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FINREGLAB REPORT HIGHLIGHTS POTENTIAL INFLECTION POINT FOR EXPANDING CREDIT ACCESS AMONG MINORITY ENTREPRENEURS AND OTHER UNDERSERVED BUSINESSES

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WASHINGTON, June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A new report by FinRegLab underscores the importance of continuing technology and data improvements to expand credit access among smaller, younger businesses. From Crisis to Opportunity:  Financing for Underserved Small Businesses Since COVID-19 analyzes recent lending trends, including initiatives focusing on underserved businesses, lender technology adoption, and the effect of high inflation and interest rates on both loan demand and supply.

As the economy improves, lenders will face critical decisions going forward about how much to adjust their standards and keep investing in systems improvements to meet more small businesses’ capital needs. Their choices could have particular effects on the record number of small businesses formed since the pandemic, especially on minority and women entrepreneurs.

“Improving access to credit is critical to helping recent startups survive and grow, which will increase their impacts on wealth building, local communities, and the broader US economy,” said FinRegLab CEO Melissa Koide. “Fully leveraging the potential of data and technology improvements to expand access to responsible credit will require sustained action and cooperation among banks, mission-based lenders, fintechs, and other stakeholders.”

Small businesses have contributed two-thirds of the nation’s net new jobs since 1995. However, high failure rates and data limitations increase the risks of lending to younger, smaller businesses, and small loan sizes make it more difficult for lenders to cover their costs. After the 2008 financial crisis, many banks stopped making small business loans to companies that did not meet certain size and age thresholds, making it more difficult for startups and sole proprietors to access capital. Businesses owned by minority entrepreneurs, recent immigrants, and women are particularly affected by these credit constraints.

The report lays the foundation for a new FinRegLab research project that will analyze the use of bank account data and other non-traditional information sources to make small business underwriting models more accurate and inclusive. The next report in the series will highlight the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned about adopting data and technology by mission-based lenders, such as community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs).

Small Business Resurgence

Although small business formation and the share of US gross domestic product generated by small businesses declined after 2008, available data suggest that formation has reached record levels since the pandemic shutdown, including the highest levels of startups by entrepreneurs of color and women ever reported.

The report traces initiatives to expand lending to smaller, younger companies and historically underserved entrepreneurs in the aftermath of initial challenges with the Paycheck Protection Program and racial justice movements in 2020. Interest and investments in better technology platforms and more inclusive data sources for small business lending have also increased over the past four years. However, adoption levels remain uneven, particularly among banks and mission-based lenders.

Inflation and other economic conditions have taken a toll, however, both by dampening demand for loans and prompting lenders to tighten their criteria. Loan default rates, small business closures, and bankruptcies have increased relative to early in the pandemic, though they remain below 2008 levels, and small business sentiment has remained largely optimistic.

As business owners and lenders watch for indicators of economic improvement, the report highlights important decisions ahead about the use of data and technology to make it easier for small business applicants to access credit.  Using online platforms and data from bank accounts and other digital sources can potentially accelerate underwriting and help lenders gain more insights into businesses’ operations, particularly where owners have limited or negative traditional credit history or may struggle to compile traditional financial statements.  

About the Project

Other workstreams in the research project include studying pilot programs by several mission-based lenders that are using data and technology to expand the scope of their small business lending activities and working with researchers at New York University and Columbia University to study the effects of using cash-flow information on the predictiveness and inclusiveness of loan underwriting.

Support for the project is being provided by the US Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency and Visa. Plaid will provide free account connectivity services to participating mission-based lenders to allow loan applicants to authorize their account data to be accessed for underwriting. The project builds on previous FinRegLab research focusing on the use of cash-flow data by both consumer and small business lenders.

About FinRegLab

FinRegLab is an independent, nonprofit research organization that conducts research and experiments with new technologies and data to drive the financial sector toward a responsible and inclusive marketplace. We also facilitate discourse across the financial ecosystem to inform public policy and market practices.

For media and other inquiries about this research, email contact@finreglab.org. To receive periodic updates on this research, please subscribe to FinRegLab’s newsletter here

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SOURCE FinRegLab

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HUAWEI CONNECT 2024 | Huawei Unveils the Brand-New Xinghe Intelligent Fabric Solution, Powering the AI Era

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — At HUAWEI CONNECT 2024, over 300 industry leaders, experts, and scholars gathered for the data center network session themed “Xinghe Intelligent Fabric, Powering the AI Era.” The event featured discussions on the evolution and technological advancements of data center networks. During the session, Arthur Wang, President of Data Center Network Domain at Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line, introduced the newly upgraded Xinghe Intelligent Fabric solution. This cutting-edge solution aims to establish a data center network characterized by one map for intelligent operations and maintenance (O&M), one network for diverse computing, and one platform for simplified deployment, providing a robust network infrastructure to support enterprises’ digital and intelligent transformations.

In his keynote speech, Arthur Wang outlined the emerging trends in data center network development. He emphasized that in the AI era, data center networks require both a “brilliant brain” and “resilient bones.” The newly launched Xinghe Intelligent Fabric solution is designed to deliver a powerful network infrastructure tailored for the AI era, featuring:

One Map for Intelligent O&M: Zero Management Concerns

Huawei’s exclusive network digital map enables rapid cross-data center and cross-vendor fault identification within minutes. Additionally, the NetMaster network large model facilitates AI-driven O&M, eliminating manual intervention and ensuring zero management concerns.

One Network for Diverse Computing: Zero Service Interruptions

The Xinghe Intelligent Fabric supports various application scenarios, including intelligent computing, general-purpose computing, and storage. The innovative Network Scale Load Balancing (NSLB) algorithm increases network throughput to 95% and boosts AI training efficiency by over 10%. With the exclusive iReliable three-level fast switchover capability, it achieves sub-millisecond switchover, guaranteeing zero service interruptions.

One Platform for Simplified Deployment: Zero Configuration Errors

By employing digital twins to simulate networks in advance and verify configurations post-deployment, the solution ensures 100% accuracy in network changes. By harnessing network-security convergence capabilities, AI creates an intelligent security matrix to analyze millions of security policies, achieving zero configuration errors.

Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to collaborate with industry partners to enhance research and innovation in data center networks, promote intelligent upgrades, and create greater value for the industry.

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SOURCE Huawei

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Cultivating a Culture of Peace: International Day of Peace Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

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NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2024 /CNW/ — The longing for peace transcends time, geography and religion. Based on justice, human rights and universal values outlined in the UN Charter, a culture of peace brings us all together in our common agenda for humanity. We can only co-exist by aligning ourselves with such a world order.

On today’s International Day of Peace, we call on world leaders to end conflict and embrace a culture of peace as enshrined in the UN Charter and related international law.

As the UN General Assembly outlined in the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace  a quarter of a century ago, this must include: “Respect for life, human rights and fundamental freedoms; the promotion of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation; commitment to peaceful settlement of conflicts; and adherence to freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, pluralism, cultural diversity, dialogue and understanding at all levels of society and among nations.”

Educating for peace starts at home and continues in school through years of education. This takes place during the most formative years of a child learning about their identity, ethics, values, conscience, courage and compassion. Wherever there has been a failure in imparting on children the imperative for peace, the world is turned upside down. This is a global failure with no geographical boundaries.

Today, we live in a world of unprecedented violence, armed conflict and chaos. All the genuine and heartfelt commitments made in 1945 in the UN Charter seem to be fading away. Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable, the least protected, and the most impacted. They bear the brunt. 

Global conflicts killed three times as many children in 2023 than in the previous year, according to the United Nations. The number of forcibly displaced people reached an unprecedented 120 million in May 2024.

“In 2023, the United Nations verified a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children in 26 conflict zones, a 35% increase from the previous year,” according to recent analysis by the UN.

We can end these violations and invest in a constructive co-existence globally. We can use our resources for education, rather than for wars. In classrooms around the world, girls and boys who have withstood the wrath of war can rebuild their hopes and their lives. Cultivating a culture of peace is possible. The financial resources exist. The choice as to how we use them is ours.

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SOURCE Education Cannot Wait

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Niutech at the Forefront: U.S.-China Circular Economy Forum Tackles “White Pollution”

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BEIJING, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On September 6, 2024, the inaugural U.S.-China Circular Economy Cooperation Forum was held in Beijing. The forum, guided by the U.S.-China Climate Action Working Group Circular Economy Task Force, was co-organized by the China Circular Economy Association and the US-China Business Council. The forum brought together approximately 460 distinguished guests from the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Market Regulation, the US State Department, the US Department of Energy and other government departments, as well as industry experts, business representatives and scientific research institutions of the two countries. As the domestic leader in continuous pyrolysis technology, Niutech was invited by the China Circular Economy Association to attend the forum and gave an insightful speech on the topic of waste plastic recycling, and the issues of ‘white pollution’ that can result from it.

Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in the Circular Economy with Innovative Forces

The forum was strategically designed to advance the goals outlined in the U.S.-China “The Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis” (hereinafter referred to as the Sunnylands Statement). It aimed to create a collaborative platform for the business community, social organizations, and research institutions from both countries to foster exchanges and drive tangible cooperation in the circular economy.  

Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the U.S. President on International Climate Policy, Liu Zhenmin, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Affairs, Nicholas Burns, U.S. Ambassador to China, and Xie Zhenhua, former Special Envoy for Climate Change Affairs of China, attended the opening ceremony of the Forum and delivered a speech, and Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., made a video message. Deputy Director Zhao Chenxin said that addressing climate change is a common cause for all mankind and cannot be separated from the cooperation between the two global forces, China and the United States.

The China-US Circular Economy Cooperation Forum, held as an initiative to implement the Sunnylands Statement, marked another significant milestone in China-US cooperation on the circular economy. This collaboration is crucial for both nations as they join forces to tackle the climate crisis. On the afternoon of September 6, the forum organized four parallel meetings, where representatives engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics such as using the recycling economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promoting the application of recycled materials, addressing plastic pollution and enhancing recycling, and increasing the recycling value of waste in the context of new industries and consumption patterns.

Niutech: International Experts on Continuous Pyrolysis Technology and Pioneers in solving the global “white pollution” problem

Globally, hundreds of millions of tons of waste plastics are generated annually, yet only about 30% undergo recycling. Traditional physical methods are typically limited to high-value, single-category, and relatively clean waste plastics. However, repeated recycling can degrade the quality of the plastics. Chemical recycling, on the other hand, offers a transformative approach by converting waste plastics into high-value products or fuels through chemical processes, thus overcoming the limitations of physical recycling.

Pyrolysis technology, a cornerstone of chemical recycling, addresses the challenges associated with the material recycling of waste plastics. It is adept at processing various types of low-value, mixed, and contaminated waste plastics. The products of pyrolysis can be further processed to manufacture new plastics, achieving a closed-loop system where waste plastics are repurposed into high-value new plastics. This not only retains the material’s utility at a high level but also converts “white pollution” into a “white oil field,” signifying a major shift in the management and valorization of plastic waste.

At the forum, as the international expert in continuous pyrolysis technology, the corporate representative of Niutech shared the cases of waste plastic chemical recycling projects deployed with international giants BASF and Quantafuel in Denmark, Thailand and other countries. Niutech has developed its own pyrolysis technology and equipment, which they fully own the intellectual property rights to. This technology enables the transformation of low-value, mixed, and contaminated waste plastics—including various polymers such as PP, PE, PS, ABS—into high-quality fuel oil.  

The fuel oil derived from this process can undergo further refining into naphtha, a critical raw material in the production of new plastics. This advanced recycling process not only diverts plastics from landfills and the environment but also contributes to a circular economy by turning waste into a valuable resource.

In the future, Niutech will continue to champion the principle of “green, recycling and low-carbon” waste plastics pyrolysis. Armed with advanced technology, reliable equipment, abundant high-value solutions and proven experience, Niutech is committed to enhancing communication and cooperation with domestic and foreign partners. Together, they will drive forward the chemical recycling of waste plastics and the sustainable development of the global waste plastics recycling industry.

 

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SOURCE Niutech

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