NEWS
Ericsson commits to Japan R & D investment
Ericsson plans to ramp up its commitment to Japan’ s connectivity ecosystem through R & D investment that will initially see up to 300 high-skilled next-generation telecoms jobs created in the country.
This will also enable Japan’ s ecosystem to become an integral part of Ericsson’ s global ecosystem.
Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm said while the process is in its initial stages, the commitment is actively being progressed.
“ Japan is known around the world for embracing emerging technology and being frontrunner adopters of new generations of connectivity.
“ We are on the cusp of the biggest transformative and innovative changes in the history of technology and connectivity is the key to making them happen through open high-performing programmable networks. Ericsson’ s intention is to invest in that pioneering Japanese legacy through advanced RAN R & D in 5G, and beyond, to benefit the entire telecoms ecosystem of partners, suppliers and customers in Japan,” he said.
The speed, low-latency, large data capacity and intelligent capabilities of high performing, programmable networks are key to making innovative new technology business use cases – including AI – a reality.
Ericsson began operations in Japan in 1985 and has offices in Tokyo, Yokohama and Sendai. The company currently employs more than 1,000 people in the country.
In addition to the intent to expand research and development operations in Japan, Ericsson is collaborating on 6G research with the Yokohama National University and the University of Electro-Communications.
Begini and Bank of Punjab join forces on SME credit access initiative in Pakistan
Begini has launched a strategic partnership with the Bank of
Punjab( BOP), one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan, to support the launch of the CM Punjab Asaan Karobar Card initiative – the country’ s largest SME credit card lending program.
Designed to expand access to credit in one of the world’ s most underserved markets, the program is powered by an end-to-end digital lending platform, offering a seamless, scalable solution for financially empowering small and micro enterprises across Punjab.
“ Our behavioural data solutions unlock risk insights where conventional data falls short.”
“ In light of Government of the Punjab’ s topmost priority in generating economic activity through encouraging small-scale businesses, this is a game changer program by BOP under the strengthened focus of the State Bank of Pakistan on expanding SME financing,” said Nofel Daud, Chief Digital Officer, BOP.
Pakistan’ s 5.2 million SMEs generate 40 % of GDP and employ more than 80 % of the non-agricultural workforce, yet the vast majority lack access to formal finance. The partnership addresses this longstanding challenge using Begini’ s first-party, opt-in behavioural insights and psychometric scoring, enabling lenders to confidently assess businesses with little or no traditional financial history.
The solution went live in under two weeks and has already processed over 1 million assessments in just eight weeks, a signal of both product-market fit and operational scalability.
“ This partnership validates Begini’ s ability to drive financial inclusion at scale, with speed and precision,” said James Hume, CEO, Begini.
16 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www. intelligentcio. com