Local Business Stories - beNovelty

Since its establishment in 2015, beNovelty has been committed to connecting businesses from different industries through its Open API platform, supporting them to fast-track their digital transformation..

So, what exactly is an API? According to Patrick Fan, Founder and CEO of beNovelty, the rise of digitalisation has paved the way for many businesses to shift their development toward cross-industry collaborations. However, discrepancies in culture and regulation across various sectors often result in communication blind spots. In these circumstances, an API functions as a bridge between the self-service platforms of different companies. So far, beNovelty has worked with more than 50 clients from a wide range of sectors, including finance, healthcare, education and food and beverage.

In 2020, service industries have been among those hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet the pandemic has also led to unexpected opportunities for beNovelty, as the pandemic-induced 'new normal' has propelled many traditional businesses to automate their operations using an API.

The education sector is one such example. Some educational institutions might not have seen digitalisation as a priority in the past, but had to urgently review their strategies and operations following the sudden onset of the pandemic. For example, social distancing rules have made face-to-face teaching unfeasible, leading educational institutions to roll out virtual classes to maintain teaching and learning activities. They have also seen the need to set up online payment gateways, as students or parents can no longer pay tuition and other fees in person. Staff have also faced challenges in executing administrative tasks while working remotely, without the right tools and technical support in place.