Lasting positive change is born of vision, determination, and a clear plan of action—not platitudes, social-media posts and wishful thinking. And increasingly, it is advanced through the application of the right technology, in the right places, for the right reasons.
Earlier this year, we set out to find and celebrate British change makers who have leveraged technology for good across a range of industries and services. And we found them—harnessing the power of AI to foster healthier finances and relationships; scaling up renewable energy sources; helping re-model healthcare; and providing the digital toolbox for a new generation of startup retail entrepreneurs.
We profiled Sam Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub, a kind of digital financial services go-between, who is championing a new era of financial “wellness” and transparency, where we can not only track and take control of our finances, but leverage the value of our data trail to strike better, fairer deals with financial services and brands more widely.
We spoke to Sachin Raoul, whose Blueheart app provides affordable and accessible relationships therapy. Raoul has designed and developed digital services that eschew the addictive churn of scroll-and-swipe matchmaking, and instead offer succor and support, and a helping hand in the hard work of building long-lasting and healthier relationships.
Raoul began work on developing Blueheart just before Covid-19 hit. It was, as for many businesses, a brake and an accelerant all at once. The advance of remote therapy, like so many trends in technology and beyond, was super-charged by the pandemic, proving it could, in certain cases, be as effective, if not more effective than face-to-face therapy. And the pandemic has and will continue to prove transformative in profound ways in virtually all areas of life and business.
No one understands better than Shopify that retail is a tough, volatile, and unpredictable business. And Covid-19 has only made it more so.
Shopify’s digital toolbox was designed to make it easier for smart and passionate retail entrepreneurs to set up virtual shop. “We’re here to remove the barriers to people starting and scaling businesses, from ‘hello world’ all the way to IPO,” Shimona Mehta, Shopify’s managing director EMEA, told us. “We democratize entrepreneurship”.
Shopify admits it has made missteps, but it continues to champion the retail SME as an engine of growth. And a report published earlier this year made clear how big an engine it is. Shopify’s “merchants” now support 5 million jobs and drive $444bn in global economic activity.
Inevitably, healthcare also experienced a rapid and far-reaching digital transformation during the pandemic. From the mass adoption of NHS smartphone apps and virtual consultations to the use of AI-driven modelling within health services, technology is now seen as central to the future healthcare delivery.
“The pandemic taught everyone that digital is an intrinsic part of healthcare now,” Richard Corbridge, chief information officer for the pharmacy chain Boots, told us. “Every patient became suddenly used to engaging with healthcare in a digital manner; this would possibly have taken another decade to become mainstream, but is now here to stay, in all the most appropriate places.”
Many commentators predict that this is only the start and healthcare will soon experience the kind of tech-driven disruption that has upended entire industries and business models. The next phase of the healthcare’s digital revolution will be built on data and devices and a shift towards constant health monitoring, better early warning systems and a shift towards prevention rather than cure.
For Corbrdige, part of that transformation will be a tech-enhanced role for the high street pharmacist. “Health systems the world over have access and capacity issues. In the UK we can fix this by empowering the pharmacist to be the access point, the first point of call and a trusted advisor.”
Nowhere is the adoption and rapid scaling up of new technology more important than in renewable energy. The UK has led the charge in wind power and now generates almost 30 per cent of the world’s offshore wind-generated renewable energy.
The energy company SSE has the largest offshore wind development pipeline in the UK and SSE’s director of engineering John Downes is now helping develop a new generation of floating wind farms which will be vital to the transition to renewable energy.
Downes, like all of our change makers, is a techno-optimist, insistent that problem-solving technologies exist but they need to be backed by will, vision and resources. All of our change makers are also helping lead or transform businesses. They understand that lasting positive change is about scale and systems, proof and viability, attitudes and adoption, and making solid, undeniable sense on all levels. Change can seem inevitable, but only in the rear-view mirror. Profound change is fought for and thought through—it is made.
Find out more about our change makers here.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
