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The Underbanked/Unbanked Business: A Hurdle for Business Growth

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The Point: In the world of finance, the terms ‘unbanked’ and ‘underbanked’ are often referred to in the context of individuals with limited access to conventional banking services. However, while working on a consulting project we’ve come to recognize that these terms have extended their reach into the world of business too. A considerable portion of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) fall into these categories, facing a profound impact on their growth and scalability. In this article, we explore (1) The Impact of the Underbanked and Unbanked Issue and (2) The Role of Technology and Policy in Addressing Underbanked and Unbanked… Enjoy!

The Underbanked and Unbanked Businesses

Defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), unbanked businesses are those that have no access to basic financial services such as checking or savings accounts. A step up the ladder, underbanked businesses do have access to some banking services, but they also lean heavily on alternative financial systems. These might include anything from check cashing services to payday lenders or pawn shops.

The issue of underbanked and unbanked businesses is particularly profound when it comes to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For these businesses, traditional banking systems often prove to be inadequate, largely due to inherent systemic challenges. SMEs commonly lack the requisite credit history, sufficient collateral, or formal business structures, making them less attractive prospects for conventional banking institutions. This effectively excludes them from many of the benefits afforded by traditional financial services.

As a consequence, these businesses resort to the use of non-traditional, often costly, alternative financial services. The 2019 FDIC survey painted a stark picture of this reality, revealing that 5.4% of U.S. households were unbanked and 18.7% were underbanked. Extrapolating these figures onto businesses, particularly SMEs, one can infer a considerably amplified predicament.

The Impact of Underbanked and Unbanked Businesses

The implications of being underbanked or unbanked extend beyond the individual business entity. When a substantial portion of the economy is denied access to essential financial services, the ripple effects permeate all corners of society. Stifled business growth, suppressed innovation, and the perpetuation of economic inequality are among the immediate, most visible effects.

However, it’s not just about the businesses themselves; it’s also about their potential contribution to the economy. According to the World Bank, SMEs play an integral role in most economies, particularly in developing countries where they account for about 90% of businesses and contribute to more than 50% of employment. When these businesses are unable to access the resources they need to grow and thrive, it’s not just the business owners that suffer; the broader economy feels the pinch too.

Exclusion from the financial system also impacts a country’s GDP growth. In their role as catalysts for economic development, SMEs contribute significantly to GDP. When their growth is hampered due to lack of access to financial services, they are unable to realize their full potential, thus pulling down the overall GDP.

Moreover, economic inequality becomes an inevitable consequence when access to financial services is not democratized. Businesses unable to access affordable credit are left to grapple with high-cost loans or, in some cases, no loans at all. This lack of access to financial services creates a vicious cycle that hampers business growth and innovation, while at the same time exacerbating income and wealth disparities.

Summary

The underbanked and unbanked problem among businesses, while a complex issue, presents significant opportunities for inclusive growth. Addressing it requires concerted efforts from policymakers, financial institutions, and technology innovators. As we move toward a more inclusive financial ecosystem, we not only pave the way for businesses to grow and innovate but also contribute to greater economic equality and robust GDP growth. Ignoring this issue isn’t an option if we aspire to foster sustainable and inclusive economic development. The time to act is now!

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear Ventures

Sources:

  1. Klapper, Leora, and Dorothe Singer. “The opportunities of digitizing payments.” World Bank, August 2014.
  2. FDIC. “2017 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.” Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, October 2018.
  3. FDIC. “How America Banks: Household Use of Banking and Financial Services.” Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, October 2020.
  4. Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. “Weathering the Storm: COVID-19 and the Economic Impact on SMEs in 13 African Countries.” University of Cambridge, July 2020.
  5. World Bank. “Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Finance.” World Bank, September 2020.
  6. GSMA. “State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money.” GSMA, March 2020.

The AI Frontier: China and North America Lead the Charge! | AI Series

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The Point: The global economic landscape is on the brink of an unprecedented transformation fueled by artificial intelligence (AI). With potential contributions of up to $15.7 trillion by 2030, AI stands as a formidable force reshaping economies. At the front of this revolution are China and North America, poised to gain the most with a combined total of $10.7 trillion. As a result of reading PWC’s AI report titled, “Sizing the prize – PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution (What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalize?)” I produced a five (5) part series of articles. This article explores the strategic role of AI in these regions and the potential implications for global economic dynamics.

Tip of the Spear AI Series

The AI Frontier: China and North America Lead the Charge!

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to disrupt the traditional narratives of economic growth and competitiveness. According to the PwC Global Artificial Intelligence Study (See “Source” below), the greatest economic gains from AI by 2030 are expected in China and North America, accounting for almost 70% of the global economic impact. This article unravels the strategic role of AI in these regions’ economies and the underlying factors fueling their AI-led growth.

China’s AI Ambitions: A 26% Boost to GDP

Leading the AI race, China stands to witness a substantial 26% boost to its GDP by 2030. This dominance can be attributed to a confluence of factors including the government’s ambitious AI strategic plan, vast data resources, burgeoning tech giants, and a growing skilled workforce.

  • Government Policy: The Chinese government’s AI strategic plan aims to make China a world leader in AI by 2030, with significant investments in AI research, education, and public-private partnerships.
  • Data Resources: With the world’s largest population and rapidly digitizing economy, China possesses a vast reservoir of data – the fuel for AI.
  • Tech Giants: Home to tech giants like Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent, China has a robust ecosystem for AI development and deployment.
  • Skilled Workforce: With a focus on STEM education and massive upskilling initiatives, China is creating a large pool of skilled workers capable of driving its AI revolution.

North America’s AI Leap: A 14.5% GDP Boost

North America, with a predicted 14.5% GDP boost, is another potent player in the AI landscape. The region’s AI leadership is driven by a robust tech sector, high-skilled talent, substantial investments, and a strong culture of innovation.

  • Tech Sector: North America is home to global tech leaders like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, pioneering breakthroughs in AI.
  • Talent: North America attracts top AI talent from around the globe, driving innovation and growth.
  • Investments: With a robust venture capital ecosystem, North America leads in AI investments, funding startups and research initiatives.
  • Culture of Innovation: The culture of entrepreneurship and risk-taking fosters a conducive environment for AI innovations.

Summary

The AI revolution is here, and it’s poised to redraw the global economic map, with China and North America leading the charge. These regions’ strategic focus on AI presents significant implications for global economic dynamics, potentially altering trade relationships, competitiveness, and growth patterns.

As other economies navigate the AI terrain, they can glean valuable lessons from these regions’ strategies. Ultimately, successful AI integration into economies will depend on several factors including the right policy environment, investment in research and talent, a robust tech sector, and above all, a forward-looking vision that embraces the power of AI.

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear Ventures

Sources

Harness Consumer Demand with AI | AI Series

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The Point: Is it possible to Harness the Consumer Demand Wave with AI-Driven Product Enhancements? As a result of reading PWC’s AI report titled, “Sizing the prize – PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution (What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalize?)” I produced a five (5) part series of articles. This article explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has begun its course of reshaping the global economy, with potential gains estimated to reach $15.7 trillion by 2030. An impressive 45% of these gains will arise from product enhancements powered by AI, stimulating consumer demand. So let’s delve into the ways AI can enhance product offerings, the sectors that stand to gain, and how businesses can prepare themselves to ride this wave… Enjoy!

Tip of the Spear AI Series

Harnessing the Consumer Demand Wave with AI-Driven Product Enhancements

The rapidly evolving AI landscape is not just impacting production processes but is also revolutionizing the consumption side of the economic equation. As per the PwC Global Artificial Intelligence Study (See “Source” below), AI-driven product enhancements are projected to stimulate consumer demand, contributing a substantial 45% of the total projected economic gains by 2030. Let’s delve deeper to understand how AI is set to transform products and services across sectors.

AI and Product Enhancements

AI’s transformative potential extends well beyond operational efficiencies to enhancing the very core of products and services. Through customization, increased variety, and improved quality, AI has the capability to drastically increase the attractiveness and affordability of products, leading to increased consumer demand.

Personalization is a key aspect of AI-driven product enhancements. By leveraging consumer data, AI can generate insights into individual consumer preferences, enabling businesses to tailor their products and services to the unique needs and tastes of each customer.

Sector-Wide Transformations

From retail and healthcare to entertainment and financial services, virtually all sectors stand to benefit from AI-driven product enhancements.

In the retail sector, AI can deliver personalized shopping experiences, recommend products based on past purchases and current preferences, and optimize pricing for individual customers.

In healthcare, AI can enable personalized treatment plans, early diagnosis, and predictive health insights, greatly improving patient care and outcomes.

In the entertainment sector, AI can customize content based on viewer preferences, delivering highly personalized viewing experiences.

In financial services, AI can provide customized investment advice, risk assessments, and financial planning services, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of financial decision-making for consumers.

Capitalizing on the AI Opportunity

To harness the potential of AI-driven product enhancements, businesses need to focus on several key areas:

Data: Businesses need to invest in robust data collection, storage, and analysis capabilities. Without quality data, AI systems cannot provide meaningful insights or deliver personalized experiences.

Technology: Along with AI, businesses should invest in related technologies, such as cloud computing and data analytics tools, which are essential for the efficient operation of AI systems.

Skills: The successful implementation of AI requires a skilled workforce. Businesses need to invest in training for their employees to work effectively with AI systems.

Customer Trust: For personalization to be successful, businesses need to earn their customers’ trust. Transparent data usage policies and robust cybersecurity measures are essential to maintaining customer trust.

Summary

AI-driven product enhancements hold great promise in driving global economic gains through increased consumer demand. By offering more personalized, diverse, and high-quality products and services, businesses can attract and retain customers, leading to increased market share and revenues.

However, reaping these benefits requires substantial investment in technology, data, and skills, as well as a strong commitment to customer trust. As AI continues to evolve, the businesses that can effectively leverage this powerful tool will be the ones that thrive in the new economic landscape.

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear Ventures

Sources

AI and Labor: A Productivity Revolution | AI Series

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The Point: Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a new technological frontier but also a major catalyst poised to redefine labor productivity. As a result of reading PWC’s AI report titled, “Sizing the prize – PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution (What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalize?)” I produced a five (5) part series of articles. This article explores how by automating routine tasks and enhancing the capabilities of the human workforce, AI holds the potential to significantly boost global GDP. This article will delve into how AI technologies can augment labor productivity and the implications of this change… Enjoy!

Tip of the Spear AI Series

The Productivity Revolution for Labor from AI

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought us to the brink of a productivity revolution. Labor, one of the key factors of production, is witnessing an unprecedented transformation under the influence of AI. The PwC “Global Artificial Intelligence Study” underscores this shift, highlighting the ways AI technologies can augment labor productivity and catalyze significant GDP gains.

How AI Enhances Labor Productivity

At its core, AI mimics human cognition and can learn from experiences, make decisions, and carry out tasks more efficiently over time. It’s an invaluable tool for enhancing labor productivity in two major ways: automation and augmentation.

  • Automation entails AI systems taking over manual, routine tasks, thus freeing human workers to focus on more complex and strategic activities. From data entry and report generation to scheduling and customer service, AI can perform a myriad of tasks with greater speed and precision.
  • Augmentation involves AI technologies enhancing human decision-making capabilities. By providing actionable insights from large data sets and complex scenarios, AI allows workers to make better, faster, and more informed decisions, thus increasing overall productivity.

The Role of Automation in the Labor Force

Automation through AI is expected to be a significant driver of productivity gains. By taking over repetitive tasks, AI not only boosts efficiency but also reduces the possibility of errors, thus enhancing output quality.

In the manufacturing sector, AI-powered robotics is used for assembly lines, improving speed and precision. In the services sector, chatbots are increasingly handling customer queries, providing 24/7 service and quick responses.

However, it’s important to note that automation doesn’t equate to job losses. While certain roles may become redundant, AI also opens up new job opportunities in areas like AI management, data analysis, and AI system training.

The Power of Augmentation in the Labor Force

Augmentation leverages AI to boost human capabilities. It aids employees in complex problem-solving and decision-making by providing insights derived from vast amounts of data.

For instance, in healthcare, AI systems can assist doctors in diagnosing diseases, sometimes even identifying conditions that may be overlooked by human eyes. In finance, AI can help analysts predict market trends, enabling more informed investment decisions.

Augmentation enables a shift from mundane tasks to more strategic roles, thus leading to a more engaged, innovative, and productive workforce.

Summary

AI’s transformative impact on labor productivity can lead to profound GDP gains. Automation and augmentation, the two primary mechanisms of this transformation, hold the potential to reshape the global workforce and redefine roles.

While the potential of AI is enormous, it also requires businesses to navigate the challenge of integrating AI technologies into their existing processes and manage the cultural changes within the organization. This includes investing in re-skilling and up-skilling workers to prepare for an AI-driven future.

It’s clear that the AI revolution isn’t merely about technology – it’s about people, their work, and the future of productivity.

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear Ventures

Sources

The Global Economic Impact of AI | AI Series

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The Point: Artificial intelligence (AI) promises a seismic shift in the landscape of the global economy with a potential contribution of $15.7 trillion by 2030. As a result of reading PWC’s AI report titled, “Sizing the prize – PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution (What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalize?)” I produced a five (5) part series of articles. This article explores the dynamic underpinnings from the report’s predictions, including the sectors poised for transformation and the importance of strategic investment in AI technology. The AI Revolution is not on the horizon; it’s already here, and the business entities that can harness AI’s power will have the key to unlocking vast economic potential… Enjoy!

Tip of the Spear AI Series

A Deep Dive into the Potential $15.7 Trillion Contribution

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly moved from the realm of science fiction to being a critical element of global economic discourse. The PwC Global Artificial Intelligence Study brings to light the transformative economic potential of AI – a staggering $15.7 trillion that could be added to the global economy by 2030. But what do these numbers mean? And more importantly, how can businesses and economies seize this enormous prize?

Understanding the $15.7 Trillion Figure: A Breakdown

To put the figure into perspective, $15.7 trillion is larger than the current combined output of China and India, two of the world’s largest economies. The mechanisms through which this contribution will occur include labor productivity improvements through automation and augmentation of tasks, and an increase in consumer demand brought about by AI-driven product enhancements.

With approximately $6.6 trillion expected to arise from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion from consumption-side effects, the study shows that AI has the potential to be a significant driving force in the global economy.

Sectors to be Transformed by AI

No stone will be left unturned by the AI revolution. Industries, ranging from manufacturing to services, are poised to reap the benefits of AI.

Manufacturing could witness a quantum leap in productivity with the adoption of AI technologies. Predictive maintenance, automated quality control, waste reduction, and supply chain optimization are just a few of the many areas where AI can make an impact.

In the services sector, customer experiences could be transformed, with AI providing more personalized and efficient customer service. Healthcare could see improved diagnosis and personalized treatment plans, while the retail sector could offer personalized shopping experiences and improved logistics.

Why Strategic Investment in AI is Crucial for Growth

The benefits of AI won’t come without concerted and strategic effort. To fully exploit the potential of AI, substantial investment in AI technology, as well as in AI-friendly infrastructure, is needed. Businesses need to invest in data analytics, cloud technology, and skilled human resources capable of working alongside AI.

Moreover, a key element of harnessing AI is the digital transformation of businesses. Legacy systems need to be replaced with new technology that can integrate AI into existing processes. This involves not just technological changes, but also cultural changes within organizations, and potentially even changes in business models.

Summary

In conclusion, AI represents an extraordinary opportunity for global economic growth. This technology has the potential to drive unprecedented efficiency and create new opportunities in a multitude of sectors. However, the prize will only be seized by those businesses and economies that recognize the transformative power of AI and invest strategically in enabling technology and infrastructure.

According to the PwC Global Artificial Intelligence Study, the world stands on the cusp of a $15.7 trillion AI-fueled economic revolution. It’s not a matter of if AI will transform the global economy, but when and how profoundly.

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director @ Tip of the Spear Ventures

Sources