Category: Global News of Significance

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Reserve Bank of India sets up Innovation Hub

Image Courtesy: RBI Innovation Hub
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Global News of Significance

Reserve Bank of India sets up Innovation Hub

The traditional banking Industry has not matched the pace of other industries and is looked at as a slow-moving sector when it comes to innovation. But the disruptive technological developments and new policies and regulations are pushing banks to be more transparent, open, collaborative, secure, and innovative.

In this line, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank and regulatory body responsible for the regulation of the Indian banking system, has started an innovation hub in Bengaluru. The aim is to bring convergence among various stakeholders in the financial innovation space.

Inaugurated by RBI Governer Shri Shaktikanta Das the hub was set up earlier this year with an initial capital contribution of ₹100 crores. The RBIH will work to create an ecosystem that would help BFSI Sector, Start-up ecosystem, Regulators & Academia. The focus will be on promoting access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.

The Hub will encourage and nurture financial innovation and bring ‘world-class’ innovation to the financial sector in India, coupled with the underlying theme of financial inclusion.

The Hub has an independent Board and will be guided and managed by a Governing Council (GC) led by a Chairperson. The Reserve Bank has appointed Shri Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and former co-Chairman, Infosys, as the first Chairperson.

The Hub will collaborate with financial sector institutions, the technology industry, and academic institutions and coordinate efforts for the exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related to financial innovations. It also would develop internal infrastructure to promote fintech research and facilitate engagement with innovators and start-ups.

The government of India has asked state-run banks to explore collaboration with startups and fintech and promote innovative products. Banks world over are collaborating with startups to overcome challenges and harness innovation to accelerate inclusive finance, scale their technology, and improve access to capital.

With this in Background, RBIH aims to provide a platform for all financial ecosystem stakeholders and aid them in formulating forward-looking innovation strategies while identifying challenges in the Indian financial system and addressing them through research and consultation.

Reach out to open-innovator@quotients.com to know more about corporate open innovation updates, programs, and collaboration opportunities.

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How Coca-Cola is Driving Growth through Innovation

image Courtesy: Coca Cola
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Global News of Significance

How Coca-Cola is Driving Growth through Innovation

Thirty-five years ago, Coca-Cola partnered with NASA to become one of the first soft drinks to travel to space. The iconic soft drink maker has always relied on experimentation and using the power of design-thinking techniques to drive growth for the business and is known for developing and launching innovative beverages, equipment, distribution models, and programs.

Coca-Cola with Bluetooth-enabled cap

Recently, Coca-Cola in India has rolled out a technological product innovation – a locked Coke fitted with a unique Bluetooth-enabled cap. The bottle is programmed to open only in the presence of the sender’s mobile phone.

With this limited edition bottle of the beverage for the festive season, Coca-Cola seeks to evoke a feeling of togetherness among people as the bottle acts as a symbolic reminder of a promise made to meet in person.

The bottle can be ordered via a microsite by filling in the gift recipient’s residential address and a customized festive wish or message. The recipients will then receive the customized bottle via delivery, which will be pre-programmed to detect the presence of the sender’s mobile phone in order for it to be unlocked.

Transformational Innovation Team

The company has been working to launch innovative products in different parts of the world. For example, the company in North America has set up ‘Transformational Innovation Teams’ that partner with brands and business units to take new drinks in unfamiliar spaces. The team is a rotating group of specialists from Research and Development (R&D), Quality, Safety & Environmental Sustainability, Technical Commercialization, and Scientific and Regulatory Affairs (SRA).

Agile design thinking

Working on its goal to move faster and deliver more disruptive innovation, the company is seamlessly implementing learnings and frameworks across the organization and fueling new capabilities to drive growth. There also have been reports of coca cola developing an agile design thinking innovation protocol that centers around users’ desires and needs to identify products that would create an impact in the market.

Pushing Intrapreneurs

The renowned beverage company has also been pushing a group of “intrapreneurs” on a mission to create a ripple effect by sharing learnings with Coca-Cola North America teams leading innovation projects across the system.

Global Innovation Platform

Coca-Cola earlier this year unveiled its new global innovation platform, Coca-Cola Creations. The aim is to take the iconic Coca-Cola trademark and lend it to new expressions, driven by collaboration, creativity, and cultural connections. Through limited-edition, sequential releases, Coca-Cola Creations will introduce new products and experiences across the physical and digital worlds.

Innovation is key to success

For a company to be successful must be in tune with what consumers want, adopting strategies to differentiate and introducing innovative products. The success story of Coca-Cola underlines the importance of continued innovation and the need for successfully differentiating its product and services based on customers’ preferences.

Source: coca-colacompany.com

Reach out to open-innovator@quotients.com to know more about corporate open innovation updates, programs, and collaboration opportunities.

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How Nestlé is taking Innovation to a new level

Image Courtesy: Nestle
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How Nestlé is taking Innovation to a new level

Consumer demands and expectations are continuously evolving, forcing retailers to seek new products to meet these needs. Innovation has thus become vital for the food industry and is critical to ensure profitability.

Innovation is vital for the food industry

Innovation in the food industry is a combination in areas of technology as well as culture. The ultimate innovation has to be throughout the entire food system, starting from production distribution, and including harvesting, primary and secondary processing, manufacturing, etc. The innovation must lead to a new or improved consumer product and service that satisfies the nutritional, personal, and social needs and wants of all communities.

Nestlé, one of the largest companies in the world and the undisputed leader in the food processing industry, is working to build a culture of innovation. Mel Cash, Chief Strategy Officer, Nestlé USA, via a blog has shared her thoughts on how the company aims to meet this goal.

The company has developed new technologies or installed profound structural changes to the ways work is done but for fostering innovation Nestlé sees people as the key.

The Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate has built a culture built around the creativity of employees, where they have the permission to imagine new and innovative products, the resources to explore their big ideas, and the space to activate change and learn what works and what doesn’t.

What if projects

To test new products and business models that appeal to consumers’ evolving tastes, the company has developed the practice where the new Business Ventures team partners with teams across the business to encourage What if projects, lending their expertise on early-stage industry trends.

This partnership has helped Nestle to reach consumers in new ways. For example, there is a global shift in consumer behavior where they are now preferring to buy from digital platforms and direct from home, New Business Ventures team worked with brand teams who were asking the question: what if we could deliver directly to people’s homes? As a result, the company piloted a new delivery service model for freshly baked Toll House cookies. Nestle also partnered with ghost kitchens, DoorDash, GrubHub, and UberEats. Now, it is scaling this idea nationwide in the US.

Open Channel

Another step Nestle took is it has launched Open Channel, a crowd-sourcing initiative that taps into collective creativity. It gives employees the resources to explore new ideas. Open Channel is a platform that allows employees to submit big ideas or vote on ideas they like the most. Based on these ideas the company launched 23 innovative products

Internal Talent Marketplace

Another initiative to push innovation is the internal talent marketplace platform which is an AI-based system that matches employees’ skill sets with projects outside their function. These cultural programs help anyone in any role to become a creator and an innovator.

R+D Accelerator

R+D Accelerator is a unique platform by the food giant where start-ups, students, and intrapreneurs focus on emerging trends to develop product concepts in a six-month immersive ‘idea to shop’ program. Those who are part of this accelerator have been given access to the company’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and science, technology, and business expertise. This allows participants to move quickly – taking ideas from conception to execution over a short timeline,

Most importantly, Nestle has embraced failure as part of innovation and understands that it is essential to learning. Thanks to this culture, the company is using emerging technologies to develop innovative products that meet consumers’ desire to adopt nutritious, environmentally friendly diets.

Reach out to open-innovator@quotients.com to know more about corporate open innovation updates, programs, and collaboration opportunities.

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Jaguar Land Rover announces Open Innovation strategy

Image Courtesy: Jaguar Land Rover
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Jaguar Land Rover announces Open Innovation strategy

Jaguar Land Rover earlier this year announced that it is working on a new Open Innovation strategy. The aim is to accelerate next-generation technology and sustainability to support its Modern Luxury vision for the business, its partners, and its customers.

Under this Open Innovation, the automaker will be driving collaborations with start-ups, scale-ups and like-minded external organisations. The focus will be on electrification, connectivity, digital services, metaverse, intelligent enterprise, manufacturing, supply chain, and sustainability.

The automaker for this will also launch a first-of-its-kind innovation hub in the UK, in partnership with Plug and Play, one of the world’s leading innovation platforms. The

In addition, JLR has also announced two separate partnerships with Cubo Itau and Firjan. Cubo Itau located in São Paulo currently hosts hundreds of start-ups covering several industries like fintech, agribusiness, healthcare and retail; and Firjan is a based in the State of Rio de Janeiro, it is a private entity that represents the 100 industrial employers’ unions, and involved redevelopment of studies and research of fundamental subjects aiming to anticipate trends and bottlenecks in infrastructure, innovation, logistics, etc.

Courtesy: JLR


Tata motors-owned automaker has appointed 70+ ‘champions’ from across key business areas – including sustainability, engineering, design, research, and manufacturing to enable open innovation.

In a statement, the company said it will be is examining at the entire mobility and sustainability ecosystem to offer an unparalleled customer experience, shaping the future of the automotive industry, and paving the way to the future. The focus will be on fields ranging from second-life batteries and circular economy to new fintech, insurtech and digital services.

Emergence of new technologies and consumer trends is impacting the automotive industry with others. This has forced the companies to innovate constantly and present new products and service to stay relevant. Being a a highly competitive and cost sensitive industry companies are devising new innovation strategies and introducing open innovation approaches.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

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