Twiga Foods in Kenya, a platform helping farmers distribute produce to food stalls, partnered with IBM to extend microloans to stall vendors. IBM created a system to help these sellers receive credit scores; a machine learning algorithm analyzes their mobile purchase records and calculates a credit score. The end-to-end lending process is then...
Despite major initiatives to digitize healthcare information, major improvements in transparency and interoperability among various groups in the healthcare system are still necessary. By reducing administrative errors and friction through the application of blockchain technology, healthcare information could be exchanged more efficiently....
Package delivery is quickly becoming a more decentralized market given the rising popularity of on-demand services, which is what the 'Shippa' app aims to help build on. Positioned as a world traveler delivery service, the platform enables travelers to take packages with them when heading out of a trip to make a bit of extra money. This also...
The Marshall Islands will soon circulate physical banknotes representing the world’s first decentralized national digital currency. This is happening under an agreement with Tangem, a Swiss maker of blockchain-enabled smart card wallets for cryptocurrencies. The physical banknotes will take the form of a smart card powered by a blockchain-...
Tiffany & Co. is introducing a new provenance tool as it strives to meet its 2020 goal of making the entire journey of its stones transparent. The Diamond Source Initiative will share the origin of all of its mined diamonds which are larger than 0.18 carats. “We are ushering in a new era of transparency for diamonds,” said Tiffany’s chief...
Looking to generate more happiness in the office? Some companies are partnering with local Humane Society branches to to reduce ruff days around the office. There are few things that can make people smile like a cuddling a purring kitten or the joyful wag of a dog's tail. The Toronto Humane Society will bring shelter pets looking for some TLC...
Tokenized assets are here to stay. The current race is about who can get regulated products to the market first and then who can successfully gain user adoption. While several projects have purported to tokenize real estate assets, blockimmo is the first to do it within the bounds of existing regulations in two jurisdictions. The blockimmo...
The world's first fully autonomous ferry has been demonstrated in Finland. The Falco used a combination of Rolls-Royce Ship Intelligence technologies to make the outward journey. The vessel detected objects using sensor fusion and artificial intelligence and conducted collision avoidance. It also demonstrated automatic berthing with an...
The Inc. 5000 list is out and one of the most interesting revelations from it is that all of the fastest-growing franchises from this year's are all part of a health-focused wellness trend. The leaders are: Orangetheory Fitness, FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers, Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids, iLoveKickboxing, GYMGUYZ, Club Pilates...
PNC Bank is piloting dynamic CVV cards that use an e-ink screen on the reverse of the card to display a continuously updated three-digit CVV security code. The US-based bank plans to begin offering the cards to its Treasury Management division’s commercial cardholders in early 2019. PNC is using cards based on Visa’s Dynamic CVV2 Specification...