Innovations Financial News

The launch is aimed at raising liquidity for the two VCTs to invest in innovative early-stage UK companies and provide further support to existing portfolio companies. Earlier in 2024, the Mobeus VCTs streamlined their operations by having two of their investment vehicles, Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT and Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT, merged into Mobeus Income & Growth VCT and The Income & Growth VCT, respectively. European Commission approves ten-year UK sunset clause extension for VCTs and EIS Trevor Hope, managing director and CIO of private equity at Gresham House, which manage...

Wealth management in India is experiencing rapid expansion, becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors within the financial services industry. This growth is fuelled by the country's robust economic development and a rising number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

India has the potential to power the global artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, Microsoft Asia president Ahmed Mazhari said on Saturday. «We feel confident that India will power the AI innovation of the world because we have the skill base, the expertise and the desire to innovate at scale, and Microsoft is committed to that acceleration,» he said. Years ago, India became synonymous with creating patents and as the knowledge services capital of the world, he said, and with AI, there are going to be immense opportunities for the country. Mazhari spoke about various initiatives of Microsoft in AI that are currently operational in India.

RBI is poised to roll out its next major financial innovation, a technology platform that enables 'frictionless credit'. The platform, proposed to be called Unified Lending Interface (ULI), aims to facilitate a seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including land records, to lenders from multiple data service providers. This, Das added, would reduce the time required for credit appraisal, particularly for smaller and rural borrowers. Coincidentally, his statement comes at a time when the account aggregator (AA) framework — created by the market-led industry alliance Sahamati and launched three years ago by RBI — has logged a record 100 mn consents. AA is using a framework like ULI to shift away from collateral-based lending to one premised on cash flows, addressing the formal credit needs of millions of underserved Indians. In short, India is poised to roll out another initiative to democratise access to credit. In the last decade, India banked the unbanked, whereby 80% of adults today own a bank account. Now, by seeking to enable universal lending, RBI is breaking down barriers to provide financial resources to a broader spectrum of borrowers. The impending convergence of fintech and AI will only accelerate this trend of serving the underbanked.

ET World Leaders Forum on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured business of a stable policy environment to facilitate innovation. Policy facilitation and business disruption will, indeed, be required in equal measure to accelerate India's development over the next two decades to capitalise on its demographic dividend. Indian companies need to grow much faster than they are accustomed to, so that the economy makes productive use of its immense work force.

The Robot Cafe in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is creating a buzz by using preprogrammed robots to deliver food to customers

Zeke Hernandez was worried. His 12-year-old son, Lucas, had not grown for two years. The family paediatrician told him to eat more, but it didn’t work.

collaborations with the Government of Tamil Nadu, on manufacturing of its Pixel 8 range of phones, skill development, building an industrial ecosystem enabling MSMEs to create scalable AI solutions. Google, earlier in the day signed a memorandum of understanding with the visiting Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin at its Mountain View office in California in the presence of senior company officials including Google Cloud Vice-President and Head of Platform Amit Zavery, Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa among others. Under the MoU, Google would work with Guidance (the state government backed nodal agency to promote investments) to support the development of a robust AI ecosystem in the state. This includes providing access to advanced technologies and resources, with an emphasis on empowering individuals, businesses and government entities to leverage AI for inclusive growth and progress, a company statement said on Saturday.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a new design for its FASTag which aims to reduce the travel time for commuters. According to a press release dated August 30, 2024, «The bank has introduced a new design for SBI FASTag in the Vehicle Class (VC-04) category. The advanced FASTag design enhances vehicle identification and toll collection efficiency aimed at reducing travel time for millions of commuters in India.»

Visa is focusing on leading the digital economy with more women entrepreneurs, said Kelly Mahon Tullier, Vice Chair and Chair People and Corporate Affairs Officer at Visa. She was speaking at the Economic Times World Leader Forum being held in New Delhi on Saturday. «The purpose of Visa (company) is to uplift the world by engaging them in the digital economy...Visa is so much more than a credit card,» she said in the session called The New Paradigm of Payments, chaired by Arijit Barman, Associate Editor, The Economic Times. Tullier also spoke on Visa's work with uplifting women in India in collaboration with United Way of Mumbai.

tech innovation, said Maria Katris, cofounder and CEO of Built In. Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders forum, Katris noted that the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to increased job creation. Katris said that although there has been a tech recession the last two years, there will be a lot of job creation going forward. «India is going to be the future for tech innovation,» Katris added. Speaking during the startup panel «Catalysts of Change: Crafting the Future Through Startups», Nikhil Goel, CCO, Archer Aviation and cofounder of Uber Elevate, said India has an opportunity for better infrastructure.

Emami on Saturday announced the acquisition of the remaining 49.6 per cent stake in Helios Lifestyle, which owns male grooming brand 'The Man Company'. Helios Lifestyle is already a subsidiary of Emami with 50.4 per cent shareholding, according to a statement from Emami. «The completion of the acquisition of Helios by Emami will strengthen its presence in the fast-growing digital-first premium male grooming segment,» it said.

MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with search giant Google to set up the 'Tamil Nadu AI Labs' in Chennai. The MoU was signed as part of the TN CM MK Stalin's 17-day visit to the United States to garner fresh investments. «Say hello to what I would like to call 'Chenn.ai,'» Industrie Minister Dr TRB Rajaa said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). «With this partnership we aim to skill 2 million youngsters in AI via Naan Mudhalvan, collaborate with startups, and enable MSMEs and the rural economy. We want our youth to be a future-ready workforce.»

Since graduating with a degree in economics from the University of Birmingham in 2018, Joel has worked as a financial market/cryptocurrency analyst. He firmly believes that emerging crypto technology...

The Indian culinary scene still suffers from that same colonial hangover when it comes to codification, with the curricula in desi catering and cooking colleges continuing to teach primarily European precepts, mainly French. Considering India regained independence 77 years ago, and our cuisines have become popular worldwide especially in the past 30 years, it is mystifying why the basic principles of our many cooking styles are not better known or widely taught yet. The first reason that comes to mind is inertia. A famous Indian chef recently commented how Indians tend to just replicate a successful idea millions of times to make 'easy' money instead of innovating. Although the redoubtable Thangam E Philip of Dadar Catering College wrote her magnum opus Modern Cookery for Teaching and the Trade in 1965 and was awarded a Padma Shri in 1976 for services to the hospitality industry, not much has happened since then.

Some of them are rolling out certification programmes with top universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford for their top executives, while several others are holding bootcamps and having peer knowledge-sharing initiatives and tailored learning roadmaps to ensure that the leaders understand AI’s implications on strategy and talent, and its uses and regulations across industries. Professional services firm Genpact is building a core artificial intelligence focus to foster expertise and innovation by training CEOs and other top executives. As much as 85% of its senior leaders are expected to undergo certification from institutions like MIT by the end of 2024 in applied AI leadership, or the use of AI in a business setting, said country manager Piyush Mehta.

Fintech startups are reshaping how large banks conduct business, prompting traditional financial institutions to adapt their offerings to the evolving fintech landscape, according to C S Setty, the newly appointed chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI). “The good thing about fintechs is that they are reshaping the way we do business. An extreme customer convenience-focused approach is something which made the conventional players reimagine the customer journey. Yono itself is an example. I keep saying that we are the largest fintech company and we align our business looking at the fintech environment,” Setty said on Friday at the Global Fintech Fest held in Mumbai. Setty added that SBI is actively seeking deeper integrations with fintech companies.

Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in...

Applied Materials will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government on Friday to establish an advanced AI-enabled technology development Center of Excellence focused on semiconductor manufacturing and equipment in Taramani, Chennai. The MoU is to be signed in San Francisco in the presence of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin and President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, Dr. Prabu Raja. “Investment in key sectors such as advanced electronics and semiconductors will help us achieve the $1 trillion economy goal by 2030. We want to make Tamil Nadu the most advanced knowledge and innovation hub in South Asia,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a statement.

TV show producer Banijay Asia has tied up with Space Exploration and Research Agency for a reality show to send an Indian into space on a future Blue Origin New Shepard mission. Recently, SERA announced India as a partner nation for their human spaceflight programme aimed at giving an opportunity to citizens from countries with few or no astronauts to travel into space. «We're embarking on an unprecedented journey with SERA to create a reality format that transcends the ordinary. It's a privilege to document this journey of an ordinary Indian space traveller and show how this programme will not only transform their life but also democratise space travel more broadly,» Deepak Dhar, Founder and Group CEO, Banijay Asia and EndemolShine India said in a statement. The format will capture the drama, disappointment, and joy as the shortlisted individuals participate in various challenges that test their mettle and readiness for space travel, a company statement said.

Return Prime aims to achieve a $3 million ARR and triple its revenue in the next 12 months by expanding its market share in the United States, Europe, and India. Over the next year, the company aims to help merchants generate more than $100 million in additional revenue. “We believe that our advanced return management solutions can address the pressing challenges faced by ecommerce merchants worldwide. Our goal is to help merchants not only manage returns efficiently but also turn them into opportunities for revenue generation,” said Shashwat Swaroop, co-founder of Return Prime.