Rhetoriq

We hosted Dave Isbitski, the Chief Voice evangelist at Amazon eight months ago. During the discussion, we asked Dave if Amazon was planning to focus on vernacular in Asia - particularly India. He mentioned it is a tough engineering problem to solve, and Amazon's focus is to ensure they get the English speaking markets right.Voice is the new UI, and in a country like India where a Billion people need assistance to use their phone, vernacular voice assistants become indispensable. Over the years, the technology had challenges penetrating the India market, as a good NLP engine needs a lot of relevant data to be trained. To get the data, the rural population in India need to have internet access.In this episode, Sachin Jaiswal the CEO of Niki AI joins Arun Krishnakumar. Sachin and his team at Niki AI have seen the evolution of the rural smartphone user in India. Through a lot of on the ground market research, they have now developed a product, with proprietary technology that serves as a voice assistant for the I

Social isolation affects people both emotionally and physically, and older adults who struggle financially are at an even greater risk of isolation. In the next ten years over 11 million adults will stop driving due to age related impairments. Over 8 million have no smartphone and no experience with new technology. Many of them will be forced to rely on a patchwork of friends, family, community members and caregivers to get around.In this episode of Shades of Grey, Theodora Lau talk to Justin Boogaard, the co-founder of GogoGrandparent. Gogo helps families take care of their loved ones from afar. Our first producthelps older adults use on demand services from a phone call: "Press 1 for an Uber to your home." Justin describes the birth of Gogo."Over Christmas my grandmother told me she was afraid of driving at night, and asked for a way to call Uber from her flip phone. GoGoGrandparent was born and she took her first trip to CoCo's Diner. She ordered a stack of buttermilk pancakes and extra crispy bacon."

How innovative and interesting would we be if we all think and talk alike? How would our actions and assumptions ever be challenged if we thought all the same?Diversity is more than gender - although that might be the one point of difference most talked about today. Diversity is also about age, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, beliefs, diversity of thoughts, and beyond. It is more than just placing a “token” diverse member in your team - and it’s not about numbers and quotas.In this episode of Judge me by my cover, Bradley Leimer joins Theodora Lau discuss the topic of diversity in innovation. The tech world have been notoriously poor in creating an environment where people from different backgrounds come together and contribute to the workplace. Less than 2% of Venture capital was allocated to women only founding teams in 2018.But diversity is not just about the workplace or gender. It is also about how we address social issues. How many fintechs startups do you know of that are innovating for the 115 m

Over the past few years, we have seen several senior execs in banks move into the startup/fintech community. Many made the transition from wall street to silicon valley. That journey is certainly not an easy one, especially when one serves at the highest levels in financial institutions before making that jump. Very few have managed it with the grace and success like Banesh Prabhu - our guest for this week.Banesh Prabhu is the ex-global COO/CTO of Citigroup Consumer Bank International. He spent over 22 years at Citiwhere he rose to the C-Suite as the Chief Technology and Chief Operating office across 55 countries covering 80 Million customers. He was part of Citi's information technology leadership council and planning group through the period.Arun Krishnakumar and Banesh discuss Fintech and innovation trends in India and the UK, and see how they compare to each other. The opportunities that new business models in emerging markets have created for Fintech and how/if the West can learn from it.Banesh has a ste

“Innovation will continue to be a driving force in Asia as fintechs and banks both develop new platforms services for the increasingly connected consumers in Asia.”Asia has long been bustling with innovation - with Singapore and Hong Kong competing for financial supremacy for many years - the verdict on who got their nose ahead is still out there. In this episode of Red Envelope, we have Medhy Souidi, the Head of FinTech at DBS bank joining Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau. Medhy is originally from Europe, and has been very involved in the innovation ecosystem in Hongkong. He is well connected in the Fintech and Blockchain space in HK, and has seen it evolve over the past few years. Medhy talks about his involvement in DBS' innovation initiatives. DBS was named the “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney magazine and it has its own digital initiatives and is considered one of the most innovative banks in the region. DBS also has the the Startup Xchange program, launched in Hong Kong and Singapore, brings in startu

Several emerging economies have most of their population depending on Agriculture for their livelihoods. However, across the world, loss of food in the supply chain is still a major issue. Over $270 Billion worth of food supplies across the world could be saved by using technology. The other challenge with the food supply chain is that in most economies, farmers are often exploited by the other parties in the food supply chain.In this episode of Rhetoriq's Red Envelope, we have Genevieve Leveille joining Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau. Genevieve is the CEO of Agriledger, that is focused on delivering an efficient and transparent food supply chain to major emerging markets of the world. Agriledger are using Blockchain technologies to not just bring transparency, but also keep the ownership of the food with the farmers as much as possible.Genevieve is also a known figure in the Blockchain industry and travels the world as an ambassador for the Agritech community. She shares her experiences in working with C

With Great Power come Great Responsibility. Especially when a business is dealing with a market with 1.3 billion people. The country has made massive strives towards financial inclusion: According to the Global Findex Database, over 80 percent of the adult population now has bank accounts. A series of efforts has helped drive such progress, including Aadhaar, a verifiable 12-digit identification number issued by UIDAI to all residents of India. The Aadhaar identity platform is one of the key pillars of the ‘Digital India,’ and the Aadhaar program is now the largest biometrics based identification system in the world.In this episode of Rhetoriq's "Red Envelope", a series focused on innovation in Asia, Theodora Lau and Arun Krishnakumar talk to Lizzie Chapman, the CEO of Zestmoney. It is a B2B2C fintech company that extends consumer credit through merchants using a proprietary AI-based machine learning decision engine, leveraging data points from the consumers’ digital footprint. The solution provides dynamic c

In a world of algorithms and hashtags, true human connectivity is too often replaced by clicks. Our interactions and conversations are interrupted by digital notifications that long for our attention. Phone calls are replaced by messages on our friends’ digital walls and feeds; face-to-face coffee breaks yield to likes and retweets.In this episode of our podcast, Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer continue the discussion about China, advancements of data analytics, and exchange of value in a data economy. With GDPR and the recent backlash against Facebook related to data privacy, businesses that rely on "You are the product" models may have to reconsider their strategy. In a world where every single action and conversation that a customer has, is being tracked, it is critical that they realise the importance of data protection.How often are we looking up, instead of looking down – at our phones, our laptops, our feeds? What happens to our dreams when technology envelopes all of our time? How much can we really e

According to CB Insights, there are 41 fintech unicorns valued in aggregate at US $154.1 billion. This includes 25 US-based startups, 8 based in Asian, and the remaining 8 split between Europe, Australia, and South America. Chinese big tech giants including Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, and Baidu are regarded to be highly innovative and successful companies. So what drives innovation success in China? In this episode of Judge me by my cover, Richard Turrin joins Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau. Richard is the author of No. 1 international best seller “Innovation Lab Excellence,” and lives in Shanghai, China. He is a Fintech expert with over 20 years of experience in leveraging new technology to drive revenue growth for market-leading companies.In this episode, Richard shares his journeys from AIG in the US, to his career in Australia, South East Asia and China. He witnessed the express growth of cashless payments in China. We discuss how the Chinese techfins are stealthily expanding globally through

In the first three months of 2019, VC-backed fintech companies raised US $6.3 billion across 445 deals globally. Challenger banks continue to spread globally, with N26 (a newly minted unicorn) and Monzo both imminently launching in the U.S.In this episode of the Red Envelope focused on Asia Innovation, Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer host Daniel Murphy and Jackson Meuller from the Milken Institute. The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that helps people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.The discussion touches upon opportunities in Asia, Financial Inclusion and the influence of BAT in the Asian innovation ecosystem. Hong Kong, one of the top five financial centers in the world with 159 banks (including 70 of the world’s 100 top banks) also joined in the open banking efforts with ea

According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report, the Islamic Finance sector is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, especially in the Islamic financial hubs of the GCC, Malaysia and London, along with formidable new players such as Indonesia and Pakistan. The Islamic finance industry is forecasted to grow by 7.7 percent CAGR to reach US $3.8 trillion by 2023.With 1.8 billion Muslims across 58 Muslim-majority countries of the world (approximately one-quarter of entire population), what are the challenges and opportunities in these markets?In this new podcast episode of Red Envelope, Rafi-uddin Shikoh joins Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau for an inspirational discussion of the momentum of the Islamic economy, its global ethical impact, and what the future holds. Rafi has spent the last few years in marketing strategy, e-business strategy, and technology management experience with small to Fortune 500 ranked companies. He had been a Vice President with Marsh Inc, a global risk-brokerage firm

If the US is where technology innovation was born, Europe is where it is regulated best, and Asia (led by China) is where it reaches the masses and creates impact at scale. Digital innovation makes the time to market for financial services shorter than they have ever been in the past. China has created new fundamental lifestyle business models and have integrated Fintech services into them. They have rethought these business models from first principles to achieve large scale financial inclusion.In this episode Paolo Sironi joins Theodora Lau and Arun Krishnakumar for an exciting discussion on Financial Services, Digital innovation, regulations and Global Fintech landscapes. Paolo is an elected member of IBM Industry Academy, Watson Financial Services and represent IBM worldwide. He advises C-level financial institutions and mentor entrepreneurs on a host of issues related to business model transformation in the age of digital banking.He is a Global thought leader in the Fintech space, and has written four bo

Sharia-compliant banking assets make up 6% of the world’s banking assets. With Muslims accounting for a quarter of the world’s population and 80% of Muslims are not financially included , there are considerable opportunities to explore.The industry is projected to grow at 7.7% CAGR to reach $3.8 trillion in 2022. Interestingly, Sharia-compliant retail banks have been attracting quite a following from non-Muslims as well. 55 percent of all UK's Al Rayan’s new customers since 2014 and 90 percent of its fixed-term deposit customers last year were non-Muslim. Maybank Islamic, Malaysia’s largest high street bank that offers both Shariah-compliant and conventional accounts, reported having "close to half” and almost two-thirds of their affluent customers as non-Muslim. In today's episode of Red Envelope, we have Umar Munshi joining Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau. Umar is the Co-Founder of Ethis Ventures and a Managing Director at Ethis Crowd. Both firms focus on Islamic Finance/Fintech businesses in South

When we think about fintech development in the East, our attention will likely go towards China, India, and southeast Asia (ASEAN) regions. But what about the rest of the Asian countries, such as Pakistan? Where do the opportunities lie in these emerging markets?In this episode of Red Envelope, a podcast series focused on innovation in Asia, Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau talk to Rabeel Warraich, the first VC from Pakistan. Rabeel is an Oxford and MIT alum, and after identifying the immense opportunity that Pakistani ecosystem offered for seed and early stage startups, he moved to his home turf.In this episode, Rabeel provides his views on how Pakistan is positioned to make the most of its "lack of legacy". Pakistan is a greenfield project for Fintech and offers a consumer base of 200 Million people. The Pakistani government recently presented its National Financial Inclusion Strategy through a five-year plan that focuses on the enhancing the use of digital payments, deposit base, promotion of SMEs and ag

Theo: If we were to go cashless, the tooth fairy would not be able to give you money anymore.Theo's Kiddo: Well, the tooth fairy could always put money in a prepaid card.The world is definitely ramping up to go cashless.As technology continues to reduce friction, banking will become more embedded in our day-to-day life. A bank as we know it might look very different than what it does today – and we may no longer need a physical branch to service most of our needs. Recent market entries such as T-Mobile Money illustrates this point: a telecom wireless provider leveraging technology to enable consumers to conduct financial transactions. But this is just the beginning.In this episode of Judge me by my Cover, Theodora Lau and Arun Krishnakumar talk to Brett King, an international best selling author, futurist and the Founder and Chairman at Moven. Brett shares his views on the future of banking, how China is leading the world in Fintech with 22 Trillion of digital payments done vs 10+ Billion in the west, and wha

This is the first episode of our new series focused on Innovation in Asia - Red Envelope. Asia has proven to be a hotbed for Fintech innovation, where the consumer base, mobile penetration and lack of legacy have given way to leap frog moments. In this episode, Theodora Lau and Arun Krishnakumar talk to Charles D'Haussy about the Hongkong ecosystem. Charles is the Director Strategic Initiatives at ConsenSys, and previous to that Head of Fintech at Invest Hongkong.Hong Kong, also known as the “Peal of Orient”, is home to 7.4 million people from countries around the world. It consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon peninsula (which borders mainland China), and many smaller islands, with total footprint less than Manhattan. It is a land of dream, hope, and resilience. It is also a city filled with people who believe that hard work will bring them a prosperous future, who continue to re-invent themselves despite all odds.Hong Kong is also the third most attractive financial center globally and best in Asia acc

As much as 85% of jobs that will be available in 2030 do not exist yet for today’s graduates – it is never too late to disrupt ourselves. 50 is indeed becoming the new 30. Soon, we will have five generations working alongside each other. Not only “when” or “how long” we are working has changed, “how” we are earning a living has changed as well. Given this new paradigm, is retirement still relevant? Or should we retire the traditional notion of retirement, and re-think how we should manage and grow our savings? In this episode of Judge Me by My Cover, Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau, talk to Professor Andrew Scott, author of the best seller "100 Year Life". Andrew is a Professor of Economics and also served as a Dean at the London Business School. He is also the co-founder of the "Longevity Forum".Andrew provides his views on the society where people are segmented by the stage of life they are into, rather than the age. With more years to live, the kind of assets we'll have to build through differ

If books are food for the soul – bookstores and libraries are great halls for feast. Reading not only helps us gain new perspectives and expand our horizon, it also helps us take a break from our ever-connected digital lives – where information is constantly being pushed to us. Books allow us the luxury of immersing ourselves in moments that go as far as our minds would wander – and travel abroad without the physical burden of a voyage. As J.K. Rowling said: “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” This week, we have the pleasure of hosting Simon Cocking from Irish Tech News. Theodora Lau and Arun Krishnakumar discuss several aspects of the publication and Simon's favourite books in this episode. Simon commands a global following within the Blockchain industry, and is considered one of the top advisers in this space. He also had a few thoughts on what went wrong with the industry, and what needs to be done to get it back on track.Simon shares his journeys at the Irish tech news, eff

In a world where Chinese citizens with Chinese bank accounts can conduct their whole life on Alipay and WeChat super apps while outsiders pay cash; where 47% of American consumers are still writing checks; where people in Africa can pay and obtain microloans on their mobile phones in an instant – the answer to the age-old question to the promised land: “Are we there yet?” is unfortunately “No, not yet.”In this opening episode of our next series "Judge me by my cover", Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer talk to Chris Skinner, author of the book Digital Human. As Chris Skinner wrote in his book “The new world is one of transient relationships, shorter-term commitments and everything online all the time. However, the financial system is built for lifetime relationships, long-term engagement, and everything over the counter.”If the industry is to thrive in a new environment with competition from global technology firms, we must leverage the scale and trust of incumbent banks, agility and focus of fintech startups. U

New US CEOs are now averaging 58 years old, and 62 as the average age of the top performing CEOs in the world, the companies they run spend 500% more to attract millennial customers.In this episode of Shades of Grey, Arun Krishnakumar and Theodora Lau are joined by Bradley Schurman and Lilian Myers, the Co-Founders of EconomyFour. EconomyFour helps companies, policymakers, and people understand and fulfill the promise of a 100 year life.Thanks to advancement in healthcare, we are in an ageing world. Global demographic shift continues to strain governments and health services facing more people in post-retirement entitlement programs than in the tax-paying workforce. Yet a fast-moving change is underway as vital, vibrant individuals passing the half-way mark in a 100-year-life see themselves, not ‘retreating’ form economic engagement, but running hard in it.  And they will control US$15T in global spending power by 2020.Brad and Lilian highlight the challenges and opportunities for businesses to innovate