Steve Jobs once said that innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Organisations that are based on innovation lead in their sector – but how can organisations come up with ground-breaking innovation?
The guests interviewed during the latest episode from TradeMalta’s series, ‘International Insights – Stories from the Real Economy’, are experts at innovation. In this episode, entitled ‘Innovation dilemmas’, Dr Joe Schembri meets Matthew Bezzina, who founded mobility company eCabs on the basis of innovation and transformation; and Dr Leonie Baldacchino, the former director of the Edward Debono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation, and who has studied entrepreneurship and innovation for years.
“In our first six years, eCabs was primarily driven by innovation, especially in the way we used technology in order to scale and grow the company to a level which the sector had not experienced at the time,” says Bezzina, who adds that innovation also drove the marketing efforts through which the company could engage with cohorts who had never identified with the industry before.
“Innovation also played a significant role in the way we challenged a sector in which legacy operators had regulatory capture.”
In the second six years, eCabs was mainly driven by transformation. From a fleet company that used third-party technology to run and grow, we took a conscious decision to start developing and building our own intellectual property. “This decision was based on the fact that in order to compete on a global level, you need the right technology,” Bezzina adds.
Why is it important for companies, when going international, to have a highly innovative element?
“Innovation is important not just to internationalise, but also to compete locally,” says Dr Baldacchino. “And although there is a lot of innovation in technology, there is also innovation in various other functions.”
Dr Baldacchino adds that innovation essentially comes out of creativity – and one cannot have innovation without creative ideas. “A good value proposition is something that offers something different from, and better than, what is already available on the market.”
International Insights is organised with the support of strategic partners HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. and powered by Studio Seven. Times of Malta is media partner. The series will be available on popular podcast platforms, TradeMalta’s YouTube channel and timesofmalta.com.