Category: Digitalization

Building Trust, Having a Strong Fundamental Business Model and Embracing Digital Solutions are among the Key Retail Trends and Innovations Highlighted at the Recent Asia Retail Leaders Conference 2021 Organised by SMU RCoE

  • 304 participants attended the Asia Retail Leaders Conference 2021 organised by the Retail Centre of Excellence at Singapore Management University
  • 10 industry experts from the retail sphere and academic shed light on the critical relationship between digital transformation, trends, insights and topical issues such as sustainability, supply chains, social media and thriving in the post-pandemic environment.
  • Technology and social media; the guiding force for retailers to develop cost-effective omnichannel touchpoints with their customers in this rapidly evolving retail ecosystem.
  • Revealing the finalist of the Inter-Varsity Retail Challenge 2021; covering industry leading companies like Decathlon, Pomelo and Uniqlo.

A total of 304 participants attended the Asia Retail Leaders Conference 2021 staged by the Retail Centre of Excellence at Singapore Management University on 17 November in Singapore.

SMU RCoE ARLC 2021 Speaker Panelist Session

The full day hybrid conference revolved around the current developments and challenges faced by the retail industry such as prolonged and rising disruptions to businesses from the pandemic, changing consumer behaviour and up-and-coming technological innovations. 10 industry experts from the retail sphere and academic shed light on the critical relationship between digital transformation, trends, insights and topical issues such as sustainability, in empowering retailers and attendees with the required knowledge to emerge from and thrive in the post-pandemic environment.

Technology that is aiding retailers to develop cost-effective omnichannel touchpoints with their customers has emerged as a critical factor to succeed in the rapidly evolving futuristic retail ecosystem. With the changed consumer’s shopping behaviour as a result of the pandemic, progressive technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have significantly altered the way brands engage with and sell to consumers.

“The shift to digital is here to stay and retailers should treat social channels like flagship stores. The role of store and online have blurred, which means retailers should bring the store experience online and the convenience of digital to stores,” said Via Abano, Product Marketing Manager, CPG and Retail, Facebook APAC. She added, “The shop and fitting room has moved to the living room and more consumers want runway presentations, messaging, and even virtual appointments with sales associates, all in the comfort of their living room.”

The pandemic has also brought on further challenges to retailers, such as disruptions to the supply chain, leading brands to rejig their production and fulfilment operations in order to meet burgeoning demands.

“We are seeing many brands having a higher degree of flexibility, which allows production in much smaller batches, while ensuring a higher level of proximity between the supply chain and the local market, highlighted Dr Shantanu H. Bhattacharya, Professor of Operations Management, Deputy Dean of Programmes, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University. He added how “it’s made planning and scheduling of inventory more dynamic when compared to static supply chain policies in the past. Usage of text analytics and social media has converged with trending keywords and products linked to those keywords, identified and mapped in real time”.

Beyond using social channels for advertisements, brands and retailers have expanded their touch points to sell directly to consumers and engage with them to build trust and loyalty, with these two qualities increasingly growing in importance for retailers to thrive.

“Digital commerce has rapidly accelerated and will continue to evolve and expand beyond what we can imagine as consumers continue to have a higher baseline expectation” said Peng Chun Hsien, Vice President, Merchant Sales & Acquiring, Asia Pacific, Visa Worldwide, “Businesses that go the extra mile by providing a delightful fulfilment experience, as well as a comprehensive or loyalty programme will deliver something that customers all look for in the long run.”

Consumers have become more aware of retailers’ impact on sustainability and increasingly, factor in a brand’s values when making their purchasing decision. It was also a discussion point that Nejla Matam-Finn, Co-founder of THE FIFTH COLLECTION weighed in on, “The adoption of the second-hand economy has the potential of becoming bigger than fast fashion, as more people are going to be transacting higher values in second-hand clothing.” She further highlighted that “Sustainability is not a choice anymore. It is going to happen when the resale industry surfaces in the fast fashion industry”.

Closing out the conference was the finals of the Inter-Varsity Retail Challenge which saw over 40 submissions from Singapore’s local universities. The top three teams presented their case study and proposals to the judges, tackling issues facing retail brands – Pomelo, Uniqlo and Decathlon. The winning student group SYD, and two shortlisted teams walked away with cash prizes and most importantly, a valuable learning experience of the retail industry in Asia.

About Asia Retail Leaders Conference 2021
Asia Retail Leaders Conference explores the possibilities and opportunities in combining digital and physical engagement creatively to deliver a sense of fun and excitement every time a consumer shops online or in-store. New digital trends and innovations have come into play in a big way, pivoting us towards a brighter post-pandemic era in retailing. This year’s theme ‘Pivot or Perish’ looks into digitalisation and its adoption to meet changing shopper habits which were further accelerated by the pandemic to help retailers adapt their business and harness the power of technology to thrive in the new normal.

For more information, please visit Asia Retail Leaders Conference 2021 https://site.smu.edu.sg/asia-retail-leaders-conference-2021#arlc2021

About SMU Retail Centre of Excellence
The Retail Centre of Excellence was officially launched by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry on 10 October 2017. Helmed by SMU Professor of Marketing Kapil R. Tuli, the centre is joined by a group of Founding Members comprising DFS Venture, DBS, Decathlon, Microsoft, Harvey Norman, IKEA, Popular Holdings, Tiffany & Co. and Visa. It is the first retail insight-sharing hub in Singapore focusing on generating and disseminating actionable knowledge for retailers in Singapore, Asia and beyond.

Based in the Lee Kong Chian School of Business of Singapore Management University and supported by the Economic Development Board and Enterprise Singapore it is the first retail insight-sharing hub in Singapore focusing on generating and disseminating actionable knowledge for retailers in Singapore, Asia and beyond. The centre aims to empower retailers with the know-how through research and insights, and build an ecosystem comprising retailers, retail experts, knowledge & industry partners, SMU faculty and student talent.

Supported by
Economic Development Board
Enterprise Singapore

For media queries, please contact
Email: smurcoe@preciouscomms.com
Tel: +65 6303 0567

2021 Digital Etiquette Study Highlights the Rise of the Invisible Workforce

  • Only 10% of Australians want to be remote, full-time.
  • International study finds that Australian workers struggle daily with using digital tools, worry about virtual communication and feel invisible on digital platforms.

The 2021 Digital Etiquette Study by digital transformation experts, Adaptavist, highlights that 48% of Australian workers want to come back to the workplace/office full-time, while 42% favour a flexible/hybrid model. Only 10% of Australians want to be remote full-time. However, as hybrid work increasingly becomes the long-term future for knowledge workers, Adaptavist has found growing despair among employees with the tools and technologies they are using to navigate working remotely, with many left feeling invisible.

The Adaptavist 2021 Digital Etiquette Study includes survey responses from 600+ knowledge workers across Australia. (The study also ran in Canada, the UK and US, with a total of 4,454 respondents.)

“What this year’s Digital Etiquette Study clearly demonstrates is that while hybrid working is the way forward, there is still work to be done to maximise the opportunities that hybrid working can bring to both employees and businesses alike,” says Simon Haighton-Williams, CEO of Adaptavist.

The Rise of the Invisible Workforce
This year’s Digital Etiquette highlights that organisations need to engage more with their staff if they want satisfied employees. According to the Study, a whopping 72% of Australians say they ‘sometimes’ or ‘always’ feel invisible to their colleagues on digital platforms despite their interactions and posts. When asked what improvements they would recommend to management, employees’ top four responses were:

  • 29% say leaders need to show more empathy for employees
  • 22% want to be asked for employee feedback on the way work has changed post Covid, which tied with a request for transparency of organisational strategy from leadership.
  • 21% want to be asked for employee feedback on the tools being used.

Also, 20% of respondents say management is out of touch with the way work and productivity has changed and when asked what they need, employees were clear. The top answer for Australians was more training and learning opportunities (38%). The second most identified need was better tools, software and hardware to do the job (35%). Thirdly, employees want their managers to be more realistic (34%).

When asked about the things they missed most about the pre-Covid work environment, respondents answered the following:

  • 35% of employees miss working side-by-side with their team
  • 24% miss chance meetings with colleagues they don’t work with directly for social reasons
  • 24% miss the ability to celebrate success / special events and give and receive recognition.

Adds Haighton-Wiliams: “A key learning from the Study is that companies need to communicate and engage more with employees, to better understand how work has changed and what employees need to be more effective and ultimately happier in their work. The last 18 months has driven many organisations and teams apart and distrust has grown, with 37% actively pursuing finding a new job outside of their current organisation. Of those respondents, 66% are looking for another job directly related to how the company responded to Covid-19.”

Driving Digital Discontent
The widespread adoption of additional tools to accommodate new work requirements due to the pandemic (57%), has led to new challenges in the workplace including the following key findings:

  • 56% report spending half an hour or more each day looking for information they need to do their job, such as searching emails or chat conversations
  • 48% stated that their organisation has too many tools/software requirements
  • 47% said their organisation has too many tools that perform the same function
  • 48% claimed they spend too much time navigating between tools to do their job efficiently
  • 54% are familiar with the term ‘task switching’ and of those, 60% say they feel they lose time during the day due to switching tasks across digital tools
  • 34% are familiar with the term ‘tool fatigue’ and of those, 63% say they lose time during their workday due to tool fatigue.

For further insights visit: Adaptavist 2021 Digital Etiquette Study. https://bit.ly/3H6qY2y

About the Adaptavist Digital Etiquette Study
4,454 workers that operate in office-based industries and departments from the US (c. 1,600), UK (c. 1,600) Canada (c. 600) and Australia (c. 600) were surveyed for Adaptavist’s 2021 Digital Etiquette study. The survey audience spans part-time employees to c-suite level executives and owners across industries. The research included a breakdown of the various ages of workers: 41% of respondents were 23-38 years old; 39% 39-54; 19% between 55-74; and 1% were 75 years or older.

About Adaptavist
Adaptavist is a global technology and innovative solutions provider, enabling organisations to boost agility and overcome the challenges of transformational change. Founded in 2005, its team spans over 500 employees globally, with a 13,000+ customer base representing more than half of the Fortune 500.

Adaptavist is a Platinum Atlassian Solutions Partner in EMEA and North America, a Platinum Marketplace Partner, and a trusted Slack partner. It offers expert consultancy including SPC-certified SAFe(R) implementation, enterprise apps, training, managed services, and licensing solutions. Adaptavist has also been the recipient of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50, and The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 for 2020.

Contact information:
Richelle Gillett
Giant Squid Inc for T/F/D
+61 418 781 610
rg@giantsquidinc.com.au

Society Pass (SoPa) Announces Pricing of US$26 Million Initial Public Offering

  • Common Shares to Trade on NASDAQ under Ticker “SOPA”

Society Pass Incorporated (Nasdaq: SOPA) (SoPa or the Company), a leading Southeast Asian data-driven loyalty platform, today announced the pricing of its US$26 million initial public offering, offering 2,888,889 shares of common stock (the Shares) at a price of $9.00 per share. The shares have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq) and will trade under the ticker symbol SOPA beginning November 9, 2021.

The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 433,333 additional shares at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on November 12, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Maxim Group LLC is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.
“We are immensely proud to be the first Vietnam-based company to complete a traditional IPO on a stock market outside of Vietnam. As an acquisition-led technology company, this milestone marks the beginning of our next phase of growth as we expand beyond Vietnam into other parts of Southeast Asia with particular focuses on Philippines and Indonesia. Our Nasdaq IPO and access to public markets allow us to connect investors to some of the fastest growing retail e-commerce opportunities in the world,” said Dennis Nguyen, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Society Pass.

A registration statement relating to the Shares was declared effective by the SEC on November 8, 2021. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Maxim Group LLC, 300 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, New York 10022. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Society Pass
SoPa’s customer loyalty and analytics platform has onboarded hundreds of thousands of registered consumers. SoPa provides merchants with SoPa.asia – an online commerce platform for users, alongside with #HOTTAB Biz – a convenient order management app for business partners on SoPa.asia, and #HOTTAB POS – a specialized POS technology solution, a comprehensive system for payment, loyal customer management, user’s profile analytics, and convenient financial support packages for small and medium-sized enterprises. All tools offered above will allow businesses to attract and retain customers through personalized interaction based on analytics with a high profit margin. SoPa also operates www.leflair.com, Vietnam’s leading lifestyle e-commerce platform. For more information, please check out: http://thesocietypass.com/

Forward Looking Statements
The information contained herein may contain “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements reflect the current view about future events. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements contained in this press release relating to the view of management of the Company concerning its business strategy, future operating results and liquidity and capital resources outlook. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and assumptions regarding its business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees of assurance of future performance. We caution you therefore against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors or events that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them. The Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

Media Contacts:
PRecious Communications
sopa@preciouscomms.com

SoPa:
Raynauld Liang, CFO
ray@thesocietypass.com

Investor Relations Asia:
Daniel Tan
PRecious Communications
daniel@preciouscomms.com
+65 9651 5292

NextPlay Announces a Request for Proposals for Its Upcoming Suite of Stable Coins

NextPlay Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTP), a digital business ecosystem for digital advertisers, consumers, video gamers and travelers, announces it is seeking partners to power a suite of digital stable coins. NextPlay’s suite of coins will be built on top of recently acquired enabling technologies from Token IQ Inc. and enabled by NextPlay’s Longroot and NextBank units.

The suite of coins will cover a broad array of assets including various fiat currencies across a group of crypto chains with the goal of maximizing both the fiat and digital currency interoperability. With this goal in mind NextPlay is soliciting information from technology, banking, exchange, and digital chain partners.

“We are seeking partnership with technology minded financial institutions and compliance minded crypto infrastructure providers throughout the world with a particular focus on Southeast Asia and Africa,” said Mark Vange, NextPlay CTO.

Initial use-cases for the stable coin span the breadth of NextPlay’s operations including video game currency, in-game advertising, travel and travel-related offers as well as banking, investment and payments. Once established, the coin suite will be offered to the general public and to partner exchanges.

“With our unique blend of licensed and compliant operations in various realms of finance, and a team with rich experience in both digital currency and games, we look forward to enabling in-app rewards, advertising as well as Non-Fungible Token based games by establishing easy on- and off-ramps for the general public,” said Nithinan (Jessie) Boonyawattanapisut, co-CEO.

To contact the coin team and schedule a preliminary call please contact inforequest@nextplaytechnologies.com.

About NextPlay Technologies
NextPlay Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTP) is a technology solutions company offering games, in-game advertising, crypto-banking, connected TV and travel booking services to consumers and corporations within a growing worldwide digital ecosystem. NextPlay’s engaging products and services utilize innovative AdTech, Artificial Intelligence and Fintech solutions to leverage the strengths and channels of our existing and acquired technologies. For more information about NextPlay Technologies, visit nextplaytechnologies.com and follow us on Twitter @NextPlayTech and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of, and within the safe harbor provided by the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations, opinions, beliefs or forecasts of future events and performance. A statement identified by the use of forward-looking words including “will,” “may,” “expects,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimate,” “should,” and certain of the other foregoing statements may be deemed forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future activities and results to be materially different from those suggested or described in this news release. Factors that may cause such a difference include risks and uncertainties related to our need for additional capital which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all, which raises questions about our ability to continue as a going concern; the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, a significant material adverse impact on the travel industry and our business, operating results and liquidity; amounts owed to us by third parties which may not be paid timely, if at all; certain amounts we owe under outstanding indebtedness which are secured by substantially all of our assets and penalties we may incur in connection therewith; the fact that we have significant indebtedness, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition; uncertainty and illiquidity in credit and capital markets which may impair our ability to obtain credit and financing on acceptable terms and may adversely affect the financial strength of our business partners; the officers and directors of the Company have the ability to exercise significant influence and voting control over the Company; stockholders may be diluted significantly through our efforts to obtain financing, satisfy obligations and complete acquisitions through the issuance of additional shares of our common or preferred stock; if we are unable to adapt to changes in technology, our business could be harmed; our travel business depends substantially on property owners and managers renewing their listings; if we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our ability to compete could be impaired; our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand our property owner, manager and traveler bases outside of the United States and, as a result, our business is susceptible to risks associated with international operations; unfavorable changes in, or interpretations of, government regulations or taxation of the evolving ALR, Internet and e-commerce industries which could harm our operating results; risks associated with the operations of, the business of, and the regulation of our recent acquisitions of Longroot Holding (Thailand) Company Limited (Longroot), HotPlay Enterprise Limited (HotPlay) and NextBank International (formerly IFEB); the market in which we participate being highly competitive, and because of that we may be unable to compete successfully with our current or future competitors; our potential inability to adapt to changes in technology, which could harm our business; the volatility of our stock price; risks associated with the integration of the operations of HotPlay, Longroot and IFEB, which acquisitions we recently competed; the fact that we may be subject to liability for the activities of our property owners and managers, which could harm our reputation and increase our operating costs; and that we have incurred significant losses to date and require additional capital which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by NextPlay are detailed from time to time in NextPlay’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, under the headings “Risk Factors”. These reports are available at www.sec.gov. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on the Company’s future results and/or could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. The Company takes no obligation to update or correct its own forward-looking statements, except as required by law, or those prepared by third parties that are not paid for by the Company. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: NextPlay Technologies, Inc

Company Contact:
NextPlay Technologies
Richard Marshall
Director of Corporate Development
Tel (954) 888-9779
Richard.Marshall@NextPlayTechnologies.com

Asia’s Edtech and Education Leaders to Gather at EDUtech Asia 2021 to Inspire the Future of Education

On 9-11 November 2021, EDUtech Asia will once again bring together the entire education ecosystem across Asia Pacific and beyond to explore how technology is impacting the way we learn and teach.

Over the three days, over 250 expert speakers from K-12 Schools and higher education Institutions will be addressing 20+ key themes such as new pedagogies, AI in education, learning technologies, virtual classrooms, digital assessments, wellbeing and many more.

Headlining the festival agenda are seven international education visionaries. Diane Tavenner, Co-Founder and CEO, Summit Public Schools will open the conference with her insights on creating the schools our children deserve by championing equity, access and wellbeing. In the afternoon, Award-Winning Teacher and Author of “Disruptive Classroom Technologies”, Dr Sonny Magana will discuss his recent breakthrough research findings on Cyber Schooling That Works. Rounding up the day, Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D, Cognitive Scientist and Author of “Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning”, will talk about the foundation of what the science of learning is and how students can use it to study smarter – not harder.

On day two, Justin Reich, Associate Professor in Digital Media, MIT and Author of “Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education” separates truth from hype, explaining what technology can–and can’t–do to transform our classrooms and argue why successful reform efforts will focus on incremental improvements, not the next killer app. Building on that, Anne Johnstone, Principal, Ravenswood School for Girls, and Chair, Positive Education Schools Association will explore the Transformative Potential of Positive Education in Challenging Times.

On the final day, Shui-min Tan, Chief Information Technology Officer, National University of Singapore and Calum Chace, Author, AI Expert take over the keynote stage. Shui-min will share why the IT leader role in education has never been more important to the success of schools and higher education institutions, while Calum will discuss the extraordinary achievements and promise of AI, its likely impact on education, and why we are living in humanity’s most important century – a thought-provoking session not to be missed.

“Our mission, at EDUtech, is to inspire educators to inspire the next generation – globally. By bringing together educators and education professionals from around the world we hope to help level the education playing field for all and accelerate a change in the way that education is delivered. EDUtech Asia in November will be our largest virtual event to date with over 10,000 attendees. We have an incredible international keynote speaker lineup and a further 250 speakers plus our new Show and Tell segment with 88 presentations from teachers from around the region,” said Sharon Roessen, Managing Director, Asia, Terrapinn Pte Ltd.

Running alongside the conference, there will be a virtual exhibition hall showcasing the latest education technologies by 100+ edtech leaders including Google Cloud, Microsoft, Lenovo, Amazon Web Services, Google For Education, Keypath Education, Qualcomm and more

Additionally, as part of the initiative to give voices to educators, the event will feature a pre-event Show & Tell Showcase of 88 sessions by educators for educators. This showcase of stories about teaching with technology has already started as of 2nd November 2021.

The event is free for all to attend and is expected to gather 10,000 educators across the region and beyond.

About EDUtech Asia 2021
Conference & Exhibition: 9-11 November 2021
Pre-event Show & Tell: 2 November 2021 onwards
Website: https://bit.ly/3CJFMln
Register free pass: www.terrapinn.com/RegisterAtEDUtechAsia21

About Terrapinn

Terrapinn is a business media company. Its products are trade exhibitions, conferences, training solutions and electronic and print publications. For more information, please visit www.terrapinn.com.

Note: Press registration for the conference is compulsory and advance scheduling for speaker/ sponsor interviews is recommended. Press passes are strictly reserved for reporters, journalists, editors only. Final issuance of press passes is subjected to Terrapinn’s discretion.

For your complimentary press pass, please contact the following:
Jessica Foong
Marketing
Terrapinn Pte Ltd
Jessica.foong@terrapinn.com

2021 Global Digital Trade Conference hosts “Digital Trade and Technology” themed event

The 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair presented Digital Trade and Technology, a thematic keynote event, on October 13 in Wuhan, Hubei Provence, China. More than 300 distinguished guests, including experts and scholars in the digital economy, shared new insights on digital trade under China’s new “dual circulation” development strategy, and on the future of the global digital economy.

The Main Conference Hall, 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference & Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair, for the thematic keynote “Digital Trade and Technology”, in Wuhan, Heibei Provence, on October 13. The event on-/off-line runs through October 26.
Jiang Wei, Standing Committee-member Wuhan Municipal Party Committee and Vice-Mayor of Wuhan encouraging conference attendees to take advantage of digital trade development opportunities in Wuhan for new businesses and tech innovations.
Organizer/host Qi Zhiping, CEO, ZALL Smart Commerce Group, joins entrepreneurs Qian Xiaojun, CEO, Beijing United Information Technology; Mu Xiaohai, Vice President, JD Cloud Business Group; Sun Wei, CEO, Shenzhen Sinoagri; and Huang Jianwen, Chairman, pao400, for panel “Industrial Development in the Digital Economy Era”. [All images: ZALL Smartcom]

This new technological revolution and industrial transformation brought about digital trade, significantly impacting the trading sector, fostering new business models and trading patterns. This has reshaped the global industrial chain, supply chain, value chain and innovation chain, becoming a major driving force for economic globalization.

As one of the key highlights of the Global Digital Trade Conference, the “Digital Trade and Technology” event aims to become the leading platform that facilitates discussions, exchanges, and conversations around global digital trade.

Jiang Wei, Standing Committee member of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Wuhan, delivered a speech that addressed Wuhan’s geographic location and transportation advantages, vibrant commercial hub, and quality modern logistics infrastructure laying the foundation to advance the development of Wuhan’s digital trade and economy. Wuhan has introduced a series of policies to promote development of the digital economy with much success. Jiang Wei welcomed all attendees to take advantage of the digital trade development opportunities and invest in Wuhan for their new businesses and technological innovations.

Internationally renowned speakers including Dr Finn E. Kydland, Norwegian economist and winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics; Yoshinori Ogawa, Executive Director, Marubeni Corporation and Managing Director, Marubeni China; Wu Ying, Chairman of the Digital China Federation; Liang Rubo, CEO of Bytedance; Jiang Guofei, Vice President of Ant Group; Loh Boon Chye, Vice Chairman, World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and CEO, Singapore Exchange (SGX); Tian Ning, Chairman of the Board of the Panshi Group delivered keynote addresses, sharing new insights into the development trends of the global digital economy, the integration of digital trade and technology, and industrial supply chain innovation and transformation.

Host organizer Qi Zhiping, CEO of ZALL Smart Commerce Group, joined entrepreneurs Qian Xiaojun, CEO of Beijing United Information Technology; Mu Xiaohai, Vice President of JD Cloud Business Group; Sun Wei, CEO of Shenzhen Sinoagri; and Huang Jianwen, Chairman of pao400, for an in-depth panel discussion around the development and transformation of traditional industries in the digital economy era.

iResearch Consulting, China’s leading data research organization, presented a new white paper on Global Digital Trade during the event. Li Chao, a Chief Analyst at iResearch and Executive Dean of iResearch Institute, presented their findings. The white paper shares the current development of digital trade from the existing digital infrastructure, policies, technologies, and capital. It also analyzes in-depth how digital trade has redefined traditional trade across production, transaction and supply chain.

The whitepaper looks at five major industries: agriculture, steel, plastics, wholesale and cross-border trade, along with the business models of renowned Chinese and global digital trading companies. It analyzes the profound changes digital technologies and supply chain services bring to the global trade industry, highlighting the growth momentum of digital trading companies and their financial market prospects. The paper suggests that with continued industry upgrading and business segmentation, there will be opportunities for digital trade services and ecosystem-based platforms to create new industrial supply-demand relationships and ecological synergies.


Themed “Intelligent Connectivity . Global Trading”, the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference is organised by the Hubei Provincial People’s Government; supported by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; co-organised by the Wuhan Municipal People’s Government and the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province; and executed by the Wuhan Huangpi District Government, Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Hankoubei Group and ZALL Smart Commerce Group.

The Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair is organized concurrently and features hundreds of procurement hubs and thousands of live streaming activities, pushing global industrial and supply chains towards digitalization and intelligent connectivity while promoting high-quality economic development and global trade. Running through October 26, 2021, the event has attracted representatives from 100+ countries, as well as over 10,000 merchants, experts and scholars. (en.hubei.gov.cn)

Contact: ZALL Smart Commerce Group, http://en.zallcn.com, e: ZALL@preciouscomms.com

Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia 2021

The first-ever Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia 2021 is launching on 12 October, bringing together those driving technological change in finance and accounting across Malaysia and beyond.

Aimed at providing the best insights to enhance the ability and speed at which businesses adopt digital tools and technologies within the accounting and finance function, the one-day virtual event will feature 30+ local and international industry leaders who have leveraged technology to revamp and streamline their workflows.

With 2 conference channels, Digital Business and Digital Practice, attendees can engage in debates and discussions revolving digital innovation, accounting tech, running a digital practice, intelligent automation, cloud solutions and vital skills required by accounting & finance professionals for the future. Spotlight topics include “Keynote: Futureproof Your Firm for Client Success” by Xero and CALTRiX, “Keynote: The benefits of kickstarting the digitalisation of your practice in 2021” by Mahzan Sulaiman PLT, “The Future of the Accountants in the New Digital Age” by Institute of Management Accountants and “Panel: Leveraging technology: Standing out from your competition” by ANISE Consulting, Jovani & Co Chartered Accountants, Red Beak and YesBoss.

Featured speakers at Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia 2021 include:
– Haroon Aslam, Regional Finance Director, Getz Healthcare
– Andrew Choong, Auditor, Baker Tilly Malaysia
– Hoe Yin Lou, Partner, RSM Malaysia
– Chrishini Richards, Head of Finance, Taco Bell Malaysia
– Coreen Atencio, Lead Consultant, ScaleNorth Advisors
– James O’Reilly, Head of Operations APAC, Unit4
– Richard Hayler, CFO, Nutrition Technologies
– Venkkat Ramanan, Regional Vice President – Asia Pacific, Association of International
Certified Professional Accountants
– Auro Sen, Head of Finance and FP&A, ULA
– Kevin Fitzgerald, Managing Director, Xero Asia
– Daniel Hustler, Education Manager, Xero Asia
– Christian Antono, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Xero Asia

Running alongside the conference, our amazing sponsors are ready to showcase their cloud-based accounting software and other digital tools and technologies at the virtual exhibition, Meet Title Sponsor Xero, Silver Sponsor Unit4, Associate Sponsors Cynopsis Solutions, EasyStore, Payroll Panda and more on our integrated and fuss-free event platform.

“The last five years have seen the accounting industry become increasingly tech-savvy, with The Cloud sitting at the centre of innovation. Cloud accounting has enabled greater efficiency, accuracy, transparency, time and cost savings for businesses then ever before, giving accountants and bookkeepers more time to focus on strategic planning, business growth and creating greater value for their clients. We are delighted to be a part of this year’s Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia, and together with other industry experts share our learnings and insights to help practices from Malaysia and beyond achieve greater success,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, Managing Director – Asia at Xero.

The Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia 2021 is expected to be a gathering of Malaysia’s accounting and finance stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of ideas to foster advancement within the industry.

Details of the one-day virtual event are as follows:
Accounting & Finance Show Malaysia 2021
12 October 2021 | Virtual Free-to-Attend
Website: https://bit.ly/3uMkoJa
Register: https://bit.ly/3A9d8Ic
Agenda: https://bit.ly/3Ae5xIy

About Terrapinn

Terrapinn is an international events media business with 30 years’ experience developing best in class conferences and exhibitions across a wide range of key industry verticals. With our global footprint and offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Dubai and Johannesburg, we’ve been sparking ideas, innovations and relationships that transform businesses. In Asia we run 17 pan Asian events; Telecoms, Enterprise Technology, Life Sciences, Transportation, Accounting, Logistics, Education and Renewable Energy sectors. In 2020, we ran over 80 virtual events and total attendance across all shows was in excess of 70,000.

For more information, please contact:-
Lim Jia Le
Marketing Executive Terrapinn Pte Ltd
Tel: (65) 8133 1705
Email: jiale.lim@terrapinn.com

Pacer Ventures announces Pacer Labs, Pan-African software development firm

Sub-Saharan Africa venture firm Pacer Ventures is set to further unlock the power of digital transformation in Africa with the launch of Pacer Labs, a software development firm born to support the African digital ecosystem and the growth of forward-looking organisations by harnessing the power of advanced technologies.

Projections indicate that Africa will be the world’s next tech talent center due to the emerging mobile population. This in turn inspires Pacer Labs’ confidence for the future market in Africa, positioning them at the forefront of the push towards maximising the tech talent of the African economy.

Ray Sharma, Chairman, Pacer Labs and Founder, Extreme Venture Partners and XtremeLabs, says “Pacer Labs aims to become Africa’s leading software development firm as measured by sales and employees by 2025, leveraging the success of XtremeLabs and a soon-to-be-announced global partner for the success of Pacer Labs and its customers. Africa has risen. Pacer Labs is set to help deliver efficiency and digital transformation.”

The true acceleration potential of the African continent lies in the rapid spread of mobile digital technology, which will help the region in economic development. Mobile technologies and services generated 9% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, representing $155 billion in economic value-added. This figure will reach $184 billion by 2024.

Gbemi Akande, Director, Pacer Labs, speaking on the launch stated “The creation of Pacer Labs is deeply rooted in the organization’s belief in the African continent. Pacer Ventures and Pacer Labs are positioned in such a way that they will help deepen the development of technology in Africa.”

“Pacer Labs will ensure that the development needs of organizations and governments are met in a timely and cost-effective manner, while soon-to-be-launched Pacer University will be another curated platform by Pacer Ventures to equip startups and executives with the required technology skills,” said Geoffrey Weli-Wosu, General Partner at Pacer Ventures and Co-Founder of VoguePay.

This means that the organization will support in solving some of the most critical problems on the continent while facilitating the development of African enterprises, primarily early-stage startups, mid-market enterprises and large corporates through experience design, product development, engineering and digital transformation.

Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, regional director of Founder Institute in Africa and General Partner at Pacer Ventures noted, “It is due to the rapid growth of startups in Africa that world-class development companies like Pacer Labs are born, while Founder Institute will ensure that forward-looking startups are given the opportunity to get access to world-class development tools and resources that will aid their continuous growth.”

The end-to-end solutions provided by Pacer Labs will help enterprises design, build and scale solutions that drive customer satisfaction, streamline operations and gain a competitive edge on both existing products or a new application.

The Lab intends to partner with clients to tackle the toughest challenges and bring ideas to life. Enterprises will be supported by a team of experienced designers, engineers and product managers to deliver state-of-the-art products from operations bases in Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo and Nairobi.

About Pacer Labs
Pacer Labs is a software product development firm that uniquely blends digital transformation, product development and design. The firm is focused on helping ambitious African companies leapfrog their innovation mandate: a uniquely integrated product development firm driven by a singular focus on realizing business impact.
Email: info@pacerlabs.co
Website: https://pacerlabs.co
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pacerlabsco
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pacerlabsco/

About Pacer Ventures LLC
Pacer Ventures is well-positioned to support the growth of startups within Sub-Saharan Africa. A combination of attributes enables our deal-flow, sourcing and portfolio management which promises realistic returns to our
investors.
Pacer email: info@pacer.vc
Official website: https://pacer.vc/
Pacer blog: https://pacer.vc/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pacerventures
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pacerventures/

Society Pass (SoPa) Announces close of Series C funding to accelerate growth in Southeast Asia

  • Society Pass, Vietnam’s leading data-driven loyalty platform, has closed its Series C round.
  • The new funds will be used to help drive Southeast Asia M&As including in Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.
  • Since its launch, Society Pass has amassed over 1.5 million registered users being served by over 3,500 registered merchants and brands

Society Pass (SoPa), Vietnam’s leading data-driven loyalty platform, has closed a Series C funding round. With the new funds, Society Pass will look to accelerate its growth and acquisition strategy in Southeast & South Asia, particularly acquiring companies with the existing user and merchant bases that can be quickly plugged into the Society Pass ecosystem.

Society Pass is a loyalty and data marketing ecosystem that operates multiple e-commerce and lifestyle platforms across its key markets. Its business model focuses on collecting user data through the expected circulation of its universal loyalty points. It seamlessly connects consumers and merchants across multiple product and service categories fostering organic loyalty. From its launch in 2019, Society Pass has amassed over 1.5 million registered users and over 3,500 registered merchants and brands.

Dennis Nguyen, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Society Pass said: “Society Pass’s success up to this point has been built through offering unique value for both consumers and merchants, along with the infrastructure supporting that exchange. This new funding will allow us to replicate our success in our target markets and our ongoing aggressive M&A initiatives in the pipeline. We are very grateful to have found strong demand from quality investors, that share our vision.”

According to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report (*) by HootSuite & We Are Social, Southeast Asia is sporting a 69% internet penetration rate with 9.6% YoY growth, and South Asia with a 42% internet penetration rate with 9.1% YoY growth. Both regions stand to see tremendous growth, with Google, Bain, and Temasek estimating Southeast Asia internet economy GMV reaching US$309 billion by 2025, while RedSeer Consulting estimates the South Asia internet economy to touch US$250 billion by 2025. e-Commerce and Online Travel are expected to take the lion’s share of this growth. Society Pass plans to expand its market presence by harnessing the untapped potential of South and Southeast Asia believing that developing countries are only now experiencing a surge in digital adoption, with large potentials for future growth.

Society Pass capitalises on the rapidly developing earlier stages of the internet economy in the region, spanning verticals such as F&B, beauty, travel and lifestyle.

(*) https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-july-global-statshot

About Society Pass
Society Pass’ customer loyalty and analytics platform has onboarded hundreds of thousands of registered consumers. Society Pass provides merchants with SoPa.asia – an online commerce platform for users, alongside with #HOTTAB Biz – a convenient order management app for business partners on SoPa.asia, and #HOTTAB POS – a specialized POS technology solution, a comprehensive system for payment, loyal customer management, user’s profile analytics, and convenient financial support packages for small and medium-sized enterprises. All tools offered above will allow businesses to attract and retain customers through personalized interaction based on analytics with a high profit margin. For more information, please check out: http://thesocietypass.com/.

GCash Introduces First of Its Kind, Online Shopping Protection with Regional Insurtech Firm, Igloo

  • The first of its kind Online Shopping Insurance protection by GCash, in partnership with Igloo, aims to offer peace of mind for 46 million GCash users when they transact using GCash
  • Approximately 44% of digital consumers have been a target of a fraud scheme in Q1 2021

Philippines’ leading e-wallet provider GCash, has launched an online shopping insurance – underwritten by PGA Sompo – with Singapore-headquartered regional insurtech Igloo, to protect its growing online customer base. This launch and partnership come at a time where GCash has seen a surge in online transactions and is on track to hit PHP 3 trillion in full-year gross transactions – 3x of last year’s performance. This was driven by Filipino consumers shifting to online for their daily needs.

Igloo’s online shopping protection via GCash’s platform

Today, there is an increasing demand to go cashless and more merchants and retailers are opting for the convenience of e-commerce, and express peer-to-peer cash transfers.

Over 70% of Southeast Asia is online and last year, the region saw 40 million new users join the internet. In a recent survey, the Philippines alone saw 37% of all digital service consumers are new to the service due to COVID-19. The survey also shows 97% of these new digital consumers will continue to use digital services going forward. This has led to an increasing need to be able to secure each transaction. Through this partnership with Igloo, GCash aims to provide peace of mind to its 46 million users while they shop online. The GCash app also had over 13 million log-ins per day, peaking at almost 15 million in the second quarter of 2021. This year, GCash aims to reach its PHP 3 trillion Gross Transaction Value (GTV) target and currently processes an average of PHP 300 billion in monthly transactions.

“This comes at an unprecedented time when we see robust growth in our online transactions and user base. With excellent customer experience being the heart of our business alongside value-added services through our platform, we are thrilled to launch this new product with Igloo that secures online transactions for our customers,” said Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO.

“We are excited to partner with the leading e-wallet in the country, GCash – who shares the same vision of protecting digital consumers by pioneering innovative solutions to end-customers at an economical price. With the growing number of digital consumers in the country, now more than ever, is it most important to provide flexible solutions for the changing needs and processes of both businesses and customers. In a recent survey, 44% of the respondents had been a target of a fraud scheme. The majority of them, or 44% and 39% are experienced by Gen Z and Millennials, respectively. With many GCash customers belonging to this bracket, Igloo’s protection is not only timely but very relevant to GCash customers’ needs,” said Mario Berta, Igloo Philippines Country Manager.

The Online Shopping protection is one of the first products Igloo will be launching with GCash and its customers but will soon be rolling out more products with the e-wallet platform in the next six months that will be geared towards MSMEs which are about 90% of the businesses in the Philippines, securing the entire ecosystem of both seller-business owner-and-buyer.

Igloo’s Online Shopping product is part of its Cyber Protection vertical, which secures financial loss arising directly from any online marketplace fraud. With its pioneering partner, GCash – GCash users will now be protected from any transaction they make via online marketplaces such as Lazada, Shopee, including Viber and Facebook marketplaces as long as their payment was fulfilled via the GCash platform.

Since its entry into the Philippines with its collaboration with Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing hotel management and booking platform, RedDoorz in 2019, Igloo has also partnered with the Union Bank of the Philippines in August last year and Philinsure early 2021. The insurtech has also widened its insurance partner base to include Mercantile, Pioneer, PGA-Sompo Insurance Corporation, and United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation.

Images in high resolution are available for download here.

About Igloo
Igloo, previously known as “Axinan”, is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. It has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and tech centres are located in China. With a mission of making insurance accessible for all, the firm leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Igloo’s insurance solutions enable companies to eliminate their exposure to operational risk, create new revenue streams, and optimize and enhance existing products and services. In April 2020, Igloo successfully closed its Series A+ funding round worth US$8.2 million, bringing its total funding to US$16 million from global investors.

Igloo is led by a core team that comprises top talent from the technology and insurance industries hailing from global corporations including Facebook, Grab, Flipkart, Garena, Manulife, Shopee, Yahoo! and Zalora. For more information, please visit https://www.iglooinsure.com/

Media Queries
PRecious Communications for Igloo
igloo@preciouscomms.com