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Africa's aviation sector opens up

When the African Union (AU) launched the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in January this year, it finally opened up Africa’s skies. 23 signatories on board, though another 32 AU members are yet to sign on. SAATM’s launch is a part of AU’s Africa 2063 project, which is a commitment to intra-continent development. If a common regulatory framework is put into place, this could benefit intra-continental travelers immensely, thus boosting commerce and tourism flows among African countries. Will Africa become the world’s next big aviation market? For more information, click here . 
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China leads the way with eco-innovation

https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/china-leads-the-way-with-eco-innovation/ China is starting to take a leading position in eco-innovation. This has been driven by the country’s large-scale efforts to address pressing environmental challenges, such as in the areas of air pollution and flood control. Many companies are lending support to this cause. For instance, the Beijing subway introduced special vending machines in May last year which reward commuters with discounts on their travel pass when they recycle plastic bottles. In the same year, Nike opened a concept store in Shanghai which was entirely constructed out of trash. The no-glue construction ensured that all materials could be reused in future. Is China ready to remap the path of eco-innovation?
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Harnessing social innovation for Malaysia’s progress

The Social Impact Innovation Challenge by Berbudi Berganda – driven by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (National Innovation Agency) – brought together individuals across Malaysia to scout for innovative solutions for Malaysia’s social development. Carried out over a period of 10 weeks, 12 finalists were shortlisted out of 300 entries using selection criteria that spanned three parameters – innovation, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Yap Far Loon, Business Development Director, Telecommunication of Spire Research and Consulting, was among the Challenge panelists interviewed on BFM 89.9 (The Business Radio Station) for the Live and Learn show. He shared his views on how to measure impact of social innovation. This Social Impact Innovation Challenge strives to turn innovative ideas into realities. To explain the impact of social innovation, Far Loon uses a simple demand-supply model. Supply here refers to the finalists. Demand refers to the beneficiaries, such as people with low-inco...
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Spire talks about emerging Tech Retail trends in ASEAN

Spire was honored to participate at the GATES Consumer Channel Summit, Southeast Asia, 2019. The Summit was held on 20-22 March, in Bangkok. Hafidz Omar, Thailand Country Manager at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights on key trends in consumer tech and challenges encountered in ASEAN. Omar discussed how the IOT (Internet of Things) is impacting the retail industry in ASEAN countries. He also discussed the growth opportunities in geofencing, mobile payment and retail operations, to name a few recent innovations in retail technology. With the expansion of Geofencing technology (defined by GPS or RFID technology) , in the next five years retailers will be able to customize merchandise and promotions according to the customer profile. Online payment is still a challenge for e-commerce retailers in Asia-Pacific as most customers prefer cash on delivery and 73 per cent of the Southeast Asia’s population do not own a bank account. However mobile payment may be a s...
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Asia’s booming technology hubs

The San Francisco Bay area has set the global benchmark as a successful tech innovation and start-up epicenter. Drawing inspiration from this, the Asia-Pacific region wants to foster its own tech hubs. Will it succeed? Spire Research and Consulting shared its insights, published on the US Consumer Electronics Association’s blog. The formula for success for San Francisco’s Bay area, more commonly known as ‘Silicon Valley’, includes strong backing from a pro-business government, a pool of highly talented and educated workers as well as ample access to venture capitalists – all in the context of a risk-taking culture. Other Asian countries are working towards developing a similar culture and business eco-system in order to clone this technology hub. Some of the up and coming innovation centers across the Asia Pacific region are Cyberport in Hong Kong, Daedeok Innopolis in Daejeon, Korea, Fusionopolis in Singapore, Macquarie Park in Sydney, Australia and Yokosuka Research Park in...
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