The Knowledge to Decide

In a competitive, globalised world where all countries seek economic development, what was the most significant development of the past decade? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. The geo-political rift between China and the Western powers seems to show no signs of a slowdown. If anything, it appears to have passed a tipping point in the past decade whereby both countries now view the other primarily as a competitor. This geo-political rift has been worsened by the tensions in the South China Sea, the trade war, accusations of hacking of government systems and economic sanctions. Leon further pointed out that the current geo-political situation needs to be managed with level-headedness and progressive leadership on both sides. Read more:-  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/will-us-china-tensions-erode-global-growth/

On 30 November, Spire participated as a speaker at the Indonesia Digital Marketing Conference (IDMC) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Spire Research and Consulting Group, shared his thoughts on how digital marketing can strengthen brands. Jeffrey highlighted that Indonesia’s digital transformation space is valued at USD150 million in 2019. He argued that digital transformation strategies not only help in “post-sales” but are equally important at the “pre-sales stage.” Jeffrey explained that business marketing consists of various pillars that connect the seller and provider with the consumer. Digital transformation for any product or service ensures proper visibility and new opportunities to grow the brand through various media. Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-talks-about-effective-branding-at-the-indonesia-digital-marketing-conference/

Spire Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS) on its CSR activity for the ninth consecutive year. The beneficiaries took part in fun and interactive activities at an indoor park. Spire Singapore took beneficiaries of the Singapore Children’s Society to an excursion to SuperPark at Suntec City, an indoor playground with Finnish roots. Children explored various areas of activities. Children engaged in fun activities which included pedal car racing, street basketball, trampolines and even the climbing wall! The hustle and bustle ended when the children enjoyed lunch before heading home. Spire is immensely proud to support the amazing work of the Singapore Children’s Society, our CSR partner. Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-runs-csr-activity-with-scs-beneficiaries-at-superpark-singapore/

Madagascar boasts the fastest internet speeds in Africa and the 33rd fastest in the world in 2019 – an average of about 23 Mbps. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts with CIO Online on the growth of Madagascar as a Francophone Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) hub. Leveraging its investments in telecommunications infrastructure, Madagascar has emerged as a disruptive force in the competition for business process outsourcing (BPO) hubs for the Francophone (French-speaking) world. Leon observes that as Francophone markets expand in population, the Madagascar government will enhance its investment in BPO infrastructure to boost GDP growth and create job opportunities. In order for Madagascar to outperform other players in the outsourcing space, Leon highlighted that it needed to also ensure good infrastructure quality in areas other than telecommunications. Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/w

Automaker giant Ford plans to combat climate change by using McDonald’s food waste to make bio-plastics. By using the dried skin of coffee beans, Ford hopes to reduce food waste, reduce the weight of car parts and cut CO2 emissions all at the same time. Will food waste become a raw material for making automotive bio-plastics? Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/coffee-waste-helps-cut-food-waste-carbon-emissions-and-car-weight-at-the-same-time/

As economies continue to become more developed, what key factors constitute to success? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. With more developed economies on the rise, growth is essential through ecosystems that require adequate nurture to enable productivity, growth and innovation. It is equally important to maintain the entrepreneur spirit and innovation with a culture that supports unorthodox thinking, creativity along with risk-taking. Another key factor for economic success is the education system. The quality determines the ability to push future leaders, designers, inventors and thinkers to think out of the box and nurture innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/success-factors-for-competitive-economies/

As economies continue to become more developed, what key factors constitute to success? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. With more developed economies on the rise, growth is essential through ecosystems that require adequate nurture to enable productivity, growth and innovation. It is equally important to maintain the entrepreneur spirit and innovation with a culture that supports unorthodox thinking, creativity along with risk-taking. Another key factor for economic success is the education system. The quality determines the ability to push future leaders, designers, inventors and thinkers to think out of the box and nurture innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/success-factors-for-competitive-economies/

A drone delivery service will make around 600 flights each day in Rwanda to deliver medicines, blood supplies and vaccines to 12 million people, including those living in remote areas. Launched in 2016, a robotics company based in California called Zipline started the delivery service in Rwanda with a grant from Ghana’s government. Since the launch, 13,000 successful deliveries were made. Each drone can carry 1.8kg and releases its payload with the help of a parachute. Will drone medicine delivery change the way healthcare is administered? Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/drones-are-delivering-medicine-in-africa/

Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, signed the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) this year in July to boost intra-Africa trade. AFCFTA aims to remove trade barriers and bring together the 54 members of the African Union (AU), to trigger industrialization and create employment opportunities in a single market of one billion people. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) predicted that this could boost the intra-African trade by 52% by 2022. Will Nigeria’s entry into the AFCFTA African free trade agreement trigger a tipping point towards growth? Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/nigeria-has-entered-the-afcfta-african-free-trade-agreement-increasing-its-market-size/

On 4 September, Spire Malaysia participated at WOW! Taiwan’s business matching event on behalf of CDRI (Commerce Development Research Institute) Taiwan to promote healthcare products in the Malaysian market at Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. With the support of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of Taiwan, 17 Taiwanese companies planning to expand their business into Malaysia were present. The event raised the profile of high-quality Taiwanese brands to Malaysian businesses in the medical and healthcare sector. I-health was the featured topic this year, with five categories, namely assistive devices, leisure/sport, healthy food, physiologic monitoring and medicine. More than 30 Malaysian companies participated with over 50 Business-To-Business matchings, technology briefings and media interactions. Apart from this, two public agencies, Seventyfive Creative Sdn. Bhd., and BSI Group Malaysia were there to provide professional advice. Moreover, the presence of Director Hsu Da Wei