Our digital paradoxes revealed at C2 Montreal

Data transparency in danger

Celebrating her first year out of prison last week, Chelsea Manning was on the big stage this morning to raise awareness on the risks of digital data collection and mass-surveillance from the government.

“Ten years ago, I was working on machine learning technology to find out how to better target people. Today, this has turned into aggressive surveillance. We have moved from a customer-centric marketing to a marketing for death.”

Indeed, it is more than ever urgent to create rules and work towards a greater transparency. Manning, who is a fierce whistle-blower and former US soldier got incarcerated for revealing classified documents. Today, she urges  coders and software developers to assume their ethical responsibility to create more transparent tools.

If we already have encrypted text messaging or softwares like Securedrop that enables the anonymous source to upload information for journalists, the battle is only starting.

Building and scaling technology in Africa

If citizens are fighting for their privacy in our part of the world, others are embracing new technologies and creating new digital products that are both transparent and growth oriented.

Tunde Kehinde is a serial entrepreneur from Nigeria who disrupted the way Africans live and consume thanks to tech tools. He was one of the co-founders of Jumia, the “Amazon of Africa”. Despite the infrastructure challenge – Lagos was for decades among the top 15 worse cities in the world for traffic congestion (according to TomTom Index) – Tunde decided to listen to customers demand and innovate their lives.

(c) Innovation Is Everywhere

To solve the traffic issue, he founded his own e-commerce delivery company, Africa Courrier Express (ACE). Today, his newest company, Lidya, provides African SMEs with access to credit and financing, even when they do not have a bank account.

“Africa is the next go-to market for mobile developers and a trade partner for the future for international companies.”

What we learned from this second day at C2 is that, as the theme of this year’s edition suggests, technology is definitely where the world’s privacy threats and economic growth collide.

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Save money as you spend through Mylo

We have already touched upon fintech on Innovation Montreal: the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to finance projects with a social impact (Impak Finance), or Hardbacon’s app that allow users to become better self-directed investors.

Today we present Mylo: a mobile app that automatically rounds up every purchase you make and invests the spare change.

Fintech on a social mission

What drives Mylo’s founders from the beginning is to make saving and investing accessible for all Canadians and especially for Millennials.

To use Mylo, you do not need any knowledge in finance. Mylo works through a partnership with Tactex Asset Management advisors who invest your money in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

Basically, the more you spend, the more you save… simple, right? If you buy a $3.60 coffee through your debit or credit card, Mylo will automatically round your purchase to $4.00 and invest the extra $0.40.

Going even further, Mylo is not just a tool for investment, it gives recommendations that are customized and personalized. Using artificial intelligence, the app helps its clients optimize important financial decisions such as insurance coverage, interest payments, travel purchases…

“We’re focused on building the next generation of innovative technology, using AI in conjunction with financial data, to help Canadians improve all aspects of their financial lives.”

The financial model is very attractive: there is a monthly fee of $1 to get access to the app. The customized recommendations are completely free but if clients implement the recommendations, the Mylo team then earns a success fee from their partners.

Finance veterans turned startupers

Phil Barrar and Liam Cheung, Founder and Chairman, are already veterans when it comes to financial investment.

Phil is less than 30 but has been into the Canadian entrepreneurial community for a while. He successively launched and sold two ventures after graduating from Concordia University and ended up joining a Montreal investment fund in 2015: Ferst Capital Partners. This is when he started thinking of ways to democratize financial investment decisions. Mylo emerged from his market study in 2016.

Liam joined the adventure later in 2017. With over 25 years of expertise in finance and technology, he had founded Tactico Inc., the parent company of Tactex Asset Management, an investment firm that manages client-focused equity portfolios.

Mylo acquired Tactex gaining more credibility in the process: a relatively new fintech actor had enough power for acquiring a team of portfolio advisers that manages over $110 million in client assets.

From pitching to seed investing, a tremendous growth

Mylo participated to the iconic TV show Dragon’s Den and got a great deal from three of the investors but as months past and as they worked on a beta version, the team managed to secure a strategic offer that made more sense for our company. They raised $2.65-million in seed financing lead by Desjardins Capital which allowed them to officially launch on the App store.

Today, the startup wants to offer more than just an app. On International Women’s Day, Mylo released a report analyzing the gap between women and men when it comes to saving and investing and offering recommendations to reduce the gap and innovate investing habits.