Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a form of self – regulation integrated into a business model. Over the last few years CSR has been put into the spotlight as a way to drive business forward rather then hold it back. The Forbes CSR Blog Post Six Reasons Companies Should Embrace CSR  the author James Epstein Reeves provides six key reasons why companies should embrace CSR as a way to grow their businesses. Epstein believes companies should embrace CSR because it increases the rate of innovation, it’s effective at cost saving, it provides brand differentiation, long term sustainability, customer engagement and employee engagement. Epstein does say at the end of his post these are the reasons why companies should embrace CSR however, in the real world companies have other reasons. This blog post provided me with ideal insight of CSR as Epstein brought out the benefits of CSR which directly impact companies. Therefore, companies should embrace it as not just way to give back to society and a burden on them however, as way to grow their businesses.

In the 21st century self sustainability is no more the the sole focus of companies as the world and society are demanding companies to develop approaches that are not just for the sustainability of their company however, of society as a whole. The role of CSR within a company is becoming a integral part of a business’s success and the companies that have embraced it rather then taken it as a burden have showed that. For example Coca Cola have taken an approach to CSR as way to reduce costs through using cans that can be easily recyclable and reusing glass bottles. This saves costs as their packaging costs reduce from obtaining recycled aluminum cans and glass bottles to reuse them to package new product reducing the amount of new cans and bottles to be produced.

In my opinion, I agree with James Epstein Reeves that companies should begin to embrace CSR as a way to grow their businesses. Society is beginning to pressure companies to engage in CSR by not consuming goods and services from companies that are not socially responsible. Take the recent scandal with VW and them falsifying emissions, they began to loose sales and are now facing a crisis. Therefore, CSR should not be an after thought, however, a integral part of a business model in the 21st century.

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Picture Links: –

http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/coca-cola-freestyle/

http://www.jasteca.org/mr-ian-dias-abeysinghe-corporate-social-responsibility-csr-award/

Financial technology (Fintech) is an economic industry composed of companies aimed at making financial services more efficient and is one of the most lucrative industries for startups as its catching momentum. Companies such as Borowell are becoming increasingly popular with consumers as they charge lower interest rates and there are fewer processing barriers compared with regular financial institutions.

If you go on Borrowell’s website their value proposition is  to “use technology to make financial services fast, fair and friendly. We believe that Canadians deserve more choice and more transparency when it comes to their personal finances.” From this they are targeting people rather then cooperations as they said personal finance and their points of difference are creating a fast, fair and friendly financial services through technology that is transparent. This is exactly what consumers want in this industry, a quick affordable way to obtain credit with transparency. Therefore, financial analysts have predicted that regular financial institutions will loose about 60% of their retail sales to fintech according to McKinsey and Company.

This new age of digital finance is going to rapidly change how people interact with their finances. However, I must add that Fintech was seen in Africa much earlier then in Europe and America. Countries such as Kenya Fintech is being used through services such as M-PESA and M-Shwari which are mobile based services that allow Kenyans to obtain credit/loans manage their finances and so fourth. Fintech in my opinion was developed in Kenya as a way to provide rural Kenyans access to such services. For more visit my post on M-PESA.

On another note, the conventional financial services sector should be vary of Fintech companies as people today are getting more connected and are looking for easy and affordable ways to obtain credit. I would urge banks to diversify their range of services and consider opening up services that are easier to connect to and that are application based. If I were a banking executive I would move away from universal interest rates and into personalized rates in conjunction with creating more accessible services. As a bank I would then market it is as being more secure and more reliable as they have more capital to maintain services as well as providing other services that Fintech firms can’t such as one on one  financial services. This is what conventional banks in Kenya are doing with some even partnering up with services such as M-PESA.

All in all, Fintech in my opinion is the way forward due to the convenience and affordability it provides consumers and many banks will struggle to stay a float if they do not get on this wave before it’s to late.

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Article Link: – http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/the-new-connected-world-finance/

Pictures from: –

http://www.thedbagency.com/?clients/broadcast-production-projects/safaricom-m-shwari.php

http://leave.eu/en/media/2016-08-01/uk-fintech-funding-startups-raised-40m-in-july-showing-brexit-hasnt-killed-the-hot-sector

Paying for goods and services via mobile money in Kenya is easier then most places thanks to the country’s mobile money platform, M-PESA. Launched by Safaricom in 2007 the country’s leading mobile operator has around 25% of Kenya’s GDP circulating through the system. The system allows users to open up an account where they can deposit and withdraw money at one of safaricom’s 40,000 agents typically little kiosks and it allows Kenyan’s to transfer funds between accounts. In addition, this is done without the use of the internet instead it uses a mobile network. This is extremely beneficial to Kenya as in many parts of the country people have no access to internet. Furthermore, It allows Kenyans working in the cities to send funds  to their families living in rural areas. Therefore, M-PESA is the world’s leading mobile money platform which is allowing Kenyans to transfer, deposit and withdraw funds conveniently, securely and without the use of the internet.

Around the world there are so many mobile money platforms but none of them as successful as  M-PESA and you might wonder why. There are several reasons, firstly the cost of other methods of transferring funds electronically are more expensive than M-PESA and most of them require the internet. Moreover, Safaricom has a dominant market share in the telecoms market in Kenya where majority of Kenyans are using their network. Finally, Safaricom has has a successful marketing campaign in that they target men and women working in the cities as tell them this is a easy way to send money back to their families. Therefore, M-PESA’s value proposition is providing middle class working Kenyans an easy solution to keep money safe and transferable electronically to provide connivence and peace of mind.

In my opinion M-PESA has changed the way Kenyans interact with one another and has allowed middle class Kenyans to move funds around at ease as well as pay of their bills allowing them to focus on more productive activities stimulating economic growth. Furthermore, I think M-PESA would be beneficial for the government as it allows them to monitor who is paying taxes and keep track of incomes. There is also opportunity for other services to be developed in conjunction with M-PESA such as banking services to allow Kenyans to obtain small loans via the system. There are also projects that are being developed for the government allowing Kenyans to pay their taxes, bills for electricity and water which provides connivence to the people and the government. Therefore, I personally think that M-PESA has a value proposition that is centered around providing connivence for the Kenyan people which is what they want and is the reason why it is so successful.

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Article Link: – http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-18

Picture from: – http://www.safaricom.co.ke/blog/2015/04/