RISE.AI uses the company’s global network and expertise to create an outcome-driven innovative platform that bridges the gap between innovative concepts and applicable practices in accelerating the development of AI technology.

The program aims to gather best-in-class AI startups who specialise in artificial intelligence technology with initial market traction to jointly develop pilot projects with leading corporates in various sectors such as finance and banking, insurance, energy and clean technology, etc. Leading corporates in Thailand who have joined the program include PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, AI & Robotics Ventures Co Ltd, Bank of Ayudhya Pcl and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency. The program will take place in Bangkok from April to September 2019.

Nattapat Thanesvorakul, Head of Ventures at Rise, said artificial intelligence technology will be a major driver in boosting overall GDP growth of Thailand and Southeast Asia region. An establishment of a data-driven culture in a business organisation will enable regional corporates to optimise key business decisions and enhance core products and services leading to sustainable economic growth, he added.

“The AI industry is now growing and creating profound effects on both business and society. The rise of artificial intelligence creates substantial improvement across industries, transforming the way companies do their business and changing the competitive landscape in the global economy. Therefore, it is necessary for businesses to adopt new technology in order to cope with rapid technological changes and create new business opportunities that strengthen competitiveness and maximise revenue,” he said.

According to the research by McKinsey, the adoption of AI will result in substantial increase in profitability of businesses in all sectors by 2035, particularly in education, accommodation and food service and construction, which is expected to rise more than 70 per cent.

Additionally, the utilisation of AI in wholesale and retail, agriculture, forestry, fishing and healthcare sectors are expected to increase profitability for more than 50 per cent. “However, the adoption of AI is time-consuming and costly. Most corporates in Southeast Asia region have insufficient resources to develop AI technology within the organisation, and also have no access to global AI developers. This is why RISE.AI is designed to link corporates and qualified global AI developers in creating potential synergies that will allow them to survive and remain competitive in the changing global economy,” said Nattapat.

Experian yesterday announced that it has powered over 4.8 billion credit offers since 2010 to the unbanked and underserved communities in Southeast Asia. Globally, that number has hit 8.1 billion. Through its proprietary technology, Experian leverages on telco subscribers’ usage and behavioural data to create financial identities for individuals without formal credit profiles, accelerating financial inclusion in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

Southeast Asia is a high-growth region and home to over 600 million people, with almost three-quarters of them (73 per cent) lacking a bank account. The over 4.8 billion credit offers in Southeast Asia were generated through Experian’s “Dynamic Airtime Advance (DAA)” solution, which offers airtime advances to consumers on prepaid mobile plans.

This solution is especially relevant to Southeast Asia, where the majority of mobile phone subscribers are on prepaid plans. For example, Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest mobile phone market, has 98.3 per cent of its subscribers on prepaid plans. Other notable markets with high concentrations of prepaid subscribers include Thailand at 80 per cent.

In such situations, Experian’s DAA becomes a key first-credit experience for a consumer. This paves the way for a potentially wider and complete set of financial services for the consumer, unlocked by Experian’s strong analytics.

Dev Dhiman, managing director, Southeast Asia and emerging markets, for the company, said the DAA solution is an example of how Experian is leveraging on alternative data as a starting point to build financial identities for the unbanked and underserved communities across the region.

Together with the company’s other efforts around investing in and working with key financial marketplaces in the region, such as CekAja and RinggitPlus, Experian said in a news release yesterday that it remained committed to the region and aimed to continue empowering consumers with enhanced access to financial products.

DAA offers are extended to eligible high-value, low-risk prepaid mobile phone subscribers when their mobile phone account balances are running low. The offer for every eligible subscriber is determined by their credit risk profile, top-up behaviour, airtime and data usage and response rates. Over time, the service builds up a profile for eligible subscribers by monitoring their usage and behavioural patterns, which can help create stronger financial identities for eligible subscribers.

Experian’s DAA solution has supported and empowered communities in times of emergency and distress. For instance, after a natural disaster occurred in a Southeast Asian market, Experian worked with the telco to offer emergency credit advances to all of the its subscribers for three days regardless of their eligibility. Subscribers were able to remain in touch to alert their friends and families of their safety and whereabouts.

Extending its engagement beyond building the initial financial identity of consumers with DAA, Experian also works with its partner mobile network operators, using anonymised subscriber usage and behavioural data, to facilitate premium pre-qualification of consumers for financial institutions to extend cash loans, credit cards and insurance to them.

Experian is focused on making a social impact in the underbanked markets by maximising the use of alternate data such as telco data, to help strengthen the financial identities of the consumers, thereby enhancing their quality of life.