India Archives - Emerging Markets Today

How Trade and Trade Finance can Help Emerging Markets

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 Ana Paula Picasso

How can trade and trade finance help emerging markets? Here is my chat with Andrea Frosinini, a trade finance advisor and he is also on the advisory board of TOTTA (Trans-Oceanic Trade Tech Alliance) and Blockchain Supply Chain Association. We talked about how the blockchain technology can revolutionize international trade and supply chain, making trade and trade finance more inclusive for businesses in developing countries. Also, we discussed the challenges for changing the mindset of traditional financial institutions and why Andrea thinks that cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, will cause a bigger impact in emerging markets.…

Emerging Markets will leapfrog to renewable energy

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 Guest

Emerging markets are about to leapfrog fossil fuels to generate all the growth in their electricity supply from renewables in this decade. The peak global fossil fuel usage for electricity generation was probably 2018. The emerging markets are key to the global transition.

E-waste: how emerging markets can leapfrog to circular economy

March 1, 2021April 9, 2021 Guest

According to Wikipedia, India is the “fifth largest electronic waste producer in the world” with approximately 2 million tons of e-waste being generated annually plus an undisclosed amount of e-waste coming from other countries around the world.

Why it’s easier for India to get to Mars than to tackle its toilet challenge

December 23, 2020May 12, 2021 Guest

According to the Indian census of 2011, only 46.9% of the 246.6 million households in India had their own toilet facilities, while 3.2% had access to public toilets. In this context, the remaining 49.8% households had no option but to defecate in the open.

Opinion: will local brands dominate emerging markets?

March 15, 2019March 28, 2019 Ana Paula Picasso

The global market of consumer packaged goods is US$ 1.2 trillion and global brands are facing strong competition from local brands in emerging markets. And what’s the global companies’ strategy to remain in relevant in emerging markets? They act fast to acquire these established and already much profitable local brands. In India, for example, the government policy from the invasion of foreign brands made local brand Thumbs Up cola the country’s market leader. In the early 90’s, when the Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Coca-Cola was more than quick…

Forget Black Friday: Emerging Markets eCommerce thrives with other ideas

November 23, 2017November 22, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

In emerging markets, Black Friday is present in a lesser scale – different countries have bigger and better sales days. Here is a quick round-up. India Black Friday in India is taking its first steps – the main shopping date still is Diwali. However, some eCommerce sites are investing on Black Friday. We can’t talk about Indian eCommerce without mentioning local marketplace site Flipkart. As internet penetration growth accelerates web sales, Flipkart is giving Amazon India a run for its money. Flipkart beat Amazon India in the latest festive season…

Emerging Markets Have a Lot to Teach Us About Entrepreneurship

November 1, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are legendary American entrepreneurs. These giants’ success stories might make it seem as if the United States owns the market when it comes to the secrets of commercial success. I would argue the opposite is true: Developing nations and emerging markets have important entrepreneurship lessons to teach more affluent counties. Programs within Chile, India and Brazil, for example, have encouraged economic growth and entrepreneurship. These same efforts and principles could be applied to advance the United States even further. Government initiatives Government initiatives in emerging markets have played…

Banking the unbanked in emerging markets

July 10, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

As countries progress, citizens migrate from remote villages to large cities and foreign countries. Their economic power rises and they participate in the global economy. People need to purchase food, pay electricity bills, top up transportation cards, arrange online services, buy overseas goods, repay loans, and send money to relatives. Unlike the U.S., however, where 93% of peoplehave banking options, many in developing markets do not. Globally, an estimated 2 billion adults lack access to formal financial services. The services that are available are typically cumbersome and expensive. To address this gap, fintech startups…

Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video: Who’s winning in emerging markets?

July 3, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

As internet penetration is growing exponentially in some emerging economies, particularly Brazil and India, the two biggest video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are going all in. Amazon Leading the Way, Netflix Trailing Behind Amazon came to India in 2013 and has already caught up with India’s biggest eCommerce site Flipkart in only 3 years. The numbers were impressive, from 2015 to 2016 Amazon grew its business 120%. In December 2016, Amazon launched its Prime Video service there. The price was an important factor in attracting new subscribers: charging only $15 per…

How an aging population will impact emerging markets

June 1, 2017March 1, 2021 Ana Paula Picasso

China’s elderly population will keep growing while the working age population will proportionally shrink over the next few decades. This is particularly worrying as in absolute number terms it means a huge over-65 population in the near future.