Business News

These 3 things make a company truly innovative

What are the world’s most exciting innovations? The answer may come from the World Economic Forum’s new class of Technology Pioneers, announced today. The 30 awardees come from seven countries in three continents, and are active in a wide range of industries: from health to agriculture, and from finance to IT. But beyond their geographical and sectorial diversity, they have three crucial aspects in common. They combine innovations, innovate at an ever increasing pace, and work on solutions to global challenges. Here is how they do it. 1. They combine innovations Whereas previous generations of technology pioneers focused on introducing new technologies as such, pioneers in 2016 are increasingly combining technologies. 3D printing, big data, the internet of things, advanced satellites imaging and drones are innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that are reconstituting various industries and sectors. Pioneers bringing these technologies to the table include: Orbital Insight: a geospatial big data company that discovers social, economic, and agricultural trends through satellite image analysis. The company’s technology serves as a “macroscope” allowing the study of trends that are hidden, or too large to be seen by the human eye. Voxel8: a company that 3D prints electronics. Printing a project in one go negates having to make a circuit in advance. This method reduces the number of materials used, simplifies the development of the object and allows perfect integration of electronics, thus reducing its final size. Cylance: a company that applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to cyber security. By unlocking the “DNA” of malware Cylance gives enterprises the ability to predict and prevent advanced threats. 2. They innovate at an ever increasing pace Some innovations today are rendered obsolete in a matter of years or even months. Conversely, some companies that were founded only a few years ago are leaders […]

Making Sense of Brexit

Global Affairs As policies, the recent developments in Britain seem irrational. But the problems underpinning the Brexit vote really aren’t about policies, so they aren’t amenable to policy analysis and solutions. By Philip Bobbitt Of the millions of words written in the past few days about Brexit — the British vote to leave the European Union — the word “State” has seldom appeared. Very few commentators seem to appreciate the one concept that unites the otherwise disparate and paradoxical elements of the Brexit vote. For unless one appreciates that the driving historical force that has brought us to this impasse is the decay of one constitutional order, the industrial nation-state, and the emergence of its successor, the informational market state, the crises brought on by Brexit will simply confound us. We need conceptual tools to make sense of these phenomena, the first of which is that the most economically vulnerable persons in the United Kingdom and those who have suffered most under the British government’s policy of austerity voted in favor of Brexit with the full knowledge that it would, in all likelihood, turn an estimated positive growth in GDP to a negative and plunge the economy into recession, jeopardizing the entitlements and falling prices on which these persons depend. Indeed, considerable numbers of voters in economically depressed areas that receive significant amounts of EU aid voted to leave the bloc. The second phenomenon is that, having won the battle to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom, the government has taken the one step — because it is irrevocable — that now puts secession back on the table, not only in Scotland but also in Wales, which voted for the Brexit. Moreover, a campaign against the “democratic deficit” in Brussels has led to the removal of a prime minister democratically […]

Connecting women entrepreneurs to global opportunities

In India, a non-profit organisation is enhancing the links between women-owned businesses and global supply chains. The aim is to eventually roll out a data platform that serves and promotes women entrepreneurs from 17 other countries. Across South Asia, women are far less likely to be employed than men, with less than a third of women holding or looking for a job, compared with 80% of men. According to the International Labour Organization, women’s labour force participation rates in India actually declined in recent years, from about 37% in 2004-05 to 31% seven years later. As in many developing countries, Indians who are employed are more likely to work in the informal sector, where income is low and benefits and protections scarcely exist. Empowering more women to succeed as entrepreneurs is one way to address the persistent gender gap in employment and incomes. WEConnect International is a non-profit organisation that connects women-owned businesses with international buyers, tapping a growing number of multinational firms that have committed to using their purchasing power to support women’s economic empowerment. The organisation has already played a key role in promoting women entrepreneurs in nearly 20 major markets. In India, it identifies, educates, registers and certifies enterprises that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by one or more women. WEConnect provides direct support to small businesses operated by women through its eNetwork, outreach events, training, networking and mentoring. “There are so many opportunities for women entrepreneurs and business owners around the world,” says Elizabeth Vazquez, CEO and co-founder of WEConnect, “if only we can find these women and give them access to knowledge and the networks to expand their businesses from a start-up in the informal sector into something where they can create jobs for others and for their communities.” To strengthen WEConnect’s […]

Fairfax-APN New Zealand Marriage: Vows of a Mature Publishing Couple

No lawful impediment to the union is pending. www.mscnewswire.co.nz Napier, MSCNewsWire, 11 May 2016 – The coast is clear for the marriage of the two New Zealand subsidiaries of Australian media chains Fairfax and APN. There is no legal impediment remaining to their union. They resemble a duo well past the full flush of youth and on their lips are the words “why didn’t we do this years ago?” Like any couple of, well, mature years entering into wedlock, the duo for some time have sensibly laid the groundwork in assessing their mutual possessions and especially so in terms of the long term care and maintenance of the children, in this case the sprawling gaggle of district newspapers and other such assets. The couple have already, for example, worked out who will claim what in the couple’s sprawling Central Districts region where a medley of jointly owned free and subscriber titles have for so many years jostled together, uneconomically . Now the couple at last can realise value on their joint hard assets. These are the ones that they had to keep funding in order to accommodate these separate families. Things such as offices and plants. At least, the ones they didn’t have to sell and then lease-back. They can sample the honeymoon excitement of the type that even after the long postponement is still full of fun. Looking at the logistics will be one such source of bliss. Will they print in Auckland or Wellington? Christchurch, even? The newspapers are skinny enough nowadays to fill an air freighter. There is the enjoyment of owning your own uninterrupted destiny in the form of knowing that there are no other suitors knocking at the door. So the weekend bulldog editions and Sundays can be printed early and rail freighted across the […]

May I have your attention, please?

Mindfulness could benefit individuals and organisations and transform the way we live and work, according to a researcher from Singapore Management University. Whenever you need a break at work, instead of checking your social media account, try this instead: STOP, and by that I mean Stop, Take a breath, Observe and Proceed. Stop whatever you are currently doing. Take a conscious breath, or two, or three. Observe how you are feeling at this very moment: are you feeling tense? Energetic? Tired? Think about your intentions for the next hour or day: what needs to be done? And finally, proceed to connect back with the flow of your day. This is a quick, yet powerful mindfulness practice that helps you to realign your attention and focus on the present, says Jochen Reb, associate professor of organisational behaviour and human resources at the Singapore Management University (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business. His research interests lie in the psychological aspects of behavioural decision-making as well as the study of mindfulness at work. According to Professor Reb, mindfulness is defined by present-centred attention and meta-awareness—to be fully in the here and now, moment to moment, and to be aware of it. Mindfulness teaches you to pay attention to your own habits and actions, some of which may seemingly be subconscious. “You can experience temptations but not necessarily give in to them,” he says. “We often give in automatically, for example, by checking our e-mail on the phone when we wake up at night.” But with mindfulness, practitioners could become more aware of their impulses and then make a decision whether they want to address them or not. “We try to practice becoming more aware of these impulses, recognising that we actually have a choice; it doesn’t have to be automatic,” he explains. […]

What is GDP, and how are we misusing it?

www.themirrorinspires.com The Elephant in the Conversation on FaceBook You shouldn’t judge a country by its GDP. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and growth thereof, has been widely used over the years to measure economic progress. But what is GDP, and why does it matter? Mathematically it is the sum of consumption, investment and government spending (plus exports, minus imports). It is regularly cited in discussions related to the economic health and wellbeing of countries and regions, with some governments such as China going so far as to set specific targets for GDP growth (placed between 6.5 and 7% at the recent National People’s Congress in the new Five Year Plan). And even without specific targets, the evolution of GDP remains a fixation for governments around the world and is also a regular topic on the agenda of global and regional groupings such as the G20 and the European Union. What does GDP miss out? Amid this GDP obsession, it is easy to forget that it was not initially intended for this purpose – it merely provides a measure of the final goods and services produced in an economy over a given period, without any attention to what is produced, how it’s produced or who is producing it. Simon Kuznets, who defined the modern version of GDP in the 1930s, specifically cautioned against using it as a measure of welfare. Yet its relatively straightforward measurability has led it to be used widely over the decades for precisely that purpose. Of course, GDP is highly correlated with a lot of the things that we prize in a society: good education, quality infrastructure, functioning markets. And yet, as has been […]

What happens when demand for oil peaks?

Forget peak oil: what about peak demand? Since the First Industrial Revolution, oil and gas have played a pivotal role in economic transformation and mobility. But now, with the prospects that major economies like the United States, China and European nations will try to shift away from oil, producers are coming to realise that their oil reserves under the ground – sometimes referred to as “black gold” – could become less valuable in the future than they are today. Of the four scenarios for the future of the industry outlined in a new set of whitepapers from the Global Agenda on the Future of Oil and Gas, three of them envisage this type of world. Factors such as technological advancements, the falling price of batteries that power electric vehicles, and a post-COP21 push for cleaner energy could even drive oil use below 80 million barrels a day by 2040 – 15% lower than today. So what would a future of falling demand mean for the oil and gas industry? We’re already feeling the effect Uncertainty about whether oil demand will continue to grow is already impacting the strategies of oil and gas firms. Through the 2000s and up until last year, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose policies influence global oil supply and prices, took a revenues-oriented strategy, believing that scarce oil would be more valuable under the ground than out in the market, as global demand rose exponentially over time. Oil companies, too, responded to this world view by pursuing a business model that maximised adding as many reserves as possible to balance sheets and warehousing expensive assets. Now, with new trends discussed in a new whitepaper, producers are coming to realise that oil under the ground might soon be less valuable than oil produced and sold […]

Reducing poverty among smallholder farmers

In some countries, smallholder farmers earn as little as $1.26 a day Life can be hard for a smallholder farmer. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) estimates that there are 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide – usually working on plots of land smaller than two hectares – producing about 80% of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, smallholder households are often some of the poorest in the world, a fact which is causing the children of smallholders to abandon their farms in search of better opportunities in cities. This shift contributes to two very real risks. First, food security. the UN estimates that the global population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and consume 60% more food. And second, rising urban poverty. For these reasons, it is imperative that smallholder farming becomes a much more profitable and sustainable venture; this is the goal that we at Kennemer Foods International, together with the Philippine Government, have been working on for the past five years. Based on our experience in driving the growth of the Philippine cacao industry, here are some of the key ingredients necessary to dramatically reduce poverty among smallholder farmers: 1. Comprehensive credit, guarantee and insurance policies geared towards smallholder farmers The average coconut farmer in the Philippines earns approximately $450 a year from one hectare of land (gross revenue). This translates to roughly $1.26 a day, for a household of 4-5 people. Given this situation, it is almost impossible for a smallholder farmer to adequately provide for the needs of his or her family, much less to make the necessary investments into newer or better farm inputs and technologies in order to improve yields. Without access to affordable – and more importantly, patient – capital, smallholders cannot break the cycle of low farm […]

Cities need more ‘living green’, concludes International conference

The importance of ‘living green’ was brought to the attention of sixteen countries at an International Green City Conference this month. Becoming the greenest city in the world, using plants to manage stormwater threats, how to implement greening and change the public mindset, how buildings need to be able to ‘heal people and the benefits of a ‘Green City’, were all on the agenda. Organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) the event was held in Vancouver, Canada on 14-18 March. Sponsored by TD and Davey Trees, it attracted delegates who are committed to greening city landscapes. Vancouver is working towards being the greenest city in the world by 2020. The former Mayor of Vancouver and Premier of British Columbia, Mike Harcourt, opened the conference by demonstrating that Vancouver has had an environmental focus since the 1980s when back then they were already looking at alternatives to cars and different energy sources as well as planning the city to be more sustainable. For a long time it has been a philosophy of Vancouver that there is a close link between greening the city, economic sustainability and livability. Vancouver Urban Forest Strategy which has a target of achieving 22% tree coverage in the city by 2050 was introduced by Bill Stephen from the City of Vancouver. In a densely populated city this is a big challenge as growing space has reduced with city development, but initiatives such as ‘Street tree cooling networks’, the ‘citizen forester’ and planting 150,000 trees by 2020 will all help in reaching the goal. Local examples of green city projects were provided from the University of British Columbia, including the East Clayton Neighbourhood Project, introduced by Patrick Condon and Sara Barron, and how plants have been used to […]

And the winner is…Jerry Hall

In a week where film and television awards were to take centre stage there was an upstaging announcement regarding Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall. They got engaged! Somehow Rup always gets to be the centre of attention. Whether its the family battle about who is going to run the country when he retires, the hearings in London about hacking, the re appointment to a pivotal role of Rebecca Brooks or his influence this year on the Australian elections. He is always making a noise. If Jerry is marrying Rup for love and not money – that’s wonderful. If Jerry has drawn up the ‘legals’ then I hope they don’t separate. He would have been much wiser to have donated a financial package to the Syrian refugees who would probably then have enough money to rebuild their own country…and appointment a new leader. What is fascinating about all this is that Rupert Murdoch is a busy man. He’s running a great media empire with lots of different claws ( newspapers, films, television etc) and still has time at his age to get engaged and probably married for the fourth time. The whole thing is more hysterical than Coronation Street or the US presidential race. His kids must be pulling their hair out in their attempt to get him to sit at his desk of a day instead of wondering around finding a new marriage partner. And another thing, if he outlives Jerry, is he a beneficiary to her will…or doesn’t he need the money? www.themirrorinspires.com and on FaceBook @ The Elephant in the Conversation.

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