AISight.ai has brought a disruptive business practice into the market where precise survey results are getting generated through technologies like geolocation, call records, hyperspectral imagery, and open street maps.

Dr. Saif, a computer scientist by profession, is a veteran in the field of AI and machine learning. He was named one of the top 35 young innovators in the world by the MIT Technology Review and received the Google Faculty Research Award in 2011. He was also bestowed with the honour called ‘Young Global Leader’ by the World Economic Forum in 2010.

He has also received the MIT Technovator Award, Mark Weiser Award, IDG Technology Pioneer Award and the British Council Outstanding Alumni Award.

A True Disruptor

AISight.ai has emerged as the game-changing platform to get real-time insights into its clients’ market share data.

“We combine the market share and your secondary sales data to identify the non-performing routes, stores, and SKUs. Turn your retail audit data into granular, actionable and timely insights, for your sales and marketing teams,” the company commented.

Talking about AISight.ai’s key products, you have AiQ RGM, which helps its clients to unlock the power of retail audit data with its cutting-edge analytics tool.

The clients (mostly retail ones), get the much-needed help through AiQ RGM, when it comes to having data-based decision making these businesses’ marketing and sales teams.

“Interpret your consumer panel behaviour data combining it with your secondary sales, trade promotions and marketing spend to get the right insights into your retail universe,” AISight.ai commented.

AiQ RGM works on four principles, ‘Consumer Panel Behavior’, ‘Retail Audit Data’, ‘Trade Promotions’ and ‘Marketing Spend’.

AiQ RGM helps clients to formulate their product launch and sales-based strategic planning in four stages. In stage one, the client businesses get regular highlights of their market performances and their impact on their market shares. Then in stage two, these businesses make informed decisions to plan their next set of activities to increase their market share.

The next action comes in the form of these businesses equipping their sales teams with the technology that pinpoints the opportunities for the latter to execute the market goals. The last step is all about these clients getting information about their market share changes well ahead of time, and taking corrective measures as per that.

In short, AiQ RGM enables its clients to stay ahead of their competitors by leveraging the power of having real-time market data, which helps these businesses to constantly stay updated with the ongoing market trends, the changing business dynamics and take corrective measures as per the inputs. AISight.ai claims to give the retailers a 3% increased market share on average, along with a 12% overall increased presence in their respective sectors, through AiQ RGM.

The next solution offered by AISight.ai is AiQ RTM. Here the game goes to the next level as the client businesses get to design their market strategy through cutting-edge data harnessing technologies, a process which helps these businesses to map their retail universes as per the prevalent socio-economic and population situations.

How Does AiQ RTM Work?

Using AiQ RTM, the client business gets a fair idea about the population density around its retail universe, which then helps the venture to plan its marketing route in a better manner.

“Our RTM platform provides a comprehensive ecosystem for conducting surveys. Users can leverage this feature to gather data from their current universe or to onboard new stores through the survey process,” AISight.ai stated.

“Our dashboard provides real-time updates for surveys and market research conducted on the platform. This eliminates the need to wait until the end of the day or month to access survey results and enables users to make data-driven decisions quickly,” it remarked further.

“Our dashboard allows real-time tracking of team performance and movement. This feature enables users to set up and monitor KPIs for their team, improving performance management and decision-making,” the company said, while adding, “Our platform allows users to design surveys according to their specific requirements. The surveys can be customized with multiple types of questions to collect the necessary data, which can be conducted by the field team.”

Surveys, market research and census are the three tools used by AiQ RTM to guide its clients.

The businesses can build surveys according to their field teams’ requirements, followed by the evaluation of these teams’ ground performances. Also, with the help of AiQ RTM, the client businesses can quickly execute surveys by sending the questionnaires to the handheld devices of their field teams, thus making the whole process paperless, while optimizing the survey areas/routes, to cover the target audiences, a cost and time efficient solution for the field staffers. Here, elements like geolocation, call records, hyperspectral imagery, and open street maps come into play.

AISight.ai In Recent News

The data analytics start-up’s new destination will be the fast-moving consumer goods market in Africa, a sector which is known for having high consumer demand throughout the year.

Africa has now been identified as an emerging FMCG market, but it lacks basic data essential for running a profitable retail business. Ventures struggle in this part of the world due to the absence of reliable information on crucial operational metrics like market size, consumer profiles, number and location of retail outlets, changes in market share etc.

The start-up has disrupted the market by eliminating the cost and delay of manual data collection, thus enabling established FMCG players like Reckitt, Pepsi and Unilever to run optimised business operations through the platform.

The Road Ahead

The global data analytics industry for FMCGs will exceed the value barrier of USD 30 Billion by 2023.

AiSight.ai is seen as a driver of this industry as it has already served FMCG clients like Unilever, PepsiCo, Redbull, Reckitt, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International, and the start-up’s data mining efforts have been lauded by these industry giants.

Dr. Umar Saif and his team are rapidly expanding their company’s operations in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East with several of its existing clients.

Emerging markets currently account for 55% of the global consumer spending on consumer-packaged goods, and by 2028, consumer spending in these markets will reportedly grow three times as quickly as that in the developed economies.

AiSight is using predictive analytics to track millions of products in every shop within a country, and generating real-time corrective market actions, actions which will help its clients to identify and cash on the chances to increase their revenues by expanding product distributions, improving sales targets, optimising trade promotions, minimising out-of-stock shops, or refining assortment.

All these functions will give aiSight’s client venture the much-needed market edge over its competitors, apart from setting the tone of client surveys in the FMCG sector, in terms of harnessing the best of the technology.

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However, Indian female pilots are no longer a novelty three decades after Nivedita Bhasin’s career began, making the nation a success story in terms of diversity in the airline business.

According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, India has the greatest proportion of female pilots in the world at roughly 12.4% of all pilots, compared to 5.5% in the US, the largest aviation market in the world, and 4.7% in the UK.

The figures make one wonder how a country that ranked 135th out of 146 on the World Economic Forum’s list of nations for gender parity was able to buck the trend in this particular sector. Some of the responses could serve as examples for other nations and industries working to increase the representation of women.

Diverse organizations typically perform better, and some studies have even suggested that female pilots experience fewer safety problems. Additionally, while the world is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and demand increases, hiring more women could assist airlines in addressing the staff shortages that are causing travel delays.

Pioneers like Nivedita Bhasin claim that a number of reasons, such as outreach programs, improved company practices, and strong family support are motivating Indian women.

A 1948-formed youth program called the National Cadet Corps’ air wing, which trains pupils to fly microlight aircraft, attracted many Indian women to aviation. Some state governments are providing financial aid for the pricey commercial pilot training, and organizations like Honda Motor Co. offer complete scholarships for an 18-month program at an Indian flying school and support their employees to make it more affordable for women.

Michele Halleran, a professor and the head of diversity programs at Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “India began recruiting women into STEM careers, including pilots, decades ago.”

Because of the severe pilot and technician scarcity, we are currently experiencing in the United States, the desire for a diversity movement in aviation has just begun.

Due to airline markets in nations like the US being significantly larger and having larger overall personnel of both men and women, the absolute numbers of women pilots still tend to be higher there than in India.

The continuous shortage of pilots and airport staff, which is causing airlines to curtail and cancel flights and endangering to snarl the aggressive traffic resurgence, can be alleviated by hiring more women. Over the next 20 years, the globe will require more than 600,000 more pilots, according to Boeing Co.

According to a research titled Gender Differences In General Aviation Crashes, which examined data on helicopter and airplane crashes between 1983 and 1997, male pilot crash rates were higher than those of female pilots.

Women in Combat Arms: A Study of the Global War on Terror examined the accident rates of male and female pilots from 2002 to 2013, finding that women “fly aircraft more safely,” accounting for only 3% of accidents despite making up 10% of all US army helicopter pilots.

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It is reported that Sweden has ranked first on the Energy Transition Index for the third consecutive year followed by Switzerland and France. In fact, France ranks eighth and the UK seventh on the index. France and the UK are the only two G20 countries in the top ten, media reports said.

For China, factors such as air pollution have led to policies to restrict development of electric vehicles, the world’s largest solar photovoltaic capacity, and onshore wind power plants.

Roberto Bocca, Head of Energy and Materials, WEF, told the media, “The coronavirus pandemic offers an opportunity to consider unorthodox intervention in the energy markets and global collaboration to support a recovery that accelerates the energy transition once the acute crisis subsides.”

Other countries including Canada, Chile, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey have declined since 2015. The WEF said that the protracted pandemic is disturbing progress to transition to clean energy, with factors such as fall in demand and price volatility affecting the sector.

WEF’s Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2020 report emphasised that building policies, roadmaps, and governance frameworks will support energy transitions in an effective way.

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For example, the Cover-19 pandemic has put the governments and businesses under strain to maintain strong supply chains despite the crisis. In this context, the blockchain toolkit will support supply chains and push for economic recovery during the post-pandemic period. A WEF statement said, “The pressure created by the Covid-19 outbreak on global trade systems highlights an urgent need for global cooperation to maintain and strengthen the resilience of international supply chains.”

In a nutshell, the toolkit comprises efforts by many organisations to develop the best industry practices for blockchain deployment. It has drawn expertise from more than 100 organisations including governments, companies, start-ups, academic institutions, civil society, international organizations and technology, and supply chain experts, a WEF statement said.

Nadia Hewett, World Economic Forum USA’s Project Lead for Blockchain and Digital Currency, told the media, “For this reason, the toolkit can level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are many lessons to learn from the current pandemic and this toolkit is a starting point for improving long-term pandemic preparedness and accelerating an economic recovery led by public-private cooperation.”

It is reported that supply chain resilience largely depends on factors such as trust, transparency, and integrity which can be improved using blockchain technology.

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South-South trade is an exchange of resources, technology and knowledge between developing countries. It is currently worth $4.28 trillion annually, which estimates to more than half of developing countries’ exports in 2018, according to the World Trade Organisation. 

The World Logistics Passport was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It has been developed to overcome non-tariff trade challenges that dwarf trade between developing economies, the media reports said. 

The World Logistics Passport will allow partner countries to tap into DP World’s existing global logistics network of ports and economic parks, Emirates’ worldwide Dnata and SkyCargo network, and Dubai’s expertise in customs and trade governance, the media reports said. With that, these partner countries will be able to seamlessly improve their trade capabilities, transforming themselves into global trade hubs. 

This in turn will ensure ease of moving goods in Dubai and improve trade routes between Latin America, Africa and Asia. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, told the media that, “The World Logistics Passport marks the beginning of the implementation of the Dubai Silk Road strategy that will lead to a new phase of economic growth. We aim to further boost Dubai’s position as a global economic and business hub, powered by our exceptional connectivity and logistics.” 

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Last year, the UAE ranked first globally in the Internet and Telephony Level of Competition compared to rank 104 in 2016, according to the Knowledge Index Report. 

Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, told the media, the UAE “achieving the first rank globally in mobile broadband subscriptions and mobile network coverage reflects the efforts made by TRA working teams, and demonstrates the effectiveness of TRA plans by focusing on the ICT infrastructure, adopting modern technologies and using them to drive the development and digital transformation in all fields.”

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report factors in four main indicators: Enabling Environment, Travel and Tourism Policy, Infrastructure, and Natural and Cultural Resources. 

In his view, the UAE’s global ranking in many international reports is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and goals of the National Agenda. 

The introduction of 5G and mobile communications is a key focus for the UAE. It will empower the UAE’s digitalisation vision to benefit various economic and social sectors. The UAE has the right infrastructure in place to capitalise on 5G network — and has the world’s highest mobile penetration rates. In fact, Etisalat and Du have been allocated spectrum frequencies for 5G deployment. 

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Firstly, the WEF Africa Growth Platform plans to commit the governments into amending outdated laws and implement policies which will facilitate business growth in Africa. Secondly, the WEF Africa Growth Platform plans to bring all the investors, be it private investors, foundations, multilateral institutions or corporate entrepreneurs under one umbrella to enhance the funding process in Africa. And lastly, the platform will create and sustain a community of startup businesses themselves, promoting collaboration and sharing the best practices.

Founding members of the WEF Africa Growth Platform are Alibaba Group, AT Kearney, Dalberg Group, Export Trading Group, US African Development Foundation, and Zenith Bank.

According to the World Economic Forum, two-thirds of Africa’s 420 million young people are currently unemployed, which highlights a clear need for new solutions to drive employment growth. At the same time, entrepreneurial spirit and the tendency to launch startups in African youth is very high.

However, due to insufficient support and infrastructure, African startups suffer the most when compared with startups in other countries. African startups are 14 percent more likely to fail than those elsewhere in the world.

According to WEF head of Africa Elsi Kanza, too often African startups and innovative enterprises in Africa fail due to the lack of financial backing or overly burdensome regulations. The Africa Growth Forum’s objective is to change exactly that.

The Africa Growth Forum is expected to be a major part of the programme at the upcoming World Economic Forum on Africa 2019, which is scheduled to take place between September 4to 6 in Cape Town, South Africa.

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To counterfeit the issue for women in STEM professions, in almost all the countries, companies have to mint enterprising formulas that empower women, who are, in turn, willing to empower them.

At Amazon, as at many tech companies, wants to enrich work opportunities among women, who always envision following their passion, regardless of the numerical implications drawn by labour economists. Generally, there is a sense that men intrinsically become good leaders, while women remain at the peripheral. The ability to neutralise the matter has only asserted an approach, indirect, yet discreet: most universities or research organisations try to distance themselves from gender complexities by increasing “the number of women, and they think that that’s somehow going to solve all the problems,” said Stanford professor Londa Schiebinger, on The New Yorker.

Truth be told, it does not resolve the unrestrained control by men over women—and the gray areas of discrimination persistent in STEM roles. Ergo, Amazon has partnered with WISE for a campaign that will posit gender balance in the UK innovation landscape. This means, in harmony both companies will “design a roadmap” to uplift “female representation” in STEM fields.

Women in Innovation mainly “focuses on identifying the barriers to increasing the representation of women in innovation roles,” Day One, the Amazon blog said. Fiona McDonnell, Director, Consumer Retail, Amazon, believes: “It’s clear that greater diversity in the workplace positively impacts output, business performance and profitability. By delivering greater diversity, we can unlock a huge untapped potential and ensure the UK becomes the number one destination for innovation. We would like the report to create a roadmap to securing more women in innovation-focused roles by identifying some practical actions.”

Despite this futuristic approach to establishing a more conducive work environment, the quantitative insights from WISE divulge numbers that signify no equal footing with men: there are more than 860,000 women in the UK STEM fields, and still—women only represent 15% of STEM management roles in the country.

This is not to say, women are disinterested because of their low personal involvement, or anything like that. In fact, their contribution in the UK innovation is “largely untold.” “We’re doing this project to discover the modern-day Marie Curies and use their stories to inspire girls to follow in their footsteps,” Helen Wollaston, WISE chief executive said.

The campaign aims to identify key drivers by posturing women in STEM professions:

• Reason for choice of career
• Benefits for working in innovative careers
• Contribution that impacts the business
• Source of inspiration for women in tech
• Chief milestones that determine career path in tech

But it is also salient to remember that working toward demonstrating a diverse organisation is a challenge. The World Economic Forum predicts: “At current rates of progress, it may take another 217 years to close the economic gender gap globally.”

For example: the UK workforce in STEM professions suffer from skills gap between both men and women—and it is more likely to be distinct among young girls. The association to this predetermined challenge, will suggest cause and effect, of course with discretion.

“Although many countries are ideally poised to maximise women’s economic potential, they are currently failing to reap the returns from their investment in female education. In addition, too few countries are preparing to meet the challenges and harness the gender parity opportunities posed by the changing nature of work,” World Economic Forum said. For this purpose, Amazon Women in Innovation Bursary, and AWS re:Start, was launched to expose young adults, military veterans and their spouses to advanced technologies including cloud computing.

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The report reads: “In a worst-case scenario, attackers could trigger a breakdown in the systems that keep societies functioning.” Industry infrastructures including power grids and water purification systems are main targets for hackers, reports CNBC.

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe James Stavridis said: “We’re headed toward a cyber Pearl Harbor, and it is going to come at either the grid or the financial sector…we need to think about this cyberattack as a pandemic.”

During the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forum in Paris, cyber executive and professional hacker Tarah Wheeler said: “The more I speak to people, the more they think that the next Pearl Harbor is going to be a cyberattack.”

Wheeler said the infrastructures are not well-protected and that people are not paying attention to the disruptions.

Wheeler said: “The inevitability is based in the easy access to the kinds of exploits that still work 10, 15, 20 years after they’ve been revealed.”

There are not many reports from industry researchers and technology firms to attest that the infrastructures are successfully fighting the inimical effects of the attacks. Companies that run critical infrastructure such as health infrastructure on external platforms can’t be reconditioned for bug fixes and the like.

The WEF report concludes that cyber criminals are expanding their targets and threats in the industry mainly “because the use of cloud services continues to accelerate and the internet of things is expected to expand from an estimated 8.4bn devices in 2017 to a projected 20.4bn in 2020.”

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According to Google Trends, the popularity of the phrase ‘sharing economy’ has increased sixteenfold since 2013. But what is it? Sharing economy is often confused with overlapping terms such as the ‘collaborative economy’, ‘on-demand economy’, ‘gig economy’, ‘freelance economy’, ‘peer economy’, ‘access economy’, ‘crowd economy’, ‘digital economy’ and ‘platform economy’.

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