechtenstein’s access to two economic areas namely Switzerland on the one hand and the European Single Market on the other hand, combined with Liechtenstein‘s stability and its political continuity is a strong asset. This gives companies the much needed predictability and security for their long-time planning.

Five years from now — do you think that the banking and financial sector of Liechtenstein will be different?

How can digitalisation affect it?

I‘m completely convinced that the banking and financial sector will look different from today. Nevertheless, I’m equally persuaded that we’re not in the least able to imagine what will be possible in a few years’ time, since we are only at the start of a massive change. When it comes to the whole financial services sector worldwide, it is clear to me that digitalisation and sustainability will help putting the client’s needs and a sense of responsibility back into focus for everything we are doing. However, I don’t dare to gaze into the crystal ball!

EUROPEAN BUSINESS CAUGHT UP WITH THE EVER ENGAGING

Gail Emms The retired British badminton player who tells us about the transition from Olympic winning medalist to the world of business.

Always a very difficult transition for any professional athlete who normally have spent the last fifteen years sticking to brutal regimes of gym, travel and adrenaline to the world of desks, computers and bosses. Gail became hugely popular when she won silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, partnering Nathan Roberston in the mixed doubles while in 2009 she was awarded an MBE.

How long have you been retired from being a professional badminton player?

I retired in 2008 after the Beijing 2008 Olympics so it’s been 10 years now. I started playing as a 4yr old so after 27 years, I decided to hang up the rackets and see what else I could do.

You wrote an article last year in the Daily Telegraph saying that you struggled when you finished playing professionally . How have things been since?

The article was mean to be a small piece on an online magazine called The Mixed Zone as I didn’t know what

else to do other than write about my frustrations and problems. The Telegraph picked it up and my article went viral highlighting the fact that many sportspeople – and non-sportspeople, struggle in transition and there isn’t enough support out there.

Since the article, I had an incredible response and I have been able to find the support needed as well as work.

How do you find the transition from professional sports to the commercial working environment?

It hasn’t been easy, but I was given the chance to work at Office Freedom (formerly Search Office Space) 4 months ago, and I love being part of a

team again. In sport, that was one of the best parts – being with a group of people that knew how to get the best out of you and were together through the highs and lows. I’ll admit that I struggle sitting down in an office for long periods of time but I make sure I do lunchtime runs to keep my energy levels up!

How do you see the majority of professional athletes once they retire? The ones you know or know of - do you think they experienced similar issues.

I think it is a hard adjustment for lots of people. Sport is a unique bubble and it can be strange when you come europeanbusinessmagazine.com 43

out of it. Some people adjust fine, some not so well. For some people, the reality change hits them 2 years later and they struggle then. Everyone is unique and that’s why it is difficult to set up a support programme.

Do you know many that have made success stories in business when retiring?

There are many sportspeople that have made a success out of retirement… but they are the ones that had plans in place before they retired. Many were pre-lottery and weren’t solely focused on their sport which helped the balance. My worry is that there is an ‘all or nothing’ approach to young sportspeople and other ‘distractions’ like studying and work are discouraged to keep the focus on the sport.

You now work for in the commercial property industry. How did you come to work for them?

It was a random meeting and over a game of padel tennis with CEO Richard Smith that led to me being Head of Partnerships at Office Freedom.

I believe that it is finding the right people to help you along the journey is key and Richard saw potential in me to achieve in commercial property. I am very thankful for the opportunity.

They have rebranded recently form Search Office Space to Office Freedom. What do they do as a company and is it just London they are operating?

Office Freedom are the one-stop office concierge service for any business. Whether you are a large company, SME or start-up, we have the full inventory of all the flexible working office space in London, UK and globally. If you need 20 desk spaces in Mayfair, or 10 desk spaces in Berlin, we can provide you the options.

And we don’t charge a fee for our services.

Do you see the company having USP so you can tell our readers?

There are many serviced office operators in the market, but Office Freedom are the only broker that lists ALL of them. More and more large companies are coming to us as they expand, and the flexible working spaces are now beautiful offices to work in.

The head of the company Richard Smith - did he start this business by himself or is it family owned? How long has it been going?

Richard Smith started as a commercial property agent and 25 years ago, started Search Office Space after recognising a gap in the market. Not all

businesses could take out 5 / 10 year leases. The rebrand to Office Freedom is to tie in with the 25th anniversary.

For the future Gail - where do you see you and the company in the next two years?

Office Freedom wants to be the number one place that businesses go to for their office requirements. As a company, we want to be supporting companies on their journey as they grow and work with partners to provide the best office service possible. As Head of Partnerships, I want to work with like-minded brands to support businesses the best way possible.

You have a few of your things gong a consultancy with after dinner talks and motivational speeches. Can you tell us what this is and how has it been going?

As an Olympic medallist, I do many talks about the journey from starting out in a tin hut in Bedford, to playing in front of 20,000 people in China. I love talking about personal resilience, the mental toughness needed to succeed and tips that can help succeed in life. I also do management coaching workshops to progress more on these topics with 1:1 business coaching. To be able to get the best out of someone but helping them realise their potential is extremely rewarding.

Is there any particular area you want to focus on? Are there any specific plans with this in the future?

At the moment, I am happy. I am learning in commercial property all the time and I finally feel I can put something on the CV other than badminton! It also gives me flexibility to be able to work on my own consultancy and keep that variety that I love so much. This time last year, I was not in a good place and I didn’t know what the future held. I still don’t know exactly, but I am ok and excited for what it will bring. Bring it on ;)

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Top of Their Game

Insurance Companies Need To Face Digital Reality Before It Is Too late

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or insurance companies to remain relevant in 2018 and beyond, they must employ new methods, introduce future-proof campaigns and address the ever-growing needs of their customers as technology, innovation, and disruptive newcomers begin to challenge the traditional marketplace. At a time when insurance companies are required to juggle more than ever before with an increasing demand for change management and continuous improvements - European Business Magazine examines the insurance industry and looks at what is new around pensions, retirement policies and mutual funds.

In today’s hiring market, quality employee benefits are crucial for attracting and retaining the best talent. A good pension package is likely to be top of the incentive list for a business executive as increasing your pension savings can set you up for a lifetime of financial security. However, 2016 saw Britain voting to leave the EU, bringing to the fore an array of challenges and highlighting key considerations for insurance providers.

These issues were heightened further with the announcement of GDPR, implemented last May. For the time being, however, Brexit has led to a break in the government’s pension reforms, but future reforms to pensions may have several implications for the insurance industry. Until a deal is struck, other matters will be of more immediate concern to pensioners and people still saving for old age. Like, for

instance, those workers in auto-enrolment pensions will see minimum contributions rise from 1% of their income to 3% in April 2019. This may result in a decrease in takehome pay for some employees, but equally, it could mean that they will now look forward to retirement with more confidence. The possible effect of future reforms, however, particularly on those under 30, may make life insurance a necessity for later life security.

The European life insurance industry is at the helm of the European savings and retirement market with €6 trillion in assets as of 2016, and, following a tumultuous couple of years with political and regulatory changes, including the implementation of the Solvency II regulations, European customers are putting pressure on life insurers to deliver a more refined customer experience. People are living and working longer, with British workers displaying the shortest retirements out of any major EU country despite significant improvements in life expectancy, and recent reports suggest that the retirement age could yet increase to 70. Asset managers and insurers have access to more than 240m retirement savers across the EU, and a pan-European Pension Product (PEPP), a new type of retirement deal, will give savers more choice and increased variety in the fragmented European market. The European-wide single market for personal pensions is expected to grow to €2.1tn over the next ten years and as retirement provision europeanbusinessmagazine.com 45

is a major issue currently facing all European countries, providers are excited about implementing this new pension product. It recognises contemporary working styles, allowing mobile workers and those who change employer or country to save into a single savings vehicle, and may well play a significant role in strengthening pension systems in the EU. European countries hold high rankings when it comes to the UN’s Human Development Indexx and one of the main reasons for this is the high life expectancy that many of the continent’s residents enjoy. Europeans are now more likely to live into their 80s, and this increasing age has a huge knock-on effect on the insurance industry.

Technological innovation and growing online interfaces have also had huge authority on the insurance industry, as tech start-ups are threatening the sector by offering radical new ways of doing things. While this sector has been particularly slow to adopt technology with their legacy systems, Europe is a hotbed for innovative insurance companies leading the way, with many aiming towards becoming completely customer-centric in the coming years. This year has seen huge changes in the UK insurance industry with M&A’s dominating the headlines and global investment in the insurance technology (insurtech) industry increasing in 2017, with Europe emerging as a new insurtech hub. Such digital transformation is not only associated with technology but also with culture, making insurance more relevant, more contemporary and more ingrained in modern Europe than ever before. Start-ups creating insurtech solutions and products are making it easier for consumers, looking at what insurance we need in 2018 and changing how we purchase it. For example, Nimbla, one of 24 firms that made it into the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulatory sandbox in June 2017, says its mission is to ‘ensure SMEs get paid’. It was also the first commercial insurance app to be selected for the FinTech-focused Barclays Accelerator and it further accentuates the old, archaic insurance model.

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So, what kind of insurance company can cope with a busy and comprehensive governing schedule - harmonising EU insurance regulation, reinforcing transparency and all the while improving consumer protection? Amid the economic and social insecurity in Greece, NN Hellas, a financial services company active in 18 countries, is transforming and improving the country’s insurance sector, winning ‘Best Life Insurance Company in Greece’ at the Global Insurance Awards 2016. Of course, longstanding insurance companies are not taking all this change lying down. The major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships and acquisitions to increase their footprints in the market. Established players have been selling off elements of their portfolio to cut risk and make capital available to allow for additional investment in new opportunities. This comes amid a backdrop of slow growth for the industry, with revolutionary, responsive competitors thought to be motivating insurers to seek expertise from outside their own organisations.

For example, AXA SA France, Allianz SE Germany, Prudential Plc and Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Italyy are all investing in technology to reduce costs, improve efficiency and to facilitate new forms of insurance. In 2015 AXA, with a focus on property and casualty insurance, life insurance, saving and asset management, was ranked as the #1 insurance innovator in the world, with AXA labs connecting the business with leading technology companies. Moreover, AXA has invested over $1Bn between 2013 and 2015 in technology. With over 102 million customers in 56 countries and an employee base of 157,000, it is one of the world’s leading insurance groups. Another big player is Zurich Insurance Group, a Switzerland-headquartered global insurance company, with a focus on general insurance, global life and farmers insurance and Allianz, a leading financial services company headquartered in Germany, providing products and services from insurance to asset management.

Throughout Europe, economic confidence is currently at its highest levels in 17 years, and the European Central Bank has granted a positive outlook on economic growth in the region, with GDP forecasts for 2018 and 2019 raised to 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively. Manufacturing and service activities are increasing in Europe, with manufacturing activity in Germany rising to a seven-year high. Consequently, 2018 is a popular time to invest in a portfolio of mutual funds, like T. Rowe Price European Stock, Fidelity Europe or JPMorgan Intrepid European A. With an air of change in the market, life insurance may become more important than ever, and demands for innovation within the insurance industry will continue indefinitely. Standing still in this sector simply means falling behind and European insurers need to respond to customer expectations around flexibility; personalisation and applicability.

Shrewd insurance corporations will innovate their businesses to ensure they are ready for the future.

Marianna Politopoulou Chairman of BoD & CEO of NN Hellaas

Leading Life Insurance into the New Era

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Becoming a CEO of one of the largest multinational companies in Greece — is an achievement.

NN Hellas where you are CEO is demonstrating really good numbers right now. Growth and profitability are present and a record 10-year sales has been achieved.

What have you felt are the biggest challenges are you were faced with as CEO in NN Hellas?

When I took over as CEO on 1 May 2016, the biggest challenges I had to face was the financial and cultural turnaround in one of the largest and most reputable insurance companies in Greece with a history of 36 years in the country and more than 170 years abroad. We leveraged on the strong values, our best in class Sales Networks, NN group policies and applied clear and modern internal governance principles.

We focused on people, and people working together in a coordinated manner brought the financial results. We needed to review the organizational structure and redefine roles and responsibilities. We reset the strategic direction of the company, improved efficiency and have started on a journey to change the mindset where necessary. Teamwork has been the most challenging aspect of this turnaround but simultaneously our biggest success factor in our people-centric strategy along the NN values “care clear commit” that have guided our every step.

During your career in Greece and abroad, you’ve held several senior management/CEO positions at such places like EFG Eurobank, Inchape Hellas Group, Credit Agricole Indosuez Luxembourg and National Bank of Greece. It makes you an exception from the rule, as there are not so many women in top positions at multinational companies. What was your journey to the top like? Do you have any suggestions ,or advice , for women that want to reach similar positions?

I was appointed at top management positions very early in my career and at the age of 30 I was already managing the avant-garde internet banking 48 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

BU of a large bank in Luxembourg.

Personally, I have never experienced discrimination at work because of my gender. Respect and trust from my superiors came as a result from consistent and hard work. It is true that family priorities with respect to children may present difficulties for women to occupy top positions and to have to maybe compromise between family and career ambitions. Yet, in my opinion, this is a decision that women have to make and not use the usual cliché as an excuse. I do, however, believe that the family and close network has to provide support-psychological and practical for both genders in order for them to progress in their career.

I am grateful that my family and my children have been the inspiration for my journey and have supported me in my professional life. The family dynamics from my happy childhood to the upbringing of my children have discretely offered me intensive leadership training and how to connect with people. I am delighted to have reached a healthy work life balance, which in my view is key to fulfillment and happiness.

Having knowledge of both the banking sector and the retail industries gives you some unique perspective on the company’s operations.

Insurance industry is a bit different, even more sensitive.Could you tell us more on how it differs from the banking industry and what other strategies and entrepreneurial principles do you wish to apply at NN Hellas?

Although the two sectors are relevant and share common practices, they have different business models, they serve diverse purposes in the economy and are exposed to different risks.

The banking industry in Greece is more mature with regards to technology, data analytics, customer segmentation and communication. However the insurance sector deals with longer term business, risk and actuarial models and is more sensitive from a social perspective especially for health and pension as we underwrite new

business on assumptions that our successors will have to deal with in 20 or 30 years from now. Risk management with a strong socially responsible and people-centric lens is the essence of anything we do at NN Hellas. This is what makes it complex but also fascinating.

Having an extensive track record in financial services along with experience and communication with large networks has been a great asset in my transition to the insurance sector. The know-how of B2B and B2C operating models with partners and end customers, the computerized systems as well as the innovative best practices of the banking sector can contribute to the improvement of the quality of services provided by an insurance company. All of the above were among my top priorities and part of the strategy I started applying to NN Hellas from the moment I joined the organization.

and institutions to ensure that Greek citizens have access to the healthcare services and pension.

I am a firm believer in the collaboration between the public and the private sector. By complementing the social security system, insurance companies can provide citizens with quality health services and help them protect their financial future.

NN Hellas is currently the top international Life insurance company in Greece. We align with stakeholders as well as with the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies in the local market, to ensure the sustainability and growth of our sector to support our social mission along with business priorities.

About the future. What are your plans for the next two to three years for the company? What expansion plans do you have for NN and what are the main goals for you as a CEO of NN Hellas?

The insurance industry was quite new to you, and yet you seemed to have made a success of your tenure so far. Are there any particular skills that you need more than others while working in NN Hellas?

Even though I hadn’t worked for an insurance company before assuming the position of NN Hellas CEO, I look at the insurance industry as part of the broader financial sector; insurance companies deal with investments, long-term contracts, have access to a wide range of networks and maintain strong ties with corporate partners and clients.

Leadership skills from my past experience enabled faster progress in our transformation plan and contributed to a successful business turnaround.

Additionally, the selection and development of the right executives led to the formation of a strong Management Team that facilitated a new corporate culture. Finally, my strong

personal values that are aligned with our corporate values guided my planning, problem-solving and decision-making skills and have contributed to the establishment of a renewed internal governance model by connecting with people with consistency, transparency and care.

NN Hellas is operating in Greece for more than 36 years now. Do you think that in order to reach best results in insurance sector, proper cooperation between state and insurance companies is needed?

What is the NN Hellas position in the country? Do you need to work with state institutions a lot?

The financial crisis in Greece has unfortunately affected the social security system in the country both in terms of health care and pension. Insurance companies have the responsibility to help fill the gaps and work closely with the government

NN Hellas, as the top foreign life and health insurer, will continue to strive for the modernization and reliability of the sector, emphasizing values in doing business and improving the quality of life for our customers. Our primary aspiration for the immediate future is to complete the operational and structural transformation we started in 2017, increase our profitability and value to the shareholders and maximize our organic growth potential while evaluating any inorganic opportunities that may arise. This transformation process is the pathway to our ultimate goal: to become a best-in-class company in every aspect but especially in providing best-in-class customer service.

We also believe that success is more than just being profitable. Therefore NN Hellas aspires to be a socially responsible organization that produces a positive footprint in the community it operates and fulfils its mission of people-centricity. We plan and implement impactful CSR programmes that support the Greek people and especially the younger generations. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 49

This year, for the first time, NN Hellas in collaboration with Orange Grove, an initiative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Athens, have organized the startup competition Ideas that Change Us, which targets technology and health startups with solutions promoting prevention, wellness and better health.

The teams with the best ideas will take part in the acceleration program, tailored to help them start their own businesses. This CSR initiative aims to promote youth entrepreneurship in Greece and help young people fulfil their business goals.

Apart from the competition Ideas that Change Us, we offer the scholarship program NN Future Matters, through which Greek students have the chance to complete a master’s program in top universities in the Netherlands. It is worth-mentioning that out of the 31 scholarships granted this year to students from 8 European countries, 10 of them are Greek.

We are also honored to be the Gold Sponsor to the Hellenic Olympic Team for 2018-2020. This sponsorship is the most important one in the 36-year-history of NN Hellas. Being able to support the Greek athletes competing in 2020 Tokyo Olympics fills us with pride, as we show our commitment to the Olympic ideals that are compatible with our core values: “we care, we are clear, we commit.”

David Davi Da vid He vi H Healy, alyy,, C aly, al CEO EO o EO off Aetna Ae A etn na In IInternational’s nte tern rrn nat atio io iona ona n l’l s EMEA EMEA EA R Region eggio ion

How do you think insurance industry will look like 10 years from now? And NN Hellas — what will it look like?

The economic recession in Greece and the reductions in disposable income have also affected the private insurance industry the previous years. Recently, Greece reported successful exit from the ESM program after 8 years of deep recession and move to growth, while continuing structural reforms. These developments build confidence on the potential of the promising private insurance industry.

I expect that in the next 10 years, we will witness a drastic change in the quality and diversity of products 50 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

offered in the Greek market, as the demand for private insurance will increase. I am confident that NN Hellas will lead the industry, staying close to its consumer base, operating

with transparency and meritocracy and providing a range of rich and innovative insurance solutions. We aim to be a brand of reference, offering insurance and more.

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inTech this. FinTech that. When fintech took the world by storm five years ago, no one could have predicted its global impact, or more specifically its effect on countries like the US, UK, Germany and Russia. Since then, we’ve heard about hundreds of new startups, the emergence of tech competitors in finance and banks investing in technology.

One thing is for certain, the financial sector has undergone enormous changes since the fintech revolution, with a promising, dynamic and bourgeoning area solely dedicated to creating disruptive businesses.

Asian financial systems, on the other hand, were a bit wary when it came to adopting these new technologies and innovations. Compared to other continents and countries, the Asian banking sector seemed underdeveloped and slower on the uptake of this new and pioneering financial expertise. However, it was just a matter of time before the Asian banking system became bigger and better than its European counterparts, and Asia is now experiencing a strong increase in fintech investment as overseas investors search for opportunities in emerging markets.

Global fintech investment hit US$12 billion in 2014, but Asia accounted for only a little over 6% of that. FinTech had, up until then, been mostly a European and American industry, but

investors anticipated that the next fintech wave was about to hit Asia, and the tipping point came about four years ago, when we witnessed a quick growth of new financial innovations.

Then in 2016, EY Y and DBS, the main Singaporean bank, released a report in which China was declared the ‘undoubted centre of global fintech innovation and adoption’. Moreover, China is not the only Asian country making waves in the finance sector.

Many regions in Asia are now developing major technology ecosystems, and the finance sector is a big part of this trend. In 2016, overall fintech investments in the Asia-Pacific region reached $10,5 billion, the highest amount witnessed to date since 2010. And now — in 2018 — every bank in the world has their eyes on Asia. Why the sudden turnaround?

Firstly, four of the largest fintech unicorns are from China and Ant Financial, the financial arm of the tech giant Alibaba, is the largest unicorn in the world, with a value of $150 billion.

Secondly, Asia, with its innovative policies and startup-friendly environment, is one step ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to fintech.

Thirdly, since its demonetization strategy, India, another major Asian market, has witnessed some exciting improvements and more than 52% of people report to have used fintech there. This lies in sharp contrast to

the US and world average, which is a much more modest 33%, according to the Fintech Adoption Index by EY last year. Lastly, the future looks bright as the fintech industry in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at CAGR of 72.5% from 2015 to 2020, reaching an impressive $72 billion.

It’s no secret that many new innovations have already radically transformed the way people shop, pay, perform banking transactions and even purchase insurance. And the ongoing optimistic outlook is typically fueled by growth in digital payments, alongside the new methods of crowdfunding using blockchain. As Asian banks were initially slow and inflexible, inhibiting the adoption of many new payment technologies, smaller players in the sector stepped in and managed to gain a market hold. Just like that, the non-banks and non-financial firms in Asia helped to transform the financial sector, highlighting that bringing new, fresh perspectives to traditional, and often outdated methods, can help reap rewards.

Alipay, Tencent and Paytm are just a few names in the Asian market that have entered the financial industry through their payment platforms, and, armed with big data and large user bases, aim to extend to most financial areas from micro-lending to wealth management.

Alibaba was the first one to adopt this kind of strategy, and Alipay was launched back in 2004, looking in part like a Paypal-type service, facilitating transactions on its e-commerce website. Since then, a lot has changed, and now Alibaba - with help from its financial arm - Ant Financial - has managed to enter the loan market, giving credit to drive consumption on its online shopping platform. The numbers are impressive too. Since commencing in 2017, its lending division has already doubled and with a $487 billion market cap, it is one of the world’s largest businesses. Tencent, which is best known for its social media platform WeChat, with almost 890 million active users, is transforming its payments service into a comprehensive financial services platform. Another Alibaba backed mobile payment solution, Paytm, aims to become the world’s largest digital bank. It already has a license to become a Payment europeanbusinessmagazine.com 51

Bank, a new concept introduced in India in 2016, that can accept a restricted deposit of up to $1,533 per customer. The Chinese duo - Alibaba and Tencent - are the driving forces behind the importing of large sums of capital and vast business experience into Southeast Asia’s most promising startups. Another startup, Grab, which operates in Southeast Asia, is expanding its digital platform GrabPayy into micro-lending and credit services.

However, when writing on fintech there is one particular niche which cannot go unmentioned. Somewhat surprisingly, telecom companies are entering the financial arena now, becoming more and more active in the fintech space. Igor Pesin, a fintech investor and partner at Life.SREDA VC fund, says that the main reason for this is that ‘regarding customer base, they are even bigger than traditional banks, and since their average revenue per user is decreasing due to mobile internet and all those big trends, they see an opportunity here. They could become a power in finance greater than banks, at least in emerging markets.’

One thing is for certain, the financial industry in Asia is transforming fast, and active support and initiatives by financial regulators like the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank Indonesia, have enabled the Asia-Pacific fintech ecosystem to grow significantly in the last year. Additionally, all five banks in China have allied with tech giants and built partnerships, once again highlighting the huge impact brought about from the adoption of fintech.

Tencent started working with the Bank of China — one of China’s largest state-backed lenders — on a new cloud platform, which is expected to provide internet banking and funding solutions for customers. China Construction Bank opened China’s first ‘unmanned bank ‘, which for some might sound, and look like, a scene from a movie. On entering this bank, you are greeted by robots who will answer your questions and offer you a touch-screen to pay your utility bills, alongside many other ski-fi, futuristic activities. Singapore’s largest bank - DBS - has invested an astonishing amount of money - $3,7 billion - in technology alone. It launched 52 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

“digibank“ (the first mobile-only bank with 82% of requests automated using AI in India) and the world’s largest API developer platform, which consists of 155 API’s in over 20 categories. Over the last 3 years, Visa and PayPal have also launched innovation labs in Singapore and are now working together with the government on various blockchain projects. Additionally, Union Bank positions itself as the Philippines’ first blockchain-enabled bank. Edwin Bautista, Union Banks president and CEO, clarified that while many banks may have clients who deal with blockchain technology, Union Bankk is the first bank in the Philippines to implement blockchain into its internal processes. And they are not stopping there. Union Bankk is also using blockchain technology in a nationwide project that aims to connect and empower the entire country’s rural banking system.

When discussing fintech it is impossible to avoid talking about cybersecurity as it is one of the most central features of electronic commerce, and without proper protocols in place, online retailers put themselves and their customers at risk of payment fraud. Asian consumers don’t worry about online security as much as Americans and this is another reason why fintech is reaching such impressive heights in Asia. According to a survey by Nielsen, the US population was the most concerned with

online security of all the nations surveyed, with 59% saying they would be unwilling to shop online with a smartphone, naming privacy issues as a chief concern. In Asia, on the other hand, the percentage was significantly lower - only 35% of consumers in the Asia-Pacific reported a similar apprehension. This difference in attitude might be for the best when it comes to fintech in Asia as a lot of Asian banks are starting their own blockchain and virtual currency experiments, bravely going forward with new solutions and inventions.

For example, the People’s Bank of China plans to issue their own virtual currency and is actively taking steps towards reducing the traditional distribution of notes, which will, in turn, bring down the high cost of circulation.

Asia continues to progress with the speed of light, certain that such widespread adoption of fintech will continue to do magic things in this continent. It is reshaping the financial services industry, making it more customer-focused than ever before and digitalization is now a new paradigm not only for leading banks and financial institutions, but for many smaller players in the sector as well. Fintech doesn’t necessarily have to be something absolutely new - it just must be a new way of thinking. That’s why this fintech boom — although global — is truly different in Asia.

PHILIPPINES’ BURGEONI FINTECH SECTOR The Fintech sector is a mushrooming indu ustry and there is no sign of it stopping soon. Th he European Fintech sector is rife with Fintecch groups looking to disrupt the banks and is packed with new, young innovative startups with multi-million dollar backing..

The Asian Fintech sector is no different, although arguably less mature , however, it is rapidly evolving as a result of new age fintech companies and also because more traditional banks are striving to develop their technology departments to keep up with the new players. We talk to the award-winning UnionBank in the Philippines which recently won Best Fintech Banking Division Asia 2018 from our readers.

We talk to Arvie de Vera SVP & Head of Fintech Group at UnionBank You are Head of UnionBank’s Fintech Department — this position sure has its challenges, as well as advantages.

What are the main goals for you as a Head of Bank’s Fintech Business Group? What skills would you say are the most important?

My main goal is to “Tech Up” UnionBank, our customers, and fellow Filipinos. In layman’s terms, we make technology accessible to the most sophisticated corporate client as well as to the most financially excluded Filipino in the remote areas. We make technology bridge the gap of financial inclusion. The most important skill in this role is to keep an open mind and

yond cognitive be able to look bey biases and stereotypes. A lot of what is happening g in fintech is counter intuitive fo or banking, so we need to unleaarn, learn, and relearn all the time.

UnionBank seemss to always be one step ahead witth technologies and in bringing new ws to its clients.

“The leader in digital banking“, being “ahead of the age““ — these are just a few sentences often used to describe it.

In your opinion, how w did Union Bank manage to attain such reputation?

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Culture is a competitive advantage.

The UnionBanker is a smart bankeralways challenging convention, “Magis” (do more, do greater) - with the customer at the center. So when new technologies come along we are the first to try and experiment with them. We are never satisfied with the status quo and are always finding ways to give services in a more efficient way. The technology is not our competitive advantage- it is the same available to all. Technology is actually the great equalizer. However, our competitive advantage comes from the culture of the bank. UnionBankers and their core values of Magis and Ubuntu (we are only human if we belong)- serving the community through smart banking: that is what really spells the difference.

UnionBank is known for being one of the more aggressive banks in embracing new technologies — like blockchain, and empowering rural banks through it, providing better access to universal banking products.

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In your opinion, what are the main challenges that UnionBank has to overcome?

Education, regulation, and adoption are critical challenges. First, we need to properly inform and teach people about the available technology. While it definitely is not plug and play, in its complexity people don’t need to understand the deep cryptography or coding.

They need to be educated via use cases leading to cordial trust. Regulation further enhances that trust.

We work closely with our regulators to ensure technology is a positive enabler and not a deterrent.

Last but not least is adoption. It is the most difficult- we have seen so many wallet and electronic money providers over the past 20 years; all the bells and whistles, some so simple- yet adoption is very low. The customer has to be at the centerNOT the technology.

Which new fintech solution is the most important to the bank’s clients?

Our new mobile banking app is currently our newest and most loved by the clients. It has also won many regional and global awards. It is seamless, easy to use, simple- yet if you need to make QR code payments it is built in. It is also integrated with other third party financial technologies seamlessly. We have had so much positive feedback, but by no means resting on our laurels. This app is continuously improved based on feedback and thereby continues to be a co-creative process with our customers. Moreso, since we work on this in an agile manner and developed the app by ourselves- we can make changes and upgrades immediately whenever the need arises The blockchain technology is now moving towards Asia. This fact comes with certain challenges, as well as advantages for the Philippine banking sector.

What new opportunities do you see at this point — both for UnionBank and Asia?

The World Wide Web is the internet of information, but is in a way, lacking and broken. Blockchain is the internet of value. There are so many possibilities with blockchain which have the potential to solve so many gaps in Asia and more so in the Philippines. In payments, healthcare, logistics, property, securities, identity- to name a few. Imagine it is 1995 and I told you the World Wide Web was used for email, chat and barely some e-commerce. Blockchain is the new internet.

UnionBank positions itself as the Philippines’ first blockchain-enabled bank. It is also the first Philippines’ bank to join Visa B2B Connect — a cross border business-to-business payments platform of global payments technology company Visa, using blockchain architecture.

In your opinion, was it difficult to establish a culture of innovation at UnionBank?

What are the main challenges for the bank’s fintech department?

Innovation is in our DNA. It isn’t only concentrated in the UnionBank Fintech Group. It is present in the worldwide bank system. We didn’t wake up one day and say, “let’s do fintech!” In other words, we were already doing “tech-fin.” UnionBank, has for decades, been building in-house financial technology solutions for corporate

clients and for internal use. It is easy to do when you are servicing an industry or segment- but for retail it is difficult to justify. Consequently, we focused primarily on corporate back then, but if you look back we were winning the Cash Management and Transaction Banking innovation awards as well. Now with the dawn of fintech, there is no need to build the entire technology yourself! You can partner and collaborate with so many financial technology partners.

One of the aims for UnionBank is to simplify and reduce the cost of cross-border payments for 500,000 small and medium enterprises in the country.

How successful has this strategy been to this date?

The moonshot is actually 50 million customers and 1 million small to medium enterprises (SMEs). This foundation has been set and is at the execution stage. We are running on all cylinders y and actually y finding g ourselves having to build new capacity to make this happen. This has rallied the entire bank - front-end sales, back-end operations, top-to-bottom management and officers, and everyone in the middle. UnionBankers are committed to this moonshot and the building, experimentation and innovation continues in all parts of the bank.

When it comes to innovations and fintech, the future and what it will bring is the most interesting topic.

Can you say a few words about it as well? In your opinion, what does the future hold for Philippine banking sector? And UnionBank — what will it look like in the next 10 years?

I like the quote of our President and CEO Edwin Bautista. “If you wait for perfect circumstances before you act, you will run into perfect competition.

We really don’t know what the future of banking will be, but UnionBank will be there, transformed into the best version of ourselves.”

You won Best Fintech Bank Asia 2018 from our readers. There was a huge amount of competition. How do you feel about this huge achievement and why do you think you won this award?

UnionBank is grateful and humbled by these awards. There are many great digital banks in Asia and those very notable with Fintech Banking g divisions. It is an honor to be amidst great company. In the age of technology- it isn’t any more about the largest and the biggest. Rather, it is about agility y and flexibility as critical differentiators. In an industry where our very y existence is at stake- those with the mindset, willingness, and ability to actthose nimble enough- will survive into the future they themselves co-create.

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Medical Tourism Boosting Turkey’s Economy

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lso known as healthcare tourism, this niche was coined several years ago, although not so new now , the medical tourism industry is bolstering Turkey’s economy no end. The growth numbers are outstanding . In 2017 alone Turkey had a 31 percent increase in health tourism with a staggering 7.2 billion dollars of business done from foreign visitors. European Business checks out their boom sector.

range of goals that Turkish government wants to achieve by 2023.

And these plans are truly ambitious.

Right now, Turkey holds fourth place in the world for medical tourism, a mild increase from 2014, when it was ranked 6th. However, it aims to become the number one in the rankings by 2023. And, while in the process, they have ambitious plans and hope to generate $20 billion in revenue every year until then.

Dental care, cosmetics, elective surgery, fertility treatments — you name it. There’s something for everyone there, and the prices alone are the main reason why people stop by.

While this plan on the surface looked ambitious , the figures tell us that it’s actually working. According to data which was released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the Health tourism sector in the country managed to increase by 12 %, reaching 5.8 billion dollars in 2016 with more than 750 thousand patients arriving from 144

The healthcare tourism industry in Turkey is a part of the 2023 vision plan, which is also part of a wide 56 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

different countries. Industry insiders say that they are are likely to improve the already impressive historic record which was reached in 2017, as health tourism in Turkey continues to boom.

So why the increase? Looking more in depth at this record surge in visitors to Turkey , it turns out that the average medical tourist actually spends almost 10 times more than the average leisure tourist does, according to the Association of Health Strategies and Social Policies (SASOMER).

That’s why the Turkish government has given its full support and it is also why it spends so much effort globally promoting and advertising its health sector..

Over the last 10 years alone, the Turkish government has invested 30 billion dollars more in new hospitals than its technology sector which should give you some idea of where the government has its priorities.

“I can spend as much as I want,““ said E. Cakman, chairman and founder of the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council (THTC), when asked about the budget allocated by the Turkish government for promoting the health tourism industry abroad. “There is a budget,

but it is so big that I am spending a lot of money, and it never ends. Whatever I plan to do every year, I get to do it, and there is still money left.“ TV advertising, magazines, exhibitions, conferences, workshops, International medical tourism events — all tools are used to reach the highest results in marketing and advertising medical tourism sector in Turkey.

Turkish airlines even offers a discounted healthcare and cosmetic procedures to its regular flyers! It’s all about publicity, which is definitely paying off.

Another reason why medical tourism in Turkey is receiving so much attention is also its exceptionally great geographical location which helps attract people from both Europe and Asia as well as , Russia, Kuwait, Dubai, Lebanon.

Then, as we know the competitive price factor, which comes with exceptional quality in Turkey. The Turkish Travel Agencies Association noted after they did a global survey that Turkey charges the same procedures as developed countries, but at half the cost, which for your average patient, can help save thousands of dollars.

Where Turkey really comes into its own is its level of hospitality,which is more word of mouth but once added to medical tourism, it becomes a significant factor. In Turkey, performing a procedure is just a part of it. Clinics and hospitals always arrange a full package for their clients, where every little detail is taken care of , starting

from when you arrive at the airport to organising sightseeing tours, hotels , restaurants to when you depart from the airport.

T. Buzgan, the Chairman of the SASOMER Association, notes that “medical tourism providers in Turkey mostly serve in the areas of eye diseases, oncology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, oncotherapy, and cosmetic surgeries like hair transplantation.“, adding that “affordable and qualified health service, short waiting times compared to European countries, and modern and wellequipped hospitals may enable Turkey to claim a bigger share from global healthcare tourism.“ Turkey has already obtained a reputation for being a hub for hair transplant and physiotherapy services, welcoming patients from almost 60 countries, including Middle Eastern, Arabic and European countries, as well as such African countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

Every year there are more than 25 thousand patients who come to the country for eye surgeries. Turkey is actually becoming the leading destination country for patients who suffer from cataracts and macular degeneration.

To add to that , even more people are coming to Turkey for hair transplants.

A staggering 200 hair transplant surgeries are performed daily via hundreds of clinics around the country.

Not hard to understand when you look at the the United Kingdom and the US where hair transplant procedures costs $25,000 while in Turkey you can have it for a mere $1500

.Actually, the complete package that includes travel, surgery, luxury hotel, airport shuttle service and the sightseeing that we’ve mentioned before, adds up to be cheaper than the surgery itself in any other destination in Europe.

Patients from Arab countries here discovered natural thermal springs healing procedures that are known for healing properties against skin diseases, depression, gastro-intestinal, respiratory disorders, especially rheumatism.

However, hair transplantation procedures do not make the biggest market when it comes to medical tourism in Turkey: It is noted that about 32 percent of patients come here for oncology treatments.

Turkey offers really solid reasons to try medical tourism, as this sector has been driven by increased investment in health facilities and treatment technology over the past decade. Positron emission tomography, Da Vinci robotic assisted surgery, Cyberknife, Gammaknife, Radiotherapy, Nuclear medicine — you name it, they have it. And, what is more, the procedures are performed in a health facilities that own ISO 9001 certificates and Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditations.

Health tourism in Turkey is very heavily regulated, and medical facilities — in order to get necessary accreditations — need to fit certain standards, which are high.

All this is necessary to assure the best possible medical services to the patients. And there’s no compromising on this one, as JCI takes it all to the next level: 1000 criteria must be met to get the accreditation, and it has to be renewed every 3 years.

In Turkey, 46 clinics can be proud to be on this list. B. Ulusoy, chairman of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB), said that “the growing number of Turkish hospitals with international certification, and reasonable costs have truly boosted the country’s health tourism sector.“ And so why not ?who would begrudge you a little R and R after a little TLC of high level health procedures. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 57

The New Era Social of Influencers

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owadays, if you want your brand and business to be successful, you must find a way to get into people’s hearts, and not just any way, but a subtle one: advertising has also changed, and the old tricks that used to work are not so efficient anymore.

This is the age of connections and conversations, and social media has overtaken all of it, including business.

Can you imagine that in the USA alone, various brands are mentioned 3.3 billion times every day? People talk about everything and anything from fashion to industrial machinery, and companies realise that they can find a way to benefit from this by creating a conversation around their products and services.

And that’s where the term “influencer’s marketing” comes along. As brands and businesses have started to realise the power of influencer’s marketing, use of the term has risen by as much as 400% in Google Trends search. When you look at it more closely, it all comes from the basics: before buying a product or a service, we need assurance that our decision is a good one. That’s what influencers do — their role is to assure us that we will buy a truly valuable, high-quality service, an amazing experience and…well, be happy afterwards. It’s all about emotions and the ability to create the best ones for the consumers, and the most efficient stage to do that now is social media.

Let’s start with the right questions: Why? and How? Why are brands using social media now? How are

58 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

they benefitting from this? As with most genius things, the answers here are simple as well: social media is witnessing an incredible growth at a very high speed, and businesses should be savvy enough to take advantage of that. Not because it’s trendy to be on social media, but because the target audience is hanging around on popular social networks. No secret that branding strategies have also changed, and now most brands are trying to get connected with their audiences on as many distinct levels as possible. This guarantees the higher level of engagement as well as the feeling of belonging. It’s a whole new experience for the customer — to see what and how their brands and ambassadors are doing. This allows them to experience the feeling of being in the same bubble as their

favourite brands. And that’s how two worlds collide. The only difference is that most of the time brands do that so subtly and almost invisibly that many consumers don’t understand what is really going on here.

Facts also speak for themselves: according to an infographic that was published by Ambassador, 71% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand to others if they have a positive experience with it on social media. What does it mean? Basically, by giving your business a social media touch, you will reach better overall results and get a real-time performance analysis, but also will connect with your customers better, and serve them on a higher level. This also means that social media — if used correctly — will make your online

marketing easier, and who would not want that?

Social media, branding strategies and fashion are inseparable now. Brands use a variety of ways to reach their customers, and this guarantees that you don’t just reach out to one type of crowd, but rather connect to a versatile customer base. In the fashion industry, a popular commerce strategy is influencer’s marketing, as brands now understand that to get out there and be a part of a social media can be amazingly valuable.

It began with the rise of ad blockers and has been the most effective form of advertising in 2017. Experts say that this type of marketing will continue to be a focus of smart marketers in 2018 as well, and major brands — now, that they’ve seen what influencers can really bring them — will be

shifting a massive piece of their budgets from mainstream marketing over to influencers. As there are so many influencers around the globe right now, the main keywords are quality and production value, and that’s what will dominate in the fashion industry when it comes to influencers during the next year, due to the consumers’ expectations for the higher production value. The processes of influencers have come a long way since the beginning, and now it’s not enough to just pay someone to post certain pictures anymore. Brand ambassadors are the next aspiration.

But the first step is to understand that different platforms can bring different advantages to the brands, depending on their aims. Facebook, being the largest social media site, is also the most obvious one for the influencer’s marketing. What’s more, Facebook is also the most liked platform by influencers themselves: in 2016, more than 32% of influencers favoured Facebook compared to Instagram’s 24%. The good thing here is that through posts liking and sharing, a new level of visibility is created, and it often goes beyond the original influencer’s audience.

Let’s talk about social media platforms. There are many different choices when it comes to influencer’s marketing, and choosing the right one can really help brands to reach large and non-specific audiences.

Another social media platform for influencer’s marketing is Instagram. This image-based site is living its golden age, and influencer’s marketing industry on Instagram is now worth more than $1 billion. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 59

Interestingly, Instagram’s users tend to deliver more positive reactions to branded content than on any other social media platform. Numbers are truly impressive here, and more than 70% of the most popular hashtags are branded on Instagram. What is more, Instagram is officially recognised as a top social media platform for targeting consumers with disposable income, and especially millennials.

One more choice for influencer’s marketing through social media is Twitter, and although this platform somehow gets less attention than the first two, it can be a good option, as more than 49% of Twitter users actively rely on influencers for various product or service recommendations. More than 40% of users follow brands directly there, and Twitter is officially the most cost-effective influencer’s marketing option.

When it comes to fashion and influencers, the most influencer-led social campaigns happen on Instagram, and all the biggest companies are here as well: from Chloe to Ralph Lauren, from Balmain to Marc Jacobs and Moschino, you name it. From April 2016 to June 2017, more than 5000 influencer accounts were monitored by various brands. However, it looks likely that the full potential of influencing has not been revealed yet, as brands still focus on the bigger audiences, and forget to analyse the possibilities within their influencer partners. More than 70% of brands work with influencers, but 90% of them fail to feature influencers on their own account, missing the opportunity to incorporate influencers more actively

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on their content strategy. Brands with smaller budgets use influencers via Instagram as well and usually choose the ones that have 5000 to 25000 followers. The most important thing here — whether it’s a big or a small company — is to have a wise and clear strategy with the desirable purpose.

While mega-influencers can have millions of followers, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the brand’s message will be presented properly. That’s why brands like to partner with smaller influencers, whose image reinforces specific brand values. A great example is the Forever 21 brand, which uses small and micro-influencers widely, and gets amazing results. 90% of the company’s Instagram posts feature influencers that have thousands of followers — not millions — but they each average more than 90 thousand interactions. Basically, such strategy can ensure authenticity, as this is becoming the key focus for the brands.

Social media has become such a big part of our lives that sometimes we can’t even remember how everything used to be before it. Let us ask you one question: Do you recall what the fashion industry looked like before all of it? Now it’s all about competitiveness and the urgent need to keep up with the rest of the industry or else your company can be left behind.

Social media made sure that connections are now easier, and brands get to communicate with their customers on a personal level — globally. All the oldest and biggest fashion brands realised that too — think Burberry and Louis Vuitton — and now are trying to be even more accessible to the general public via social media platforms, which was not imaginable a few decades ago. The key point for fashion brands is that because of the massive consumerism if customers can’t buy the desired piece immediately, they just tend to forget about it. That’s how it works, and fashion companies must find ways to get closer to customers.

Social media platforms and influencer’s marketing is an effective way to do this. As we’ve mentioned earlier, such marketing strategy can generate better results and reach more audience. Customers, on the other hand, get to experience what it’s like to participate in the private world of luxury fashion brands. And that’s where Instagram — the platform that generates the highest B2C engagement via influencer’s marketing — comes along. And the rest…well, we think you know. Just scroll through your Instagram’s feed and you’ll see what we mean.

The MONEY Factor And Is It MAKING US HAPPIER? Sean Staunton

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oes a higher income make one happier? The well-known income-happiness puzzle, first put forward by Richard Easterlin, suggests that our average happiness has remained constant over the last 50 years despite large increases in real income per capita (The Easterlin Paradox). This paper’s aim is to explore in depth whether income affects happiness, how it affects individual’s happiness and why it affects it in such a way, as according to Easterlins paradox, it does not. Sean Staunton investigates but also aims to try and provide an explanation as to how and why the Easterlin Paradox came about.

How can happiness be measured?

In the Easterlin paradox an individual’s utility at time t is based on the level of consumption at time t. However with all the modern literature on income and happiness, this is too simplistic an assumption to be made and it needs to be given more accurate parameters. There is a wide variety of literature on what truly effects individuals happiness, with it having been argued that once an individuals income rises above subsistence level, it is no longer increases in income that affects their levels of happiness, but good relationships with friends and family that becomes the main driver (Lane, R., 2000). Investigating all these different variables would take a very long time and a lot of very complicated models, but from this there is an important point to be drawn out which cannot be ignored, 62 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

and that is how can happiness be measured effectively?

There are always problems with how one is supposed to measure happiness on an individual or aggregately in a country - Diener (1984) and Veenhoven (1993) have extensively studied measurement and validity issues, finding such problems as the questions to measure happiness in the Easterlin study left individuals to define happiness and well being as they please. This can result in comparison issues’ leading to the question of how then can happiness be accurately and effectively measured?

A study done by Hadley Cantril, a social psychologist in the 1960’s, carried out an intensive survey in 14 separate countries, that were culturally different and at different socio-economic development stages, asking open-ended questions about what people want out of life1. In every country, material circumstances, especially the level of living, are the most commonly mentioned aspects of what people want out of life, on

average being named by about three quarters of the population in the survey (Cantril, p.162) Other aspects of people’s life seem to take a back seat in comparison, including family life, relations with children or relatives, an individual’s health, and a good job just to name a few. The most important point to be taken from here is that material circumstances and the level of living is one of the most important aspects to peoples lives when asked an open ended question, showing that when looking to measure an individuals happiness and income, GDP per capita can be inferred as being an accurate measure when trying to improve ones happiness. So why has the income happiness puzzle arisen if material goods and high levels of living is what, on average, one of the most important things in peoples lives. This is an important point to this paper, and economists in general as it provides evidence that a) an increase in the level of GDP should technically increase levels of happiness and b) happiness can be

researched and gauged to a certain level through the gathering of international cross sectional GDP data.

Expectations The Cantril study, as previously mentioned, has also given an incredibly insightful view into the human psyche, which can help solve Easterlins puzzling findings. Cantril’s study found that respondents, after indicating their level of happiness on an integer scale of 1-10, having then been asked where on the scale they think they will be in 5 years time, their average response was they rated their prospective happiness higher

than their current level. This was not, as one may think, just in the younger age groups (although their mean difference was considerably higher), but throughout all ages, prospective happiness was rated higher, and on average rated their past happiness lower, with only few exceptions.

Lipset and Schneider (1987) asked the same question as Cantril’s in 36 survey’s from 1959-1985 in the United States, with every respondent expecting on average to be happier in the future, and had felt they had been worse off in the past, again with only few exceptions in the comparison. This, when considered alongside the well-established findings of Easterlin, and Blanchflower

and Oswald (1999) studies where as the income of a nation rises, happiness on average remains constant, is quite a thinking point, with the main question being why?

Higher Income = Happier?

Another point to add to that puzzle can be found in table a below. While this paper is looking at whether income affects happiness, how it does so and why, one of the most important findings I have come across is also the most simple; how happy people are at different levels of income, which is shown here in table a.

Table 1.

Percent Distribution of Population by Happiness at Various Levels of Income, United States, 1994 (1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Mean happiness rating*

Very happy

Pretty happy

Not too happy

(Number of cases)

All income groups

2,4

28

60

12

(2,627)

75,000 and over 50-74,999 40-49,999 30-39,999 20-29,999 10-19,999 Less than 10,000

2,8 2,6 2,4 2,5 2,3 2,1 1,8

44 36 31 31 27 21 16

49 58 59 61 61 64 62

6 7 10 8 12 15 23

(268) (409) (308) (376) (456) (470) (340)

Total household income (1994 dollars)

Source: National Opinion Research Center (1999) Question 157. ‘Don’t know’ and ‘no answers’ responses are omitted. * Based on score of ‘very happy’ = 4, ‘pretty happy’ = 2, ‘not too happy’ = 0 europeanbusinessmagazine.com 63

As can be seen here, there is a clear relationship between the level of income and the average happiness rating, as individuals income level is higher, so is their average happiness. This again poses the question as to why when GDP per capita and average real income over the last 50 years has increased, has happiness remained constant?

From here there are 3 main points to which have been covered: 1) The level of living is on average the most important factor when asked what people want out of life, allowing the gathering of economic data such as levels of GDP to be a measure of happiness.

2) At any point in time respondents feel they will be happier in the future and were worse off before, yet the experienced level of happiness remains constant throughout.

3) On average those with higher levels of income are happier than those with lower.

I am going to go in depth to explain point number 2, as this has many aspects to which need to be looked at in depth and are key to understanding whether income affects happiness, with points 1 being a summary and 3 is to be expanded upon later.

Internal Reference Points With respondents saying they feel they will be happier in the future, and felt they were worse off before, whilst their experienced happiness remains constant, it nicely brings me

64 eu eurro opea pe eanbu anbu busiine nessm maagaaziine.c . om m

to an important part of answering whether income affects happiness with the internal and external reference points.

Internal and external reference points (Kimball and Willis 2006) refer to the internal psychological effects and the external variations and the effects they take on the income-happiness paradox. Here we are going to focus on the internal reference points before moving onto the external later.

There are two internal reference points; • Backward looking: Concerned with the effects of an individual’s previous income on their levels of happiness.

• Forward looking: Concerned with the aspirations of an individual at any point in time and the effects on their levels of happiness It is important to look at the two internal reference points together, as it is only when analysed together that they have a profound effect upon how we analyse an individual’s happiness.

The backward looking internal reference point refers to an individuals previous income, while the forward looking internal reference point refers to the aspirations they have while on a certain level of income. They must be looked at together because of the effect one has on the other. As income increases, the material level of ones aspirations increases, which leads them to perceive themselves as having been unhappier previously.

The backward looking reference point concerning the individual’s

previous income or habits can also be termed adaptation, which, defined

by Frederick and Lowenstein (1999) is “a reduction in the effective intensity of favourable and unfavourable circumstances.” This along with Brickman and Campbell’s concept of the “hedonic treadmill” (1971) whereby following temporary highs and lows individuals resume back to some baseline hedonic level of happiness, providing some theory as to why experienced happiness remains constant.

There are two ways to look at the backward looking reference point, both of which are important; the first is the value an individual puts on their previous income, which effects the amount they value current income; the second is through adaptation or the hedonic treadmill, whereby individuals who experience a change in their income or lifestyle, quickly adapt to these new circumstances (for better or worse) and return to their preset level of happiness.

If we now move onto the second internal reference point; the forward looking reference point or that of aspirations, we can then combine it with the backward looking reference point to explain why there is no experienced increase in happiness across populations who’s economies are on the grow. Aspirations raise individual’s expectations of what they want, desire or think they should have. However it is not that simple, as when an individuals aspirations are achieved, say for example, there material dreams of owning a particular car or being on a certain level of income; their level of satisfaction will not be maintained at a higher state due to adaptation to circumstances, this new level of income only now only keeps them at their “baseline mood, or long run happiness” (Kimball and Willis 2006) once they are past the initial elated satisfaction period.

As mentioned before, at any given point in an individuals life cycle it appears that they think they will be better off in the future and they were worse off previously than their current situation, yet their experienced happiness throughout the life cycle remains constant. The forward looking

fig. a.

A1

A2

3

A3

6

μ3

2

μ2

1

7

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4

μ1

y1

y2

y3

internal reference point of aspirations has a lot to do with how individuals perceive their current levels of happiness, which when combined with adaptation results in individuals struggling to experience consistently higher levels of utility due to these internal reference points.

The relationship; theory The best way to explain these relationships can be done using a simple utility diagram, plotting subjective wellbeing against income, with aspirations being represented in an upward sloping utility function. If we assume that at the start of the life cycle, people have a set of material aspirations of the A1 utility curve. As can be seen from the diagram, those with higher levels of income, all other things being equal, can better satisfy their aspirations and subjective wellbeing. This can be seen by comparing points 1, 2 and 3 on fig a.

If ones income then rises and aspirations do not change, they will move up the A1 utility curve, experiencing greater wellbeing and achieving their goals/aspirations, moving from point 1 to 2 on the utility curve and increasing their well being from u1 to u2. However, if, as previously mentioned, income rises but aspirations change, and rise to a new higher utility curve of A2, then peoples wellbeing would no longer increase through

y4

this higher level of income. Once an individual has moved up to point 2 through an increase in income from y1 toyy2, through adaptation their aspirations rise from A1 to A2 so their subjective wellbeing returns back down to u1 to point 4.

I conjecture that as incomes rise aspirations rise accordingly, offsetting the happiness effects of higher levels of income. However this cannot hold completely as those on higher income levels than others are happier, therefore there must be another piece to solving this puzzle?

External Reference Points This brings the paper onto the second most important point, the external reference point, or social comparison theory (Brickman and Campbell 1971), whereby in comparing ourselves to those around us and our income in relation to theirs affects and shapes our judgments of ones own personal circumstances. Clark and Oswald’s (1996) comparison of ‘people like me’ estimated coefficients on income and comparison income with the results of increasing the income of everyone increases the happiness of no one.

This is essentially what is known as keeping up with the jones’s, an idiom referring to one’s neighbour’s material goods sets a benchmark as a level of standing within one’s reference group. In failure of ‘keeping up with

the jones’s’ one is perceived as being socially inferior. So by this perspective, an individuals, or if we look at it from an aggregate point of view, a country’s happiness is not determined by absolute income (or not entirely anyway) but by their income relative to their reference group. For example those who live in affluent areas may not be as happy as those who are less well, but comparatively they are poorer than their peers, resulting in reduced life satisfaction.

A novel paper by John Knight and Lina Song (2006) on social comparison in China deals with an economy that is very different to the much European-North American dominated literature. This paper shows the importance of reference groups and happiness; controlling for own income and village income, respondents whose income was higher than the village average reported higher levels of happiness than those who’s income was equal or below it. Simple and clear demonstration of how important reference groups are in any culture when comparing happiness and income.

Comparing the theory: Data As mentioned at the start of this paper, the puzzle that is being faced is that of the Easterlin paradox, where despite consistent and sharp increases in real income over the last 50 years, happiness has remained constant, posing the complications to the question of whether or not income affects happiness. Before moving on further, the paper shall be briefly summarised as to what has been discussed and concluded thus far: i. Happiness can be measured in terms of GDP ii. Those on higher levels of income are reportedly happier than those on lower levels of income. iii. At any given point in an individuals life cycle it appears that they think they will be better off in the future, and they were worse off prior to their current situation, yet their experienced happiness throughout the life cycle remains constant. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 65

iv. Adaptation results in individuals struggling to experience consistently higher levels of utility due to these internal reference points. v. As incomes rise aspirations rise accordingly, offsetting the happiness effects of higher levels of income. vi. Due to social comparison, increasing the income of everyone increases the happiness of no one.

Yt/Yt-1 1.15 1.1 1.05 1

Yt/Yt-1 0.95 0.9

Yt Yt-1 This formula is going to be used against a time series of data for a select number of countries, which will then be compared to the happiness index for the same time period for these countries. This is to see whether people’s previous income affects their levels of happiness, following the patterns and assessing the happiness/income trends and analysing whether there is a supporting relationship or not.

If the results are greater than (1>) then income is on average increasing to the previous levels, however if the results are less than (<1) then average income is going down. When comparing this with the happiness of nations we shall be able to compare graphically whether this has a significant effect on peoples happiness.

The data for happiness has been taken from R. Veenhoven’s World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands. This tests happiness in various different ways through questioning, for example questions such as on a scale of 1-4 how happy are you with the life you lead? 4 = very 1 = not at all.

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2010

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The first theory to be compared is going to be that of the backward looking internal reference point. I am going to do this by comparing the GDP per capita, and divide it by the GDP per capita of the previous year. In this model GDP will be represented by Y for income, with time being denoted by subscript t:

0.85 1976

Comparing data for internal reference points.

Trend average happiness in US in comparison to their comparative income levels fig. b If we look at the data for the United States below in fig. b, there seems to be a clear difference between the 1980-2010’s levels of happiness, and the Yt/Y Yt-1 graph. The happiness of the US appears to improve; yet their levels of income seem to deteriorate slightly. However, if we look at the earlier measurements, happiness in the US is greater than before, and so are their changing levels of income. What can be inferred from this is that people, at first upset by their reduced levels of income improvement, are unhappy, which is shown in the slightly lower levels of happiness in the US. However, as time goes on, they adjust, and become used to this level of

income improvement (according to this data on average of only 0.05) and go back to their levels of happiness they were at with their previous levels of income improvement. This is testament to Kimball Willis’s theory that and that new higher levels of income only keeps them at their “baseline mood, or long run happiness” once they are past the initial period of feeling elated or upset over the change. This is all before the drops in income/happiness that occur when the financial crisis that began in 2007, clearly displayed by both charts. This can also incorporate forward looking internal reference point of aspirations; as peoples incomes increase annually they start

Trend average happiness in 10.0

United States (US)

7.5

5.0

2.5

0.0 1940

1960

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US trend happiness in comparison with changing income levels fig c

2020

to build this into their expectations of what they are entitled to. However, when say for example after the 1980’s when income levels started to reduce incrementally, people felt they were worst off displayed by peoples reduced happiness.

Yt/Yt-1 1.15 1.1 1.05 1

Yt/Yt-1 0.95 0.9

2010

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0.85

Trend average happiness in UK in comparison to their comparative income levels fig. d.

Trend average happiness in United Kingdom (UK)

10

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2 1960

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UK trend happiness in comparison with changing income levels fig e.

ireland 1.15 1.1 1.05 1 0.95

ireland

0.9 0.85

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Fig. f. Trend average happiness in Ireland in comparison to their comparative income levels

Once however this reduced gain in income had been built into peoples expectations, their happiness levels again began to improve.

Happiness in the UK seems to follow a slightly different pattern, when looking from 1990 onwards, after a dip of nearly 0.10%in average earnings from 88-92, the happiness trend appears to drop (from where there are results missing, but we shall average out between the points for sake of consistency) but then pick up again gradually, despite income leveling off around the 1.05% mark.

However it does appear that around the 2000-2002 mark on both graphs, there is a clear dip in income change and happiness. This shows that for both the US and UK there is a clear correlation between happiness and the backward looking internal reference point; individuals happiness is dependent upon the change in their income, but also, the change in their income relative to how it had increased/decreased before. This shows adaptation on how humans perceive their happiness, which is displayed more clearly in the US comparative statics. As explained previously, adaptation is the reduction in the intensity of favourable or unfavourable circumstances. So when applying this to the current data we have here, particularly the US data, after the initial drop in which American’s incomes were improving, and their happiness level dropped, they adapted to this new level of income growth and returned to their ‘baseline’ level of happiness. This is the same for the forward looking internal reference point of aspirations, whereby having built in expectations of how much their income should improve, any reduced changes, even though they are still improvements on their current income levels, will result in reduced happiness. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 67

Comparing Data on External Reference Points.

Trend average happiness in 10

Ireland (IE)

8

6

4

2 1960

1975

1990

2005

2020

Ireland trend happiness in comparison with changing income levels fig g.

Ireland Trend Data.

I have chosen to do Ireland on comparing happiness and income because of the huge amounts of change economically and socially, becoming known as the ‘Celtic Tiger’ with it’s incredibly prosperous 1990’s and 2000’s, resulting from its huge amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI). If we look at the charts below, fig f. and g. Ireland appears to follow the same trends as the United States and the UK, as income increases on average from 1990, happiness levels spike briefly before leveling off. From 2000 when income levels stop increasing as much as they did previously, happiness levels dip again briefly before returning back again and leveling off. The only difference here that I can infer is the increase in happiness levels around 2005 spike again, to the same levels as when Irelands GDP per capita increased sharply in 1994, but with no such increase in income. What I can infer from this is that following such a sharp drop, it could have been built into peoples expectations that this reduction in income was going to continue with the fears of recession/economic slowdown. So when this level of income was maintained, and it was better than what people expected, they were able to fulfill their aspirations greater than they imagined, resulting in a spike of happiness in Ireland during that time period, before again leveling off, and 68 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

then dropping again when the financial crisis struck in 2007.

So far, having analysed three sets of comparative data, it has shown that internal backward and forward looking reference point theories hold strong when compared with separate happiness data and the formulated income data Yt/Y Yt-1 I have come up with. This shows a correlation between income levels, happiness, and how it changes in relation to positive or negative changes in income. However it must be noted that this is only taking into consideration GDP for income, under the assumption everything else holds constant for the purpose of this paper.

This will be discussed in more depth in the conclusion.

As mentioned earlier in the paper, external reference points refer to social comparison theory, where by ones perceptions of their situations are distorted by comparing themselves to those around them. This is going to be compared on a countrywide scale, so much less local than in comparison to peer groups, but still relevant.

To do this I have made an equation whereby the comparison is going to be made between GDP per capita for one country at a point in time against the GDP per capita of another country at the same point in time, and is then going to be compared over a collective time series of comparative data that I will be collecting.

Ya Yb Where Y denotes income and being processed in the data as GDP per capita, and subscript a and b denoting different the different countries that are going to be tested.

One of the important differences from the previous data analysis is it is going to be absolute level of happiness of one country in relation to the absolute level of happiness in the other.

The first countries to be tested are going to be the United Kingdom against the United States. This has been tested YUKK/Y YUS so when the ratio

YUK/YUS

0.8 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72 0.7 0.68

yuk/yus

0.66 0.64 0.62 0.6

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

205

Fig h. comparison between UK income and US income.

2010

Table 3.

Table 2. years 1998

Column1 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Happiness Happiness in the UK in the US 6.9 7.1

1999

6.7

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

7 7.1 6.9 7 7.1 7.1 7.2 7.1 7

7 6.9 6.8 6.6 6.7 6.8 7 7.3

2009 2010

7.4 7.4

5.9

2011

7.1

is less than one (<1) the UK’s income is less than the US, and when the ratio is greater than 1 (1>) the UK’s income is greater than the US. The US is being used as the comparison country to the UK because of the social and cultural similarities, and their close relations politically.

As we can see from the graph above (fig h.) the US is consistently better than the UK in terms of GDP per capita, with the UK not getting above 0.8 ratio. If the social comparison theory were to hold, then the UK’s absolute levels of happiness should be lower than the United States.

Happiness in ireland 7.1 7.1 7.4 7.1 7 7.1 7.1 7.1 7 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 6.8

The charts are not accurate enough to display the different levels of happiness in the UK and US in order to make accurate comparisons, so from where the most data can be obtained to make a comparison – 1998 onwards – a table has been made in order to make the comparison.

As can be seen from the table below, on average, the UK responded as being happier than the US, despite income levels increasing at a slower rate than the United States’. In this instance, social comparison theory does not hold.

YEir/YUK 2.5

2

1.5

1

Yeir/Yuk 0.5

0

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

205

2010

Fig. i. comparison between Irelands income and England’s income.

Happiness in the UK 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.9 6.9 7 7.1 7.1 7.1 7 7 7.2 7.4 7.1

The next test is going to be between 2 countries that are closer geographically. To stay consistent with the previous tests, this time it will be Ireland against the UK, close culturally, socially and geographically.

If we look at fig i. below, can clearly see that Ireland has experienced much higher levels of income, with it being nearly double in comparison with the UK in 1975. However this has been on a sliding scale since 1975 in comparison with the UK. Looking at Ireland’s happiness levels can see they are clearly consistently happier from 1995 onwards, and only in 2010 after the UK overtook Ireland in terms of income, did they then become happier than them. Even though this only proves that high levels of income does generally make you happier, it appears there is a relation between the fact that once the UK’s income increased more than theirs, they immediately became happier than they were, as the UK goes up to 7.1 and Ireland drops down to 6.8.

While this is a weak link, it is significant, as in 2010 Irelands income had started to increase again (Ireland fig.e I think) beyond the previous 3 years, yet they became unhappier. Thus it can be inferred that relative incomes are important in determining one’s relative happiness. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 69

Conclusion At the end of this report, having looked at all the different ways income affects happiness, the how’s and why’s of it, I think it’s important to first state that everything has been compared and judged with the assumption that income is the only changing variable, everything else holds constant. This of course, is not applicable in real life, reducing the validity of this paper. There are numerous variables that have not been accounted for, all of which have significant impacts on our levels of happiness. As mentioned earlier, once above subsistence it is argued that relationships with friends and family become the most important factor in determining happiness, and with other significant factors such as job satisfaction, health, psychological state all are huge determinants of peoples happiness levels that are not accounted for.

However, despite all of this, the question was does income affect happiness? How? Why? At the end of this report it seems clear to me that income does affect happiness a great deal, in 2 ways; the first is a personal thought that when one is earning above average levels in society, they are achieving and progressing. This in itself improves individuals happiness as if one were to look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, achievement is the second highest level of attainment in gaining life satisfaction. Secondly,

income affects happiness for all the reasons mentioned in the report. One of the questions I was looking at to answer was the famous Easterlin puzzle, of why in his study real income levels had nearly doubled yet happiness remained constant. Income affects happiness in many ways, but its effect is dependent upon how it is received.

Give someone who has nothing £100 and they will be incredibly grateful.

Someone who has a £100,000 salary will not be anywhere near as happy to receive £100. This is just an example of how the dynamics between happiness and income work, as it is not a simple case of more money equals greater happiness. If we looked at the comparative data sets it seems fairly obvious that high levels of income or GDP in an economy or correlated positively with higher levels of happiness, and as income goes up, so does happiness and vice versa. But what I think should sh hou ould be be taken ta into account is the repr re pres esen enta tati tio o on that increased levels of inco in come me hav ave e in an economy – there is a re eas ason o why rrecessions are also known as dep epre ress ssio io ons! Healthy economies mean me anss pe peop op ple do not have to worry abou ab outt mo mone ney y, y which, in the bigger picture tu re, pr prob oble lem ms m such as providing for the th e fa fami mily ly or the future, which can be quit qu ite e a burden and have an affect on hap ppiness, become elevated.

Re eferring back to the economics of the report, it seems quite apparent that income, as a generalization, is positively correlated with happiness. It

70 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

appears there are short terms effects of income on happiness, which dissipates once individuals have adapted to living within their means but at a higher income level.

The main reason why Easterlins findings came out with consistent happiness levels despite constant increasing levels of income can be drawn from the research and findings in this report; As income goes up, so does happiness, but according to adaptation and aspirations, this is not enough to sustain higher levels of happiness; once individuals become used to a certain level of annual increases in their standards of living, it no longer increases their levels of happiness but appears to only maintain it; Despite a constant increase in the level of GDP, it has not been a constant climb, as business cycles in the economy go up and down so do happiness levels with it, it would appear from the data sets above. So while increases in income make individuals happier, so do the decreases.

But because of aspirations and adaptation, the consistent increases in income do not have the same magnitude of effect as a decrease; and finally relatively speaking, social comparison theory also teaches that absolute income is not as important as relative income when it comes to our levels of happiness due to social superiority/inferiority – “keeping up with the jones’”.

To finish this report, going to leave with a quote taken from Clark and Oswald; “giving money to everyone increases the happiness of no one”, while this is not strictly true, I think its something to think about.

Innovating The Payroll Sector

T

here were times when processes were handled mostly manually. Our lives did not evolve around technology and it was enough to know the basics to be manage day to day operations successfully . Nowadays, the picture is completely different and things are about to get streamlined. Various technologies are changing different sectors and businesses, and manual processes are being replaced by automation. Including payroll and taxes.

We look into the world of payroll and the innovating technologies changing the sector. By Amr Shabbana

In order to be on top, payroll professionals need to learn all the new

tricks and expand their knowledge beyond the basics, as using technology has become an essential tool for success. Put simply if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t adapt you will not survive.

According to the Next Generation Payroll Services Market Analysis of 2017, the global payroll services sector continues to grow at a compound average annual growth rate of 4.1% and is estimated to be worth more than 21 billion dollars by 2021.

The payroll sector in Europe, however, is still in its infancy y phase and is moving steadily away from manual processes to automation, integration , digitalisation, system and data.

Many businesses in the payroll and

tax sector have been taking relatively conservative steps towards innovations ,largely due to concerns about security, privacy and of course cost .

However the main reason in Europe is that it is the most complex payroll region in the world.

NGA Human Resources, a global leader in HR and payroll services, has released the 2017 Global Payroll Complexity Index (GPCI) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a global intelligence report that identifies the top payroll process and compliance threats of the year, per country and region.

Since 2014, complexity in Europe has increased, and turns out that 7 out of the top 10 most complex countries europeanbusinessmagazine.com 71

for payroll are in Europe, with France, Italy and Belgium being on the top of the list. And of course you’re wondering -How did Europe manage to get on top of this list?

Studies showed that Western Europe still requires the highest number (17, to be more specific) of employee data items for a net salary to be correctly calculated. An average of 14 employee data items affect a net salary. Payroll calculation processes are complicated, and 16 data items per employee must be reported and declared to government.

The new EU data protection regulations with stricter consent requirements also brought changes to the payroll sector, as every single aspect of company’s data collection has to be reviewed and now as we all know , be GDRP compliant.

This results in more difficulties working internationally: because of the new GDPR, multi-nationals need to re-examine their service level agreements and ensure that data-processing language is compliant. To put it simply, as the data will now also have to go to the in-country provider and the company that you’re working with, it’s two processes instead of one.

However, it’s not all so complicated: this is actually the tipping point where technology and professional

services have it all figured out. How? To start with, there’s no need to be afraid of technologies sweeping the payroll sector. It’s quite the opposite actually, as the newest technology trends in payroll keep proving that increased accuracy, efficiency and speed of operations make it easier for employees to do their jobs, which and sundry are aware of . As a result, many HR and payroll departments started to explore technologies that would help to both transform everyday operations and provide optimum means of accessing services.

Right now, there are 4 key areas of investment in the payroll sector that get the most attention and vendor investments: cloud computing, integration, analytics and automation.

The Cloud (often named “the top trend to watch out for in 2018“ ) is a payroll processing system that offers different ways of storing, accessing and processing your business data. This is expected to progressively replace dedicated global payroll systems and server-based interfaces, mainly to its simplicity of use .The Cloud gives an ability to use your computer or smartphone to access your company’s data and software applications from anywhere.

With traditional payroll systems, you have to use software that runs

on your in-house computers.Cloudbased operations remove the need to enter data twice and speeds up validation. And while we’re at it, the best Cloud payroll benefit is cost saving. It actually manages to cut the time it takes to process payments by automatically filling PAYE and paying staff, as well as emailing payslips.

Ease of use, low barrier to entry and affordable cost — no wonder that small and medium-sized businesses are eating this up.

One company that has been making this transformation easier is the Immedis Group — a company that has been shortlisted for Tax Provider of the Year 2018 at the FEM Americas Global Mobility Summit award.

Established in 1996, it now has over 1200 employees in over 33 offices worldwide. Immedis has a serious mission out there to fulfil; to simplify global payroll, making it easier to manage and report at a company level. And these guys love technology, so it’s no wonder that they are using all the newest tools while reaching their goal: think reporting analytics, integration, data validation, process automation, information security — all with the help from iConnect by Immedis.

If you haven’t heard about it, let us quickly guide you through: iConnect

by Immedis is an enterprise level, cloud based global payroll platform that centralises payroll management and consolidates reporting into a single dashboard, giving you real time global oversight of your business. It’s one system that is centrally managed, secure and reliable. The group uses iConnect to automate processes, data validation and information security to deliver global payroll in 130 countries worldwide.

Enabled by Cloud technology and other new trends, global payroll system is transforming how companies (especially multinational ones) are managing their business operations and by using the technology , companies are generally benefiting in other areas of the business too. Everyone wins!

72 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

EUROPEAN BUSINESS MEETS

Ruairi Kelleher who is the newly appointed CEO of Immedis, winners of Global Payroll Provider of the Year. Immedis provide international payroll and employment tax solutions for multinational organisations with overseas staff, whether locals or expats. We talk to him about his path to becoming CEO, the company’s business operations and what he hopes to achieve in his tenure.

Y

our path in the Payroll sector started with Taxback back in 2012. You’ve worked across the Group in various positions, including Senior Commercial Manager, Commercial Director, etc. Now, you’re the CEO of Immedis what would you say your most valuable experience has been and which has been the most important one for you?

It’s difficult to say what has been most valuable. Each role has been instrumental in getting to where we are now. The Taxback Group is a hugely successful global financial services group, grown from very modest beginnings. I think this history is what has been fundamental to our success.

Our Chairman Terry Clune built the company from his student days in University and this entrepreneurial approach filters throughout everything we do. Each employee has the freedom and authority to make changes and have an impact on the business. This gives people real ownership and authority to drive the business forward. Today’s employees want autonomy and to really make a difference, not just be another cog in a corporate machine.

You have a strong management consultancy background which has been integrated with optimizing business processes. Would you say that this

background has been helpful to you in the Tax and Payroll sector? Are there any specific skills that you need more than others while working at Immedis?

Business process optimization is a key part of what we do. The global payroll operation is hugely complex with different countries, legislation, currency payments, timezones and languages to deal with. Without efficient and effective management of this process mistakes can occur that can lead to incorrect or late payments to employees and tax authorities. The end result?

Unhappy employees and fines from authorities. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 73

However, I think the most important skills you need while working at Immedis relate to relationship development. Whether you are in our Service Delivery Team, Sales & Marketing, Technology or Operations, working together with clients, partners, suppliers and colleagues is central to our success. Being able to really listen to what people need and help them in a way that makes a difference is vital. So often we hear from clients whose previous providers did not care enough to provide a good service and respond to their requests in a timely way. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our number one priority here and always will be.

Immedis has a strong and clear vision. The company seems to keep one step ahead with technologies and bringing more innovation to its clients. With digitalisation sweeping one sector after the other, which new technological solution would you say is the most beneficial to your clients?

74 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

The global payroll market is ripe for innovation. Our cloud based platform iConnect is the first truly global payroll solution that consolidates payroll data from around the world to help simplify payroll and employment tax management.

Payroll is a cyclical process with some very repetitive tasks being performed each month. Data needs to be gathered, checked, reviewed and approved in order for employees to be paid accurately and on time.

We have built Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in to our software to help eliminate errors caused by human intervention. As a result, clients now spend less time on manual tasks and can now focus on more value add activities.

Data visualization & analytics is another key feature of our platform.

Payroll is traditionally an area bogged down by spreadsheets. This makes checking and verifying information very time consuming. By using visual

elements like charts, graphs and maps, data visualization is an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers and patterns in payroll data. The end benefit is that both our clients and tax and payroll experts can spot errors more quickly and manage risk more easily across the payroll cycle.

Immedis was a part of Taxback Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Global Mobility Service. The company was rebranded approximately 1.5 years ago. In your opinion, which aspect of the company needed the biggest change?

What is the most important aim for Immedis right now?

The biggest change we needed as a business was to clearly communicate what our value proposition was. Historically being part of Taxback, although hugely beneficial, also caused clients and prospects to wonder whether we were a tax only business. This made it more difficult to explain our credentials as a global

payroll provider. By rebranding and repositioning, this helped those conversations flow more easily.

The Immedis name came from what our clients told us. We conducted independent research which fed into the naming process and we asked why they chose to work with us. The feedback was unanimous – service reliability and responsiveness.

When you’re dealing with payroll, time is of the essence. Immedis understands this. We understand the challenges that our clients have to deal with and we know how important it is to get answers from qualified experts as quickly as possible. This ‘immediate’ service is what sets us apart.

Immedis has many global clients — Wayfair, Apex Fund Services, NYIT, Airbus. One third of company’s business is coming from Ireland. You’ve also mentioned that you want Immedis to expand to Asia and grow there.

What steps have already been taken towards this? Why it’s important for the company to target Asia?

Asia is a natural progression for us to expand to as we have a global client base. One of our centres of excellence is based in Sydney, Australia.

Having a presence on the ground is important to build up a team of qualified tax and payroll experts there so we can provide the best service to our clients.

Can you say a few words about the future? How do you think Tax and Payroll sector will look like 10 years from now? Do you think that global payroll market will be different? And Immedis — what it will look like?

Last year, Immedis signed a deal with pro-golfer Shane Lowry, with an idea to pursue an Immedis brand acquisition in the US and its multinationals. Now, after a year has passed by, what’s the situation in this area?

The Tax and Payroll market is starting to see big changes. Last week we saw the acquisition of Celergo by ADP. Two key vendors in the market. This is a trend that could likely continue as the bigger players acquire smaller vendors who have a solid client base.

Immedis launched in November 2016 as a standalone entity from The Taxback Group. Seven months later we acquired our first payroll business in the US and a month following that we signed Shane Lowry as our brand ambassador.

However, I’m not convinced that’s what the market needs or what clients want. Many of the larger players pass information from clients to their in country providers without adding any real value in between. This is done by account teams without the tax and payroll knowledge to be able to answer clients’ questions.

Today our relationship with Shane is stronger than ever. We regularly host events with him and our clients and partners to help strengthen our relationships.

We previously said that further acquisitions would be a possibility for us to grow and I still stand by that statement. There are lots of possibilities for us in the mix right now and the next 12-24 months will see other key developments in this area.

At Immedis we place tax and payroll experts at the heart of our business, ensuring clients remain compliant and have access to the right help as and when they need it. We work with in country partners in 150 countries worldwide to deliver our global payroll service allowing our Client Delivery team to provide the best service possible to our clients. These in country partners go through a strict due diligence process and ISO 27001 accreditation to ensure compliance and rigour is applied to everything they do.

In 10 years, Immedis will in some ways be unrecognizable. But we will always stay true to our origins that have been the foundation of our success. The past 18 months alone have shown the phenomenal change and pace at which we’ve grown. I see us having centres of excellence on each continent with the biggest brands in the world coming to us to manage their payroll. I see our graduate programme delivering the future managers of our business, our employees growing with Immedis to become recognized thought leaders in the global payroll market. And our technology helping simplify global payroll and employment tax for businesses worldwide. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 75

European Bussiness Magazine meets

Laurent de (Senior Director Busineess Development EMEA at Aetna) who discusses his role with Aetna , the recent partnership with Humanis and employmeent duty of care.

How did you start off in the IPMI industry and what was your path to your current role?

I started out in the IPMI indusstry when I arrived in Hong Kong in 2004. I was acting as a broker, selling to and servicing both individual and corporate clients. Then I moved to Beijing, where I utions designed to developed and sold IPMI solu meet the needs of individual and corporate clients in the Chinese market.

After five years in China, Sing gapore beckoned.

There I established a branch fo or Abacare Group.

Singapore was a very different market to China, more mature and with many diifferent challenges and I enjoyed my time there enormously.

In early 2016 I moved to Lo ondon to develop Aetna International’s businesss within continental Europe. At the time we were very focussed on U.K. brokers, and our vision was to build a broader strategy in Europe.

You’ve been at Aetna Internattional for two and a half years. How has the company developed during that time?

The company’s strategy has expanded considerably over the past couple of years – we are now focused on going broade er and deeper into markets all over the world. We e’ve expanded into new geographies; we have new w licenses in Hong Kong and Thailand, and exten nded our footprint d the Middle East. throughout Asia, Europe and So in terms of our geographie es we’ve definitely grown much bigger.

Our proposition to members also has become broader. We now have a far more holistic view of healthcare. We’ve moved on from being a typical payer of medical care bills; now we see ourselves less as an insurer and more as a health care partner to our members. And that is a clear stand-out position in the IPMI market.

Our new virtual health propossition – vHealth by Aetna – illustrates this point very well. vHealth enables members to access prrimary care quickly and easily via their smart pho ones or computer 76 europeanbusinessmagazine.co om

screens. Particip pating doctors are fully trained and skilled in providing telemedicine, and d are able to directly support our members or direct them seamlessly to the next stage of care. vHealth has helpe ed to integrate primary care within n our service proposition. It’s a sing gle point of contact for medical advicce, treatments and prescriptions whe erever our members are in the world. v vHealth is personal, accessible, afford dable and tremendously efficient fo or the member.

You recently form med a strategic partnership with Humanis, one of the largest health insurers in France.

How did thatt arrangement come about and h how will customers benefit from m the arrangement?

The U.K. iss the largest market in Europe,, but France is third on the listt, with an estimated US$900 million in international priivate medical insurance grosss written premium.

The French market is unusual, un nique even, because of the e French government’s strong influence.

The public health system in France also has a specific program for expatriates. As a French expatriate you can still access social health insurance through a special governmental program (CFE) that facilitates health care for those living away from France. So it’s important for health insurers operating within France to work closely with the Government.

To achieve the high levels of market penetration we were looking for in France, we made the strategic decision to seek out a local French partner, and we chose Humanis.

Humanis has 700,000 corporate clients and 10 million insured members in France, established local operations, experience of working with the governmental program, and a large distribution network. Aetna International has a very complementary offering, with a strong proposition outside of Europe, including a worldwide medical network, and a compliant global product solution.

Both organisations share a vision to make the world a healthier place, and the belief that healthcare should be accessible and affordable wherever you are in the world.

Given our obvious synergies, we agreed to work together to build a common solution for French expatriates, one which will combine benefits appropriate to the French health insurance market with global solutions offered by Aetna.

Employer duty of care is always a feature on the corporate agenda.

How does Aetna International help clients meet their obligations?

Employer duty of care is an important issue for corporates, especially when it comes to an international workforce. Taking a holistic view of health care allows us to offer real support to our corporate customers and their overseas employees.

Before our members travel, for example, we can talk to them about how to access care in their new destination and ensure they know the local names for the drugs they are taking. We can even pre-arrange care for members who are concerned about an existing health condition.

Whilst on assignment, members can access first-class medical care quickly and easily, and we’re always

europeanbusinessmagazine.com 77

on-hand to ensure their recommended treatment plans are appropriate. And through our partner, WorldAware, we provide risk profiles on the countries our members are visiting, and evacuation if they are in physical danger.

Another issue that has come very much to the fore in recent years is mental health. This is a particular concern for expats, as they move to new countries and take on the challenge of new jobs far away from their friends and families. To help our members stay positive and cope with stressful situations, we’ve introduced an employer assistance programme, manned by trained councillors and other professionals.

Our package of benefits not only offers a solution to employers looking to meet their duty of care obligations, but also helps address issues such as presenteeism within the workplace and how

78 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

to contain the costs associated with running a health insurance programme.

What’s next for Aetna International, and for your role within the company?

We will definitely continue to build Aetna International’s core business.

We’re looking at new markets and new solutions in Europe, and hope to announce another European partnership in September or October of this year.

Our involvement in other domestic markets around the world is also likely to increase. The recent acquisition of the BUPA Thailand domestic business is a good example - Aetna now has nearly 300,000 members there. We have an excellent, integrated, solution in Thailand, including virtual healthcare and an outpatient clinic. This is definitely a model we are looking at for other countries.

In markets such as EMEA, we’re considering hybrid solutions that would provide global benefits and, at the same time, enable the use of local health care facilities at a lower price point.

We see our vHealth solution being the entry point for all care, regardless of whether it’s global or domestic customers. vHealth will be instrumental in our global health care proposition going forward.

At a personal level, I’m very positive about my journey with Aetna. Breaking into the European market has been an exciting challenge and I am delighted that we are making such strong progress here. The Humanis partnership is one of several in the pipeline and we’re looking forward to having similar arrangements across the continent over the next three to five years.

It

seems like that cryptocurrencies es are the greatest craze of the last decade. When Satoshi Sat Nakamoto amoto introduced the conce concept for the Bitcoin in 2009, many con considered it an unrealistic concept. The skepticism epticism that was spread aro around held d many from making their first fi investment in Bitcoin. Things, how however, are much more different now. In 2017, 017, the popularity and value of tthis cryptocurrency ptocurrency literally skyrocketed skyrocketed.

These days, more and more people choose to invest in Bitcoin. Moreo Moreover, the e number of online stores that allo allow you to make purchases using Bitcoin instead d of credit cards continues to grow with each day. Also, if you take

a look at our Bitcoin casino reviews here re on BitFortune, you’ll notice a greatt number of online casinos tha that support Bitcoin – and other cryptocurrencies – as a payment metho method.

According cording to many gamblers, th the main advantage of using a cryptocurrency is anonymity, in addition to o the instant transactions. In fact, f unlike like with credit cards, using Bitco Bitcoin doesn’t involve a middleman, like a bank in the first case. All you need is your e-wallet ID, which isn’t ass associated ed with your name in any way.

Although opinions are still divided on n this subject, one thing is certain, cryptocurrencies ptocurrencies like Bitcoin w will

continue tinue to cause turbulence on th the market. There are many people who believe in the power of crypto and have ave never stopped working on this t idea. a. Below, you will see a list of 1 15 crypto kings that are making history with their engagement in the field of cryptocurrencies. ryptocurrencies.

Some me of them earned a real fortun fortune by investing in and trading with cryptocurrencies, while some of them are the e creators of some of the most po popular cryptocurrencies we know today. today Check out the infographic below to learn earn all about these people, their contribution ntribution to the cryptocurren cryptocurrency world d as we know it, as well as wha what they’ve gained from those endeavors.

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Ghana:

Africa’s Latest Economic Star Embraces Business and Innovation

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hat makes country a success story? A transition from military dictatorships to a well functioning democracy? A booming economy numbers? 44th rank in the Global Peace Index? Significant reduction in poverty?

To be honest, we could go on and on about this, giving you one impressive fact after the other, but the most important thing is that Ghana really does have them all lined out right there.

It seems almost impossible, but according to Steven Radelet, who did a huge study on Africa’s economy and wrote a book about it, 17 emerging African countries have achieved steady economic growth since the mid-1990s.

And Ghana is in The top 5 Africa’s countries that showed the highest GDP Annual Growth Rate.

Being the first sub-Saharan African country that became independent from British colonial rule, Ghana’s

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economy is now ranked 85th largest in the world with a total GDP of 51,6 US dollars.

A strong and permanent economical performance led to many economic achievements, making Ghana the lead nation in the world today to invest in.

How did it get there? Let’s get into it.

Ghana is often called “a tale of remarkable fortunes“. Not so long ago, in the 1980s, the country was facing serious poverty. However, from 1992 up to now, Ghana has managed to hold peaceful elections and its economy has made a strong rebound. Oh how the times have changed — this year Ghana is the world’s fastest growing economy, as revealed by the World Bank, Brookings Institution, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

This year, Ghana is often referred to as “Africa’s star economic performer“.

If you’re wondering, how did it earn this title, let us tell you that Ghana

is truly doing very well now, and this is not just a matter of being “the last man standing“.

Compared to other sub-Saharan region countries, Ghana’s market based economy has relatively few policy barriers. Global executives and investors cannot afford to ignore this country anymore — private inflows are surging in Ghana right now.

There are many opportunities when it comes to investments in Ghana, as country is well-known for its natural resources — think gold, diamond, silver, bauxite, cocoa, timber, oil. It’s the world’s second largest cocoa producer, and Africa’s second biggest miner of gold. It’s also the third largest producer of aluminium metal and manganese ore.

Truthfully, Ghana’s growth booms in economy are closely linked to crude since it became an oil producer in 2010: economic growth instantly reached 14.4 percent the following year.

It’s a long-debated question whether there’s a connection between financial development and economic growth. To back it out a little, many empirical studies by such authors as Levine, Wachtel, Fink, Haiss and many other conclude that development of the financial sector actually accelerates economic growth.

Ghana has faced some obstacles here.

Just last year a major banking crisis hit Ghana, as two of the country’s banks — UT Bank and Capital Bank — had problems of non-performing loans and faced high asset risks. It was caused by large exposures to energy companies, for which unpaid government subsidies prevented scheduled bank loan repayments.

The Bank of Ghana — country’s central bank — was in charge of the investigation and found out that 7 banks of 34 that operate in the country failed to meet the minimum capital requirement of 26 million US dollars.

In order to fix the situation, the Bank of Ghana mandated that all commercial banks in Ghana by the end of December 2018 need to set aside a minimum of 84 US million dollars in capital, otherwise their licences will be revoked. And yes, you’ve read it

right — the new number is 3 times bigger than the previous minimum capital requirement.

Emmanuel Akrong, credit consultant, says that the new minimum requirements will have 3 benefits for Ghana: “Banks will be able to better absorb adverse shocks, there will be a reduction in bank-risk taking incentives, and a strong banking sector will boost economic growth and attract foreign direct investment.“ Now we’re about to hit the tipping point related to Ghana’s banking and business sector.

Let’s go back a little — in 1970s, there was no bank in Ghana that focused exclusively on the needs of local businesses. Not until 1972, that is.

The Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) opened in 1972, and up to this day is known as a premier financial institution based in Ghana.

One of the key factors on gaining this status was an adoption of Clayton Christensen’s innovative disruption strategy. He is the guy that defined and first analysed the “disruptive innovation“ term back in 1995, and thanks to him this term is now called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century.

Following this strategy was the most clever decision that could’ve ever been made. Other banks noticed UMB’s strategy and its capitalisation on recognising new business

opportunities, as well as its success on this, and decided to follow it, changing their business models and attempting to replicate UMB’s path to success.

But it’s really hard to replicate it, as Ghanaian UMB — due to its entrepreneurial approach, innovative use of technology and distinctive banking solutions — has been awarded with 2018 Corporate Bank of the Year in Ghana award by the London-based financial magazine, called “The European“.

The Bank received this award a few months ago, sending UMB’s CEO John Awuah to accept it.

“I want to dedicate this award to our customers who are the reason we are still in business. We appreciate them, and also to our staff for their hard work and making sure that we are able to excite our customers at all times,““ said John, claiming the award.

Putting its customers first and searching for constant ways to improve is definitely one of the reasons why Ghana’s UMB is so successful. Another reason is taking each and every opportunity that comes within the technology aspect.

J. Awuah says that “if you’re a bank that is poised for the future, then you must invest today in the right technology to be able to be the partner for the future. At UMB, every credit that we spend in the fiscal infrastructure, we

spend ten folds in technology, making sure we are investing in technology.

And technology being the delivery outlet for the future, we are very much in the space.“ UMB is also a part of a One-District One Factory programme. It was launched by Ghana’s president and aims to establish at least one factory or enterprise in each of the 216 districts of Ghana to create economic growth in these areas and jobs for the teeming youth.

What is more, Ghana’s UMB always showed the increased support for country’s Small and Medium Enterprises, developing and elaborating plans to help them grow.

Since last year, when UMB launched its first Centre for Businesses, SME’s in Ghana have been given a serious boost.

J. Awuah noticed that “SMEs in Ghana are unique and face peculiar challenges, and that is why we have taken the bold step outside of our normal banking operations to cater exclusively to the needs of SMEs.““ In the next 5 years UMB will open more similar Centres in other parts of Ghana as well.

Once you get familiar with Ghana’s background and story, it’s almost hard to believe that 30 years ago, sub-Saharan Africa was known as a region where democracy was just a dream and the rules were made by dictators who governed their countries as some kind of personal backyards.

Despite it all — and through it all — Ghana managed to find its way and reached the “West Africa’s Darling of Democracy“ and “Africa’s latest economic star“ names.

Economist J. Ashbourne says that “Ghana has a more diversified economy than a lot of its African peers.“ The Ghanaian economy has been on an upward trajectory over the past 3 decades, and this year — for the first time — Ghana is about to take the lead as the world’s fastest growing economy.

Ghana’s story is amazing: it’s inspiring and truthful, and reminds us that no matter where you are or who you are, with hard work the possibilities are endless. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 91

Corporate Headquarters: SSNIT Emporium Building, Liberation Road, Airport City, Accra-Ghana Postal Address: P.O. Box GP 401, Accra, Ghana Tel: 0302 666 331 Toll-Free Lines: MTN 0800-100880; Airtel and Vodafone 0800-10088; Other Lines 0302633988 Email: info@myumbbank.com Website: www.myumbbank.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ myumbbank Twitter: www.twitter.com/myumbbank LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ universal-merchant-bank Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) is a full-service financial institution specializing in customized banking products and services. Opened on March 15, 1972, UMB is a leading Ghanaian indigenous bank with considerable financial expertise.

Through our Corporate, Business, Private, Personal and Internet Banking departments we are able to adequately address the financial needs of various segments of the market.

Furthermore, our Trade, Treasury and Credit departments complement our broad range of financial services with their unique and innovative banking products. Additionally, with thirty-six (36) branches, three (3) UMB Centre for Businesses, one (1) UMB PPP Incubator Centre and a vast network of ATMs, UMB makes banking easy and accessible.

Mission To lead, create and professionally provide a wide range of innovative and superior banking services that guarantee returns exceeding stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations.

Vision UMB aspires to be positioned as a leading Ghanaian Bank and a leader in innovative banking solutions by 2020.

Core Values Speed Passion Excellence Ethics Diligence 92 europeanbusinessmagazine.com

UMB

Makes Giant Strides in Its Digital Agenda

Frontal view of the UMB Centre for Businesses located in Kasoa

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echnology has completely transformed many facets of human activities and the global economy as a whole. The proliferation of digital technology has brought about drastic changes in the way banks operate. Banking is one of the many sectors of the economy which has undergone a colossal technological revolution in recent times; and Ghana has not been left out of the technological trend sweeping across the world. The widespread adoption of digital technology in Ghana is attributable to the mass adoption of smartphone and deeper internet penetration. As people resort to these technologies to conduct their various businesses, it has become imperative for banks to come up with innovative means and platforms to make banking simpler and more convenient for customers. One bank which is using modern digital technology to provide exceptional banking

services to customers in Ghana is Universal Merchant Bank (UMB).

In an interview with European Business Magazine, CEO of UMB, John Awuah, noted that the bank, recognizing the importance of digitalization, introduced the UMB SpeedApp in February 2018 to encourage easy and convenient banking on-the-go for both customers and non-customers.

He explained that UMB SpeedApp is the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premium mobile banking application, which is available on the AppStore, Google Play and Windows Store; and can be used for numerous business transactions. Additionally, customers can use UMB SpeedApp to purchase mobile airtime, request for loans and investments, transfer funds and withdraw cash using the cardless withdrawal feature at any UMB ATM in the country. He said these features make the UMB SpeedApp stand tall amongst

itself to meet the demands of the increasing Ghanaian populace who are fast embracing digital technologies”.

UMB CEO, Mr. John Awuah

other mobile banking solutions being offered by competitors.

“With the introduction of the UMB SpeedApp, we seek to leverage on the clout of digital technology to enable our customers have unfettered access to their funds at all times, irrespective of their geographical location”, Mr. Awuah stressed. According to the CEO, UMB SpeedApp has made it possible for customers to enjoy superior banking services from the palm of their hand. “In today’s fast-paced world, we want to reduce, as much as possible, customers’ waiting times at our banking halls, and luckily, the UMB SpeedApp is here to help us achieve that goal”, he stressed.

John Awuah disclosed that majority of their retail customers have so far downloaded and using the UMB SpeedApp, adding that the common feedback from the mobile banking users suggest that the Bank’s digital banking solution is one-of-a-kind. He added that the speed at which customers transact businesses on the UMB SpeedApp has not only provided satisfactory services to them but also succeeded in advancing the Bank’s medium to long term strategic goal of becoming a leader in innovative banking solutions in the next few years.

“It goes without saying that the bank’s impressive turnover in recent years can be attributed, in part, to our significant investment in digital technological innovations and systems, which has made UMB attractive to both customers and investors. Many people want to associate with us as a result of our people-focused banking service”, he added.

The CEO of UMB posited that, “UMB SpeedApp has come at a time many customers are seeking cutting-edge digital and mobile banking services. We understand that there is a market for digital banking, and UMB is positioning

Mr. Awuah was of the view that technology has become an indispensable tool in the current banking set-up, and assured that UMB will continue to roll out innovative products and services to make banking easier and exciting; emphasizing that “banks, as the frontline institution in financial transactions, must integrate modern financial technologies into their services in order to stay relevant”.

It was revealed that apart from UMB SpeedApp, the bank also has electronic products, such as internet banking, e-zwich, mobile money services and bancassurance together with massive back-end digitisation of the bank’s internal processes. He emphasized that these banking products operate together to boost UMB’s digital banking agenda, and make banking transactions quicker and seamless for customers.

Mr. Awuah further stated that UMB will continue to use innovative banking technologies to support Ghana’s quest to move into a cash-lite economy. “The volume of cash-based transactions in the country is a major concern for the Bank of Ghana. At UMB, we are committed to using our digital platforms to reach a good number of both the banking and unbanked population to enable Ghana reach its cash-lite economy target”, he stressed.

On cybersecurity and associated threats, the CEO of UMB stated that UMB SpeedApp is impenetrable to malicious activities of hackers and cyber fraudsters because the system is fortified with secure protocols that place total control of accounts in the hands of the user. He, therefore, urged customers to protect their PIN and mobile devices at all times.

Mr. Awuah went on to commend the team of technical experts for producing a robust banking application which offers a wide range of banking services on-the-go, and its full-proof, resilient and reliable. He was optimistic that the success of UMB SpeedApp will change the perception of people who have distrust for digital banking products and services.

Board of Directors Board Chairman, Mr. Ras Boateng Mr. John Awuah Mr. Benjamin Amenumey Mr. Kwame Adjei-Adjivonh Mr. Mawuli Hedo Dr. Kwame Ampofo Kusi Dr. William Mensah Mr. Joseph Tackie Mr. Menson Torkornoo Mr. Ken Tshribi Company Secretary, Mrs. Brenda Semevo Afari Management Team Chief Executive Officer: Mr. John Awuah Chief Operating Officer: Mr. Benjamin Amenumey Chief Finance Officer: Mr. Kwame Adjei-Adjivonh Director, Corporate Banking: Mrs. Nelly Abotchie Director, Consumer and Business Banking: Mr. Kevin Cain Director, Treasury: Mr. Kevin Adarkwah Consulting Director, Enterprise Risk: Mr. Samuel Kwadjo Osei Consulting Director, Credit: Mr. Eyram Atsu Director, Legal: Mr. Ernest Gemadzie Director, Human Resources: Mrs. Akwelley Bulley Chief Audit Officer: Mrs. Gifty Sackey Director, Marketing and Communications: Ms. Yvonne Botchey europeanbusinessmagazine.com 93

US — China Trade War Advances to the Semi-Finals

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s we speak its semi-finals week in Wimbledon and FIFA World Cup right now, however two giant economies have a competition of their own. Trump sure likes a bit of controversy but he is bell bent on getting what is best for the USA and who can blame him . The figures are right. China has been taking advantage of a huge economy at low export tax rates and the reverse has not been the same .Nick Staunton checks out the imminent trade war.

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200 billion dollars — this is the new number related to US — China Trade War that President Trump just unveiled, as the White House slapped additional tariffs to Chinese exported products — think clothing, televisions, bedsheets, air conditioners, etc.

Although the tariffs will not go into effect for at least 2 months, they are much more aggressive in the range of goods they’re applying to.

This is America’s response to Beijing’s retaliation for the first set of US

duties, which primarily targeted farmers in America’s heartland.

The new list takes special aim at “Made in China 2025“ products. Also known as an initiative to comprehensively upgrade Chinese industry making its goods competitive on the global market, this China’s strategy was released back in 2015, and it seems to be one of the key instigators of Trump’s trade war.

Although it seems like there has been a new tariff added each day, this one

caused Beijing to react with a warning: “The behaviour of the US is hurting China, hurting the world, and hurting itself,““ the Ministry of Commerce said a few days ago in a statement.

The statement has been followed by the complaint against America’s “unilateralist behaviour““ to the World Trade Organisation, making this the 12th filling of China against the United States. This document was filled just a few days ago, on July 9th, and claims that US was unfairly singling out Chinese products and breaking WTO rules with exceeding high levies.

Now, on the other side of the Trade War there’s United States, that has lodged 22 WTO complaints against China, accusing the Asian nation of a range of illegal trade practices, such as propping up it’s manufacturing and agricultural sectors with subsidies

and effectively stealing the trade secrets of foreign firms. There’s even a quote of Trump on this one: “They have been killing us““ he said.

What about the future? Can there be a winner on this case scenario?

Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang evaluated the situation as a chaotic time in international trade, saying that “companies in both countries will suffer losses. There is no winner in a trade war. Cooperation is the only correct choice between China and the United States.“ Experts say that it’s hard to see either side backing down at this point. The US is also set to go ahead with tariffs on another 16 billion dollars in Chinese exports later in the summer, and China has vowed to retaliate against US goods of equal value.

Economists also had their word on this one, saying that if the tariffs stop there, the impact on both economies will be small.

But as those two giant economies appear ready to see which side can take it further, the rest of the world fears that this trade war could actually spread to other economies, hurting business confidence and prompting companies to delay investments.

Due to the emerged situation, markets around the world are already rattling, and China’s stocks and currency are coming under particular pressure in recent weeks.

To go back a little, March to be precise ,, when Trump imposed aluminium and steel tariffs in order to protect specifically these American industries. An announcement of 25

percent tariffs on 50 to 60 billion dollars in Chinese exports to the US was made, and it also included aerospace, information and communication technology, as well as machinery.

Reacting to this, China placed fees on a wide range of US products — think scarp aluminium, sparkling wine and apples. Then it was Trump’s move, who proceeded to put tariffs on about 1300 Chinese products.

And just to make things even more interesting, a few hours later, China came out with more tariffs — this time aiming at Boeing planes. A few days later, Trump responded with another 100 billion dollars in tariffs.

S. Lester, Trade Policy Studies expert and associate director of the Cato Institute’s H. A. Stiefel Centre, added some perspective to the situation: “Some people believe that the Trump administration is not really interested in a deal, and has just been looking for excuses to impose higher tariffs. In that case, the trade war will continue and possibly escalate. However, others believe the administration is threatening and imposing tariffs as a negotiating tactic. If that is correct, there is a chance that the tensions will ease.“ E. Stewart from Vox had an accurate quote on this one, which sums the overall situation very well: “The burgeoning US — China trade war is not impossible to stop. It’s just that there’s no clear way of ending it, especially because it’s not obvious what President Trump wants out of all of this in the first place, or what China is willing to give.“ Fair to say - watch this space as it will be an interesting one. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 95

The Entrepreneur Bringing Supply Chain KnowHow To The UK’s NHS

By Noel O’Hanlon, Founder and CEO, Genesis Automation

10

years ago, I knew no more about hospitals, inventory management or software development than the average person. But today Genesis Automation is a global leader in providing supply chain management solutions to the healthcare sector. From our HQ in Ireland, we have forged partnerships with 27 NHS hospitals in the UK since opening in 2010. And we have just secured our first deals in the North American market.

So what happened? The story really begins in the early 2000s when I started researching the concept of consignment inventory management while managing director of IPT, a leading electronics manufacturing distributor that has since expanding successfully into life sciences. The upshot was the creation of a pioneering supply chain management solution.

Unfortunately, from a commercial perspective, our new solution had limited application within IPT’s core business. So, with the company’s blessing, I launched Genesis Automation and started to rack my brains

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to work out who might be interested. After initially targeting the US defence industry, it became clear to me that healthcare would be a natural fit for two reasons.

Firstly, because of the contribution we could make to patient safety. The NHS orders and manages so much stock that it is difficult for them to keep track of everything. In the case of items like surgical implants, for example, it is imperative that they know which implants are going into which patients. This was poignantly illustrated by the 2012 PIP breast implant scandal, when hospitals discovered they couldn’t track down patients who had received faulty breasts implants.

Secondly, because of the efficiencies we could deliver without compromising quality of care. If you consider how expensive it is to run an operating theatre, there are many opportunities to make savings if you have an accurate view of costings.

After initial skepticism and a lot of persistence on my part, I was able to secure our first contract with University Hospital Plymouth NHS

Trust. Hospitals in London, Manchester and Yorkshire among others have followed quickly. With plenty of evidence to support what we do, I’d expect Genesis Automation to secure 30-40% of the UK’s 600 hospitals.

The fact that we managed to transform an opportunistic insight into a market-leading healthcare supply chain management solution is down to a number of factors. It was important, for a start, to secure the right financial backing. During the launch period, we were able to attract €6 million from a Luxembourg-based investor called IPF Partners – enough to put us on the map. Then, earlier this year, we attracted a further €21 million, from a London-based private equity firm with particular expertise in the healthcare sector. That new injection of funding will support our international expansion and has enabled us to secure our first deals in North America.

in Plymouth spotted a barcode scanning procedure in retailer Tesco that we were then able to customise for their own supply chain. And we are constantly on the lookout for best practice supply chain management solutions that can be integrated into healthcare.

Perhaps surprisingly, as Genesis has expanded internationally we have learned that the challenges we have seen in the NHS’s supply chain are evident in other scenarios. It would be easy to attribute inefficiency to the fact the NHS is a state-run organisation, but there are plenty of things private healthcare providers can also learn about state-of-the-art supply chains. The truth is that the NHS recognises the need to change. They are quick to see their faults and eager to put them right.

I’m proud of the fact that Genesis is now a key part of the process that keeps many hospitals functioning.

But with that comes a huge responsibility, so I place a premium on close attention to detail and focusing on the matter at hand. In my view, a big failing is business is when people spend too much time on irrelevant stuff… activity rather than productivity.

Also crucial to our development has been a willingness to listen attentively to our clients, so that we formulate a detailed understanding of the problem they want to solve. Our software was developed in partnership with the NHS, so from the very beginning we were able to relate directly to their problems.

No less important, in my view, is the fact that we came into the healthcare business from a competitive but unrelated sector. There is a lot of negativity surrounding private firms encroaching on the NHS, but in the context of supply chain management I am happy to report that our ability to look afresh at the sector has had a transformational impact.

The NHS has always struggled with wasted resources but the Genesis management team was schooled in the advantages of lean

manufacturing. Because of my own career background, I quickly recognised the role that an end-toend supply management solution could play in the healthcare sector.

By tracking every item from warehouse to patient, we have helped hospitals save money (which can be channelled into patient care) and reduced the amount of time that hard-pressed clinical staff have to spend with such distractions.

I wouldn’t wish to overstate the role we play within a vast network like the NHS, but there’s no question we are part of an evolving mindset that is enabling the organisation to address the budgetary challenges it faces through new working practices.

Private sector partners like Genesis Automation can act as the eyes and ears for the NHS, monitoring trends in other sectors. We had a recent example when an NHS client of ours

Managing our growth effectively has also meant superserving the healthcare sector to the exclusion of all other industries. We’ve been approached by companies in sectors such as oil and gas, but I believe that our ability to innovate and evolve is partly about focusing on the particular needs of healthcare. It is this focus that has helped us secure a breakthrough partnership with Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.

On the subject of international growth, we also see opportunities in Europe, but recognise that this comes with additional challenges – such as setting up local offices and translating into the key European languages.

The costs in the healthcare business are getting higher and budgets are getting smaller in real terms. As a result, there is strong demand for services to manage healthcare costs more efficiently, which is where Genesis Automation comes in. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 97

Croatia played the finals of the World Cup 2018 in Russia

But guess what, football is not the only thing Croatia is good at INNOVATION TRACK RECORD

ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT INCENTIVES

Did you know that Croatia is considered the home of many inventions which have transformed human existence and out of which numerous are used in everyday life?

Thanks to them, today you are writing with the ballpoint pen, wearing a tie, landing with the parachute or using the remote control instead of getting up to change the channel...

Did you know that you as an investor can get up to 18 thousand EUR per employee and 10 years of tax holidays?

Attracting foreign direct investments is one of the most important strategic goals of the Republic of Croatia.

In order to create an attractive legal framework and competitive business environment, a comprehensive set of reform measures and legislative amendments has successfully been implemented.

As a result, Croatia has one of the most attractive Investment Promotion Acts in the whole Europe, offering investors a wide range of incentives, from direct support for creating new jobs of up to € 18.000 per each new job created, up to € 1 million for capital expenditure and up to € 0,5 million grants for R&D activities to tax holidays for a period of up to 10 years or until the maximum aid intensity of incentives is reached.

An Act on Strategic Investments Projects of the Republic of Croatia definitely also stands out as it enables faster and easier implementation of investment projects declared of national interest.

Croatia’s primary focus is to attract FDI that will create new jobs, bring

Croatia is the homeland of one of the biggest inventors in the whole of mankind– Nikola Tesla who had over 700 inventions patented and is generally known as a man who invented the alternating current generator.

Also, discovery of the innovative antibiotic azithromycin in the 80s put Croatia on the map as one of only ten countries in the world that can boast about the development of a completely new drug.

And even today it is ahead of the curve.

The fastest electric car in the world has been invented by a young Croatian entrepreneur and inventor Mate Rimac. His Concept TWO is the world’s fastest electric car, reaching 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and topping 300 km/h.

But besides being good at sports and for inventions, Croatia is also an excellent location for doing business.

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higher added value and stimulate development in its less developed parts. Special emphasis is on the investments in the new technologies and research and development.

WHAT CROATIA OFFERS? There are many investment opportunities that Croatia has to offer to foreign investors. Apart from its convenient geographic position, natural resources and stable economy, Croatia offers excellent infrastructure, equipped business zones and educated, innovative and competitive human capital.

As an EU member but also bordering with 3 CEFTA countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro), Croatia offers an excellent

position for an investor who wishes to have quick and easy access to both markets. Also, Croatia offers the shortest transit time via its ports from the Far East to Central Europe.

Croatia also offers a legal framework which allows investments to thrive and which is advanced by an effective institutional framework, competitive investment costs which guarantee you 33% lower investment costs and 2.5 times lower hourly labour costs than the EU average, but also talented and productive labour force, highly competitive system of incentives paired with 12,6 billion of euros available through various EU funds for the period 2014-2020 and last but not least safety and excellent quality of life.

Moreover, Croatia is continuously working on encouraging and strengthening sectors in which

domestic industry shows competitive advantages (compared to neighbouring countries) with special emphasis on those with the highest growth potential. Key sectors with opportunity for growth and investment include tourism, ICT, automotive industry, food-processing, precision engineering as well as logistics and pharmaceutical industry.

HOW CAN CROATIA’S AGENCY FOR INVESTMENTS HELP? Last, but not the least, Croatia’s Government Agency for Investments and Competitiveness will make sure that you feel safe and comfortable when investing and doing business in Croatia.

Every investor is provided with a transparent and thorough service through a ‘tailor-made’ approach from the beginning to the final completion of their investment in Croatia. Agency’s team of young professionals will guide you through every phase of your investment project completely free of charge.

Please, do not hesitate to contact the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness and be a part of network of hundreds ongoing investment projects in Croatia. www.aik-invest.hr/en or info@aik-invest.hr europeanbusinessmagazine.com 99

Where Next with Blockchain?

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he infographic below shows the impact that some of the most prominent faces in the blockchain sphere have had. As you will see, the range of applications for the tech is already staggeringly diverse.

But what is most exciting about it is that it is still in its infancy. Though it has been around for about a decade, the world has only began to recognize its potential in the last few years. Like all technological advances, the increased interest has accelerated developments in the field.

Bitcoin in itself was quite revolutionary.

It is, however, a very limited application of the tech. With Ethereum and Ripple, we saw that blockchain was capable of a lot more. The question has now shifted from whether it is going to make an impact, to what new directions it might grow into.

Again, because it is still new tech, we cannot predict exactly what developments might be made. If you had, fifteen years ago, said it was possible to create a secure means of making peerto-peer transfers possible, you would have been laughed at. Then Bitcoin came along and proved it was possible.

That’s not to say that there are no issues with blockchain. Let’s call these teething problems. There are some research areas that have been neglected. By looking at these, we can get a more complete idea of what Blockchain might start evolving into as these issues are starting to get serious attention.

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Research Areas that Have Been Neglected As the technology is relatively new, there have been a few areas that researchers have not found it necessary to focus on. These are issues that have been highlighted recently as more people have gotten on board with the idea.

We will discuss each issue as it relates to Bitcoin, as this is the largest blockchain app out there. It has come under fire because of many of these issues as the network has grown.

Latency Part of the appeal of blockchain is that there should theoretically be no downtime. You have a network of computers rather than a single one, so they should be able to cope if one or two go down.

The problem is that if there are not enough nodes active, transaction times lag and latency becomes a major issue.

This occurs virtually every time that the Bitcoin trade volume spikes.

Size and Bandwidth The overall size of the network was not much of an issue in the early days.

But with every transaction that gets added, the bandwidth requirements to store it increase as well. The size at the moment is over 163 gigabytes, so running a full node is expensive.

Hard Forks and Multiple Forks Information that has been added to the chain cannot be deleted. If something goes wrong, as did with the DAO hack a few years ago, a decision has to be made by the community how to proceed. There are two options: • A soft fork: Everyone in the network agrees on the change and upgrades to a new version. People running the old version will not be able to carry on transacting, • A hard fork: This is where the community cannot come to a consensus about what to do. This is what happened in the Ethereum DAO case. Some members of the community voted to let it stand. The rest decided to restart the chain at a time before the hack occurred. This effectively reversed the hack.

Soft forks are not a problem because everyone involved carries on using the same chain going forward. A hard fork, on the other hand, is a problem because the chain is effectively split into two different versions. Both chains are identical up until the point of the split.

Essentially, this means that there are two different histories of what happened. In our example, in one version the money from the DAO hack was recouped. In the second version, it was not. Which one is more valid?

If another hard fork happens, we will end up having three versions of the chain.

Usability of the Tech This is not some Windows app that you install and is idiot-proof. It is difficult to use, especially for non-techies. It is not intuitive at all.

Scalability Issues In one respect, Bitcoin was a complete success. It proved that the system could work. It worked really well initially. But it has proven difficult to scale up. Transactions that used to take ten minutes to process can often now take hours due to congestion on the system.

The founder of the Ripple cryptocurrency Chris Larsen, who currently has a

net worth of almost $8 billion according if the stats at bitfortune.net are to be trusted, is currently trying to use Ripple to accelerate and reduce the cost of cryptocurrency-based transactions.

As it the chain grows bigger, it becomes even more expensive to mine. The miners need to receive higher rewards, or the system is not worthwhile for them.

This either means higher costs or fewer miners. The fewer miners there are, the slower the network will be.

So Where to In Future?

We wish that we could look into a crystal ball and see, but the truth is that there will be some applications that we cannot imagine. Because the tech was made open source in the beginning, developers are free to use it as a framework to create whatever they like.

It will be interesting to see what comes, especially is layer two solutions like LIghtning Network live up to the expectations.

More Value-Based Cryptos Cryptocurrencies have possibly been the area of highest interest for the casual observer and investor. There are now hundreds of cryptocurrencies vying for attention in this space.

It is easy enough to set up your own crypto – the Ethereum network even gives you a template to copy.

But investors are becoming warier of these kinds of investments. There is no real value underpinning them – this is also true of Bitcoin – and they could fall flat at any time.

Those buying the coins for other reasons expect more utility out of them. It is all good and well to buy a crypto, but what can you buy with it? As a result, we will see an increase in value-based cryptos.

Ethers, for example, have a real-world application – they are needed to pay for transactions on the Ethereum network.

As the network provides a framework for developers, the tokens have a utilitarian value as well.

We have also started to see cryptocurrencies backed by assets being developed. These are more akin to fiat currencies in that there is an asset-base to back the value of the currency.

More Resource-Sharing Applications Blockchain tech has already started being used in the sharing of resources.

For example, Golem allows users to rent CPU capacity from other users on the network. The chain is an ideal way to keep track of such transactions.

It is also being used as a way for people to sell electricity that they put back into the grid. The potential is there for a lot more resource-sharing applications.

Smart Properties The current system of property transfers is tedious and not at all efficient.

One area of particular interest when it comes to blockchain tech is when it comes to property transfers. A property would only need to be “registered” on the system once.

As these records would reside on the blockchain, checking ownership

would be simple to accomplish. Transfers would be done on the system and would be effective immediately.

You could set up a smart contract to handle the details about payment, for example.

That way, the transfer would take place immediately once the transaction’s conditions have been met. This would allow for significant savings in terms of lawyer’s fees.

Technically, the tech for this already exists, but there are some issues that must be addressed first. First of all, the issue of converting all the existing data onto a blockchain app. This would be an extremely long process, and a lot of care would have to be taken to guard against transcription errors.

Secondly, there is the issue of smart contracts themselves. At present, these are very simple. If the conditions are met, then the transfer goes through.

The main benefit is that they cannot be stopped. This can be an issue as well, though.

If there are legal disputes, the transaction cannot be reversed. This is not much of an issue when you are talking about paying for one or two items online but is significant when you are talking about a house.

Contract Execution We will also start to see more intelligent smart contracts. Say, for example, we wanted a contract to execute based on delivery confirmation by a courier.

This would ensure that both buyer and seller in an online transaction could be protected.

Your seller could, for example, input the confirmation of delivery. The system could then be programmed to confirm delivery with the courier company before releasing the funds.

We will start to see AI being integrated with blockchain apps more and more to help them become even more efficient.

There is a lot that blockchain can be applied to. For now, the focus of most research has been on data storage and management. As the technology starts to mature, we can expect to see this focus changing to more sophisticated applications. Watch this space. It will be a fun ride. europeanbusinessmagazine.com 101

Pays de la Loire: The French experimental region to develop the Factory of the Future!

The Pays de la Loire region has seen significant development in both the number of foreign companies setting up in situ and direct investment in local companies from abroad.

This region is even the test and pioneer region of the advanced manufacturing.

Inspired by the successes of the French Tech dynamics, the region launched ÂŤ The French FAB Âť to promote the French industry leadership. The local authorities have invested to create a favorable eco-system for the installation of new companies on its territory where innovation and improvements to industrial processes are at the heart of the battle for competitiveness.

The Pays de la Loire region is the French leader in the following sectors: Shipbuilding, Aeronautics, Special Vehicles, Composite Materials, IoT, Virtual Reality, Electronics, â&#x20AC;Ś .

Those sectors and strategic markets also represent a windfall for any digital companies willing to participate in the modernization and automation of our industrial tools.

And hosting events like 24h Le Mans & the Grand Depart of the 2018 Tour de France keeps the region in the public eye.

The Western France Agency is at the disposal of any companies wishing to find business opportunities and implementation solutions on the French market.

For more information, please contact the Invest in Western France Agency: n.chibouti@agence-paysdelaloire.fr www.invest-western-france.com

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