Accenture & Leading Financial Institutions Call for Applicants for the Asia-Pacific FinTech Innovation Lab 2016

Applications are open for Asia-Pacific’s third annual FinTech Innovation Lab, Accenture’s 12-week program that helps early- and growth-stage financial technology (fintech) companies accelerate product and business development by gaining exposure to top financial institution executives. Applications can be made at www.fintechinnovationlab.com and close on May 31, 2016.

Investments in Asia-Pacific fintech companies are on the rise:  during the first quarter of 2016 investments totalled $2.7 billion, representing 51% of the $5.3 billion invested into fintech companies globally, according to a recent Accenture study, FinTech and the Evolving Landscape,

“We’re having fintech discussions at financial institutions across Asia, as executives want to know about the latest cutting edge fintech solutions to invest in, develop or buy that can streamline services for customers,” said Jon Allaway, senior managing director at Accenture and the executive sponsor of the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific. “That is why in our third year of the lab we have increased the number of financial institutions in the lab to 20 from 12, increased the number of participants we’ll accept in the program to 12 from seven and expanded to include insurance.”

The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific is a program for entrepreneurs that are developing cutting-edge and disruptive technologies for the financial services sector – particularly in the areas of big data; analytics and cognitive computing; security and identity management; risk management and compliance; digital marketing and social media; cloud; payments; blockchain technology; talent management; and, Internet of Things applications.

Chief technology officers and senior technology executives from the financial institutions will selecttwelve of the applying fintech companies to participate in the Lab through a competitive process and will then provide them with intensive in-person mentoring in Hong Kong. 

The twelve principle financial institutions are: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, Generali, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Maybank, Morgan Stanley, Sun Life Financial and UBS. In addition, supporting banks include: China CITIC Bank International, China Construction Bank (Asia), Macquarie, Nomura, Standard Chartered, Siam Commercial Bank, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG).

Applicants must have a working beta version of their technology. The Lab, which begins in August 2016, will partner the chosen fintech entrepreneurs with senior-level bank and insurance company executives and leading technology entrepreneurs, to help them fine-tune and develop their technologies and business strategies through a series of workshops, panel discussions, user-group sessions, networking opportunities, one-on-one meetings and presentations. Cyberport will provide work space to participating entrepreneurs, and J Plus Hotel by YOO will assist with accommodations. The Lab culminates in November 2016 with a Demo Day presentation by selected participants in front of an audience of venture capitalists and financial industry executives.

According to FinTech and the Evolving Landscape, a report issued by Accenture in early April, the value of fintech investments globally rose to more than $22 billion in 2015, with Asia increasingly capturing a larger share of the market.

"With more than $5 billion in investments in Q1 we’re on track to see a similar level of fintech investments as last year,” noted Beat Monnerat, senior managing director and head of Accenture’s financial services business in Asia-Pacific. “The Lab, now in its third year, is helping financial services executives across the region harness the potential of fintech for the industry.”

Participants in previous labs have, for example, gone on to work with some of their mentees and mentors.

“As part of the new financial services ecosystem, HSBC is pleased to deepen its collaboration with the fintech community, which will help us to improve customer experience,” said Raymond Cheng, HSBC’s chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific. “Fintech start-ups bring creativity, agility and new technology, which we can mentor, test, refine and apply at scale. For example, last year, we adopted the FinSuite automated financial spreading product across 27 countries, which sped up the approval of loans for our commercial banking clients.”

"This year", continued Cheng, "our intention is to explore more opportunities to use fintech products in our strategic locations like the Pearl River Delta to provide simpler, better and faster financial services to our customers."

"Our participation in the lab and the collaboration with HSBC that followed, has helped propel FinSuite from a small Australian startup to a global fintech participant, currently expanding into MENA and the US," said founder and CEO Bart Jesman.

The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific is modelled on a similar program that Accenture co-founded in 2010 with the Partnership Fund for New York City, the US$115 million investment arm of the Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org). In 2012, Accenture and a dozen major banks in London launched the FinTech Innovation Lab London, with support from the city’s mayor and other government bodies.  In 2014, Accenture launched FinTech Innovation Labs in Asia-Pacific and Dublin, Ireland. Globally, the Labs’ alumni companies have raised more than US$335 million in financing after participating in the programme. Four companies from the New York FinTech Innovation Lab have been acquired, two in 2015 alone, including Standard Treasury and BillGuard.

Inox Wind Bags Two Projects to Install 50 MW Each in MP & Gujarat

Inox Wind Limited, further strengthening its position as the country’s top wind energy solutions provider, has bagged two orders for a cumulative capacity of 100 MW from one of India’s leading renewable energy independent power producers.  The turnkey orders comprise of a 50 MW project to be set up in Gujarat and a 50 MW project to be set up in Madhya Pradesh. The projects once commissioned will provide power to 50,000 households, curtail 0.15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually and further consolidate Inox Wind’s leading position in the two states. 

As part of the turnkey projects, Inox Wind will provide end to end solutions from development and construction to commissioning and providing long term operations and maintenance services.  The orders involve supply and installation of 25 units of Inox Wind’s 100 meter rotor dia Wind Turbine Generator for the Gujarat project and 25 units of the company’s 113 meter rotor dia WTG for the Madhya Pradesh project.  The 113 m rotor dia WTG is the newest variant of the company’s market leading 2 MW platform and has been tested to have one of the highest Generation Performance per kilowatt of all WTG variants available in India.

Inox Wind offers its clients total wind power solutions including wind resource assessment, acquiring land, developing the entire site infrastructure, building the power evacuation system, supplying the WTGs, erection and commissioning services, long term operations and maintenance services as well as post-commissioning support.      

“These orders have further boosted Inox’s strong order book with major IPPs in India. Orders from a leading renewable energy IPP prove the competitiveness of wind power in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and ensure that Inox Wind continues to play a key role in further developing the wind energy industry in the two states .” said Kailash Tarachandani, Chief Executive Officer of Inox Wind Limited in his statement.  

NASSCOM & Symantec Collaborate for Cyber Security Courseware

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) along with Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and leading security software company Symantec launched the National Occupational Standards for ten cyber security job roles with the corresponding Qualification Packs (QP) in line with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). Several other organizations across IT/ITeS, Financial services and Consultancy Advisory services have provided necessary feedback and guidance to define the ten new job roles and Qualification Packs (QPs).

The event was conducted in the presence of senior functionaries across government, industry and academia, and witnessed the felicitation of women, on their way to becoming certified cyber security professionals.

With an objective of providing cyber security skills training and certification to women professionals in India, Symantec has also instituted scholarships to 1,000 women undertaking the cyber security certification by SSC NASSCOM. Last year, the organizations had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the launch of Cyber Security Skill Development Initiative.

Talking about Symantec’s on-going association with NASSCOM, Sanjay Rohatgi, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Symantec said “Building the next generation of cyber professionals is key to securing India’s critical information infrastructure, battling cybercrime and making the ‘Digital India’ initiative successful. As the global leader in cyber security, Symantec partners closely with governments and law enforcement agencies around the world. Leading on from our commitment in 2015, we continue to work closely with NASSCOM to build a cadre of world class, skilled and certified cyber security professionals in India, with a special focus on youth and women."

R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, speaking on the occasion said, “This initiative has a two-pronged approach – it contributes to containing the spurt of cybercrime and also enhances the employability of the workforce. With collaborative efforts, we are glad to announce the launch of ten QPs & the courseware for QP Analyst - Application Security, which is the collective effort of the industry and is going to be a landmark in empowering women while fighting a major issue like cybercrime.”

The launch of the ten new qualification packs/job roles focuses on streamlining the cyber security skills development initiative, and also enhances the relevance and standards for talent development in the cyber Security community within India. 

Young Minds Display Innovative Ideas at Intel’s Innovation Festival

To encourage experiential learning and inspire young minds to innovate, Intel brings Innovation Festival, a 2-day celebration at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru on April 16^t and 17, 2016. Drawing participation from over thirteen states in India, the Innovation Festival is a showcase of bright new ideas – featuring 70+ real time projects, ideation and DIY workshops.

The primary objectives behind this two-day festival were to provide a national level platform to students at K12 and higher education levels to showcase their projects and prototypes, and capacity building for students through workshops. The Innovation Festival is a collection of innovation from all across the country that aims to encourage discussion and deliberation on how to nurture innovation in India’s education space. The projects covered a variety of areas such as Healthcare, Women Safety, solutions for different kinds of disabilities, and Internet of Things. Apart from these projects, there was a separate showcasing of some bright futuristic ideas from school students, and a special showcasing by girls from governments schools from 4 different states.

The rapid developments in technology over the past few years have created a fertile ground for bright innovative ideas to flourish. With the rising imperative to prepare young future citizens and empower them with essential “Future World skills” such as computational thinking, design mind set, tinkering, coding etc., Intel has been working over the years with children starting right from grades 6 to college going young adults. There have been a series of programs aimed for this next generation; a host of platforms created over the past couple of years – all with an aim to motivate students to become solution providers and technology creators.

The Innovation Festival draws from ideas that were intensely fostered over the last year through a series of Ideathons – or design thinking workshops with the objective to encourage students to develop innovative ideas and detail the process of execution. Each and every child who participates in the Ideathon submits an idea. These ideas are then evaluated and shortlisted by a group of mentors to participate in Makeathons – hands-on workshop where students with the help of mentors are enabled to convert their ideas into a prototype, using microcontroller boards with appropriate sensors, connectors and SD cards. In a special emphasis to encourage girls to become technology creators, Intel supported the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, an initiative of the Government of India, to inspire the girl child to develop interest in design, coding and think ‘out-of-the-box’. The ideathons and makeathons were thus conducted specifically for girls from government schools.

For the college going students, Intel has been running specific programs, with the key objective to develop IoT related skills and spur innovations in a variety of application areas. Students selected under this program have been working on projects from areas of social relevance like healthcare, environmental monitoring, large scale monitoring of valuable data, agriculture etc. and are being mentored by faculty from reputed science colleges and institutes.

Burger King Now Operates 50 QSRs Across 9 Indian Cities; Unveil Angriest Whopper Sandwich Customized for Indian Customers’

Burger King Restaurants just got better with the roll out of its 50^th restaurant in India and also subsequently announce the unveiling the Angriest Whopper, a furiously delicious sandwich atop a fiery red bun baked with hot spices. 

The Miami-based QSR chain Burger King entered India in November 2014, as against its American rival McDonald’s foray in 1996. Other players in the QSR space include KFC and Dunkin’ Donuts. Burger King India opened its first restaurant in India in 2014 and now operate 50 restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Punjab.

Burger King India Private Limited is the master franchisee for Burger King in India, operating restaurants nationwide. Burger King India opened its first restaurant in India in 2014 and operates 50 restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Punjab.

Founded in 1954, the Burger King brand is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world.  The original Home of the Whopper, the Burger King system operates more than 15,000 locations in approximately 100 countries and U.S. territories. Almost 100 percent of Burger King restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. The parent company Burger King brand is owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with more than $23 billion in system sales and over 19,000 restaurants.

The company has customized all the global products being rolled out. Like, the Angriest Burger is a flame-grilled beef patty topped with bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, jalapenos, mayonnaise and "spicy angry sauce. Since these kinds of foods are not consumed much in India, the research team had to customize the products to suit the Indian taste buds. 

Commenting on the launch of the Angriest Whopper sandwich in India, Rajeev Varman, Chief Executive Officer of the Burger King brand in India, said, “Consumer tastes in India are evolving and they are now ready for experimenting with new tastes and experiences and we as a brand are committed to introduce a whole new experience in burgers in India. After the hugely successful response to the Big Boss Whopper sandwich and Chicken Fries from the consumers, we decided that it was time to introduce another innovative product in India, this time with a red bun. The Angriest Whopper sandwich is a furiously delicious sandwich atop a fiery red bun, baked with hot spices, added angry onions, angry sauce and jalapenos. Each bite packs a fiery punch and that makes it a ‘Must Have’ burger of the year”.

After the successful response to the Big Boss Whopper sandwich and Chicken Fries from the consumers, the company decided that it was time to introduce another innovative product in India, this time with a red bun.  The Angriest Whopper sandwich packs a local punch in every infuriating bite with crispy angry onion petals, spicy angry Habanero sauce and zesty jalapenos piled high atop the patty and layered with a slice of cheese, lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and creamy spicy mayonnaise between the red-hot buns. The Whopper sandwich is available starting Rs 159 in vegetarian, chicken and mutton is sold for a limited time only and will be available from April 15, 2016 to May 30, 2016 across all Burger King restaurants in India.

Tucson Electric Power Seeks to Elevate Engineering Efficiency by Augmenting Enterprise GIS Systems

Tucson Electric Power (TEP), the largest corporation headquartered in southern Arizona, are enhancing their engineering design capability by integrating best-in-breed network design software with their existing enterprise GIS. TEP is completing deployment of Bentley OpenUtilities to complement their Smallworld GIS with on-the-fly cost estimation and engineering workflow management.

TEP expects to save time with the ability to refine designs for cost savings more rapidly. Automatic compatible unit assignment and comprehensive unit data support in Bentley OpenUtilities will enable TEP to produce detailed labor and material cost breakdowns faster without time-consuming cycles between their GIS and enterprise work management system (WMS). This provides the ability to explore options quickly, find the least-cost design, and to submit designs within budget the first time.

TEP also expects to reduce project delays with the ability to better manage work requests from directly inside their GIS design environment. The configurable design workflow engine in Bentley OpenUtilities will work in concert with TEP’s WMS, enabling managers to assign, manage, and approve work orders. This will allow TEP to avoid open-loop processes with status notifications, approval requests, and e-mail integration as well as track project status and progress using dashboards and reports.

Jeff McConnell, GIS supervisor, Tucson Electric Power, stated, “The ability to integrate Bentley OpenUtilities with our existing enterprise GIS made it possible to upgrade key components of our engineering design process. We found the cost estimation and design workflow management capabilities in Bentley OpenUtilities designer to be best suited for our demanding environment and anticipate these capabilities will advance our design efficiency.” 

Nasscom Opposes State Government Entry Level Tax on E-commerce Transactions

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has expressed its discontentment on a bill by Government of Gujarat to levy entry tax on consumers for interstate ecommerce transactions. NASSCOM believes that such a move will pose significant commercial challenges for e-commerce and logistics companies and to retailers from outside of Gujarat, selling goods to customers in the state. A similar levy is being enforced in Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Mizoram and is proposed to be levied in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

This tax, payable by the consumers, will be collected and deposited by entities that bring specified goods to the state from any other part of the country, for consumption and sale. This levy of entry tax poses significant challenges both commercially and operationally for the ecommerce companies, logistics companies and the outside state sellers selling goods to customers in the state. Sharing his thoughts on the issue, R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM said, “The e-commerce sector aspires to unify the country digitally into a single entity. Providing un-restricted cross border access to sellers as well as buyers is the prerogative of the government and is an important driver towards creating an ease of doing business. Such tax structures will lead to additional burden on SME traders, enhanced litigation, and also reduce business efficiencies. It will also restrict choice of the customer.”

The entry tax levy is flawed for the following reasons

1.  This is akin to introducing trade barriers to free interstate trade thereby restricting market access within the country.

2. The growth of manufacturing in India cannot be contemplated without the growth in the SMEs across the country.  The ecommerce sector has offered seamless access to the SMEs across the country to sell goods to customers notwithstanding their location. Discouraging inter-state sales by imposition of the proposed special tax would be akin to going backwards and discouraging SMEs to manufacture.

3. The proposed levy will have a short life in light of the impending GST reform.  For collecting and depositing the tax, the deemed tax payer would be required to significantly re-vamp the IT systems to track the tax charged on inter-state sale of goods to Gujarat and determine the differential tax which has to be paid in the form of entry tax.. Disputes on classification are also inevitable and considering huge number of Sellers operating through marketplaces. The proposal will therefore be burdening the Service industry with sale of goods related compliances, administrative costs and unwarranted disputes for a short term making it completely infeasible. Cost of complying with this entry tax for thousands of sellers outside the state will be much higher than the expected outcome.

Such moves will fragment the India market, severely jeopardizing business case for many entrepreneurs both manufacturers and service providers, and is not in the interest of consumers. The levy therefore is not aligned with the reform and growth initiatives like Digital India , Make in India and Start-up India – Standup India.”