MeDirect took an active role in yesterday’s EY Future Realised conference with CEO Arnaud Denis and Head of Business Intelligence & Analytics Reda Mahnane, joining discussions on Malta’s economy and the importance of putting data at the centre of an organisation’s operations.
The discussion on Malta’s economy, featuring business and economic leaders kicked off with a review of the key takeaways from the results of EY’s Malta Attractiveness Survey. During the debate, Arnaud highlighted the fact that only 25 per cent of foreign direct investors believe that Malta is an attractive place for R&D and innovation. This figure does not reflect MeDirect’s own experience as a tech driven digital bank operating from Malta.
Looking to the future, Arnaud expressed his optimism that Malta has the potential to become a Silicon Island in the heart of the Mediterranean based on the large, highly skilled tech workforce already present here. It is this workforce which is already underpinning MeDirect’s pan European growth strategy and, with greater numbers of such skilled individuals, could underpin the growth of FinTech and cybersecurity in Malta, to sit alongside the already significant iGaming sector.
The discussion also focussed on the opportunities created by Generative AI and its potential to increase productivity. This could be advantageous for Malta, allowing it to overcome the inherent challenge of having a limited labour force.
The topic of Generative AI was also central to the discussion on the importance of data to organisations today, and in the future. Reda stressed that highly robust data quality and governance policies and systems are key to the effective use of AI in improving productivity and delivering better customer experiences. Reda highlighted the role data plays in MeDirect’s decision making process and the fact that placing data at the centre of the organisation is what has enabled its transformation into Malta’s first digital bank.
Looking to the future, he stressed that one of the main challenges facing organisations looking to leverage data and AI is the need to avoid bias in data and the need to attract and retain highly skilled employees, not just data scientists but also individuals who are able to understand and navigate the philosophical and ethical dimensions of this new technology.
