Founded in 2021, Upway is a French startup that sells refurbished electric bikes.
The company buys used e-bikes from retailers, manufacturers and private users and refurbish them in its workshops before selling to the end customers.

Upway has refurbished and sold over 20 000 e-bikes across France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and the US. They are offering all categories of e-bikes (from City/Folding to Cargo), and a large range of brands (Rad Power, Riese & Müller, Scott, Moustache,…), with up to 60% discounted price.

BNP Paribas Cardif has supported the French startup in its Series B fundraising in the beginning of this year through its C. Entrepreneurs fund (along with Cathay Innovation).

_{^*source: The Moving World report, UP partners}

UL Concierge: Empowering Customers with Data For Better Policy Management

Introduce yourself briefly: country, division, main tasks, personal interests outside the company (e.g., leisure and hobbies)

Hello, I’m Eunbyeol KIM from South Korea, serving in the Marketing & Business Development division at BNP Paribas Cardif Korea. My primary role involved leading the UL Concierge project as both Project Manager and Product Leader, where I was tasked with overseeing the project’s development and execution, ensuring we delivered a service that truly met our customers’ needs. Outside of work, I’m deeply fascinated by the potential of generative AI, dedicating my time to exploring its applications and impacts across various fields. I am particularly interested in how generative AI can open up new worlds in marketing, from data analysis to content creation, broadening my perspective and exploring the possibilities it holds. Additionally, traveling is a passion of mine; it’s a way for me to gain new perspectives and insights that I can bring back to my work, enriching our past projects with fresh ideas and innovative solutions. 

Tell us about your project: its main focus, what is is about, how it came about, and what it will bring to BNP Paribas Cardif. 

Unit Linked (UL) Concierge is a service that provides customized content and support for managing the variable insurance funds and profitability of customers, like “a hotel VIP concierge desk“. It is to provide customers with various insightful and data-friendly contents to alleviate their concerns and enhance their Unit Linked insurance experience. By addressing customers’ unmet needs in managing Unit Linked policy, by providing customers personalized insights and comparisons, Unit Linked Concierge enables customers to make more informed decisions about their financial future. It also enables BNP Paribas Cardif to meet the gap and needs across holistic Unit Linked journey (key moment of truth). With its unique ability to compare a customer’s policy performance with that of others who joined at the same time and age, it represents a breakthrough in Unit Linked policy management.

What did you find most striking/surprising during this project (perhaps you have an anecdote to tell us)?

The initial goal of the UL Concierge project was to enhance engagement on our mobile app, MYCardif, by drawing customers in to view and manage their policies. However, a surprising and impactful discovery occurred mid-project when we shared the service and its interfaces with our Fund Advisory Center to assist in customer inquiries. The response from the advisory staff was overwhelmingly positive. They found that the additional resources and materials available for customer support were not only helpful but significantly enriched due to the personalized data services provided. This feedback was so constructive that it even spurred ideas for a second phase of the project.

What was particularly striking was the realization that the service we developed to enhance customer experience on our app could also significantly benefit other departments, offering a dual-purpose solution that both improves customer satisfaction and supports internal operations. This outcome was both proud and satisfying, highlighting the project’s success in creating a versatile service that aids not just our clients but our employees too.

What advice would you give to employees who also want to innovate?

To employees eager to innovate, my advice is twofold:

First, always start with the customer in mind. Understanding their needs, challenges, and feedback is the foundation of meaningful innovation. Second, embrace collaboration. The synergy between different skills and perspectives within our team was crucial to the success of the UL Concierge service.

Innovation is not a solitary journey but a collaborative endeavor that thrives on diverse contributions.

Hear from the team members of this project:

Curve : The “all your cards in one” solution

Founded in 2015, Curve is a UK-based fintech providing a “all your cards in one card” application and hence facilitating daily financial operations to its customers.

Through its one-card-aggregator app, Curve does not require to switch banks nor change behavior. In addition to this feature, the company has developed several additional features: reallocation of a payment after the fact, credit, cash back, Buy now pay later (BNPL) and expense report management for business cards.

The startup has over 5 million customers across the US, UK, and in 31 European markets.

In September 2023, Curve raised an additional £58 million extension of its Series C round, bringing its Series C funding total to over £133 million to improve the overall customer experience (Curve just recently rolled out its new app, which includes a marketplace of financial applets), expand internationally including in the US, and bring new partnerships to the market. The extension round saw participation from Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management (the venture arm of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen’s estate), Cohen Circle, Outward VC as well many other existing shareholders. The fundraise brings the total investment in Curve to almost $175 million.

BNP Paribas Cardif has supported Curve through its C. Entrepreneurs fund (along with Cathay Innovation) in Curve’s Series B in July 2019.

Capable of automating certain tasks and speeding up and improving decision-making with the help of machines, artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting our work modes. 
So, what is AI, and what is its purpose in the context of insurance? How is it revolutionizing the insurance sector and its various aspects?

Goh Hirose and Solenne de Montessus, explain how AI can make insurance more accessible, inclusive, and straightforward for consumers.

 

How would you define AI and its role in the field of insurance, including its relevance to customers?

Solenne de Montessus: AI cannot exhibit feelings and emotions and therefore cannot be defined as intelligence in the strict sense. It also requires statistics and data provided by humans to replicate simple and repetitive manual tasks, help humans understand certain trends, and facilitate their decision-making in the insurance sector. For example, for an algorithm to be able to find or recognize a cat in an image, we must first train it by exposing it to a large number of photos containing cats. While AI generates new risks and is sometimes seen as a threat, its use remains highly controlled. At BNP Paribas Cardif, for example, we have implemented specific governance tools to protect our customers and partners on this issue.

How is Artificial Intelligence changing the insurance sector, including the transformation of a company like BNP Paribas Cardif, and its impact on insurance policies and customer services? 

Solenne de Montessus: At BNP Paribas Cardif, our goal is to use AI to make insurance more accessible. We develop AI solutions internally to improve our business processes, better understand our partners and customers, streamline their journeys, and provide them with the best possible experience. In the context of insurance claims, for example, we use AI to speed up the handling process and automate the verification of supporting documents, benefiting our commercial and personal customers. We also work closely with our partners to enhance their revenue through AI, helping them better target high-potential prospects, maximize conversion rates, or identify customers on the verge of canceling their policies. In the commercial sector, AI helps our company improve its operations and customer services. Company employees can also harness the power of AI to boost their productivity. For instance, our legal teams can use an AI-powered tool to easily access information and documents when needed.

AI increases employee productivity by automating some repetitive tasks. But is there a risk that AI will completely replace humans, particularly in the insurance sector?

Goh Hirose: I don’t think we should fear technology in any form, and it seems very unlikely that AI will progress to the point of replacing humans in the insurance industry in the next few decades. The challenge is rather to find the right balance between human qualities and needs and what machines can do to help us work in a more efficient way, as illustrated by the examples provided by Solenne. AI offers advantages both externally for customers, such as reducing wait times in call centers and improving customer service, and internally for employees who can delegate certain repetitive tasks to machines and focus on more interesting and value-added work.

How can AI, including artificial intelligence and insurance, make insurance more accessible, considering various aspects such as health, personal needs, and the best help for customers? 

Goh Hirose: AI allows us to go beyond the traditional insurance value chain. It’s no longer just about providing the best coverage. We can think about how to help individuals and businesses prevent incidents or accidents and how to recover and rebuild more quickly. There are also many areas where AI can help us better tailor our products and services to individuals’ needs and risks, providing the best help and compensation in case of unfortunate events.

Solenne de Montessus: All these considerations are already underway at BNP Paribas Cardif, where we focus on insurance, business operations, and benefits. In Latin America, our policyholders covered by a protection contract, for example, can receive personalized advice through AI, coaching sessions, help with CV writing, or online courses after a job loss. 

How do you envision the future of insurance with artificial intelligence, considering its impact on financial aspects and the insurance industry as a whole? 

Goh Hirose: In addition to bringing more efficiency, AI helps us provide better services to our customers, both in terms of financial aspects and the overall insurance industry. It allows us to improve data analysis, risk assessment, and anticipation, which are at the core of the insurance business. I believe that in the near future, insurance companies will fall into two categories:

• Those that use data analysis solely to prevent damages and save more money, benefiting both their company and their customers;
• And others like BNP Paribas Cardif, which use this information to make insurance more accessible, cover more people, and better support policyholders, offering them the best help and compensation when they need it the most. 

In 2023, 84 projects from 24 entities around the world, showing that innovation can be found everywhere at BNP Paribas Cardif! Learn more about how BNP Paribas Cardif Japan has expanded “the coverage of spouses” to include same-sex couples.

Introduce yourself briefly: country, division, main tasks, personal interests outside the company (e.g., leisure and hobbies)

I joined product development department of Cardif Japan in 2017. I have been working on FSA (Financial Services Agency) filing creation and negotiations with FSA for product development. 

Hobbies:  like fishing, especially black sea bream.

Tell us about your project: its main focus, what is about, how it came about, and what it will bring to BNP Paribas Cardif. 

What is about?

Currently the CPI  (Credit Protection Insurance) spousal rider is applicable only for those who are in marital relationship, but in this new product, creditor’s same-sex partner can be enrolled as a spouse (*in Japan same-sex marriage is not allowed). 
This is the first CPI product in Japan that covers same-sex partners as spouses.

How it came about?

As seen in the trend of local governments adopting the “partnership certification” (*described later), there is a movement in society to respect the rights of sexual minorities such as LGBT. 

In such circumstances, our partner banks have gradually started to expand their services to LGBT people.

As a mortgage CPI supplier, we need to support our partner banks and provide the product covering such a customer diversity.

What will it bring to BNP Paribas Cardif?

Expansion of the coverage to same-sex partner meets our mission, “Making insurance more accessible”.

Through this product, our partner banks can expand their mortgage customer base including LGBT community.

Also partner banks can utilize as a competitive advantage in the market, as they need a differentiator especially in such a low interest situation right now. 
Furthermore, they can easily introduce this product with low implementation cost. 

More than 10 partner banks launched this product, which contributes to strengthen the partner relationship.

What did you find most striking/surprising during this project (perhaps you have an anecdote to tell us)? 

Regarding the rights of sexual minorities, advanced countries/regions have already established laws that prohibit discrimination and guarantee the rights of same-sex couples. 

However, Japan is behind in such trends, and this is why we had several roadblocks through this product development. Under such circumstances, we decided to expand the scope of insured persons and spouses for TD (Temporary Disability) spouse riders to cover more LGBT people. One of the challenges is how to validate the same-sex couples when they raise insurance claims, and the solution we defined is to use “partnership certification”, which officially certifies family relationships between same-sex partners by local government. Even though not all the local government publishes the certification, it is recently spreading out rapidly among local municipalities. With those various efforts, we finally launched this product which has been widely accepted by partner banks which can introduce with low cost.

What advice would you give to employees who also want to innovate? 

It may be a fundamental point of working together, but sometimes we can realize something new through chatting with other people. Such daily communication could be a trigger of generating good ideas.

In 2023, 84 projects from 24 entities around the world, showing that innovation can be found everywhere at BNP Paribas Cardif! Learn more about how BNP Paribas Cardif Brazil developped automation and process optimization.

Present briefly: country, division, main tasks, personal interests outside the company (e.g. leisure and hobbies)

Fabio & Daniela: We are from BNP Paribas Cardif in Brazil, we act in the Directorate of ETO, in the area of Operations and Atenement, responsible for managing the Extended Guarantee claims and the Network of Technical Assistance (Small Entrepreneurs) which repair the products covered by our insurance and which are located throughout our national territory.

Daniela: I practice sports almost every day, a way to care for physical and mental health. At weekends, I try to enjoy my family, especially my daughter, doing walks and watching movies.

Fabio: My main hobby and going out to the weekends to meet new restaurants, I like movies and geeks series, I’m a person who loves to be with the family and whenever I can travel to meet new places and cultures.

Tell us about your project: your main focus, what it is, how it came about and what it will bring to BNP Paribas Cardif.

Daniela: To cope with the repair process of the products covered by the Extended Guarantee and Accidental Parity Insurance, we have a network of 462 providers performing this type of service for BNP Paribas Cardif, using skilled work and original parts, making it possible to return the repaired product to the customer.

These partners, called Technical Assistance, are present in the 26 Brazilian states, in the same places that our Partners are selling their products and our insurance.

Fabio: In order to manage these providers, we have a 9-person service network area which monthly analyses the KPI’s and processes of these assists in order to maintain quality in service provision.

We have a solid partnership with our network, 75% has been contracted with BNP Paribas Cardif for more than 5 years, which gives both sides a sense of partnership and reliability.

When we look at the size of these providers, we identify that 94 percent are framed as micro and small enterprises, more than half are in remote areas. In Brazil they are a key part of our economy, and they are companies that have a lot of technical knowledge, but they have some Gap’s in their management.

We identify the need to develop the provider and understand their demands and thus think about a way to help them. The goal of the project was to go beyond the SLA’s, support assistance to become a competitive and sustainable company. This would increase our partnership, loyalty and engagement.

What did you find most striking/surprising during this project (perhaps you have a joke to tell us)?

Daniela: With this partnership, it was possible to impact technical assistance more massively, supporting it in its sustainable development, going beyond KPIs. We promoted five courses aimed at developing your company:

• Finance
• Cash flow
• Stock
• Customer response
• Emotional intelligence

We managed to reach over 250 companies, 1,200 people were impacted, which led to a positive result in the company’s index, increased engagement, loyalty, and especially the way our client is served, and we also considered the company’s ambition to positively impact society.    

• This initiative enhances the relationship between BNP Paribas Cardif and Stakeholders and develops sustainable partnerships
• Positive impacts on society
• Increasing engagement, loyalty, and partnership with our service providers

What advice would you give to officials who also want to innovate?

Fabio: As employees, we need to understand that innovation is not only based on the development of new products or services but also helps to promote and develop existing business models in our company, when we innovate improve processes and manage to see beyond. But above all, it makes those developments reach those who need it.

InsuranceDekho was incubated within India’s leading Auto-tech Unicorn – CarDekho Group. InsuranceDekho enables its agent partners to allow their customers to compare and buy different insurance policies (life, health, and non-life insurance) based on their requirements and helps them purchase the most suitable plan through a digital platform powered by AI. Japanese giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., the insurer BNP Paribas Cardif, through its C-Development Insurtech fund managed by European investment major Eurazeo led the round as new investors besides some marquee local investors.

The company has created an end-to-end seamless digital onboarding journey for its agent partners, including end customer KYC process and renewal customer journey by integration with Central government & insurer databases and using QR codes to facilitate ease of usage. 

The company currently has tie-ups with 47 insurance companies in India, offering more than 500 insurance plans on its platform. In line with the mission of the regulator of India being “Insurance for all by 2047”. InsuranceDekho is looking to make insurance products available to customers across every nook and corner of the country. At its current scale, InsuranceDekho onboards 17 agent partners every hour, and 12 Indians buy a policy from InsuranceDekho every minute1. 

The company is headquartered in Gurugram and has a presence in 1500 cities across India, covering 98% of pin codes across the country. InsuranceDekho redefined the Insurance landscape by embracing deep distribution as their core strength.

Founded by Ankit Agrawal and Ish Babbar in 2017, InsuranceDekho has witnessed a significant growth trajectory. It targets 200 000 partner agents on its platform by March 2024. Based on GWP, InsuranceDekho is poised to become the market leader in the digital agent distribution space in India. InsuranceDekho has served  around 6 million of customers all over India. There is also a strong focus on diversity with 20% agent partners being women. Ankit Agrawal, CEO and founder of InsuranceDekho believes that the heart of any organisation lies in its people.

The culture at InsuranceDekho is built on core values of trust, respect, curiosity, ownership, meritocracy and problem-solving. The organisation strives to on-board people who share these values and take pride in upholding them. Guided by this belief, Ankit and the leadership at InsuranceDekho has nurtured an inclusive and supportive environment for employees.

By raising more than $200 million in a year, InsuranceDekho has not only emerged as the leading Indian Insurtech; but has also cemented its position amongst the very few startups to be able to raise large Series A and B funding in the same year, a significant win amidst the ongoing funding winter. This exceptional fundraise is a testimony of strong support for InsuranceDekho’s vision of becoming a household name in India.

It plans to utilize the proceeds from this funding round to boost its marketing activities, further expand its distribution presence in the Indian hinterland, scale up its tech platform, explore inorganic growth opportunities, and for new initiatives like Reinsurance to continue democratizing and revolutionizing the insurance landscape in India.

InsuranceDekho’s mission of making insurance accessible to all echoes very well with BNP Paribas Cardif: make insurance more accessible for all customers.

Institut Imagine is one of the 7 Innovation Ambassadors 2023, selected from 84 initiatives in 24 entities.
​
Discover the project through an interview with Marina Fahy-Ruiz, BNP Paribas Cardif, Impact & Innovation Department Philanthropy in France.

Introduce yourself briefly:

I started at BNP Paribas Cardif in 2002 as an experienced digital project manager. Over the course of my career, I have grown in various fields (Risks, Knowledge Management, New Ways of Working, CSR). Every step of the way, the common theme has been transformation and change management projects. This naturally led me to join the Impact & Innovation Department in 2022. My mission was to advance Philanthropy in France and have a greater impact on society.  

Philanthropy is “a state of mind that leads to action” and perfectly reflects my passion: Taking action to support causes of public interest!  

In my personal life, I also have a penchant for acting, especially actions that strengthen social bonds. I also value moments of solitude where I create to escape (I wrote and published a book during a career break abroad). I play sports to relax and go to the theatre to indulge! 

Tell us about your project: what is it about and how it came about?

In February 2023, we entered a 3-year sponsorship partnership with the Institut Imagine, the first European center for research, care, and education on genetic diseases. Genetic diseases are a significant threat to public health, affecting 3 million people in France, 35 million in Europe, and 350 million worldwide.  

Our partnership aims to back the Institut Imagine Springboard program, and in doing so, support medical research and advance breakthroughs in innovative therapeutic approaches.  

Springboard is an accelerator that focuses on treating genetic diseases through the creation of start-ups. BNP Paribas Cardif is supporting three research projects with the potential to change the lives of patients and their families. These projects are all ground-breaking in their respective fields, ushering in a new era of innovation. 

• The “Hermès” project: Development of a molecule extracted from cacao to fight against certain bone growth anomalies.  
• The “Children’s Pain” project: Treatment of pain in various skin diseases by a strategy of repositioning molecules and medications. 
• The “IMAG2” project: Development of a 3D modelling technique which uses AI technology to not only better prepare the surgical strategy but also better explain the procedure to child patients and their families.  

Furthermore, our objective is to promote the Institut Imagine and shine a light on its important work. One way to help families affected by genetic diseases is to let them know that Imagine is out there. With this in mind, we have launched various initiatives with our employees, our partners, and our policyholders. 

We aim to establish a partnership with a holistic 360-degree perspective. Our goal with the Institut Imagine is to be a partner they can count on. In addition to funding, we are committed to offering the support and expertise needed to help them achieve their mission.

What did you find most striking/surprising during this project?

Since the signing, we’ve undertaken numerous actions to support the Institut Imagine in its missions and projects.  

Getting involved in such a meaningful and inspirational serve as the perfect driver for employee commitment. Our partnership is woven into every aspect of the company. Our employees feel like they are making a difference. This cause resonates with them and gives meaning to their actions. A feeling of pride shines through with each presentation of the Institut Imagine. Through this partnership, we are more than ever embracing our role as an insurance provider.

What advice would you give to employees who also want to innovate?

Innovation means working together to both create and put into action! It involves rallying a team with a rich diversity of stakeholders to explore diverse viewpoints and approach challenges from a new perspective. 

Our partnership thrives and grows stronger through this collective mindset, as all our departments come together to take actions at their own levels, helping families affected by genetic diseases. 

I really like the phrase “It’s not the idea that makes the idea, but the team, as they are the ones working to turn the idea into reality!” 

Founded in 2021, Clivi is Mexico’s first digital diabetes clinic, making treatment more accessible for patients with type 2 diabetes. Through its comprehensive technology (using AI) and personalized platform, the company enables patients to simplify the process needed to care for diabetes and to control the disease so these people can extend their lives.

In Latin America, there are over 40 million adults with diabetes, according to Statista*. Mexico is one of the most affected countries by diabetes, standing as the 6th country with the most diabetes patients worldwide. With an average of one endocrinologist per nearly 10,000 patients in Mexico, Clivi intends to bridge this gap by connecting patients with endocrinologists, nutritionists and psychologists. Its platform enables users to access monitoring and treatment plans via their communication channel of choice (eg WhatsApp). The company also provides all of the supplies, like glucometer, test strips, blood testing kits, and medication.

“Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of people in Mexico and is the number one cause of death of women in Mexico. Clivi is committed to guiding its patients toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Our platform has helped thousands of patients, 94% of whom have achieved diabetes control within six months. The global population living with diabetes is projected to surpass one billion in the next decade. Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges of humanity. In light of this significant challenge, we have set an ambitious target to serve 1 million people across Latin America within the next five years”, said Ricardo Moguel, Founder and CEO of Clivi.

In May 2023, Clivi raised US$10 million during its seed round, co-led by Dalus and Fundations Capital. BNP Paribas Cardif invested in this round through its C. Entrepreneurs fund along with Cathay Innovation.

“BNP Paribas Cardif plays an essential role in the lives of its customers, providing them with savings and protection solutions. In Latin America we are providing an ecosystem of health services with the ambition to improve our customers’ life and needs. Working with a company that makes a public health issue like diabetes more comprehensive and affordable, will contribute to our mission to have a positive impact on society and make insurance more accessible”, says Francois Gazel-Anthoine, Head of Cardif Mexico

_{* Statista is a German online portal with statistics from institutes, market and opinion research and data from the economic sector.}

Each year, BNP Paribas Cardif’s Innovation team identify projects that are ready for public communication that could be candidates for Innovation Ambassadors. The ultimate goal of this program is to reward outstanding teams, spread innovation culture and increase our company’s efficiency through re-use.

This year submissions included 84 projects from 24 entities around the world, showing that innovation can be found everywhere at BNP Paribas Cardif!

We noticed that initiatives revolved around 4 key themes this year: 

• Strengthen products and services through data enhancements, value-added services and leveraging feedback 
• Inclusive and accessible insurance with increased client value and awareness, new targets, and more accessible digital spaces 
• Automation and process optimization by analytics, APIs, UX redesigns and more 
• New ways of working (employee experience) prioritizing customer-centricity, fluid organizations, communities and agile methods

Stay tuned in the coming months to discover our 7 Innovation Ambassadors initiatives 2023 on our website and on BNP Paribas Cardif social networks.