Podcast appearances and mentions of michael waitze

Is the insurance industry stuck in its old ways? In an era where digital media drives brand loyalty and tech reshapes customer expectations, insurance companies might be missing out on huge opportunities. Featured in Feedspot's Top 10 Insurance Podcasts, Kanopi's Building Tomorrow's Insurer brings you insights from leaders who are redefining insurance. In this episode, host and Kanopi CEO Nigel Fellowes-Freeman speaks with Michael Waitze, the force behind Michael Waitze Media and Asia Tech Podcast. Michael's decades of experience in global finance and media give him a unique—and sometimes provocative—perspective on why insurers need to radically rethink how they connect with customers. Tune in as Michael challenges traditional approaches and shares eye-opening insights on: Why the insurance industry needs media as much as it needs tech How legacy mindsets could be losing insurers a digital-savvy customer base The untapped potential of AI and content to rebuild trust in insurance The insurtech trends no one's talking about—but should be For insurance leaders ready to break out of the status quo, this episode offers fresh takes that just might redefine your approach. Don't miss this discussion with Michael Waitze as he calls out what's missing—and what's possible—in the future of insurance.

Dein Update zur Digitalisierung der Versicherungsbranche. In dieser Folge des Digital Insurance Podcast spricht Jonas Piela mit Michael Waitze, Gründer von Michael Waitze Media. Michael Waitze Media besteht u. a. aus dem Asia Tech Podcast. Hier spricht Waitze über InsurTech-Trends in Asien. Seit 2019 spricht Michael Waitze im Asia InsurTech Podcast über den asiatischen Raum aus der Sicht der Versicherungsbranche. Aktuell hat er seinen Fokus auf Embedded Insurance und KI. Michael hält den asiatischen Raum für überaus spannend. Das speist sich zum einen aus der Tatsache, dass es ein überaus heterogener Raum ist. Indonesien, Vietnam und China seien kaum miteinander zu vergleichen. Ein weiterer Unterschied zum europäischen Binnenraum: Armut. Der asiatische Raum ist stark unterversichert. Die meisten Leute greifen auf erspartes Geld und Assets zurück, um einen Schaden zu begleichen, so Michael. Hier steckt noch großes Potenzial für Versicherer. Zudem sei für die Menschen in Asien der direkte Kontakt noch immer sehr wichtig. Das alles - und noch vieles weitere - gilt es zu berücksichtigen. Links in dieser Ausgabe Zur Homepage von Jonas Piela Zum LinkedIn-Profil von Jonas Piela Zum LinkedIn-Profil von Michael Waitze

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Rajiv Malhan, the Head of Strategic Projects and Business Transformation at Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, about customer expectations today and how insurers can pleasantly surprise customers by predicting their wants and needs.  Here is the transcript of our conversation. Michael Waitze  0:04   Hi, this is Michael Waitze and […] The post EP 192 – Rajiv Malhan – Head of Strategic Projects & Business Transformation at Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance – If You Are Not Able to Touch Base With Your Customer Then You Are Going Out appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast caught up with Cole Sirucek, a co-founder and the CEO of DocDoc, to talk about what is new with DocDoc, what entrepreneurship really means and why product innovation is so hard.   You can find our previous conversations with the DocDoc team here.  Michael Waitze  0:00   Okay, we're on. Hi, this is […] The post EP 191 – Cole Sirucek – CEO of DocDoc – Inside the Markets, There Is a Wicked Amount of Arbitrage appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with James Benham, the co-founder and CEO of JBKnowledge and the host of the InsurTech Geek Podcast about the crucial components of innovation, the lessons learned from being an entrepreneur and investor and the biggest opportunities in the insurance industry. Here is the transcript of our conversation. Michael Waitze 0:05Hi, […] The post EP 189 – James Benham – CEO and Co-founder of JBKnowledge – It's Like Endless Optimism appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Sam White, the CEO of Stella Insurance and the Chair of Freedom Services Group, about what products we are missing in the insurance industry and how to design new products with women in mind. Michael Waitze 0:03Let's keep that spirit going. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back […] The post EP 188 – Sam White – CEO of Stella Insurance – Every Business Sits in an Emotion appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Andrew Schwabe, the founder of ForMotiv, about his decision to build an US focused InsurTech in Vietnam and how data analytics can help insurer provide better customer service. Michael Waitze 0:01Okay, we're on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. Today we are […] The post EP 181 – Andrew Schwabe – Founder, Chairman at ForMotiv – People Are Starting to Wake Up and Say “Service Matters” appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Mohandeep Singh, a co-founder and the CEO of Agiliux, about the evolution of InsurTech and why InsurTechs might disappear in the next 10 years.  Here is the transcript of our conversation.  Michael Waitze  0:05   Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. Today we […] The post EP 179 – Mohandeep Singh – co-Founder and CEO of Agiliux Cloud Insurance – In the Next Ten Years, the InsurTechs Will Die appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Chris Borrett, the Chief “Everything” Officer at flip, about how flip is targeting younger demographics with new insurance products and how to build a fun but trusted brand.  Michael Waitze  0:04   Okay, we're on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. You can't […] The post EP 176 – Chris Borrett – Chief Officer at Flip Insurance – We Want Things to Be Super Simple appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Cherie Wang, the co-founder of Planner Bee, about the changes we are seeing in distribution in general and why the insurance industry has been lagging behind this new movement. Listen to our other epside with Cherie here. Find the transcript of our conversation below. Michael Waitze 0:03Hi, this is […] The post EP 175 – Cherie Wang – co-Founder Planner Bee – Doing Sales Digitally Is So Different appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

Happy (belated) Birthday AIP! Theresa Blissing and Michael Waitze have started the Asia InsurTech Podcast over three years ago and a lot has happened since then. Theresa and Michael discuss what has changed over the past three years, how InsurTech in Asia has grown up and became an inspiration for markets in the West and […] The post EP 174 – Michael Waitze and Theresa Blissing – Has It Been Three Years Already? appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Irene Tsang, the founder and CEO at LIFTwomen, about why we see fewer female founders, what challenges women experience when trying to raise funds and how LIFTwomen is supporting female entrepreneurs. Michael Waitze 0:32Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast today we are […] The post EP 173 – Irene Tsang – Founder & CEO of LIFTwomen Group – We Have to Change the Narrative for Women appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Luiza Gusmao, the VP Customer at Cover Genius, about the excitement of working for an InsurTech startup and the power of embedded insurance. Listen to our other episodes with the team at Cover Genius here. Find the transcript of our conversation below. Michael Waitze 0:31Hi, this is Michael Waitze […] The post EP 172 – Luiza Gusmao – VP Customer at Cover Genius – We Create Magic appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Tetiana George, a founder and the CEO of Curium, about the potential for InsurTech enablers, why nobody has solved the biggest challenges in claims management yet and how Curium is planning to make a difference. Michael Waitze 0:04Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech […] The post EP 166 – Tetiana George – Founder and CEO of Curium – Death of the Disruptors appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast very much enjoyed speaking with Alex Taylor, the Global Head of Emerging Technology, QBE Ventures at QBE Insurance. We had a great conversation about how the increasing power of compute, universal access to data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning lead to knowledge-based approaches to risk and increased product personalization. Michael Waitze […] The post EP 165 – Alex Taylor – QBE Ventures at QBE Insurance – What Should We Be Doing and How Could We Be Doing It? appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Gordon, a co-founder of Surer, about how he and his co-founders are solving some of the pain points the insurance industry is facing and are making the sales process of traditional channels more efficient and products more meaningful. Find the AI transcript of our conversation below. Michael Waitze 0:06Hi, […] The post EP 164 – Gordon Tay – Surer – How Does Technology Change the Way the Insurance Industry Perceives What It Can Do? appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Sorabh Bhandari, a co-founder of Riskcovry, about how insurance can be integrated in other business models and how contextual insurance is changing the game. Find the transcript of our conversation below. Michael Waitze 0:00Hi, this is Michael Waitze and welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. We are joined […] The post EP 163 – Sorabh Bhandari – Founder of Riskcovry – Going Towards the Vertex appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke to Varun Dua, the founder and the CEO of Acko, about what sets Acko apart from other InsurTech players in India and how the insurer is changing the game for health insurance. Here is the transcript of our conversation. Michael Waitze 0:00Okay, we are on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. […] The post EP 162 – Varun Dua – Founder and CEO at Acko – Before Malls Could Happen, There Was eCommerce appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Christina Cai, a co-founder and the COO of Lydia AI, about applying AI to healthcare data and the challenges of founding a startup. Find the transcript of our conversation here: Michael Waitze 0:00Okay, the recorders on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. […] The post EP 161 – Christina Cai – co-Founder and COO at LydiaAI – How Do We Link Health and Wealth? appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast had a great conversation with Sanchit Malik, the co-Founder and CEO of Pazcare. We discussed approaching the Insurance and InsurTech markets from a B2B perspective and how Sanchit and the Pazcare team look at solving problems and creating efficiencies using technology. Please see the transcript of the conversation below. Michael Waitze […] The post EP 160 – Sanchit Malik – co-Founder and CEO of Pazcare – Every Problem Requires a Founder Market Fit appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast was speaking with Vivek Mannige, the founder and CEO of AccelTree Software, about how to increase insurance penetration in rural India, how to build an innovation culture and about life long learning. Here is the transcript of our conversation. Michael Waitze 0:00Okay, we are on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze. And […] The post EP 159 – Vivek Mannige – CEO at AccelTree Software – The Only Answer Is, “Talk to Them” appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Simon O'Dell, the managing director at InsurTech Gateway Australia, about the state of InsurTech in Australia and how the industry has accelerated over the past years. Here is the transcript of our conversation: Michael WaitzeHi, this is Michael Waitze. And welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. This is […] The post EP 155 – Simon O'Dell – InsurTech Gateway Australia – Let's Hold Hands and Partner, Please appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Shanai Ghosh, the CEO and Executive Director at Edelweiss General Insurance, about how insurance can become easier, friendlier and more transparent and how digital has helped the company thrive during the pandemic. FInd the transcript of our conversation here: Michael WaitzeOkay, we're on. Hi, this is Michael Waitze, and […] The post EP 153 – Shanai Ghosh – CEO Edelweiss General Insurance – The FMCG of Financial Services appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

In this episode of the Social Innovation Podcast, Michael Waitze was joined by the esteemed Anne-Marie Brook, a co-Founder of the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. Anne-Marie is a trained economist and holds a Masters Degree in Economics from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. She spent the better part of 20 years working as an economist including almost 6 years at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and almost a decade between the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Treasury. Anne-Marie knows her stuff. It was while she was in Paris working at the OECD that Anne-Marie had what she describes as her first "light-bulb moment" that led her to the founding of HRMI with Susan Randolph and K. Chad Clay. At the OECD, Anne-Marie was giving economic advice to governments across the globe and noticed that Human Rights were quite a big issue. She began looking for ways to include these Human Rights issues into her economic advice and she found that she was not able to do so because she could not find the proper data sets. As an economist, Anne-Marie notes, her recommendations have to be based on empirical data and it was this lack of data on human rights that led her and her co-Founders to begin to build HRMI. HRMI is a global collaboration between human rights academics and human rights practitioners that is producing a comprehensive human-rights-focused database. This data is used to measure how countries score on multiple human rights according to those set out by international law. The idea is to produce data that can be used both by academics to write journal articles and human rights practitioners to really understand what is happening on the ground in the countries in which they operate. You can support HRMI by participating in their crowdfunding as they continue to expand their business in East and Southeast Asia. for more general inquiries, you can contact them here.

Michael Waitze and Daniel McFarlane visited FHI 360's regional Bangkok office to talk with Josh Woodard, who is the organization's Regional ICT & Digital Finance Advisor. In an insightful discussion covering many issues, Josh highlights the role of technology in creating resilient communities and the value of thoughtful planning. Josh's first experience with Thailand came as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Northeast of Thailand. He explains how it gave him “a sense of the world of international development” and insight into how technology can transform people's lives. His experience in the Northeast led to a career focus on digital development which he explains as “using digital technology in ways that are appropriate and can effectively help us to achieve development objectives.” In recent years, Josh has led a grant focused on Technologies for Resilience in Asia-Pacific funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. Resilience, according to Josh, is a framing of development that focuses on the “capacity of individual, communities, and systems to survive, adapt and grow in the face of stress and shocks and even transform when conditions require it.” Technology for resilience, he explains, is about how we can utilize technology to “make individuals, communities, countries, and the whole world stronger.” In deploying technologies for resilience, Josh stresses the importance of alignment with the needs of actual users and their capacity. He also emphasizes how organizations need to ensure resilience is designed into the technologies they develop and deploy. Josh asks, “if the technology that we are using to try and help people to be more resilient is not resilient in itself, not sustainable, then how can it help with long-term resilience?” Josh encourages organizations that are developing technological solutions to anticipate the future, especially regarding how the technology will be sustained into the future. To support organizations that develop and deploy impactful yet sustainable technologies, Josh developed a Digital Technology for Resilience Planning and Due Diligence Tool, which is an Excel-based tool that helps organizations plan the development of technology and provides a framework for identifying potential development partners. The conversation concludes with Josh giving his personal perspective on the need for more thoughtfulness in the commercial tech world. “There are unintended consequences we are already aware of that are still not being addressed.” Then, there are a lot of things that “we can realistically anticipate that it's gonna be an issue”, which require a lot more consideration and dialogue between the tech sector and the public. Technology developed for the good of people can often be used for evil and harm, intentionally and unintentionally. So, rather than dealing with the consequences after the fact, he hopes that it becomes the responsibility of tech developers to anticipate the harmful uses of their technology. While we can not protect against everything, “we need to at least be vigilant” and anticipate what can happen. Correction: During the podcast, the Pulse Lab's Haze Gazer innovation is discussed. It was described as a response to forest fires when in fact it primarily deals with peatland fires.

Michael Waitze spoke to Tara Dermott about how IOM X is using media to support safe migration experiences and stop trafficking and the exploitation of the vulnerable. Originally from the USA, Tara Dermott moved to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer 14 years ago. Stationed in the Northeast of Thailand near the Cambodian border, Tara learned about issues related to migration, leading her to work at IOM X as the program leader. IOMX is an off-shoot IOM (International Organisation for Migration), which is the UN's migration agency dedicated to humane and orderly migration, providing services and advice to both governments and migrants. In partnership with USAID, IOM X creates innovative campaigns to encourage safe migration and public action to stop exploitation and human trafficking. One of the problems is, according to Tara, people tend to deny the existence of such migrant exploitation where they live. It's treated as someone else's problem, so IOM X works to demonstrate what human trafficking and exploitation actually look like. She explains the approach of IOM X and how it uses Communication for Development (C4D), which draws on the fields of sociology, psychology, communication, and marketing to impact attitudes and behaviors. Young people are moving away from traditional media yet are the main targets of trafficking and the most likely to engage in migration, so IOM X studies how their target audience is engaging with new media and then develops campaigns aligned with their online behavior. The organization has made a vast range of short videos related to exploitation, trafficking, the fair treatment of migrant workers, and safe migration that are circulated across social media platforms such as Youtube and Facebook. Storytelling and drama, Tara explains, is a powerful medium to engage, inspire, and influence the attitudes and behavior of their target audience. One video went viral and raked in over 170 million views. Target countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are in the top 10 countries of most time spent online - often on sites like YouTube, but cutting through the noise on the internet and social media noise is a challenge, so IOMX partnered with Google Thailand to identify and work with Youtube stars to empower young Thais to understand exploitation in the manufacturing sector and make more informed consumer decisions. Based on IOMX's immense experiences in deploying communication for behavioral and social change, they have developed a resource portal for educators, students, and practitioners seeking to use C4D to support migrants and address other pressing social issues. You can access IOM X's resources here: https://iomx.iom.int/resources

In this episode, Michael Waitze and Daniel McFarlane talk to Aung Thura about Myanmar's rapidly changing mobile media landscape. Aung is the Chief Strategist at Ignite Marketing Communications and, with a team of researchers around the country, he is in an ideal position to provide insight into the rapidly changing media landscape. The pivotal year was 2013 when the telecommunications market was liberalized. In the past, SIM cards could cost a staggering $2000-$3000 USD, but with the liberalization of the market, SIM card prices dropped and mobile phone ownership rose. In 2014, Ooredoo from Qatar arrived and their sim cards were a mere $1.50. Soon after, Telenor from Norway joined the market and KDDI of Japan signed a joint venture with MPT (Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication), the incumbent local operator. According to Aung, the new arrivals faced tough competition as MPT had the majority of the towers and an established audience, while Ooredoo and Telenor had to start from scratch. Myanmar now has 54 million sim cards for a population of 52 million people. When it comes to market share, MPT is still the market leader with 22-23 million subscribers and is followed closely by Telenor with around 20 million and then Ooredoo with 9 or 10 million. Six months ago Mytel arrived on the scene. It is a joint venture between the Myanmar military and Viettel, a telecommunications company owned and operated by the Vietnamese military that has a strong market position in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos and has expanded globally. They claim to already have 2 to 3 million subscribers. Mytel, Aung suggests, is somewhat aggressive, “They are in your face. They stand out.” Their growth is accelerated by offering services the others don't, such as streaming the English Premier League to the football-mad people of Myanmar. Aung estimates that 80% of phones in the market are smartphones, primarily Android devices thanks to affordable handsets from Chinese brands. These devices are providing many people with their first experience of the internet and that experience is often dominated by Facebook. “Some people even think that Facebook is the internet,” Aung explains. After Facebook, messaging apps rule with the most popular being Viber, owned by Rakuten. Even with the rapid developments in infrastructure and mobile adoption, many challenges remain. The geographic makeup of Myanmar consists of numerous mountain ranges, causing considerable network coverage difficulties. Around 135 languages or dialects are spoken around the country and it is taking time to develop enough local language content. Another challenge is the use of fonts.

In this episode of the Social Innovation podcast is an energizing conversation between Courtney Savie Lawrence and Michael Waitze. Courtney, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, arrived in Asia seven years ago with the perspective "the world is so much bigger than our own bubble.” After co-founding a social enterprise in the US, she was recruited to develop a Global Studies program at a university in Hiroshima. After a few years in Japan, Courtney followed her now-husband to Bangkok, where she teaches at the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University in Bangkok and facilities workshops and training on design thinking and social innovation. She describes Bangkok as one of her favorite places and "a dynamic city of innovation and change in the region." For Courtney, social innovation is about "thinking really creatively about in fresh ways that are going to be disruptive in terms of changing the status quo and meeting the global challenges that are unprecedented." To Courtney, it is much more than a step-by-step process. It should be seen as shifting and changing mindsets. She reminds us that it's easy to surround yourself with people drinking the same kool-aid. In an indication of reflexive turn, Courtney argues that conscious capitalism and bottom-up market-based solutions might be too limiting. Policy-based and political solutions are also crucial to lasting change and addressing some of the most pressing issues such as the growing socioeconomic divides. Reflecting on the happenings in her home country and the latest mid-term elections, Michael and Courtney discuss the role of anger as a catalyst for change. It's clear that Courtney doesn't have time for cynism. She explains, "I am going to consciously embrace all that is chaotic and crazy, and let it stir me intellectually and feed the fire of what is possible in a positive way." It is an approach to life and problem-solving that Courtney brings to her teaching and the facilitation of the workshops. She is "blow away by the agency and creativity" of her students at Thammasat University. In the third iteration of her course on design thinking and social innovation, Courtney has her students acting as consultants for real-world clients and in the process of learning how to manage expectations and maintain motivation through long and arduous projects. One thing she wants them to learn is a failure is okay. More important is what you do with failure and how you learn from it. Learn more about Courtney's work or reach out to her through her website here.

In this episode, Michael Waitze talks with Allison Sanders, the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) about the Foundation's work supporting the lives of vulnerable migrant children growing up in construction workers' campsites in Thailand. The Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) was established in 2002 in Chiang Mai by Nicola Crosta, Magali du Parc, and Acha Sripaurya. After surveying vulnerable communities around Chiang Mai, they realized many of the most vulnerable in Chiang Mai were the children of migrant workers living at construction campsites around the city. They are at risk of neglect, abuse, exploitation, and missing out on basic childhood development needs. In response, they developed a multilingual team that engages in a social work-based approach to supporting children from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos living at these campsites. A core part of their support is building a bridge between migrant communities and existing education and health and safety services available to migrants and where there is a gap BDF tries to find a solution to ensure the needs of children are met. BDF has been supporting more than 1,000 children per year in Chiang Mai, but the challenge is large and can not be handled by the BDF team in Chiang Mai alone. They estimate there are 60,000 children living at construction worker campsites around the country, particularly in Bangkok where migrants provide the bulk of labor for the booming construction industry. As a result, BDF has recently expanded to Bangkok and has been developing sustainable and scalable solutions to meet the challenge. Among many of the programs BDF engages in, Allison points out, there Migrant Empowerment Project has been one of the most impactful. It trains migrants in each community with the skills to access health, education, and safety services and become peer educators who can take over the role of Baan Dek's staff. BDF also recognizes the importance of scalability. For example, they took their successful Superheroes Academy program which has been teaching about 500 migrant children a year in life skills, and turned it into an application that enables children to digitally access the academy activities through tablets and low-cost smartphones. In recognition of their innovation, BDF won the MIT Solve Award. Beyond making a direct impact, the Baan Dek Foundation's strategy is to drive systemic change and “improve the dynamics of the entire construction industry” by working with institutional and corporate partners. A key partner is Sansiri, one of the leading property developers in the country. It works with UNICEF and Baan Dek to improve conditions in construction worker campsites and provide safe spaces and education for children. To drive more systemic change, BDF worked with UNICEF to produce the Building Futures in Thailand report on support for children living in construction worker campsites and how private sector companies can more appropriately support the children of construction workers. Learn more about the Baan Dek Foundation here.

In this episode of the Social Innovation Podcast Dipendra KC talks with Michael Waitze about his experience founding and running a youth organization in Nepal, and a new master's degree program of Social Innovation and Sustainability at the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University. When Dipendra and his friends were seeking our work experience as young college students, they kept being asked if they had any experience. They didn't have any so they went about building an organization through which they could experience. Its called Yuwa, which simply means youth in Nepali and has the objective of giving young like-minded Nepalese a chance to explore and experiment with their ideas for social change. It began as an organization of five unpaid young students with no external capital and has become an organization with 10 full-time staff, 100 active members, funding of four to five hundred thousand US dollars per year while reaching out to 5,000 young Nepalese around the county on an annual basis. As for the impact of Yuwa, Didpendra reflected on the learnings and experience gained by what he calls the “graduates” of Yuwa. But it has done much more. Through Yuwa, Nepalese youth like himself have been able to impact government policy. Dipendra cites the case where members were active in changing the national education curriculum to include topics such as sexual reproduction rights and alternate gender identities. In his life after Yuwa, Dipendra is embracing his passion for innovations in development and his fascination with big data for his Doctorate degree. He recently published a paper based on a study of around 40,000 NGOs in Nepal, which examined what determines their location and whether they are positioned where they are really needed. In his role as a lecture, he is bringing his first-hand experience of analyzing big data to his student and opening their mind to insights they can gain by using statistical tools to understand economic, social, and political change at national and global levels. Just as Yuwa was turned into a platform for young Nepalese, Dipendra has a vision that the Masters in Social Innovation and Sustainability will be a springboard for people creating careers as social innovators and sustainability experts. You can learn more about the program by clicking here.

In this episode, Michael Waitze and Daniel McFarlane, are fortunate to converse with Stéphane Rousseau, who is the Director of International Field Immersion Courses at the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University. He brings an enormous wealth of experience to the conversation after decades of humanitarian, human rights, and civil society work across Asia and the Pacific. Over the years, his work has presented many ethical and moral challenges. It is not the uplifting work many people think it is, Stephane suggests. The people you could not help or the people left behind are the ones that stay in your memory. Without referencing social innovation specifically, Stephane provides multiple examples of how people and organizations have subverted structures of power and created innovative approaches to address pressing social problems. Listening to Stephane, it is evident social innovation is nothing new. It just has a new label and a fresh look. Stephane discusses how in the early 1970s, French doctors, frustrated by the political and religious boundaries that were impeding their capacity to support the welfare victims of war set up Médecins Sans Frontières. They continue today as an organization of impartiality, independence, and neutrality. In his work for The Global Fund in Geneva, he has observed the power of involving those who are afflicted by HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, in programs to end these epidemics and revitalize the communities impacted by them. They work harder than anyone to stop these epidemics and relieve the people's impact on them. Stephane points out it often requires a power shift and cultural change to give voice and power to the people that are best positioned to enact change. In humanitarian work, Stephane highlights that it is usually soft skills and emotional intelligence that enable someone to make a sustainable impact. In his work as the Director of International Immersion Programs, he is supporting young people to develop the skills and intelligence to make a positive difference in the world. Every summer he welcomes public health students from the University of California to experience life on the Myanmar-Thai border at Mae Sot and examines how health and well-being can be improved in refugee and border communities. It is through these experiences his students gain the emotional skills that will support them for years to come. Stephane is developing new immersion programs in the region to incorporate students from multiple disciplines so they can experience boundary spanning, which Stephane describes as the power of bringing together the skills and perspectives of different fields. Boundary spanning also sums up his unique skills and expertise developed over 25 years of working across the region.

Just before Pinnapa Satitpatanapan headed to Manila to take up a position at the Asia Development Bank, Michael Waitze caught up with her to discuss her experience studying at Yale, her passion for impact investing, and how to support the growth of impact investing in Thailand. Pinnapa did a Bachelor of Business Administration at Thammasat Univesity before gaining experience in the investment banking unit of Bangkok Bank and as a Thai real estate developer. She then headed to the US for an MBA at the Yale School of Management. While her BBA at Thammasat prepared her well, Yale posed new challenges, particularly the dynamic classroom discussions and the mountains of readings for each class. The most valuable lesson she gained at Yale, she says, was how to prioritize and manage time effectively. A pivotal experience during her MBA was taking the School of Management's Global Social Entrepreneurship course, which has students team up with mission-driven social enterprises in India. She found herself supporting an enterprise called Onergy which delivers solar energy solutions to farmers, helping them engage in organic farming practices and linking them to buyers through an e-commerce platform. Inspired by the passion, hard work, and can-do attitude of the people at Onergy in India, Pinnapa asked herself how she could use her skills to make a difference in the world. She turned to social impact investing, which was unfamiliar to her before arriving at Yale. After graduating from Yale, she landed an internship and then a full-time position at Calvert Impact Capital. Then, on returning to Thailand she discovered a dearth of knowledge on impact investing. While impact investing has gone mainstream in the USA, very few people in Thailand are aware of it as an investment option. But awareness is not the only challenge the sector faces, Pinnapa points out. In the US, impact investors utilize standardized metrics to report on the impact of investments and funds. At Calvert Impact Capital they use IRIS metrics managed by the Global Impact Investing Network. However, social enterprises in Thailand have been reluctant to adopt measurement practices due to a number of reasons. They are either too focused on getting up and running or lack the resources and capabilities to measure their impact. So, Pinnapa recommends that supporting institutions like the UNDP and universities should be focusing on improving the capacity of SEs to use existing metrics and frameworks to measure impact. After all, investors need to see impact goals and measurements that track progress to those goals. Pinnapa is now settling into life in Manila at the Asian Development Bank where she is excited to learn how infrastructure projects impact people's lives on a large scale. We look forward to connecting to Pinnapa again and hearing more about her work at the ADB.

'Inspirational' is a good way to describe Rithy Thul, but it also captures what he wants Koompi to be for young Cambodians. Koompi is Cambodia's first locally designed laptop and Rithy Thul's latest venture. He discusses it, his company SmallWorld Cambodia and his dream for education in Cambodia with Michael Waitze on our first podcast on innovation in Cambodia. An important part of Rithy's journey towards launching Koompi has been Bitcoin. He explains how it kept coming back to him, leading him to try to understand more about it by investing in Fortunately, he got in early and was able to experience years of growth, which funded his recent ventures over the past couple of years. One of Rithy's ongoing ventures is Smallworld Cambodia. It started as a coworking space but soon became a platform for start-up ventures in Cambodia by providing office space, mentorship, and in some cases, capital to support new and interesting Cambodian businesses. Smallworld Cambodia also engages in internal projects and for these Rithy follows a simple principle. If it is meaningful but people think is it too difficult, then Smallworld should do it. It's this principle that led him and his team to develop Koompi and their pursuit of changing how laptops are designed. Rather than hardware being designed for the latest software and dropping off in performance as the software is updated, Rithy believes software should be designed to work for the hardware and get faster over time. So, Rithy and his team designed an operating system they call KramaOS based on Linux. After just launching in just November, they are on track to sell 1,000 units by the end of the year. But they won't stop with just designing the laptop and operating system. Next year they plan to start manufacturing motherboards in Cambodia. Koompi is not just an affordable and practical laptop. Rithy wants young Cambodian's to see Koompi and what his team is doing and "look up to the sky". Young people in Cambodia are brave. If you lead them and give them the right tools they have so much potential, Rithy believes. Rithy's bigger dream is to change education and the opportunities available to young Cambodians. He points out that Mark Zuckerberg was using a computer by the age of six, and Rithy wants to close the gap by giving more young Cambodians the chance to use computers and learn to code at a young age. He has a vision of bringing Koompi computers to every high school in Cambodia and training university graduates to go back to their hometowns for one year to give computer training to the next generation of young Cambodians. If it seems too difficult, Rithy and his team will give it a go. In Rithy's Cambodia, the only boundary is the sky.

What can a picture of eggs reveal about Indonesian beauty? What can an image of megaphone diplomacy tell you about family relationships? In this episode, Michael Waitze and Daniel McFarlane talk with Neil Gains, who is the owner of TapestryWorks and helps clients decode people and culture to help them better connect with the emotions that drive behavior. He brings a breadth and depth of experience to the conversation after decades of work in research across the world including almost 20 years in Asia. He makes a valuable contribution to the podcast by providing an innovative visual approach to understanding people and the emotional drivers of social and behavioral change. In a playful conversation, Neil gets Michael to reveal his own motivations and character using pictures. Neil explains how visual approaches help reveal unconscious motivations by tapping into our brain's powerful visual memory. They discuss how familiarity and recognition give a simpler and more intuitive way to understand people than asking direct questions and relying on memory recall. The discussion covers the role of cultural values and self-identity and why people are often unaware of what drives their behavior. Visual approaches help hack our rational brain to reveal hidden feelings. These feelings may also be difficult to articulate because they are socially unacceptable or difficult to translate into the local language when a large part of communication is contextual. Although visual approaches can appear very subjective, in the digital age they can also be used to quantify motivations and emotions across large samples of people. This can allow a detailed comparison of cultural drivers across countries and cultures and life stages. Humanizing research in this way can help you understand beneficiaries, stakeholders, customers, employees, innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs. Neil's intuitive visual approach captures honest and authentic responses to difficult questions, providing a roadmap of personal and cultural values that drive how people see themselves as individuals and how they relate to their communities.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Andy Ann, the co-founder of YAS Digital, about embedded, small ticket micro-insurance and how the pandemic has helped accelerate digital transformation of the insurance industry. Listen to our first episode with Andy Ann in November 2020 here. Michael WaitzeHi, this is Michael Waitze, and welcome back to the Asia […] The post EP 151 – Andy Ann – CEO and co-Founder of YAS Digital – It Feels Like a Gift appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia InsurTech Podcast spoke with Hamilton Angluben, the founder and CEO at Kwik Insure about how digital transformation of insurance has accelerated in the Philippines. Michael WaitzeOkay. Hi, this is Michael Waitze, and welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. This is the only podcast in Asia focused on insurance that gives entrepreneurs, thought […] The post EP 150 – Hamilton Angluben – Founder and CEO at Kwik Insure – You Have to Be Omnipresent appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The Asia IsnurTech Podcast spoke with Alex Leung, a co-founder of OneDegree, about their journey from starting a virtual insurer in Hong Kong selling pet insurance to cybersecurity and NFTs. Here is the transcript of our conversation: Michael WaitzeHi, this is Michael Waitze and welcome back to the Asia InsurTech Podcast. This is the only […] The post EP 149 – Alex Leung – OneDegree – In Hindsight, Everything Is Planned appeared first on Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The team at eCommerce UnderCover wanted to dive deeper into what dropshipping really is. Simply speaking, dropshipping is a method of retail fulfillment in which the seller does not maintain his or her own stock. Some of the topics that we covered: What is dropshipping and why is it so prevalent? Inventory management can be a real challenge for eCommerce sellers How the supply chain actually works for sellers that employ drop shipping What types of companies are involved and what role do they play How dropshipping has evolved and become much more efficient The role of payment platforms in dropshipping Middlemen never really get eliminated If a seller lives in Indonesia, but her company is US-domiciled and her clients are in France, things can get really complicated, really quickly How are taxes, returns, and other minutiae handled? Why are so many people on YouTube trying to teach eCommerce and dropshipping?

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Riki Hooker, the General Manager of Global E-commerce Experts. Global E-commerce Experts provides an end-to-end solution to enable product-based businesses to expand into foreign markets. Riki is super knowledgeable and was very generous with his time! Some of the topics we discussed: Many eCommerce sellers want to expand to other markets but do not know how to do it Foreign market localization is more than simply translating a website Tax issues alone can be a nightmare for any seller expanding to another country Payments, payments systems, and payment norms (including Cash on Delivery) can be different from country to country Customs issues and product return policies Warehousing, Fulfillment, and third-party logistics The complexity of eCommerce logistics Offline to online Delivery speed and its impact on conversion The social aspect of shopping and how to replicate this online How politics can impact global eCommerce Asia remains a massive opportunity

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media welcomed Trung Hoang Nguyen, a co-Founder and the CEO of Loship. Loship is Vietnam's fastest-growing one-hour-delivery eCommerce startup. Some of the topics Trung covered during our conversation: Growing up in a small town in Vietnam Having parents that worked super hard and built their own business Winning a scholarship to study at a university in South Korea Building a business that aims to have an impact Feeling like he has the destiny to raise the living standard for all of Vietnam Balancing customer satisfaction and delivery driver happiness and retention Continuously adjusting Loship's business model Creating a corporate culture that makes all of Loship's employees proud Being hyper-local

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Patri Ferreras, a Lead Media Buyer at DimNiko Agency. DimNiko Agency is a team of Global marketers who have a passion for helping eCommerce brands grow. Some of the topics we covered: Why work with an agency? Trends that Patri is seeing in the digital marketing space Lessons learned from the physical world translated to the digital realm Customer acquisition strategies Are there regional differences in marketing strategies Brand awareness and helping brands grow Facebook, Google and the presence or lack of intent

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media dove into the internet landscape in Africa and its developing eCommerce space. Some of the things that we discussed: Internet penetration in Africa is high and growing Africa has the youngest and second-largest population in the world According to the United Nations, the median age in Kenya is 20.3 and Nigeria is 18.1! Africa has over 50 countries and a population of approximately 1.2BN people Kenya has an internet penetration of over 85% Nigeria has a population of over 200MM people with 188MM mobile phone connections Nigeria has 104MM internet users and 33MM active social media users Alerzo raises $10.5MM Series A

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media spent some time this episode discussing their thoughts on Logistics and Delivery in the eCommerce space. Some of the things that we discussed: Amazon predicted in 2013 that "the future of last-mile delivery lay in robots". Do enough people really want drones delivering things to their homes or condos? Amazon and other companies have shifted to sidewalk delivery robots Sidewalk delivery robots may be cute, but does anybody really want this either? How do sidewalk delivery robots work in suburbs or cities with crowded or poorly maintained sidewalks... A persistent view that people want to interact with other humans, not robots Did someone say Hyperloop?

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech recently gave a deep-dive presentation on innovation and investment trends in eCommerce in conjunction with Payoneer. In this episode, Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media, and Martin dove even deeper into three of the 10 topics that Martin and Payoneer covered. Some of the things that came up during our deep-dive discussion: Back-end eCommerce Operations Logistics, speed, reliability, and the desire for 1-hour delivery Speed drives conversion rates The sheer size of investment in eCommerce innovation in just the first 6 months of 2021 Cybersecurity and Fraud Offline to Online Equivalencies Warranty and Insurance Riskwolf and internet outage insurance Microsoft 2021 Global Tech Support Scams Research Report The Asia Tech Podcast episode that discussed the above is here How Facebook and Google dominate online advertising

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Radha Mesova, an actor, singer and eCommerce entrepreneur. Radha has had an incredible journey into entrepreneurship. This is not your normal entrepreneur story about a well-off kid dropping out of Harvard, pretending to eat ramen noodles, and moving to California as a silicon valley darling. Radha was born in Ingushetia (Yes. You have never heard of it...), moved to Germany with her family, and then settled in Canada as a 12-year-old. You should listen to her story.. Some of the topics we discussed: Overcoming an abusive childhood and homelessness Studying entrepreneurship at University Selected from her university class to participate in an entrepreneurship program in Germany just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak Her first foray into eCommerce and dropshipping and the source for her first product idea Radha's extremely insightful views on using Facebook, Google, Tik Tok, and other platforms for marketing and customer acquisition Why building killer product pages is so important Why she publishes so often on YouTube and what she hopes to achieve via her channel How eCommerce was her onramp to entrepreneurship and enables Radha to pursue her other passions as well

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Eugene Tham, a co-Founder and the CEO of Shopform. Shopform is a social platform to review and shop digital native fashion brands. Shopform is creating a community of trust and users who share authentic reviews with each other. Every review helps people make more informed decisions, and helps to grow small businesses around the region. Some of the topics that we discussed...and there were many: The lack of innovation in eCommerce during the last 10 years (We agree!) Eugene's definition of Social Commerce Social Media platforms and eCommerce platforms do not work well together yet The discovery issues for digital-native brands on the large marketplaces Some of the potential new Social Commerce models Brands leaving marketplaces and joining Shopform Gen Z is looking for more authentic and more social online shopping experiences

This week, Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media recorded remotely, just to be a little extra safe in the face of rising COVID cases in Thailand. Martin did some incredible work to get the recording to look awesome for our first remote recording! Some of the topics we explored: Augmented Reality and online commerce conversions Is the technology really ready yet? Even if the tech is ready, will anybody use it for commerce, and if so, how and for which categories? Technology-enhanced glasses were very unpopular Does anybody really want to try on fashion with AR? Will Apple Glasses or similar products be better used for product information in physical stores and for post-purchase customer service? We only touched briefly on data and privacy considerations with the knowledge that this is significant to be covered separately Martin Ronfort can be reached at martin@hellodr.tech. Michael can be reached at michael@michaelwaitzemedia.com

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media took the studio on the road and recorded at Seven Peaks Software's amazing office at The Parq. We look forward to recording there more often! Some of the angles we covered: eCommerce's Direct To Consumer Model What had to change to make Direct To Consumer possible Besides cavemen, is now the greatest time in human history to create a new brand? How access to production, capital, distribution, marketing, and logistics makes Direct To Consumer easier than ever. What sectors are best suited for Direct To Consumer Who is doing this now? What are the models that we think will work and would like to see developed?

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Andre Buerger, a senior executive at the CP Group, and one of the earliest employees at Lazada in Southeast Asia. Some of the topics we discussed with Andre: Shogun's recent capital raise and why it is significant Marketplaces versus individual online brand shops Food and grocery delivery Is there a market for someone to build a better way for restaurants to sell online? My online purchase experiences with El Mercado (amazing) and Millionhead (also great) The online experience is as important as the product

Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by David Jou, a co-founder and the CEO of Pomelo Fashion, an eCommerce pioneer in Southeast Asia and a former co-founder of Lazada. Some of the topics we discussed with David: The impact of COVID on Fashion eCommerce Data Science and the use of data in eCommerce Omni-channel selling and how happy Pomelo customers were when the physical stores were opened Physical stores create brand awareness, add to bottom-line growth, and a place where clients can try things on Building internal products and the birth of Prism, enabling digital commerce for fashion brand builders Tap, Try, Buy How some of the things you think you know for sure may not be correct