Apr 9 2022
The Need for Green Energy Ramps Up; Oil and Gas Sectors in the Energy Transition

“A transition to clean energy is about making an investment in our future.” – Gloria Reuben

Nowadays oil and gas sectors face opposition from the public because of the environmental impact of fossil fuels.  Apart from the public, stakeholders and policymakers also express their opinions on the need for alternate energy since the world with green energy will seem significantly different from today’s world. If oil, gas and coal companies want to remain successful in their domains, they need to focus on not only surviving the low carbon energy generation but also on producing green energy.

The energy transition has become a challenging question due to the demand, social and financial future of oil, gas and coal sectors all over the world. The value of these sectors in producing next-generation energy resources and technologies will depend on how well they apply Environmental Social Governance principles to their green energy-related business models. Here, let’s see some of the best green energy sources that could be great solutions to global energy needs in the future and innovative methods for sectors in the energy transition.

Wind Energy

Wind energy, specifically appropriate to offshore and higher altitude sites, depends on the power of airflow that pushes turbines to generate electricity. The form of kinetic energy is converted into mechanical power with the power of wind turbines, and then mechanical power is converted into electricity through a generator. Mountains, vegetation and water bodies control wind flow patterns, and the wind is caused by several elements – the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, rotation of the earth and variations in the earth’s surface. We can use wind energy because it is available everywhere on the earth.

Solar Power

This type of green energy source is generated using photovoltaic cells that capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. There are several benefits of sunlight in our daily lives such as Solar Electricity, Solar Lighting, Solar Heating, Solar Water Heating, Solar Ventilation, Portable Solar and Solar Transportation. As the sun is a boundless energy source, it is the ultimate approach to solving the energy needs of the world. And also, solar energy brings a number of business and job opportunities.

Hydropower

Hydropower has been the most commonly used form of renewable energy. Through the flow of water in rivers, dams and streams, we get hydropower. This type of energy is generated by capturing the energy based on the forces created by flowing water. Generally, hydropower is generated by storing water in a dam or reservoir.

Biomass

Biomass, one of the types of sustainable and renewable energy, is the fuel that is developed from organic materials such as scrap lumber, forest debris, certain crops, manure and some types of waste residues and is very useful for rural areas Biomass provides us with some other benefits that include protecting our environment and generating business opportunities.

Geothermal Energy

It is a clean and sustainable form of energy. We get this type of green energy from the thermal energy stored under the curst of the earth. It is used in more than twenty countries for heating and cooling purposes and the US is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world.

Tidal

The least popular energy source but has the enormous capability of becoming one in the succeeding years. It can be produced in two ways: barrage generation or tidal stream generators. The power it produces is environmentally friendly and has less effect on ecosystems. 

Companies in the transition

The following energy companies, which have already started projects for the energy transition, are the major energy-focused companies and have agreed to six energy transition principles such as; 1. Public support for the goals of the Paris agreement, 2. Industry decarbonisation, 3. Energy system collaboration, 4. Development of carbon sinks, 5. Transparency and 6. Industry and trade associations.

ExxonMobil

Exxon, one of the largest international oil companies, has focused on its interest in investing in renewable energy technologies for future projects. They plan to promote well-made, high-impact policies that can advance the deployment of market-based, cost-wise solutions.  Even though the major strategy of the company revolves around decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, the company has signed an agreement to buy 2.5 million barrels of renewable diesel.

Beyond Petroleum                                                                                          

BP, the first big oil company which started renewable projects, generates energy from wind and solar. Beyond Petroleum, formerly known as the British Petroleum Company, has more than 2200 megawatts of wind capacity in the US, and invested in and built a renewable energy capacity of 50 gigawatts by 2030. It also develops bio-energy offer solutions for marine, heavy-duty transportation and aviation and a few of its most thrilling work is in venturing, where they are creating investments in a variety of smart technologies and exploring new business models.

Eni                                                                                                                                

Eni, an Italian company, has long-term goals and plans related to renewable energy. Currently, the company is coming up with two new business groups: Natural Resources and Energy Evolution. With the purpose of growing its offshore and onshore wind capacity, Eni has made partnerships with Norwegian Energy Company Equinor and GE Renewable Energy in France. With clean energy sources as an important corporate strategy, Eni, an integrated energy company, aims at achieving the entire decarbonization of its processes and products by 2050.-

Shell

Shell, one of the global groups of energy companies, uses advanced energy technologies to build a sustainable energy future. It is investing in a much lower-carbon technology such as wind and solar, new electric vehicle charging and hydrogen and an interconnected power business that will provide electricity to millions of industries, homes and companies. It reinforces global economic activity and develops the quality of life.  The total plan of Shell for renewable is to invest $500m a year in clean energy technologies.

Chevron

Chevron, with the aim of creating a better life with reliable and affordable clean energy, believes in the power of energy for a brighter future. Even though Chevron’s investments in renewable have been comparatively scant, this US company has invested in solar, wind and geothermal projects for the last two decades. In 2018, Chevron opened a Future Energy Fund with the first commitment of $100m. 

Renewable Energy Organizations and Research Centres

Research related to renewable energy research in order to invent new approaches or technologies to counter climate change is on the rise around the world. The key concept of this research is to lead the world with clean energy solutions. These are the most renowned research centres and organizations, and the companies in the energy transition use their latest technologies or methods for green energy generation.

  • American Council on Renewable Energy
  • American Solar Energy Society
  • American Wind Energy Association
  • Biomass Thermal Energy Council
  • Centre for Alternative Technology
  • Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology 
  • Citizen Partnerships for Offshore Wind 
  • Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington
  • Environmental and Energy Study Institute
  • European Renewable Energy Council
  • Florida Solar Energy Centre
  • Geothermal Energy Association
  • Geothermal Rising
  • International Hydropower Association 
  • International Renewable Energy Agency 
  • International Renewable Energy Alliance
  • International Solar Energy Society
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory 
  • Solar Energy Industries Association
  • World Bio-energy Association

Conclusion

In view of the above, we have concluded that green energy can dominate the corporate world if the oil, gas and coal sectors adopt appropriate transition measures. Green energy, which provides a cleaner alternative to many present energy sources, is the hope of the future world. These energy sources are not only good for the environment but also good for job creation. When it comes to fossil fuels, they do not provide a long-time solution to our energy needs and the related energy sources don’t create many job opportunities in this post-pandemic world. As per the statement of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), green energy offers several compelling environmental benefits for the future of the entire world. Hence, companies can create a sustainable energy-centred future, without polluting and damaging the entire world, but with a number of business opportunities.

Syed Abdul Kader 0 Comments
Apr 8 2022
Artificial Intelligence – An Avalanche of Business Opportunities

“Artificial intelligence is the future and the future is here.”
~ Dave Waters

AI or Artificial intelligence, today’s most innovative technology, is all about creating intelligent machines that do tasks usually done only by human intelligence. In simple words, it is the brainpower validated by machines and computers that are automated through codes to impersonate the natural intelligence demonstrated by human beings.

Not many of us know that Artificial intelligence is impacting our day-to-day life immensely. Yes! Have you ever wondered how your smartphone unlocks with your face ID or how social media feeds are personalized & how google gives recommendations when you search for a term on google search? You guessed it right. It’s AI!

AI is creating an avalanche of business possibilities today. It has different categories such as Mundane to Formal and also Expert tasks! Let’s look at some domains where Artificial Intelligence proves to be highly lucrative.

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industry

Personalization guarantees guest satisfaction. The travel & tourism industry and sectors like the hotel industry, airline industry, restaurant industry, and travel agents within it have adopted AI for several assistances, some of them are: 

  • Chatbots and Online Customer Service

AI chatbots offer a relevant response to the customers by understanding their queries & give them related information, just like a human does. But unlike humans, it is very prompt & can function 24/7 without breaks or pays yet it provides a pleasant experience to the guests.

  • Data Processing and Data Analysis

Apart from customer service AI is used in this sector to gather and interpret data about their customers. AI can also sort this data more rapidly and precisely than a human can, and that too without errors. 

  • Personalized Recommendations

AI is applied to offer personalized travel recommendations & options by using the data like the interests, budgets, and past search history of the customers. This helps the customers to effortlessly make their travel choices which in turn improves the profits of the company. 

  • Tracking and booking trips

AI-based booking apps track prices & recommend the customers the best times to book flights as well as make hotel reservations, by accurate prediction of prices, well in advance.

Fitness Industry

Yes, AI is revolutionizing the Fitness Industry in several ways and transforming home workouts into a smarter, better, and less expensive method to keep people’s health on track.

  • AI-Based Personal Trainers

People desire fitness but with their hectic schedules & time shortage, do not go to the gym. Also, hiring a personal trainer is not affordable at all. AI comes as a huge rescue for such people. AI-based fitness app provides the luxury of personalized trainers to guide & monitor the accuracy and the pace of the exercise, at any time and any place. 

  • Smart Wearables and Exercise Equipment

Wearables assist their users in tracking their fitness

activities, counting the calories burnt, detecting irregular heartbeats and signs of diabetes, etc. AI fortified exercise equipment when fed with some personal details, and offers recommendations to their users to exercise competently. 

  • Sales promotion

AI integrated fitness apps help fitness companies to find their prospective customers and collect & sort their data. Companies use this data to boost their sales and improve profits.

Healthcare Industry

AI plays a significant role in the Healthcare Industry by accomplishing tasks that are usually done by humans only, and that too faster, more precisely & cost-effectively than humans. 

  • Medical Diagnosis

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been synonymous with competence in the medical field. It has grown to become the second pair of eyes that never need to rest. AI-based medical diagnoses are automated & and can detect diseases like cancer even if the symptoms are not explicitly evident. Such diagnoses are mostly accurate.

  • Symptoms examination 

When patients mention their symptoms & health complaints in symptoms examining AI Chatbots, it uses its algorithm to precisely diagnose the disease. It also guides the patients toward appropriate health care.

  • Drug discovery and Development

This use of AI has been amassed in various sectors of humanity, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. AI help in discovering & designing new drugs and enhances R&D while speeding up the time and cutting off the extensive process involved in it. 

Logistics & Supply Chain Management 

AI has positively transformed the logistics and supply chain industry. It contributes a lot to reducing operating costs and is more efficient to use when it comes to responding to clients.

  • Accurate Inventory Management 

AI helps to prevent understocking and overstocking of inventory with its smart algorithms that can predict and determine consumer habits & seasonal demands.

  • Timely Delivery 

AI speeds up the warehouse processes by eliminating manual work, & operational shortcomings in the value chain. Thus, timely delivery goals can be smoothly accomplished. 

  • Warehouse Management 

AI manages warehouse security by tracking individuals who are entering and exiting the warehouse. Not just that it also tracks the goods in the warehouse with their barcodes and thus helps in keeping the inventory data updated. 

Marketing sector

  • Product recommendations 

AI recommends products & services to prospective customers based on their online search. AI understands & speculates people’s choices based on their behavior on the internet and recommends to them the products/services they are likely to purchase. More importantly, AI is effective in the Marketing Sector as speed is necessary. It empowers scalable growth, pushes profit, and customizes customer experience.

  • Dynamic pricing

AI automatically prices a product based on its demand & availability in an online market. This process needs no human intervention at all.

  • Targeting Ads

AI can be used to display ads to potential customers based on their relevant search on a search engine or social media. 

Cybersecurity Industry 

With increasing cyber-attacks & complications associated with them, the cybersecurity industry is applying AI in its operations to keep cyber threats at bay.

  • Threat exposure

AI-empowered security systems reveal the new trends hackers follow, worldwide as well as in a specific sector. This information can be used to make crucial decisions to protect against cyber danger. 

  • Phishing Detection

AI-based cybersecurity systems are capable of recognizing spam emails, determining if a website is genuine or fake and thus preventing phishing threats, breaches as well as data loss caused by malicious emails. 

  • Biometric Authentication

Biometric systems with AI make very precise and fail-proof verification with Face Recognition, Voice Recognition, Fingerprint Recognition, etc. 

Retail Industry

Just like the online marketplace, the retail industry also prefers the usage of AI for boosting sales and enhancing customer experience. AI supports retail systems to work together and enhance customer experiences, managing inventory, forecasting, and more.  

  • Smart Product Searches

Artificial intelligence simplifies product search for customers by allowing them to click a picture of any product online or offline and letting them search for the retailer who sells over the internet.

  • Personalization and Customer Insights 

Consumers can enjoy a personalized shopping experience with AI-based technology. It makes use of face recognition to spot a customer who is revisiting a shop and recommends products based on their preferences. 

  • Better In-Store Experience

AI-built system can cut down the operational cost of any retail store by taking away the need for a salesperson & a cashier, thus eliminating queues too. It also helps to monitor stocks & restock them instantly. 

In conclusion, AI has the power to improve the output and profits of any business. And so, companies are dynamically searching for new ventures to make the best of AI. Companies must create AI usage ideas for any specific sector to generate promising AI business opportunities. 

Arti Mudaliar 0 Comments
Apr 6 2022
Why is India Emerging as “The Land of Agritech Business Opportunity?”

“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man.” – George Washington

AgriTech is the abbreviation of Agricultural technology. It means the application of technology in Agriculture to enhance the yield, efficiency, and profits.

Why India is the best place for the AgriTech business?

Nearly 58% of India’s population is dependent on agriculture as their main source of livelihood. India is a substantially agrarian economy and so there is huge potential for growth of the AgriTech industry in India.

At an earlier time, agriculture was a powerful economic sector of India. However, with the rise in industrialization, service & manufacturing-based economy, and rural to urban migration of labors, agriculture failed to get the attention it deserves from entrepreneurs & policy-makers.

The decrease in land holdings, shrinking agricultural land but increasing population, depletion of groundwater, poor seed quality, and lack of agricultural mechanization are the major problems that hinder the growth of agriculture here. Further, a disorganized supply chain & produce marketing system, malpractices within that system, farmer exploitation, lack of proper transport & storage facilities, lack of access to credit as well as the latest technology has pathetically lowered the incomes of farmers.

Consequently, there is a huge demand & enormous opportunity for AgriTech start-ups in India. There is immense scope in improving crop yield & farming efficiency, enriching the nutritional value of crops, cutting down input costs, improving the supply chain & creating minimal wastage distribution. There is also a brilliant possibility in the segment of market linkages like retail, B2C as well as B2B market. Banks have also been cooperative in developing new platforms that can provide solutions that may contribute to AgriTech start-ups’ transformation.

The future of the AgriTech market in India

India will witness AgriTech as a rapidly booming industry with no signs of slowing down in the coming times. The AgriTech segment in India is preparing itself for growth in the next two decades and so will surely attract investors and create excellent infrastructures as well as make way for sustainable market connections.  Food production is always a huge concern here due to the increasing population.

In 2013, India had only 43 start-ups in this sector, but it progressively increased to 1000 start-ups in 2020. The numbers are expected to grow further with the rising interest of the investors. The catalysts factor responsible for the growth of this number includes a rise in digital infrastructure & increasing internet penetration in rural parts of the country.

The turnover of the AgriTech market in India in the year 2020 is 204 million USD & is still under 1% of its market potential.

India’s AgriTech market is estimated to grow up to 24.1 billion USD by 2025.

The five chief AgriTech market segments that seize the largest share of the AgriTech market value include:

  1. Supply chain tech & output market linkages
    • It is the largest segment with an estimated value of 12 billion USD by 2025.
  2. Financial services
    • It is the second-largest segment with an estimated worth of 4.1 billion USD by 2025.
  3. Precision Agriculture & farm management
    • It is estimated to reach up to 3.4 billion USD by 2025.
  4. Quality management and traceability
    • It is estimated to grow up to 3 billion USD by 2025
  5. Supplying farm inputs
    • This segment is estimated to value up to 1.7 billion USD by 2025

AgriTech Trends in India

Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS)

It involves offering pay-per-use-based technology solutions, farm services & agricultural equipment leasing at a reasonable price for efficient farming. EM3 Agri Services is the company that introduced FaaS to India.

Big Data

Utilizing Big Data Technology to offer farm management solutions, input channel solutions, and enhance sustainability. It also includes combining technology & advanced analytics for risk mitigation, forecasting solution, Traceability & compliance. CropIn, AgNext, and Airwood are some of the companies working on this idea.

Robotic Technologies

Robotic technology is applied in agriculture to boost productivity in processes like spraying, weeding, crop-harvesting, fruit-picking, etc., and nowadays often in doing more intricate and precise tasks. Its demand is rising due to its immense help in solving problems like labor shortage, high labor cost, and the shortcomings of traditional methods. TartanSense, and Grobomac are examples of companies that apply robotics for farming.

Crop Monitoring Technologies

It is about monitoring crops utilizing advanced drones technology and satellites all through their growth, harvesting, and storage phase to eliminate any possible risks of losses. Examples include Equinox’s Drones and SGS India.

Supply Chain and Logistics

It utilizes technology to improve crop storage, packaging & shelf life, food security & traceability. Examples include the Farm to business companies like Crofarm & Ninjacart. These companies source produce from farmers and supply it to businesses. These companies offer digitized Agri-supply chains thus offering efficient, zero wastage distribution.

IoT sensory system

Advanced IoT based software is used to track & give precise information related to

  • Soil parameters like moisture, pH level, temperature, etc.
  • Environmental parameters like humidity, temperature, light intensity
  • Realtime Geographical parameters

to improve productivity, maximize yields, curtail waste, and conserve resources like water & fertilizer. Companies that execute this technology include AIGROEDGE & Infosys.

Vertical farming

It is a smart farming system in which the crops are grown stacked in vertical layers to solve the space shortage problems. The most popular method of several vertical farming techniques includes:

Hydroponics

This technique needs no soil to grow crops by adding mineral nutrients of the correct amount in the water they are grown.

UGF (URBAN GREEN FATE) farms, Homecrop, and Pindfresh are a few examples of vertical & hydroponics farming solutions offering companies in India.  

Drones in Farming

Drones in Farming contribute to lower down the cost. Drones help farmers to overcome challenges by consolidating raw data, which decodes very useful information for farm nursing.

What support does the Indian government provide to the AgriTech Start-ups?

The Indian government provides multiple incentive schemes to encourage AgriTech Start-ups in India. Here are the various steps taken to provide a major boost to India’s Agricultural Industry:

  • The government of India has launched ASPIRE to create a network of tech technology centers and incubation centers to promote AgriTech Start-ups.
  • The Government’s NSTEDB start-up scheme offers limited, one-time, non-recurring financial aid, up to INR 25 Lakhs.
  • The quantum of SFAC Venture Capital Assistance will be subject to the project cost and can be the minimum of the following:
    • > 26% of the promoter’s equity
    • > INR 50 Lakhs.
  • SERB has no maximum-minimum limit for a project grant. The budget depends on the need for its successful implementation.
  • Soil Health Cards have been launched to improve the productivity of certain crops reasonably and shall be issued to all 14 crore holdings in India. About 248 lakh samples are to be analyzed in 3 years cycle.

In 2020, The ministry of agriculture planned to invest INR 36.71 Cr to support 346 AgriTech & allied sector Startups.

Arti Mudaliar 0 Comments
Apr 6 2022
Skyrocket Your Sales And Profits With The Global Sales Network

What is “Global Sales Network”?
Global Sales Network, abbreviated as GSN is a powerful strategic sales platform for companies all over the world to successfully market their products and services in the global marketplace quickly, smoothly, and cost-effectively.

WTO has predicted global merchandise trade volume growth of 10.8% in 2021—up from 8.0% forecasted in March and followed by a 4.7% rise in 2022. Global market penetration opens the door of opportunity for conglomerates and companies to achieve global economic growth, reach new audiences, and create more demand for products and services.

However, there are many intimidating challenges for companies going global.

Let’s see how GSN helps companies to overcome those challenges and supports them in skyrocketing their sales and profits.

GSN Facilitates Global Selling Without Heavy Investment
Global expansion is not feasible for every company as it requires huge investment.

GSN offers the best strategic sales partnership program to help companies to find the right strategic partners. Strategic business partners team up and operate together to create mutual benefits and success.

This means that companies can leverage their strategic partner’s business expertise, skills, resources, infrastructure, and distribution network. Thus, they can sell their products all around the world without heavy investment.

In return, they can support and facilitate their strategic partners in realizing their business goals.

GSN Helps With Low Budget Marketing
GSN allows companies to spend less to promote their products to penetrate into global markets.

​Businesses, particularly in these pandemic times have limited budgets. This means promoting their business can become a tough challenge for them.

Experts in the field can offer low-budget marketing ideas, strategies, resources to promote the company’s products and services effectively in the international market.

GSN provides partnerships with the largest companies
Companies can sell their products or services along with the largest companies such as Amazon, McDonalds, eBay, Walmart, KFC, and so on. Some of the companies can easily make a large number of sales since they are not just selling along with a big company, but with several big companies at the same time.

For companies to skyrocket their sales, it is the best option since they can collaborate with a wide range of companies at the same time. Some of them may be digital while some of them are physical. They can also join hundreds of affiliation networks that have thousands of products and services available to choose from.

GSN Minimizes and Mitigates Complex Challenges
When companies go global, they face tough challenges related to fluctuating currency rates, foreign laws and regulations, global pricing strategy, payment methods, competing with local brands, supply chain complexity, acquiring and retaining talent, tax and compliance issues, language barriers, and cultural differences, etc.

GSN offers solutions to these daunting international business challenges while reducing costs, mitigating risks, and boosting profits.

GSN Cuts Down Lengthy Business and Marketing Processes
Business processes are crucial for any company to effectively execute its business strategies. Any business that grows and develops progressively gets more and more complex. More people engage in its day-to-day business operations, its data gets divided among diverse systems, and its customers expect more options. Eventually, its business processes become highly complex, lengthy, inconsistent as well as hard to manage.

GSN helps client companies in cutting down lengthy business and marketing processes by evaluating and enhancing them. So, the client companies save huge labor costs as well as reduce operational expenses while increasing their revenues.

GSN Assists Distribution Channels Expanding
Product distribution can be very troublesome for any company expanding globally. If sales decline by a considerable margin, then it can result in business stagnation.

And so, any company that wants to grow its business and improve sales, must constantly explore new distribution channels. It can help the company sort out inconsistent buying by its customer base and boost sales.

Not just that, discovering new distribution channels can build a strong brand internationally, and make the business less susceptible to the fluctuations of the current distribution channels. GSN also helps its clients’ companies in maintaining the quality of their product distribution so they can increase their sales and profits.

GSN Helps to Discover New Opportunities
There are countless new ways to boost global sales. However, just putting effort to find ways to improve sales cannot assure successful business growth. Any business that seeks success in the global markets must incessantly try to discover new techniques for improving the quality of its product or service, understand the changing demands of its customers, and seek innovation. Any business leader aspiring expansion of international sales must explore new opportunities.

GSN helps client companies to identify and understand the nature and trends of the markets they want to penetrate in. It creates an ultimate global business network for its client companies so that they discover innovative business opportunities and investment opportunities internationally.

If you aim to make the world your target market, then you definitely need the support of the Global Sales Network, to grow your business globally.

Dhunicorn’s GSN offers immense value & incredible results to any company that wants to expand globally, with the support of its substantial business resources, extensive business networks, professional guidance, and other services and platforms of Dhunicorn.

Dhunicorn’s GSN assists our client companies to grow their sales by providing them with a business network of 40,000 public listed companies from over 200 countries and territories around the world. They can get sales leads and referrals, global sales partners, resources, diverse channels through this valuable business networking.

Applying their local business strategies for international sales expansion is the worst idea for any company. GSN is a platform of Dhunicorn which has clients and members in more than 40 countries. It operates in a network of over 1000 internal and associated consultants, advisors, experts, and professors worldwide.

The client companies thus get the advantage of the international business networking as well as professional consultative support of GSN which can tremendously help them in boosting their sales and profits.

To get further information & to know how Global Sales Network can help your company with international sales expansion. Contact us at info@dhunicorn.com.

Arti Mudaliar 0 Comments