Innotopia Podcast

Blockchain, Bitcoin, and digital currency are no longer just for crypto-fanatics anymore, these technologies are as mainstream as ever. Our host today is PayPal’s Senior Director of Innovation, Mike Todasco, and our guest is PayPal CTO Sri Shivananda. In this episode, they discuss the monumental changes blockchain have brought on our economy and the future evolution of digital currencies.

This episode will be the last episode of Innotopia Season 2, so once again, thank you so much for your continued support.

Covid-19 has changed everything and the impact of the pandemic is not just on our physical world, how we engage in the digital world has also transformed tremendously. Consumers, merchants, and even fraudsters’ behaviors have all changed in the past few months. A One-solution-for-all approach is no longer applicable for preventing sophisticated fraudsters. We need to create a trustworthy ecosystem with partners that can make risk management more seamless and frictionless.

The event industry has been pulling different play strategies to innovate during this period by leveraging on the nation's strong digital infrastructure, to help its customers quickly pivot their physical events to virtual ones. Singapore has long been a leading destination for hosting international events and one that has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic this year. In this episode, PayPal's VP of India, South East Asia, Middle East& Africa, Anupam Pahuja invited Melissa Lou, Co-founder of. Delegate, a free-to-use online platform that allows people to browse event inspirations and book vendors instantly.

As the countries starts rolling out for COVID vaccines, the world sees the light at the end of the tunnel. In a post-pandemic world, will we still be traveling less? Will we still be working from home? What other changes will we see with the acceleration of automation in certain industries and a newly adjusted work habit? PayPal APAC’s Head of Government Relations Steven Chan talks to Dr. Michael Fung, Deputy Chief Executive at SkillsFuture SG, about the implications between New Normal and Normal and how government and corporate help employees to gain more awareness about their skills.

Check it out the Future of Work Singapore report published by PayPal at https://paypal.com/futureofworksg

As stay-at-home orders and country-wide lockdowns start to ease across Asia, people are more excited than ever to connect during the holiday season and undoubtedly, holiday shopping is a priority for many. Kasia Leyden, PayPal’s Senior International Marketing Director, chatted with Sharon Wong, founder, and CEO at motherswork, on navigating online and offline business demands in the new normal. They talked about the company’s efforts to proactively prioritize and expand business pilots into new areas. Sharon also shares her experience in learning to better balance the demands of work and life.

As globalization has made us all more connected and open to diversity, it has also acted as a rude awakening for many companies. Global retail brands have predominantly been dominated by Western European and American companies but their target markets are not one-dimensional. Love, Bonito a Singapore- born clothing brand has been advocating and working towards designing clothes for Asian women. In this episode, Shane Capron from PayPal’s International Marketing team chatted with Rachel Lim, co-founder of Love, Bonito, to learn about her inspiration in creating the unique brand. Rachel also shares tips on finding the perfect gifts for loved ones near or far, during this pandemic.

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, more consumers have been shopping online, leading to the rise of e-commerce. With more transactions, however, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of online scams and malpractice. In the first episode of Innotopia Season 2, PayPal’s APAC Chief Information Security Officer Phoram Mehta sat down with Zalora’s CTO Silvia Thom to learn more about Zalora’s efforts in ensuring customer safety amid the surge in online scams and phishing attempts.

Can innovation can be measured? Inspired by the Lean Start-up methodology, Suzanne Charlotte Vos, Innovation Consultant and PACE Coach at ING Labs in Singapore, shares her secret recipe on the qualitative and quantitative metrics she uses when it comes to measuring innovation.

Data is key to daily operations across sectors, but it doesn’t always have to be dry and boring. Meri Rosich, data scientist, talks about injecting creativity into data interpretation and application.

A strong community and support system matters a lot to start-up founders; especially when faced with challenges because it usually means not having to tackle them alone. In this episode, Joyce Tay, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at StartupX, shares with us how she found a way to build a community and promote collaboration in the innovation ecosystem.