Category Archives: News stories

Akon brings his Afro-futuristic city to Malta

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Grammy-winning artist is bringing his Akoin vision for Africa to November summit

Akon

Akon, hip-hop superstar and one of  Africa’s most renowned philanthropists, has accepted a speaker slot at the crypto and blockchain focussed show in November.

He will be speaking about his Akoin token and how he hopes the blockchain-based cryptocurrency can empower young entrepreneurs in Africa to strengthen the continent’s rising economies and support the development of sustainable communities.

Akon’s vision for Africa is already in position, with first steps taken in Senegal’s capital city Dakar, where Senegalese President Macky Sall has gifted him 2,000 acres to establish an Afro-futuristic city.

The whole idea with the city is to create a renewable city. Crypto is the money spent in the city; all digital. All renewable energy; no gas, no nothing. We’ll create platforms of all of today’s newest technologies embedded within the city itself.”

Through the artist’s Akoin Foundation, inspired entrepreneurs will develop future-forward businesses and promote innovation, economic stability, and growth across Africa, as well as in the wider world.

Through the Akoin ecosystem of crypto-based DApps and Apps, rising entrepreneurs can learn, earn, spend and save, as well as have more transparency and security within these daily economic building activities, including civil engagement.

“I think banking systems can definitely benefit from blockchain, but the voting system will probably be the number one system for the technology,” he says. “The good thing about blockchain is it leaves a footprint,” explains Akon. “You can’t do anything without it being open for everyone to see it – it opens the road to transparency.”

Eman Pulis, founder and CEO of Malta A.I. & Blockchain Summit, commented.

With a vision so clearly in line with the best hopes for the blockchain world, Akon is sure to be a huge draw for the conference audience at November’s Malta AIBC.  We’re excited to work with him in using blockchain to make the world a better place for everyone.”

The Malta A.I. & Blockchain Summit takes place November 4-8th, 2019.

Pulse Sends FinTech Hearts Racing With Video Banking Stories

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The New Pulse product from UK Fintech 11:FS uses videos to unlock the secrets of customers’ banking journeys from India to China and across the world.


PulseFinTech consultancy 11:FS has launched a new-and-updated version of 11:FS Pulse, the second iteration of the world’s first (and only) financial services UX insights platform.

The product crowdsources customer experiences from traditional and challenger financial services companies. For the first time, users can view on-demand videos of real customer journeys on real bank accounts from all around the world.

This could be a user on the Ant Financial platform in China, a PayTM customer in India, somebody using US banking services or even a UK High Street Bank user.

Pulse offers a subscription service that is instantly accessible for traditional banks, challenger banks or any company interested in FinTech and understanding how to embark on new territory opportunities.

11:FS Pulse gives users a seat behind the eyes of the customer, with time-stamped user journeys, top tips for success, and in-depth analysis conducted by in-house expert researchers.

“We have seen great value from the video walkthroughs of end-to-end customer journeys on the 11:FS Pulse platform. Gaining direct access to a large breadth of content with slick UI lets us filter information categories and has dramatically reduced our lead times,” said Joe Wood, Digital Insight Manager at Nationwide Building Society.

The FinTech ecosystem has become more crowded than ever before with a plethora of companies and services targeting the market and non-FinTech challengers ready to break through the sector.

Hugh Cornejo is the Head of Design at UK challenger bank Monzo and he is equally effusive about the 11:FS Pulse platform.

“11:FS Pulse is an incredibly well-organised and comprehensive tool. If you are a designer working in FinTech you should be begging for an invitation to use it,” he said.

Stakeholders and product owners are locked in a battle for customers, which means that rich insights and easy-to-access challenger UX data is fundamental to creating products that customers will genuinely love.

There is a constant conversation around the current approach to UX research. The current landscape of customer experience analysis relies heavily on slow-moving reports that heavily extend lead times and often result in a product that is not fit-for-purpose, driven by second-hand data and high-level UX research.

“11:FS Pulse has been created to take the guesswork out of UX insights. We have some of the biggest brands in financial services currently using Pulse to drive their innovation initiatives… or just to keep a close eye on their competitors.

“What we hear when we demonstrate 11:FS Pulse to customers is ‘I can’t believe this didn’t already exist’. For many of our customers, it is a vital tool that gives them the edge that they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences,” said Ross Methven, Co-Founder, 11:FS.

With insights and rich user-journeys from Alipay, N26, and many others across the FinTech landscape, 11:FS Pulse wants to shape the future of FinTech, and is the first in a series of announcements from 11:FS, which will shortly announce significant talent hires to continue its expansion and scale.

Everything you ever needed to know about blockchain

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Picking your way through technology is harder than remembering the acronyms that govern our lives.

As the word ‘blockchain’ moves out of its humble bitcoin beginnings, many profess to know what it means while secretly munching their eyelashes at not getting it.

However, have no fear, the creative people at BitFortune.net have kindly supplied you with the following infographic that should still your beating blockchain heart.

Future conferences, dinner parties or even conversations with builders in dodgy pubs are no longer congregations of fear. Instead, you can dazzle, learn, share and you might even copulate.

Please see below…

Pitch@Palace 9.0 selects next cohort of tech entrepreneurs

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Pitch@Palace’s new cohort of innovative entrepreneurs will be competing in the semi-final today at the University of Manchester.

Image ©Dan Taylor/Heisenberg Media.
contact – dan@heisenbergmedia.com or +447821755904

Pitch@Palace, the programme established by The Duke of York to guide and support entrepreneurs, is today assessing the 42 entrepreneurs that have been selected to pitch at Pitch@Palace Boot Camp at the University of Manchester.

The theme for Pitch@Palace 9.0 is ‘Data, Intelligence and the Future of Security’ and will showcase companies that have developed innovative technologies to solve prevalent security issues that businesses and individuals are exposed to.

Pitch@Palace Boot Camp provides Entrepreneurs with the chance to hear from leading industry experts and Pitch@Palace alumni, as well as receiving support and mentoring.

All are asked to Pitch their business to a panel of judges, as well as senior business leaders, investors, and influencers from across the technology, investment and business communities.

The Judges will select 12 of the 42 entrepreneurs to pitch for three minutes at Pitch@Palace 9.0 at St James’s Palace on 25th April. The rest of the Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to Pitch for 30 seconds.

Pitch@Palace attracts a wide range of businesses from across the UK. Since its launch in 2014 it has helped more than 490 businesses, which have created 1,865 new jobs and generated over £541 million in new economic activity. Pitch@Palace Alumni companies include Blocks, Desolenator, Open Bionics, Appear Here and Grabble.

Daniel Murray, Co-Founder of Grabble said of his Pitch@Palace experience: “Since winning we’ve been on a rollercoaster, having expanded our initial offering, building Mobula for B2B, launching another B2C App, and raising a further £3 million since taking part. I can wholeheartedly say we’ve had unwavering support from HRH The Duke of York and the whole Pitch@Palace team.”

50% of UK companies don’t care about digital disruption

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Not only do half of companies not care about disruption, 10% of them don’t think digital affects them at all.

disruption

Disruption in technology from innovators is rife, so traditional companies should be wetting themselves, right?

Not according to the Digital Disruptors’ report released from from Dell EMC, which describes whether UK businesses are aligning to the threat of digital disruptors in their market.

Astonishingly, more than half of UK organisations don’t view digital disruptors as a threat and 10% believe they don’t have any challengers at all.

Such data is insane, because at the same time 71% of business leaders are aware their organisation is under threat from digital transformation and more than 50% of business leaders feel their IT team has too much control and is a ‘barrier to innovation’.

Nothing like putting your head in the sand while looking the other way while turning a blind eye while turning a deaf ear.

The report focuses on which areas are going to be differentiators for businesses in the future. Which are on path to be disrupted and who will remain stagnant and face being overtaken by competition?

If this data is to be believed, at least 50% of them.

“Disruption isn’t new. Organisations of all sizes face new competition and changing market forces all the time. Digital disruptors have already shown their impact with everything from genome mapping to holiday rentals.

“In the age of disruptors, the corporate culture needs to shift to make the digital innovation agenda a focus for the whole board, not just the IT team,” said said Claire Vyvyan, Senior VP UK&I Commercial, Dell EMC.

* Independent research company Vanson Bourne conducted 500 interviews across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Respondents came from large companies and had to have 1000 or more employees (250+ in Republic of Ireland). Based on the size of the universe in the UK and Ireland, the margin of error for this research is 4.38%.