Gender Holds Secrets for Effective Treatments

Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha, co-founder and pro-bono CEO of the Women’s Brain Project, wins the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award Switzerland 2022 for precision medicine.

[caption id="attachment_23991" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Madeleine von Holzen, Martina Hingis, Chantal Gaemperle, Antonella Santuccione Chadha, Patrizia Laeri, Stefan Regez[/caption]

The Women’s Brain Project (WBP) is thrilled with CEO Antonella Santuccione Chadha’s victory in the 2022 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award in Switzerland for her research on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.

The WBP is an international non-profit organisation (based in Switzerland) studying sex and gender determinants of brain and mental health to achieve precision medicine. Founded in 2016, the WBP is composed of a group of experts hailing from various disciplines, including medicine, neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology, and communications, who work together with caregivers, patients and their relatives, policymakers and other stakeholders. The WBP aims to identify how sex and gender factors impact diseases, diagnostics, drug and novel technologies development in order to achieve precision medicine for sustainable and inclusive healthcare.

The announcement was made at an awards ceremony in Zürich in September. The honour will reward her for her tireless pursuit of putting her heart, knowledge, passion and soul into the topic of sex and gender differences and precision medicine.

The Veuve Clicquot Bold Women Award she received recognises exceptional women changing lives and transforming businesses across Switzerland and beyond. “It is very humbling for me to have received this award in recognition of my professional and entrepreneurial journey over time, until today,” she said. “An incredible journey made memorable by all the co-workers, friends, supporters, and friendly opposition I ran into along the route. I have the honour and privilege of leading some of the most talented and passionate teams at the Women's Brain Project and Altoida, tonella Santuccione Chadha.

It’s a major coup for the Women’s Brain Project, which aims to develop precision medicine in order to provide accurate and long-lasting treatments for brain and mental diseases. Technology, innovation, the drive for a more precise diagnosis, improved care, and effective treatments for brain and mental diseases are all benefit, she says.

The next step in the journey is the creation of a Sex and Gender Precision Research Institute. This will provide tools and support for healthcare professionals and patients to provide service for female patients around the world. “We trust that investors and supporters will join us in this very important effort,” said Chadha.

Antonella Santuccione Chadha is a medical doctor with expertise in clinical pathology, neuroscience and psychiatric disorders. She has decades of experience in preclinical research, patient treatment, clinical development, medical affairs and international regulatory frameworks.

Chadha has delivered TedX talks and is the author of scientific publications and books. She has received accolades, including the World Sustainability Award in 2020, and Woman of the Year in Switzerland 2019. She had been named as one of the top 100 Women in Business in Switzerland, and was nominated for Swiss Women for Innovatin by the University of Basel, and received the Premio Medicina Italia award.

She leads the Women’s Brain Project with the support of a dedicated team. She is the chief medical officer of Altoida, a company focused on pioneering precision neurology diagnostics.

“I would like to thank the jury for the award and the illustrious house of Veuve Clicquot for recognising and honouring women entrepreneurs whose talent, boldness, and enterprising spirit have enabled them to successfully create impactful businesses around the world,” she said. “Congratulations to the other finalists Léa Miggiano and Sandra Tobler for their spectacular work.”

Jury Members

Karina Berger, entrepreneur and former Miss Switzerland

David Degen, entrepreneur and former footballer

Chantal Gaemperle, Swiss & executive vice-resident of Human Resources and Synergies of LVMH Group

Martina Hingis, former tennis champion

Madeleine von Holzen, editor-in-chief of Le Temps

Patrizia Laeri, former host of the SRF programme Börse, and entrepreneur

Stefan Regez, former head of consumer magazines & member of the Executive Board of Ringer Axel Springer Schweiz AG since 2019.

“Antonella Santuccione Chadha impressed us with her entrepreneurial spirit and boldness, combined with her scientific expertise, all in a field where everything remains to be built,” said the former tennis champion Martina Hingis.

The Bold Woman Award is given to the woman who:

Demonstrates entrepreneurial daring

Reinvents tradition with success

Maintains an ethical approach to business

Founded in 2016, the Women’s Brain Project is a unique mix of research, advocacy, policy and communications. More importantly, it's a community around the idea of sex and gender specific medicine for brain health. It's a movement that aims to bring Swiss precision to medicine.

“We have been incredibly productive, generating papers, reports, videos, interviews, textbooks, lectures, webinars, books and much more,” said Maria Teresa Ferretti, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the Women’s Brain Project. “We shaped the global discussion on gender medicine and brain health, educated lay public and peers, opened up new avenues of research in the field of novel technologies. I am incredibly proud of Antonella and this prize, if ever there was a bold woman on Earth, this is Antonella, and of the Women’s Brain Project. I can't wait for the next prizes to come!” i

About Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha

Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha is a medical doctor with expertise in clinical pathology, neuroscience and psychiatric disorders. She has decades of experience in preclinical research, patient treatment, clinical development, medical affairs and international regulatory frameworks. She has delivered TedX talks and is the author of several scientific publications and books.


KBC Keeps Moving to Maintain its Lead

‘Sustainability is no longer just a PowerPoint presentation, but an integral component of our business at KBC…’

Belgium’s KBC Group may not be Europe’s largest bank — 18th by market capitalisation — it is considered one of the most financially solid.

It is an exceptional performer on many levels. From risk-adjusted CIR (cost-income ratio) and ROE (return on equity) to CET1 (common equity tier 1), KBC routinely outpaces its peers by 20 percent or more. The bank consistently features among the most profitable in Europe, with financial returns of more than 15 percent.

The bancassurance group is generous to shareholders as well, paying out dividends totalling €10.60 per share over 2021, representing a return of over 16 percent on the late September share price of €51.66. That value of €2.6bn — €3.6bn including a special coupon — propels KBC Group to the top of the BEL20 index of largest publicly listed companies in Belgium.

In August, CEO Johan Thijs announced “excellent” Q2 results with a net profit of €811m over the three-month period, beating market expectations by about €100m. Higher interest rates, especially from its business units in Czechia and Hungary, boosted results — but are probably of a temporary nature.

While higher interest rates may continue to underwrite group profits, inflation is driving operating costs higher. Thijs warned investors not to jump to the conclusion that KBC Group is immune to the fallout from the war in Ukraine and the anticipated economic headwinds. “GDP growth is slowing, and inflation is much higher than expected,” he said. “That cannot fail to have an impact on the group. This may not yet be reflected in the overall results, but can already be detected in the details.”

Closing the Gap at KBC

One of those details concerns the closing of the interest rate gap between the Eurozone and Czechia, KBC Group’s second-home market. The Czech National Bank was quick to raise its base rate (currently seven percent), which enabled KBC Group to profitably park some of its ready cash at the group’s ČSOB daughter. However, Thijs cautioned that the ECB’s recent and future rate hikes will narrow this gap. He expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise its base rate to at least 2.5 percent by the end of 2023.

Another hit may come from the inclusion of banks in the windfall tax under consideration by the Czech government. During a recent conference call with analysts and portfolio managers, Thijs said that conversations with the government were ongoing, and that one of the alternatives under discussion is increased bank financing of major infrastructure projects. Last year, ČSOB contributed almost €700m to the group’s €2.64bn profit.

In Hungary, where KBC Group owns K&H Bank, a similar tax — a 10-percent levy on net revenue for 2022, reduced to eight percent in 2023 — was introduced as part of a set of fiscal emergency measures to raise an additional €2.9bn for the treasury.

KBC Group is also active in Slovakia and Bulgaria, where it recently acquired the 122 branches of Austrian Raiffeisenbank for a reported €1bn, further consolidating the group’s position in Central Europe.

Looking Forward

At home, KBC Group seems well-equipped to weather any storm. In Q2, the bancassurer shifted €45m from its unused corona buffers to provisions for possible losses on its credit portfolio because of the looming recession. The group’s cushion for absorbing setbacks now amounts to €268m and is set to further increase by year’s end.

Thijs expects economic growth in Belgium to fall from 2.4 percent in 2022 to 0.3 percent next year. “That forecast is based on a continuation of the war in Ukraine, but excludes an escalation of hostilities. We also assume that Europe is able to compensate for the loss of Russian natural gas deliveries.”

Should that scenario not hold, the Belgian economy may shrink by as much as 2.5 percent — and double that in Central European economies where KBC Group holds significant interests. As cautious as Thijs is, he remains buoyant on the group’s resilience. An early embrace of fintech allowed the group to keep spiralling operating costs in check through increased productivity.

That’s where “Kate” quietly enters the equation: KBC’s customer-facing bot has charmed accountholders. Driven by AI and deep learning (a subset of machine learning that exploits neural networks to mimic the learning process of the human brain), Kate is seen as the way of the future.

Pushing the Tech Envelope

Developed in-house, Kate’s success prompted KBC to launch DISCAI, a spinoff to market the company’s AI prowess. It has already obtained 25 patents on AI tech, and now seeks to monetise that.

A first application that detects money laundering via the analyses of unusual patterns in business transactions is being offered for sale to virtual and traditional banks — essentially competitors.

“We don’t have an issue with that at all, nor does it detract from KBC’s competitive edge,” says Thijs. His bank has used the technology along with its regular AML protocols for three years. “Standard systems detect between 10 and 15 percent of AML cases. We think our technology ups that to around 50 percent.” DISCAI also markets an application that checks if partners to any transaction feature on a blacklist or are subject to international sanctions.

Musing about the outsized potential of DISCAI, Thijs may still take the tech company public. “Things usually move fast in the tech-sphere,” he points out. “Our team of 100 AI developers is the envy of the industry, and there is no saying where it will take us next.” Other financial institutions have discreetly inquired if the technology that powers Kate may be for sale. “Not yet,” is the response.

Thijs has expressed concern about the dearth of IT specialists. KBC Group is recruiting, but it’s a tough market because of the heavy war for talent.

KBC Minting Coin

Kate is more than a helpful bot; she also gave birth to a stable coin. In June, KBC Group ventured into crypto with its blockchain-based Kate Coin. Kate Coin operates in a closed-loop environment, outside of which it has no value. The idea is to reward accountholders with Kate Coins. The tokens can be redeemed within the KBC universe, and debuted flawlessly on snacks and cold drinks for several thousands of KBC employees at the Werchter Boutique music festival in June.

“This is much more than just a fancy loyalty programme,” says Thijs. “Kate Coin enables us to nudge customers towards, say, sustainable and responsible investment options. Also, someone looking for a credit to buy solar panels may receive extra coins in their wallet.

“During our Kate Coin pilot in the city of Leuven, customers could use coins to charge their electric vehicles. In a next phase, we may open the Kate Coin environment to include corporate clients and even the government. The possibilities are truly endless.”
KBC is the first European financial institution to launch its own digital coin, but it is no stranger to blockchain and successfully pioneered its application in trade finance.

The ECB has picked Amazon to develop user interfaces for its digital currency, which irks Thijs. “We have the knowhow right here in Europe, and KBC in particular has a track record second-to-none when it comes to building digital banking apps.” His annoyance may be justified. KBC Mobile has been recognised and celebrated as the world’s most user-friendly banking app.

The app and Kate are creating an environment that stretches beyond banking. With a few taps or swipes, KBC Mobile users can buy tickets for public transport, make reservations at restaurants, book seats at shows, and claim discounts and cashbacks at 70 retailers.

Minding the Core

But KBC Group keeps its corporate eye on the core business of banking and insurance. Thijs says the technology is deployed for the convenience of account- and policyholders, saving them time and money.

In Belgium, KBC Group has a network of 439 branch offices and 310 insurance agents. In early September, the company doubled its private banking branches, taking the total to 28, and trebled its commercial banking offices to 24. The reasoning is to better serve corporate and individual accountholders who have at least €250,000 to invest.

Thijs sees the bancassurer’s efforts to take the lead in the digital domain as an essential part of KBC Group’s wider strategy. “Since 2012, we have incorporated sustainability into our operations and decision-making processes.

“Sustainability is no longer just a PowerPoint presentation, but an integral component of our business.”

In Belgium, the group shuns transactions that have an outsized environmental impact. In Czechia, KBC has reduced its exposure to the coal industry by over 80 percent. “Given that country’s continued dependency on coal, we have been unable to complete exit the sector,” Thijs admits, “but the Czech government has committed to fully phase-out coal from the domestic energy mix by 2033.” The group has appointed a sustainability director in each of its markets to screen and assess investment and credit portfolios for environmental impact.

Responsible Behaviour

“Data is, in a sense, the new electricity that drives our business. Data is also needed to properly gauge the impact of our sustainability initiatives. Three years back, we offered KBC Group management training in responsible behaviour, including customer relations. It has earned the group a nomination for inclusion in the world’s 10 most sustainable corporates.”

Over the next few years, KBC Group aims to perfect Kate and take her to the next level. “We expect Kate to address 75 percent of customer inquiries and enable a seamless integration between humans and machine. Kate also operates at the core of a platform designed to save our customer both time and money — and considerably add to the simplification of transactions and interactions.

“Kate must perfect the user experience and earn the trust of KBC Group customers. I also aim to use AI to reduce institutional risk and contribute to the perfection of the group’s overall risk-mitigation framework.”

Thijs has been at the helm of the KCB Group for 10 years. His time at the helm has been characterised by a willingness to delegate and adapt to changing times.

Though he admits that the corona pandemic changed everything, he is not nostalgic. “There was a big and sudden push towards digital. KBC Group was and remains exceptionally well-placed to respond to this shift in consumer demand.

“Our push into tech and digital paid off. If anything, this shows the value of discerning longer-term trends and shaping a clear vision of the future and how you, as a corporate, fit into that scenario. A responsiveness to change is required. Looking back to yesterday, or remaining set in your ways for tradition’s sake, is not our way forward.

By Wim Romeijn


Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul: No Caprice, Simply Sadness…

Song, civil disobedience, heartache, sympathy for the oppressed: Aretha Franklin singer gave her all for her beliefs and her people.

Soul legend Otis Redding, performing for an enthusiastic crowd just weeks before his death in 1967, stepped up to the microphone and said: “This is a song that a little girl took away from me.” The song was Respect — and the “thief” was Aretha Franklin.

Redding understood that Franklin, already the undisputed Queen of Soul, had turned his original into an international hit — and a feminist anthem. She had also instated soul music as the soundtrack of an era of upheaval in American society.

The original Respect, released by Redding in 1965, was about a working man who expects his woman to do her part around the home. Aretha Franklin spun the lyrics on their head; her funkier version was about a strong, liberated woman demanding R.E.S.P.E.C.T from her man. She added the spelled-out word, the backing chorus of “Ree, Ree, Ree” — a nod to her nickname — and a perfect soul hook provided by saxophonist King Curtis.

Released in April 1967, the song turned Franklin into an international star at the age of 25. It became her trademark song, but her journey to fame was no overnight sensation. She recorded her first album at the age of 14, a collection of gospel songs she knew by heart from years singing them with her sisters, Erma and Carolyn, in her father’s Baptist church in Detroit.

Aretha Franklin - Early Years

By the age of 18, she was exploring the music of the secular world: jazz, R&B, and bebop. Some in the Baptist congregation accused her of “singing the Devil’s words to God’s tunes”. Throughout the late 1950s and early ‘60s, Franklin recorded and released many covers — but the hits eluded her. It was only after she signed for Atlantic Records — and came under the influence of the producer Jerry Wexler — that she found her musical soul, and soul music found its figurehead.

Despite her reticence and modesty, she became a focus for the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. Her songs, performed with such power and passion, caught the mood of the times as African-Americans strived for equality. In 1968 — a pivotal year in US history — Time magazine described Aretha Franklin as “bearing witness to a reality so simple and compelling that she could not possibly fake it”.

Franklin’s childhood was not underprivileged. She was born in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, to a relatively wealthy couple, Clarence LaVaughn Franklin and Barbara Siggers. Her father was a preacher, and a personal friend of civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr. Clarence Franklin earned a good living on the religious circuit, but his relationship with Aretha’s mother was strained. She left the family home when Aretha was six, and died of a heart attack four years later.

Clarence Franklin’s status afforded him a degree of celebrity, and he was close to many of the performers of the day, including soul giants Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye. Another family friend, jazz singer Dinah Washington, heard a young Aretha perform at a family gathering and proclaimed that the girl was “the next one”.

Aretha’s youth brought its own challenges — her mother’s desertion, teenage pregnancies, unhappy marriages, and the fatal 1979 shooting of her father in an attempted robbery in Detroit. In a biography published after the singer’s death 2018, writer Emily Williams said: “Despite the extremely difficult sociological climate that she was subjected to as an African-American woman, and the harshness of that world, she found a way to draw strength from within herself.”

One of her peers described Franklin as “cloaked in a brooding sadness”. She commanded a giant stage persona but was an introvert offstage. Her small circle of friends described her as a woman who chain-smoked and compulsively snacked. As Jerry Wexler put it: “It wasn’t caprice or temperament, it was just sadness.”

In the book Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit, Suzanne Smith wrote: “When her single, Respect, climbed the charts in 1967, some fans declared it to be the summer of ‘Retha, rap, and revolt’. Her songs became anthems, the soulful sound of a movement that increasingly seemed propelled by black pride and power rather than earlier ‘dreams’ of racial integration.”

Writer Jamil Smith said: “Her music spoke to the demand for equality along gender and racial lines simultaneously, knowing that one freedom could not exist without the other. Aretha Franklin was never shy about reflecting black reality and encouraging those fighting for civil rights.
“She articulated the African-American experience through the common themes of love lost and gained. She did so in a way that was both digestible for the masses and uncompromising in its honesty about America.”

In the late 1960s, America was experiencing intense social upheaval. There were campus protests, riots, and heavy-handed policing. Opposition to the Vietnam War was growing, and African-American communities were angry that a disproportionate number of young black men were being drafted.

The Civil Rights movement, which had for years been peacefully campaigning for an end to segregation, was splintering — with some factions calling for violent struggle. Although Aretha Franklin was a friend and supporter of Martin Luthor King, she didn’t necessarily share his belief in peaceful protest.

In 1970, the communist and Black Power activist Angela Davis — labelled a “dangerous terrorist” by Richard Nixon — was accused of buying the guns in an attempt to free prisoners from a California courthouse. Franklin put up bail for Davis, who was ultimately acquitted.

The singer had herself been taken into custody as a teenager, accused of disturbing the peace. She said of Davis’s arrest: “I’ve been locked up, and I know you got to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace. Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to see her free, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a black woman and she wants freedom for black people.”

While Aretha Franklin toured and performed, free-of-charge, at civil rights rallies, she expressed support the Marxist-Leninist group the Black Panthers. The organisation, founded in 1966, advocated class struggle. J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, called the Panthers “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country”. After King’s assassination in 1968, Franklin sang the hymn Take My Hand, Precious Lord at his funeral. Later that same year, she performed a blistering version of the national anthem at the Democratic Convention that brought many in the crowd to tears.

When a White House official approached the newly elected Barrack Obama with a list of potential performers to sing at his inauguration. The president-elect waved a hand to interrupt him, and in the ultimate mark of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., simply said: “Aretha.”


Nazca’s Backing is Driving Latin American Success Stories

Nazca takes investee companies through the gamut of development to create socially and environmentally efficient enterprises.

Venture capital firm Nazca was founded with a clear purpose: to back bold entrepreneurs in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

Nazca seeks out transformative, technology-enabled businesses creating tomorrow’s breakouts. It builds relationships with smart and assertive leaders who are self-aware — and socially responsible.

The firm’s mission is to empower outstanding leaders based on merit, and balance the status quo between capital and talent. By doing so, it is setting the region on the path to social and economic success.

“Empowerment”, to Nazca, means constructing the ultimate business environment where every leader, and every team, can flourish — and swiftly reach maximum potential. It provides entrepreneurs with multi-stage venture capital, and an established and impactful local and global network. With robust market intelligence, insights on strategy formulation and deployment, quality talent sourcing and access to premium business partnerships, it has the guidance to drive design and development — with a strong focus on environmental and social policies.

Since its inception, Nazca has supported iconic companies across Latin America, including Kavak (the first Mexican unicorn), Crehana, Justo, albo, Yuno, Datanomik and others. The firm has raised three funds and has been able to attract capital from institutional investors such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), FEMSA Ventures, Spectra Investments, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Environmental and Social

Nazca is committed to promoting sustainable development via environmental and social responsibility. It ensures that its portfolio companies generate positive impacts for the countries in which they operate.

Nazca’s environmental and social (E&S) objectives include:

Aligning the funds’ actions with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda.

Guaranteeing the permanent commitment of all its employees to maintain, responsibly operate, and improve the Environmental and Social Risk Management System (ESMS).

Ensuring the funds’ actions are aligned with recognised benchmark practices, such as the IFC's E&S Performance Standards and the World Bank's Guidelines on Environment, Health, and Safety.

Replicating good E&S practices throughout the organisations and companies in which it invests.

Measuring positive E&S impacts.

To meet these objectives, Nazca has appointed an E&S officer. It has also developed and implemented an ESMS, provided staff training, and implemented an external communication mechanism.

Nazca’s ESMS was designed to be implemented as part of its investment process. When an opportunity arises, activities in the potential investment are vetted to ensure they are not on the fund’s exclusion list.

Potential investment is put into low-, medium-, or high-risk categories. Nazca sends an initial E&S requirement, based on the applicable IFC Performance Standards, to the potential investment — and follows-up on that.

Then comes an Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) report and an E&S action plan to which investees commit. This is then presented to the investment committee.

Finally, using all this information, the investment committee makes its decision. If approved, an E&S action plan is sent to those portfolio companies which agree to comply with the terms. Nazca will assist them, at every step, until they have reached their E&S goals. It connects them with experts to help them develop policies, procedures, and mechanisms.

Nazca's Impact

Nazca will identify companies with significant, even transformational, impact on major development issues, aligned with the following SDGs:

SDG 2 (Zero hunger). Achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

SDG 3 (Good health and wellbeing). Ensure healthy living and promote wellbeing for all ages.

SDG 4 (Quality education). Provide inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities.

SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth). Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work.

SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation.

SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities). Reduce inequalities within and among countries.

SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities). Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production). Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

SDG 13 (Climate Action). Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Nazca is a signatory of the Operating Principles for Impact Management. The fund has its Disclosure Statement and first verification summary provided by KPMG, and available on its webpage. The firm works on its proprietary impact methodology to develop a full-scale mechanism monitoring the impact achievements of each portfolio company — and the associated response.

The firm also has a platform that systematically empowers the founders of portfolio companies with access to tools, some of which can be directly or indirectly linked to (or have implications with) impact, including:

Growth and commercial — Helping founders boost growth through commercial introductions within its network.

Human Capital Management — Supporting founders in recruiting and developing their dream team.

Exposure — Ensuring founders are given thorough media exposure.

Knowledge — Boosting founders’ knowledge of relevant topics.

Fund-raising journey — Supporting fundraising journeys with late-stage firms.

Nazca perks — Providing benefits through partners.

Nazca’s early-stage investment approach means it is closely involved with portfolio companies. It assists each with board participation, platform, introductions, E&S, legal and financial. The scope of this involvement includes advice on strategic direction and raising capital, as well as board participation.

Other value contribution initiatives are tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of the portfolio companies.


Appian Capital Advisory: Sustainability in Mining - Where the Energy Transition Starts

Although they bring many benefits, mining companies have long been criticised for their environmental practices. Despite its best efforts, the sector has had a less than spotless record of cleaning up after itself. Only recently have miners begun assessing their impact on communities and the surroundings. However, the industry has also moved faster than most to embrace and internalise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and standards.

A timeless truth states that “if it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.” The modern world cannot function without mining, and even that which grows often fails to bear plentiful fruit without a bit of (mined) potash. The mining industry sits at the foundation of countless supply and value chains which would instantly unravel without the bounties extracted from the earth’s crust.

Mining cannot simply be wished away, and paradoxically, it is a driver of sustainability and innovation. In the 2020 Minerals for Climate Action report, the World Bank predicts the production of minerals such as graphite, lithium, and cobalt needs to quintuple by 2050 to meet the demand for clean energy. To deploy wind, solar, and geothermal power and expand energy storage, some three billion tonnes of minerals and metals are needed – all of it mined.

Unearthing Opportunity

Astute investors who look beyond the headlines are tapping into sustainable mining to secure long-term returns that beat most benchmarks. London-based Appian Capital Advisory LLP specialises in providing miners with the financial resources and operational expertise needed to attain and maintain peak performance, whilst unearthing exceptional opportunities for investors. The company deploys unparalleled experts to its two private equity funds that jointly have over $2bn in assets under management.

The Appian Natural Resources Funds I and II have executed fourteen investments, brought seven mines into production, and successfully exited six projects. Appian Capital aims to be the partner of choice in the metals and mining sector by matching quality assets to long-term capital, while providing specialist technical expertise to management teams. Appian’s technical and financial team, sourced from major mining companies, PE firms and multinational investment banks, bundles over 300 years of experience. In Scherb’s words: “We are effectively a private equity firm with a mining company attached. Mining is an incredibly technical sector with high barriers to entry, and we employ, what we call, technical arbitrage, taking a project and maximising the technical elements of operations to maximise value.”

The enviable skillset available to the company has allowed it to consistently deliver superior returns and establish a proven track record of building tangible value within portfolio companies, ensuring that the financial performance of its assets is not dependent on commodity prices.

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Sustainable Investing with Appian Capital Advisory

Appian Capital incorporates ESG into all its investment decisions and is an early signatory of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) guidelines, which include the full set of ESG parameters. In Africa, the company partners with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The company publishes detailed sustainability reports on all its mines. Its goal of long-term value creation pointedly incorporates lasting partnerships with local communities and a broad ensemble of other stakeholders. Appian’s mining operations provide over 5,000 jobs worldwide and support over 11,000 indirect jobs.

The social dimension involves community infrastructure initiatives such as building schools and health centres and upgrading water supplies. Furthermore, Appian mines help SMEs tap into new business opportunities by proactively partnering with local suppliers and contractors.

Before committing funds to a new or existing project, Appian Capital follows its own ‘360° Due Diligence Process’, which reviews environmental plans, including the vital rehabilitation and closure strategy, and evaluates the strength of the ‘social licence’ i.e., relations between the mine and the local community it operates in.

Juliana Marreco, Appian’s co-head of Clean Energy Solutions, notes that the company is determined to meet its own energy needs with renewables. A push is currently underway to partially supply Atlantic Nickel’s Santa Rita mine in Brazil with solar power. Similarly, Mineraço Vale Verde's gold-copper mine in the northeast of Brazil is making comparable efforts. At the Santa Rita mine, combined Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are slated to fall from a high of 77.4 kt of CO2 to barely 2.4 kt by 2028. The mine is also rapidly moving towards becoming a zero-discharge facility with effluents being continuously reused in a closed circuit.

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Case Study

The Santa Rita mine offers an interesting case study on Appian’s investment philosophy and how it translates into operational success. Atlantic Nickel was purchased in 2018 for $68m out of the bankruptcy of Mirabel Nickel, which had invested well over $1bn in developing one of the world’s largest open-pit nickel sulphide mines. High leverage, depressed commodity prices and poor management caused Mirabel Nickel to go under.

To bring the mine back into production, Appian Capital identified numerous opportunities for the optimization of both the mine and plant- such as defining underground resources with the potential to extend mine life from 8 to 35 years. The company is now ready to exit both Atlantic Nickel and Mineração Vale Verde (MVV), and hand both over to an experienced operator, retaining a significant royalty on net smelter returns (NSRs) at the former, and a 35 per cent stream on gold revenues at the latter.

Appian Capital Advisory brought MVV’s Serrote copper-gold project into production in May 2021, months ahead of schedule and almost $50m under the initially budgeted $245m. By funding the mine’s construction and securing attractive offtake terms for its production, Appian unlocked substantial value for its investors.

Going forward, the company seeks to expand its operations by focusing on commodities employed in batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. 65 per cent in Fund I is energy transition linked and Fund II is over 70 per cent invested in energy transition and potash.


Michael Scherb: Opportunities Galore in Mining for Those with Long Investment Horizons

“Look around and almost everything you see comes from mining.” For Michael Scherb, it was a lightbulb moment that the mining industry is where the supply and value chains start. That insight, though obvious once expressed, is still often overlooked, or even ignored.

[caption id="attachment_24038" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Founder and CEO: Michael Scherb[/caption]

Founder and CEO of London-based Appian Capital Advisory LLP, Michael Scherb has bridged the gap between miners, executives, and financiers. As a result, his company has become one of the largest global private equity firms focused exclusively on mining. Even though it is one of the world's oldest industries with hematite pits carbon-dated to 43,000 BCE in Eswatini (Swaziland), mining has long suffered from several inefficiencies.

“Expert mining engineers do not necessarily make the best CEOs. Moreover, mining is rife with risk. It takes an average of fifteen years to bring a mine online. When that finally happens, it may well be at the wrong time of the commodity cycle. The proper allocation and provision of capital is often a major bottleneck. There is a pronounced dearth of funds and expertise in this space. We provide both. Mining is a capital-intensive business with long lead times, but it has been mostly driven by short-term considerations.”

Ignoring the Next Quarter

It is here that Appian Capital Advisory LLP makes a difference and leaves its mark: “Our investors, mostly generational wealth, do not worry about the next quarter's results. Their investment horizon spans decades and even generations.” Mr Scherb explains that his company has a good finger on the “pulse” of long-term capital sources. “We see that these investors are more willing to have exposure to mining as they diversify away from oil and natural gas. This new trend is likely to benefit our industry steadily.”

Scherb points out that his company does much more than provide long-term funding for the development or redevelopment of mining projects: “We bring in highly qualified technical staff with deep experience in metals and mining to work alongside our portfolio companies. Our capital is value add in that respect, providing more than just finance to ensure projects maximise their potential.

Scherb started his career twenty-odd years ago in China, structuring foreign investment into the country, where he was instantly impressed with China’s rapid transformation: “Construction activity was frantic with skylines changing their contours almost by the week.” He soon recognised that every building used materials sourced from mines. It led him, in due course, to JP Morgan’s Metals and Mining team, where he worked on $185bn worth of transactions spanning mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt.

Following that, Scherb founded Appian Capital Advisory LLP in 2012, raising his first fund in 2014, to take advantage of opportunities in this underserved sector. “It is an industry crucial to society. This is even more true now that the energy transition is approaching, which is six times as resource intensive as non-renewables. Our two private equity funds are seventy per cent exposed to critical minerals. We currently have around $2bn in assets under management and are in the process of setting up a third fund.”

Bottlenecks

Whilst politicians are committed to delivering the energy transition, few seem to understand that those plans, commendable as they are, run counter to what is readily available. “Almost no one has done the math. For the energy transition to be successfully completed, the world’s nickel output must grow by a factor of forty. We also need seven times as much copper as is being mined today. A major new copper deposit must be discovered every three months for the near future to meet expected demand. So, there is the bottleneck which has the potential to disrupt our move towards renewables.”

It logically follows that mining is set to become an even more profitable business. “It is our goal to mine in a sustainable fashion, adhering to and addressing the full suite of environmental, social, and governance concerns by proactively engaging all stakeholders and operating small-footprint mines at peak efficiency.”

He finds it somewhat puzzling that investors are largely unaware of mining's potential: “Just consider that most publicly listed mining companies trade at just four times their EBITDA, while that number shoots up forty times for battery makers, and double that for electric vehicle manufacturers. Also, mining companies trade on a fifteen per cent free cashflow yield. Whereas most renewable energy companies trade on just half a per cent of FCF. That tells you something is awry in the sector.”

Michael Scherb states the negative perception of mining is something to overcome: “There is this idea that miners busily rooting around in the earth's crust are to blame for the destruction of nature. That is, however, a misconception and belongs in the once-upon-a-time category. We need to talk about all the good mining does and can do for local and often isolated communities. And how the industry has embraced sustainability. In short, mining needs to market itself a bit better.”


Sri Lanka: Recovery, Redemption & Re-Birth

Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s most resilient and experienced politician, was gifted his country’s presidency by his political opponents, just as his nation had been declared bankrupt. Although critics question his legitimacy to be Head of State as he lacks a popular mandate, Wickremesinghe has since shown that he is perhaps the only person who can now resurrect a nation that was self-destructing between hope and anarchy. On July 9th 2022, a tsunami of protestors came to Colombo to oust President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office and amidst chaotic scenes, with security forces almost overwhelmed, Wickremesinghe’s own private residence was torched and destroyed. It was a pivotal moment. The grip that the Rajapaksa family had on Sri Lanka dramatically ceased, yet through their control of Parliament, Wickremesinghe was appointed by MPs to be the next President, and by a resounding majority.

[caption id="attachment_24066" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Gangaramaya Seemamakala Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka.[/caption]

The pearl of the Indian Ocean has the distinction of being Asia’s oldest democracy and should have been a beacon of economic success after gaining independence from Britain after World War II. But successive governments have squandered the opportunity to create an economy that encourages export-led businesses to thrive and instead Sri Lanka is now seeking its seventeenth IMF programme as a bailout, after sixteen such interventions have previously failed to generate sustainable long-term growth. Wickremesinghe also has to contend with healing a nation divided by the unresolved legacy of militant insurgencies, most notably the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, as well as past and present allegations of human rights abuses that continue to surface at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Since coming into power, Wickremesinghe has restored both political and economic stability: whereas fuel queues had lasted for 3 days they are now rare, power cuts are shorter and farmers are able to grow crops with access to fertilisers, that had previously been denied. Anti-government protests are smaller and have not caught the public imagination to the same scale as when the Rajapaksas were in government. Wickremesinghe has used his political acumen to hold together his cabinet of ministers despite them being elected from rival political parties and his government is able to pass legislation, including a recent constitutional amendment. A new budget is currently before parliament which features plans to turnaround Sri Lanka’s economy including unpopular tax hikes as well as increased welfare payments to address rising levels of poverty. The immediate obstacle is to agree debt-restructuring terms with one of its main bilateral creditors, China. Sri Lanka’s relations with China are complicated by a series of white-elephant infrastructure projects funded by Chinese debt and the perception in the West and India is that successive Colombo administrations have tilted too closely towards Beijing. Re-setting Sri Lanka’s foreign policy will need to be a major objective for the president’s diplomats.

Wickremesinghe is perhaps the only leader who could now heal the political and social wounds of the ethnic conflict that led to Tamil demands for a separate independent state being defeated by militarily action. He has recently called for meetings with all Tamil political parties to resolve this national issue before Sri Lanka’s 75th independence anniversary on February 4, 2023. No doubt high on the agenda will be the issue of implementing the 13th Amendment, where Tamil politicians have long sought for provincial councils to be given greater devolved powers. Moreover, the government is commendably about to propose and establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that will seek to address grievances amongst victim communities across the island, that have suffered loss and pain due to multiple insurgencies and the state’s responses to them. This Commission is likely to be modelled on South Africa’s TRC, which was so ably championed by Bishop Desmond Tutu. Sri Lanka’s TRC’s independent commissioners who emerge will have a heavy duty of responsibility to bring healing and unite a fractured society. With Britain too seeking to accommodate a Truth Commission to address long-standing abuses during the Northern Ireland troubles, it would be good to see the British government seeking to offering a generous hand to Sri Lanka’s efforts to establish their TRC. Britain and Sri Lanka share a similar legacy of trying to heal divided communities, preventing the recurrence of violence and maintaining their respective union states.

As an island nation, Sri Lanka will face significant Climate Change challenges as well as opportunities. Global rises in temperature could result in volatile weather patterns that may have devastating consequences, as recently experienced in Pakistan. Sri Lanka is blessed with a rich biodiversity in its oceans, mangroves, and rainforests which must be protected and allowed to flourish. As a predominantly Buddhist country, Sri Lanka has led on environmental issues, but more can be achieved. Sri Lanka is still to receive adequate compensation for the pollution and environmental damage caused by last year’s X-Press Pearl shipping disaster and lessons need to learned to avoid such calamity in the future. Sri Lanka is far too reliant on fossil fuels yet has made notable efforts towards renewable energy, particularly with hydroelectric power, as when Margaret Thatcher’s UK government helped to finance the Victoria Dam project in the 1980s. Today, Sri Lanka should be exploiting its abundant potential for solar and wind power. Plans are underway to develop a major solar and on-shore wind project in Pooneryn, in the north and the possibility of electrical grid connectivity to India could mean that Sri Lanka earns valuable foreign exchange from any surplus power generation. The World Bank believes that Sri Lanka has huge potential for offshore wind energy which exceeds its domestic needs, and with an opportunity to produce other fuels, such as green hydrogen and ammonia. Unlocking this potential will require external expertise and some considerable financial help. Speaking at COP27 in Egypt, President Wickremesinghe was hailed for championing the global south: “Developed nations should be giving leadership to overcome climate challenges rather than abdicating their responsibilities. It’s ironic that the $100bn pledged annually has not been available in the coffers to finance climate challenges, as many developed nations deem it fit to renege on their climate financing contributions.” It will be interesting to see if the Fund for Loss & Damage that was recently agreed by industrialised nations at COP 27, will mean that Sri Lanka is able to obtain financial help to develop its substantial offshore wind and other renewable energy potential.

Yet for Sri Lanka to really emerge from this year’s series of crises, Ranil Wickremesinghe must seek to implement some bold “system change” reforms that a new generation are calling for. There is now a growing demand from both within and without the country for the government to meaningfully address corruption. The IMF staff level agreement pointed to Sri Lanka having to adopt measures “Reducing corruption vulnerabilities through improving fiscal transparency and public financial management, introducing a stronger anti-corruption legal framework, and conducting an in-depth governance diagnostic, supported by IMF technical assistance”. Adopting mechanisms that address accountability, a more independent judiciary and the removal of bureaucratic red-tape will have a profound positive effect in enhancing flows of foreign capital into Sri Lanka and discourage those who are currently tempted to leave the country for perceived greener pastures. Sri Lanka has large and influential global diaspora communities who would welcome the opportunity to return, invest and develop their motherland, if a favourable environment is seen to exist.

In the past, Sri Lanka’s political classes have dodged these issues in favour of maintaining their own privileges. Time will tell, but Ranil Wickremesinghe could yet be Sri Lanka’s saviour. By seeking redemption in the twilight of his own political career, Sri Lanka could not only forge a recovery from its economic fall, but Wickremesinghe could lead a long-overdue awakening that could be the re-birth of his entire nation.

[caption id="attachment_24070" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Author: Amal Abeyawardene[/caption]


Christina Lopes, The One Health Company CEO and Co-founder: A Trailblazer for Canine Cancer Care

Cancer kills some 10 million people each year, accounting for one in six deaths worldwide. Man’s best friend isn’t faring any better. Cancer causes one in four canine deaths, and kills about half of all dogs over the age of 10.

[caption id="attachment_24110" align="aligncenter" width="900"] The One Health Company CEO and Co-founder: Christina Lopes[/caption]

Christina Lopes, the CEO and co-founder of The One Health Company, says that dogs have been helping in human drug trials for decades. They’ve been the research subjects, but until now, never the beneficiaries.

“Cancer care for dogs has not changed much in the last 30 years,” Lopes explains. “Dogs are still treated with the same chemotherapies as they were in the 20th Century, but we have seen human cancer care advance tremendously … Using the same advanced cancer diagnostics and precision medicine that are currently on the market and approved by the FDA for people, we are bringing cancer care for dogs. And when we open access to precision cancer treatments for our furry friends, we build data that helps advance human oncology research and treatment.”

Therapeutic Market

Many people regard their pets as family members — and they’ll pay whatever it takes to save their lives. The pet cancer therapeutics market, which was estimated at $364m in 2021, is expected to reach $589m over the next five years, registering a CAGR of 8.89 percent from 2022 to 2027. Two-thirds of US households have at least one pet, and the country tops the global ranking of pet-care spending per person. According to the American Pet Products Association, total pet healthcare expenditure for 2019 was estimated at $75.38bn, up nearly $3bn over the previous year.

FidoCure is less expensive than traditional canine chemo treatment, which can cost upwards of $10,000. Pet “parents” (as One Health calls them) can expect a price tag in the low four figures for genetic testing and targeted treatment plans. “We come from the scientific principle that every cancer is unique,” said Christina Lopes. “So, while some therapies might work for some populations, I don’t know of any that work for all, really. Any. In any species.”

The Veterinary Cancer Society estimates a dose of traditional canine chemotherapy to cost $150 to $600. A traditional radiation protocol runs from $1,000 and $6,000. Lopes told Scientific American that she’s heard of people spending $30,000. Some dipped into their kid’s college funds; others went into debt.

One Health Company charges a flat per-patient fee for DNA testing, and its partner veterinarians set the final price for the client. Lopes said the company was exploring new payment models, allowing dog owners access to DNA-targeted, vet-approved therapies at a fixed cost for the life of the pet. The company is already working with some 200 veterinarians in 32 states, and FidoCure has a rapidly expanding pawprint. It’s also covered by most pet insurance.

Virtuous circle of R&D partnerships

One Health provides veterinarians with a detailed report of recommended treatments. The company works with vet clinics and pharmaceutical companies to deliver the medicines to dog owners.

“Technology is a core tenet of any business, and gives you the bandwidth to scale your business, support your staff, collect information and service your customers and partners,” Lopes insists. “FidoCure’s informatics system is fully integrated with our veterinary, pharmacy and clinical laboratory partners to streamline operations.”

Ecosystem of networking and fundraising

Christina Lopes was born in Brazil but spent her formative years in the US and Ireland. Before she launched One Health with her co-founder and husband, vet Ben Lewis, she was the managing director of Cerberus Capital, a US private equity firm with $30bn under management. She has served as the advisory board director for International Planned Parenthood and as an advisor to the UN Commission on women’s issues.

Lopes was recognised as a young global leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. She says it was a pivotal moment in her career, connecting her to a powerful community of investors and innovators.

“The Davos community was really rallying behind our mission to bring better health for all — two-legged and four-legged friends alike. Everyone seems to be touched by cancer somehow and supports the move towards effective and gentler therapies which we are enabling.”

One Health Company was founded in Philadelphia in 2016 because of the city’s robust medical research community.

“Penn Med (University of Pennsylvania Health System) has really amazing advancements there,” she said, citing studies on viruses and the immune system. Christina Lopes found support among the academics, who helped her leverage their findings to benefit pets.

When the company was selected to pitch at Wharton’s Venture Initiation Programme, the co-founders were new parents. The couple showed up with a baby in tow, and Lopes finished her pitch with a fussing infant in a sling at her side. By 2017, the company had moved to Palo Alto, California, and begun to commercialise canine cancer therapies. A collaboration with global pharma company Eisai served as the inspiration for FidoCure, the company’s flagship product.

“Eisai has an FDA-approved breast cancer therapy that is based on sea sponges found in northern Japan. They wanted to see if this therapy could also help dogs with a type of sarcoma that is considered very similar to human angiosarcoma. We collaborated with Eisai, and enrolled pet dog patients with metastatic cancer and presented results of the therapy in combating canine cancer at AACR, a prestigious cancer conference.

“The pet parents were so grateful for more treatment options, and top veterinary oncologists shared that we were helping service an urgent need for more diverse tools to effectively treat canine cancer. Eisai’s therapy is now helping humans with angiosarcoma, and is in clinical trial at Mass General.

“What is particularly touching about this story is how so many different facets of our planet — the ocean, dogs, humans — all came together to produce cutting edge treatment,” Lopes said. “This serves as a constant reminder of the preciousness of our natural resources and the value of all life on earth.”

According to Crunchbase, FidoCure has raised $15m in funding. Andreessen Horowitz led a $5m seed round in 2019 and Polaris Partners led a $10m series-A round in 2020. It’s funded by 13 investors, Global Brain Corporation and Bossanova Investimentos being the most recent to join.

Lopes acknowledges that the pandemic has limited in-person networking opportunities, but she encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to connect with peers and mentors through online groups and local meet-ups. As a mother in Menlo Park, Christina Lopes is surrounded by other business-savvy parents.

“It made life kind of interesting, because I could go to a kid’s birthday party and solve very pressing business questions,” she shared. “That’s one of the benefits of living in San Francisco or Palo Alto. This is just how stuff works there — and I absolutely love it.”


Think Big and Buckle-Up for a Fast-Paced, Pithy Memoir

Book Review: Kick Up Some Dust by Bernie Marcus

The life and times of entrepreneur Bernie Marcus, and the message that yes, we can all make a difference.

Like a wild mustang in a corral, Bernie Marcus has certainly kicked up some dust — and the in-your-face title of his autobiography shows his position as a champion of disruption.

For a Jewish immigrant in the Bronx, turning differences into advantages is a pretty impressive achievement. With the rear-view mirror of hindsight, Marcus can be seen as an archetypal disrupter — an outlier who took on, and shook up, the old-school hardware retail industry in 1970s America. He carried chin-first chutzpah into every challenge, refusing to accept what life threw at him and creating a lasting legacy through his philanthropic work.

Kick Up Some Dust is particularly relevant in today’s uncertain and self-obsessed world. Atlanta’s Jewish Times called Marcus’s book a call to think big and change the world. The Financial Times described it as an extraordinary story that tells his version of the American Dream from tenement to boardroom, “homespun into lessons for readers wanting to make it in business or philanthropy”. Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, commented: “Bernie is living proof of the power of not only doing it yourself, but also of giving back — and Kick Up Some Dust embodies this ethos.”

Marcus’s parents fled the poverty and pogroms of Russia to make a new life in the US, via Ellis Island. His father was a cabinetmaker and his mother a garment worker (who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a dark moment in US industrial history). The youngest of four children, Bernie Marcus spent a tough childhood in Newark, New Jersey. By the age of 15, he had chalked up a string of jobs — scrubbing toilets and working at a bowling alley — and joined a street gang. He even worked as a comedian and hypnotist in the Catskills.

In 1948, Marcus senior insisted that Bernie labour on a dairy farm; he thought the work would be good for him. Bernie, meanwhile, wanted to become a doctor. He couldn’t afford tuition fees, but later, using money he had earned and saved, he went to Rutgers University and qualified as a pharmacist.

But Marcus found himself more interested in the world of retail, and worked for a cosmetics company before becoming CEO of New Jersey home improvement store Handy Dan (now defunct). At the age of 49, Marcus was fired, as was fellow employee Arthur Blank.

The pair teamed up with Ken Langone to launch a new hardware store: Home Depot. The first day went so badly that Marcus’s wife wouldn’t let him shave because she didn’t want a razor in his hands.

Despite the dire beginnings, the three partners grew the company into the world’s largest home improvement retailer — and put DIY into the hands of ordinary Americans.

Home Depot went public in 1981, and now employs about 500,000 people at 2,300 stores.

The remarkable success made Bernie Marcus one of the country’s best-known entrepreneurs. He went on to establish charitable foundations for children, Jewish charities, war veterans, medical research, and free enterprise.

With candour and clear writing, Marcus outlines his belief that the skills needed to build a Fortune 500 company are the same ones that can find a cure for cancer. It doesn’t require a fortune to make a big change to a community. As he says in the book, donating money is easy; getting involved and making a difference is hard. The wealthiest Americans donate, on average, 1.3 percent of their income to charity; the poorest give about 3.2 percent. Ordinary people find ways to support their communities, and they understand it is essential to building a better society.

The idea that each of us can make a difference may sound trite, but it can open the door to transformative powers.  Some may make huge contributions; others may simply make another person smile. Kick Up Some Dust will inspire the reader to think big, give back, and perhaps even change the world.

Marcus learned this from his mother; no matter how poor they were, she always put aside a few pennies to help those less fortunate. He faced challenges that may have made lesser mortals give up. His life is testament to the principle that no experience is wasted if you learn from it. Failure never discouraged him — and he didn’t take all the credit when he was successful. He was often knocked down, but he kept getting up.

Kick Up Some Dust is Marcus’s attempt to show us how our own efforts, dedication, and sacrifice can bring hope and satisfaction — to others and to ourselves. He believes we can all make a difference. If you see a problem, stand up and do something — or, to borrow the Nike slogan: “Just do it”.

Marcus is the poster child for the triumph over adversity, the power of thinking big, giving back, and doing it yourself. The poor boy from Newark transformed millions of lives. He found his passion in business and philanthropy, and lives by the principle that giving to others is good for you — and for your community.

By Naomi Snelling


I, Robot (Ninja): A Pioneer of the Autonomous Space

Robots are here to stay, making life easier in many sectors — and Fetch Robotics founder Melonee Wise has been there from the start…

Melonee Wise is a self-proclaimed “robot ninja”, and the nickname has caught on. Wise is a rock star in the robotics community.

She was head-hunted by Willow Garage, a now-defunct research-lab that Business Insider credits with jump-starting the race in computer vision, manipulation and autonomy. It spawned a range of applications for drones, autonomous cars and warehouse operations. Many members of the Willow Garage team went on to launch their own businesses after its billionaire “moon-shot” founder, Scott Hassan, decided to close operations.

Fetch Robotics

Wise became a serial entrepreneur. Within a year of Willow Garage’s shutdown, in late 2013, she launched Unbounded Robotics. By July of the following year, it had folded. Wise said complications in an agreement with Willow Garage stifled fundraising. Undaunted, she co-founded a pioneer of on-demand automation, Fetch Robotics. It presented the world with the first cloud robotics platform and contributed to robot operating systems still used today.

Wise has led with a focus on innovation and partnership. Over the past eight years, the company has developed a compelling cloud robotics platform. Robots have long been a mainstay in warehouse and fulfilment centres, and the pandemic proved the worth of the technologies. Fetch contributed robot “troops” for the fight against Covid: one innovation had a disinfecting spray, another featured UV light technology.

“Even before the pandemic became an issue, warehouses and distribution centres found it difficult to find human labour,” she said. “Now, some of these facilities are faced with the additional challenges of doing more with even fewer workers.”

Fetch Robotics has raised $94m in five funding rounds over five years. A 2019 series-C round led by Fort Ross Ventures netted $46m. It attracted four new investors — CEAS Investments, Redwood Technologies, TransLink Capital and Zebra Ventures — and retained four existing ones: O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Softbank Capital, and Sway Ventures.

Fetch joins Zebra

When Fetch started series-D fund-raising in 2021, it was offered a $305m acquisition deal by Zebra Technologies, a company building and delivering edge products that enable businesses to connect assets, data and people.

“We started working together through our partnership,” said Wise. “One of the first things we did was integrate their mobile computing devices for an out-of-the-box experience on our cloud robotics platform. Our customers … could take the hand scanner they already had, scan a barcode, and call a robot to them.”

Wise serves as the vice-president of Zebra’s robotics automation division, and Fetch will become the centrepiece of its new product offerings. “One of the other great things about Fetch joining Zebra is they have a strong go-to-market engine, and they can amplify our sales capability… It helps us reach a much broader, wider, and deeper audience.

“I think the acquisition made sense, because it aligns with our long-term vision. When we built our platform, we built it to be unifying. Not just our robots. Over the years we’ve been slowly bringing in other partners.

“We have a partnership with SICK, we have partnerships with other marketplace web service providers like VARGO. That isn’t going to change. We’re still going to be partner-friendly, and we’re still going to bring other devices into the ecosystem.”

AMR benefits

A study commissioned by Zebra Technologies found that 83 percent of warehouse associates believe autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have increased productivity and saved time. Three-quarters report error reduction, while nearly two-thirds credit AMRs with providing career-advancement opportunities. Wise hails this as a win-win for the business, front-line teams, and customers.

“Robots are finding their place alongside people in many work environments, including factories, warehouses, retail stores and even hospitals,” Wise wrote in Robotics Business Review. “To optimise their effectiveness, increase human-robot collaboration, and reduce the risk of mishaps, AMRs must understand and take cues from the social behaviour of their human co-workers. Cloud-based technologies for deep learning training are key to making that happen.”

Past — and Future

Wise has had her work published in various industry journals, and she has been granted 18 patents. She was one of six robotics pioneers (and the only woman) to win an Engelberger award in 2022. It’s been compared to “a Nobel Prize of robotics”.

In June, she was elected to serve on the board of directors of Tailos, a company providing automated solutions for hospitality and industrial cleaning. It lets machines do the dull, dirty or dangerous tasks.

Tailos CEO Micah Green describes Melonee Wise as a “visionary and titan in robotics” with an “unparalleled passion for building robotics companies and supporting fellow roboticists on their journeys”.


The Rise and Fall of Globalisation — and the G20’s Role in World Trade

International body formed from the G7 is facing fresh challenges, reports Brendan Filipovski.

Globalisation was full of promise — until the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the 1998 Russian debt crisis.

There were concerns that openness to trade created channels for financial and economic contagion — and fears for the equity of globalisation, punctuated by the Seattle WTO protests in 1999. As the G7 grappled with these issues, the G20 emerged.

Now it, too, is facing its challenges.

The G7 was formed in 1976 to ensure stability after the economic crises of the 1970s — and to oppose Soviet influence. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the creation of the WTO in 1994, the focus of the G7 changed. Several countries, China among them, were growing in economic influence.

In September 1999, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors presented the G20 as “a more inclusive and representative forum” to focus on international financial affairs that could translate the “benefits of globalisation into higher incomes and better opportunities for people everywhere”.

Membership was to include countries “whose size or strategic importance gives them a particularly crucial role in the global economy”. The G20’s inaugural meeting was held in Berlin in December 1999.

It consists of the G7 countries, plus 12 emerging nations and the EU. International bodies — including the Financial Stability Board, the ILO, IMF, OECD, UN, World Bank and the WTO — provide regular input.

The G20 countries represent around 65 percent of the world's population, 79 percent of global trade, and at least 85 percent of the world economy. Initially it was an annual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors (the financial channel). In 2008, a leader’s summit was added. Typically, governments appoint key public servants, dubbed “Sherpas”, to work on agenda outside those of the finance channel.

Like the G7, there is no secretariat or charter. Instead, there is a revolving presidency between regional groups. Host country organise each summit and set the agenda. At the end of each summit, a communique expresses member consensus. This, along with the actions of the G20 members, shapes global policies and institutions.

The G20’s initial focus was reducing vulnerabilities to financial crisis through best-practice regulation and supervision. There was also a commitment to spread the benefits of globalisation through support of the WTO, and the IMF and World Bank HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) initiative.

After 9/11, the G20 looked at measures to thwart terrorist funding. Perhaps its finest hour was in the response to the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis. In 2009, it collectively agreed to stimuli worth $5tn. It also agreed to support increased capacity for the IMF, and provided input to financial regulatory and prudential standards developed under Basel III agreements on banking supervision. The deadline for Basel III was extended because of the financial crisis.

Other highlights include the 2016 summit in Hangzhou, where China and the US formally announced their countries’ accession to the Paris Agreement on climate change. The 2021 Summit in Rome saw a commitment to a fairer international taxation system, including the introduction of a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax by 2023.

Many have been disappointed with the G20’s failure to prevent a trade war between the US and China — and its lack of a co-ordinated response in the face of the pandemic.

The conflict in Ukraine is now posing a problem for the G20, given Russia’s membership. At the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Indonesia in 2022, there was no consensus, and no joint communique was issued.

While the actions of the G20 may be curtailed because of the tensions between China, Russia, and other members, all these countries have a forum outside the UN to discuss key economic and political issues.

Members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.


US Housing Crisis

Profits over people in US housing crisis

Home ownership is a cornerstone of the American dream and a key step in building generational wealth. But that dream is being threatened by a perfect storm of contributing factors, including supply issues, inefficient public policies, inflationary pressures and predatory practices by private equity investors.

Housing is treated like a commodity rather than a human right in most of the world and this can lead to a housing crisis. Decades ago, the US signed international covenants that recognise decent, safe and secure housing as a crucial component to an adequate standard of living. But the country has done little to protect that right, unlike France, Scotland and South Africa, which have addressed housing rights at the constitutional and legislative level.

According to a recent report from Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored enterprise that buys, pools and sells home loans as mortgage-backed securities to private investors, the housing supply deficit in the US in late 2020 had risen to 3.8 million units — about 52 percent higher than 2018.

Identified by Nouriel Roubini, the root of this deficit reaches back to the housing bubble and global financial crisis of 2008, which Wall Street and the US Federal Reserve both played a hand in causing. The Fed set the stage by lowering the federal funds rate from 6.5 percent in May 2000 to 1 percent in June 2003 — the lowest in 45 years. Wall Street fuelled the flames by pushing cheap credit and lax lending standards.

Subprime borrowers, those without income or assets, were easily approved for home loans, only to default in record numbers after the Fed began inching up the interest rates. When the housing bubble burst, it sent reverberations across the global financial system. Ordinary citizens paid the price, as the government opted to bail out banks rather than consumers and small businesses.

Emerson Claus, the president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts, was working in Florida when the bottom fell out. He says it was a “bloodbath”, and many homebuilders went under. As business slowed, scores of tradespeople left the industry and got retrained for other fields. Workers became harder to come by, and even after Americans started buying homes again, the slump in building persisted.

Claus says the pandemic has exacerbated an already difficult situation. One door recently took six months to arrive; ordering a new dishwasher could take up to a year.

Home ownership is a far-fetched dream for those who are struggling just to pay rent. The US Census Bureau reported a national poverty rate in 2021 of 12.8 percent, with significant variance between age groups and regions. The poverty rate for people under 18 was 16.9 percent and 10.3 percent for those 65 and over. State poverty rates ranged between 8.1 percent and 27.7 percent.

Rent is growing faster than wages, according to data from the American tech real-estate marketplace group, Zillow. For minimum wage workers, there isn’t a single county in the US where they could afford a modest two-bedroom rental home.  This represents a very worrying housing crisis.

According to Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage, the median monthly asking rent in the US surpassed $2,000 for the first time in May 2022.

“More people are opting to live alone, and rising mortgage-interest rates are forcing would-be homebuyers to keep renting,” said Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr. “These are among the demand-side pressures keeping rents sky-high. While renting has become more expensive, it is now more attractive than buying for many Americans this year as mortgage payments have surpassed rents on many homes. Although we expect rent-price growth to continue to slow in the coming months, it will likely remain high, causing ongoing affordability issues for renters.”

HUD (the US Department of Housing and Urban Development) defines cost-burdened families as those “who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing” and “may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.” Severe rent burden is defined as paying more than 50 percent of one's income on rent and can result in a severe housing crisis.

In 2019, 23.4 million Americans lived in households that paid more than half their income on rent and utilities. According to the Harvard Joint Centre for Housing Studies, the national stock of available rentals rose by 13.3 million units from 1990 to 2019 — but availability at the lowest end of the price range fell by 3.9 million units. The country only has 7.4 million affordable housing units, but those homes are often taken off the market by households with more buying power. Low- and very-low-income households have claimed 2.1 million affordable housing units; middle- and above-median-income households have taken another 1.3 million units off the market. Barely half of the available affordable housing stock is left for extremely low-income households.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, no state has adequate housing for its lowest income renters and this represents an obvious housing crisis. Average statistics show only 36 affordable rental homes available for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. In Nevada, where 81 percent of the population qualifies as extremely low-income renter households with severe cost burden, the figures are 18 out of 100. California trails a close second in this list, with severe cost-burdened households accounting for 76 percent of population and 23 affordable rental homes available per 100 extremely low-income renter households. These households fare only marginally better in the south east of the US — specifically West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky — where over 60 percent of the population suffers severe cost burden and the availability of affordable rental homes meets slightly more than half of the need.

Corporate landlords enrich shareholders, not communities and create a housing crisis

Private equity investors are replacing mom-and-pop landlords and individual-owned rental companies; residents are suffering the consequences. A decade ago, about a third of the 35 largest owners of multifamily apartment buildings were backed by private equity firms. By 2021, half of them were. According to analysis from ProPublica, private equity firms benefited from 85 percent of Freddie Mac’s biggest apartment complex deals.

Greystar, a real estate developer and manager with operations in nine countries and $59bn in AUM, topped that list. When Greystone took over the Olume building in San Francisco, Daniel Cooper, a former resident, expected his rent to rise but not for the quality of life to deteriorate.

“Our building was recently acquired by a new firm which has shown nothing but contempt for existing residents,” Cooper posted online, “and a desire to increase profits.”

Rental renewals, fees and penalties saw a steep increase, while trash collection, cleaning services and security measures were cut back. The building began to fall into disrepair. When the boiler went out, some renters were forced to heat bathwater on the stove or shower at a friend’s place. When large appliances needed repair or replacing, tenants were told to wash laundry in unoccupied apartments.

“We would be told for weeks on end that requests for repairs were awaiting corporate approval,” Cooper said.

After numerous tenants filed complaints, the city had to issue an abatement order before the building’s violations were finally addressed. Before Greystar took over, the building was owned and managed by Monogram Residential Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Under Monogram management, any building malfunctions were resolved within days, without needing repeated complaints, visits from an inspector or a municipal hearing.

Bob Faith, the founder and CEO of Greystar, boasted in a 2010 interview about his ability to squeeze money from real estate investments. “Many times we take over an asset that perhaps was managed by a smaller organisation that hasn’t been focused on the bottom line. We can drive dramatic savings out of the expense side of the equation, even in a flat or slightly declining market.”

Freddie Mac provided Greystar with a $1.8bn financing package to acquire the Olume as well as other apartment buildings across 10 states. The deal closed in 2017 and set a new record for the biggest loan Freddie Mac had ever extended to a single borrower. According to data from Freddie Mac, Greystar achieved a 24 percent spike in profits between 2018 and 2019 by shrinking expenses and raising revenues.

In response to recent bad press, Greystar issued the following statement: “Resident satisfaction is very important to us, and we regularly survey our residents to gauge their level of satisfaction, to help us address issues and identify opportunities to make improvements in our services.”

After nearly doubling its portfolio of apartments between 2016 and 2021, Greystar has become the sixth largest owner of apartment complexes in the US.

Private equity preying on the most vulnerable and enabling the housing crisis

Meanwhile, the homes of some of poorest people in the US are being bought by the some of the biggest private equity firms, like the Carlyle Group, TPG and Blackstone — often using tax-payer-backed, low-interest loans from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

There are around 20 million Americans living in manufactured homes, many of whom rely on fixed income from social security and disability benefits. According to Fannie Mae, more than a quarter of manufactured home owners and over a third of renters are trying to make-do on less than $20,000 a year.

Unlike brick-and-mortar homes or apartments, a manufactured home doesn’t make for a good investment. The value depreciates over time, similar to a car. Within a few short years, a $50,000 mobile home might be valued at only $10,000. Manufactured homes are financed through high-interest “chattel” loans and don’t qualify for the same tax benefits as site-built homes or apartments.

About a third of mobile home residents own their homes — but few own the land underneath it. Most manufactured home residents live in communities where they pay monthly lot rent.

Before corporate investors got involved, lot rent rarely increased more than four to six percent annually. Some residents hadn’t seen a price increase in years. Now, many residents are reporting increases of 10 to 25 percent, while others are slammed with lot rents that have doubled or tripled.

Out-of-state investors exploiting a captive customer base

Manufactured homes are frequently called mobile homes, which is only a correct nomenclature when the homes come from the manufacturer or dealership. But after years of residency, moving them becomes increasingly cost prohibitive. Once they’ve been put together, 80 percent of mobile homes never move again. Attempting to move a mobile home could cost between $5,000 and $20,000 — if it can be moved at all.

Frank Rolfe and Dave Reynolds rank as the fifth largest owner of mobile home parks in the US, with a $500m portfolio including over 21,000 lots. They also co-founded Mobile Home University, which tours the US delivering courses on how to extract the highest profits from captive residents. Rolfe was recorded encouraging park landlords to be “heartless” with customers. If residents object to rent hikes, they can walk, but they’ll have to abandon their home. Then the landlord can recycle the property and rent it out to someone else. “You really hold all the cards,” said Rolfe. “So, the question is, what do you want to do? How high do you want to go?”

Rolfe shares tips with would-be investors for free through an online forum, monthly newsletters and weekly podcasts. He also offers a bootcamp version of the course, complete with trailer-park bus tours and warnings not to be “turned off” by residents’ low-class living standards.

“One of the big drivers to making money is the ability to increase the rent,” Rolfe explained in an audio seminar. “If we didn’t have them hostage, if they weren’t stuck in those homes in the mobile home lots, it would be a whole different picture.”

Protection policies scarce

Resident-owned communities are one solution to private equity’s invasion of America’s trailer parks. ROC USA, a non-profit social venture founded in 2008, has been helping mobile home residents take ownership of their communities. It currently works with 304 resident-owned communities nationwide.

If Congress were truly concerned about addressing the affordable housing situation, it could pass laws granting residents a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) and allowing them sufficient time to raise the necessary funds to purchase their home. Despite calls from advocates, it has yet to exercise that power.

In the meantime, prospective tenants might negotiate a ROFR clause with their landlord, essentially giving them first dibs on buying their home if the owner ever decides to sell. These clauses are uncommon, but not unheard of.

In 1980, Washington DC passed the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), requiring that tenants be given the first opportunity to purchase their building if it’s going to be sold. The law is credited with helping to preserve some measure of affordable housing in the capital city, creating nearly 100 limited-equity cooperatives that provide over 4,300 units of affordable housing. Proponents claim TOPA gives residents collective bargaining power and better access to funding sources. It also helps to prevent gentrification and the displacement of working-class citizens, lessening the socio-economic divide between owners and renters. Nonprofit Quarterly points out how the disparity in DC — like most the US — is compounded by race, as most of the city’s low-income households are ethnic minorities.

Other cities — like San Francisco, Boston, New York and Minneapolis — have begun to introduce similar tenant protection initiatives.

Rent stabilisation or rent control laws can also protect residents by freezing rental prices or capping rental increases. As of 2022, there are only six states — California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Minnesota — and the District of Columbia that allow municipalities to enact rent control policies. Manufactured homes are excluded from these protection policies. Meanwhile, over 30 states have passed legislation banning rent control initiatives.

But even in cities with rent control protection, tenants can face harassment from landlords seeking to force them out. Some take advantage of loopholes that allow them to sell the building if rent-controlled occupancy falls below a certain threshold. Tenants recount horror stories of unfounded eviction threats, non-stop construction, shut-off utilities, neglected repairs, buy-out coercion and refusal to accept rental payments.

The Federal Housing Assistance programme (including Housing Choice and Section-Eight vouchers) could help lower-income households by covering housing expenses that exceed the 30-percent marker. But the programme is massively underfunded, and qualified applicants can wait years before being approved. Federal rental assistance is provided to 5.2 million American households, but it still falls short. Only one in four households in need receives assistance. Poverty is stigmatised and many landlords refuse to accept federal assistance housing vouchers.

If residents fall behind on rent, they can be evicted during this housing crisis. A Colorado study found that lawyers represented 89 percent of landlords in eviction cases, while less than one percent of tenants benefited from legal counsel. An eviction conviction stays on a person’s record for life, which can give landlords an excuse to refuse prospective tenants and ultimately push families into homelessness.

New York enacted legislation to ensure tenants’ right to counsel during eviction cases, leading to a 41 percent decrease in residential evictions from 2013 to 2021.

Meanwhile, Bob Nicolls, owner of Monarch Investment and Management Group, has been deemed the “Wolf of Main Street” by Bloomberg for using evictions to drive up rents during the pandemic.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to really press rents. The country’s highly occupied; we’re at 97.5 percent. And so, where are people going to go? They can’t go anywhere. We have a tremendous opportunity to press on renewing leases for existing residents and to reset market rates — which we’ve reset numerous times even this year,” Nicolls said in a videotaped meeting with investors in September 2021.


Cambodia’s Wing Bank: Art of Becoming ‘Necessary’ — and Creating a Bank for Every Cambodian

Bill Gates once said, “Banking is necessary, but banks are not.” Those words struck a chord with the CEO of Cambodia’s Wing Bank, Han Peng Kwang — who resolved to make his financial institution “necessary”.

Banking started with the Medici family in Italy in the 12th Century. “Since then,” he says, “it has evolved from Bank 1.0 to Bank 4.0 today.” Bank 1.0 is the traditional model with branches as the main access point. Bank 4.0 is embedded, and ubiquitously delivered in real time, via technology. It offers contextual experiences, frictionless engagement, and AI-based advice. The largely digital omni-channel model has no requirements for physical distribution.

Wing Bank has transformed into a phygital bank (phygital means using technology to bridge the digital and physical worlds). The aim is to provide an interactive experience: services offered via brick-and-mortar branches as well as digital channels, such as the Wing mobile app.

Wing Bank serves more than 13 million users, with 500 corporate companies and 10 government agencies using its payroll and disbursement services. The corporate vision is to provide every Cambodian with access to digital solutions to improve their daily lives. “We will continue to strive to achieve our vision by constantly enhancing our banking products and services,” says Peng Kwang. “My hope for banking industry in Cambodia as a whole is to embrace the digital transformation of the industry to prepare for Web 3.0 — the third generation of the World Wide Web, decentralized and open, with greater utility for its users.

“Web 3.0 will use AI and machine learning to provide a more personalised user experience. This is to ensure that banks remains relevant to the people, not just banking.”

Digital channels are increasingly popular, and this accelerated during the pandemic. That prompted Wing Bank to fully utilise its existing digital ecosystem to provide easy and frictionless access to finance for customers.

“Just as Wing revolutionised payment and transfer systems were done in the past,” says Peng Kwang, “now that we are a commercial bank, we will now be able to offer custom-built financial solutions for all segments of the Cambodian economy and population — from banked to unbanked, MSMEs to corporates, young to old.”

Uncertainties due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, supply chain issues affecting global economy recovery, and ongoing Covid 19 pressures mean Cambodia must face up to widespread crises.

The Chinese word for crisis is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity, the Wing CEO points out. “Despite the danger we are facing now, we also see the opportunity for Wing Bank to serve underserved and underbanked customers — customers that we were not able to fully serve before due to our limited scope as a specialised bank.

“We are confident that eventually the economy will recover, and Cambodia will come out stronger.”

The IMF has forecasted a Real GDP growth of five percent in 2022, after the strong export performance earlier in the year and nearly 5.5 percent in 2023, supported by the continued recovery of tourism and ongoing policy support.

Wing Bank wanted to time its move into commercial banking during this period to support the country economy and its people. “We want to support the economic activities in all sectors, particularly SMEs and the MSMEs, which are the backbone of the country, to help facilitate the recovery of the economy.”

Wing started operations 13 years ago and has become one of the most trusted brands in Cambodia. “Our vision is to be the ‘Bank for Every Cambodian’ — and that will exactly be what we will be doing. Every segment of society will find a product that is relevant for their needs at Wing Bank.”

The bank believes in financial, gender and digital inclusion. It uses an analytics-based, data-driven strategy to cater to the needs of the population. Customer-centricity is at the heart of Wing Bank, for business decision, products, solutions, and user-experience.

Fintech and digital banking are trending to cater to the demand of increasingly tech-savvy customers. “Wing started as fintech company in 2008,” recalls Peng Kwang, “and we were the pioneer in Cambodia for domestic remittance business.”

Wing Bank customers can pay utility bills, make payments, make free money transfer moneys, remit funds overseas at low charges, top-up phone credit, repay loans, pay insurance premiums, book and pay for transport, make online purchases, and create and use Mastercard and Visa accounts via the Wing Bank App.

Wing Bank has some 100 customer journeys inside the app to enable digital transactions for all segments of Cambodian society, in any currency. A Wing Bank account-holder can live a 100 percent digital life without physical cash. Wing Bank aims to drive financial, gender, and digital inclusion in the days to come.

“We have always led via the introduction of innovative products and services,” the CEO says. “Wing Bank will continue that tradition for the improvement of every Cambodian’s daily life.” The most recent innovation is a first: numberless bank cards that are completely theft-proof. The card comes in multiple variants —metal inlay, biodegradable, or anti-bacterial.

Also launched are Quick Loans and Quick Cash Advance, which give customers loan decisions in less than five minutes. Advanced decisioning engines and processes at the back end further speed the process. Attractive rates are offered for savings and term-deposit accounts, and Wing Bank uses every transaction to build a credit history for customers. This brings them closer to eligibility for a collateral-free and instant loan in the future.

“We truly believe that all these advances will drive financial inclusion in Cambodia. We have opened six branches and will open six more in Q1 2023, and another 12 by Q3 — a total of 24. More are in the pipeline for 2024.”