March in a locked down village of idiotsđŸŹâ˜ïž

March in a locked down village of idiotsđŸŹâ˜ïž
Hi,

This is the second mail of its kind that I’ve shared with you this year. It will be longer than the previous one because so much happened and… Well … Lockdown gives us more time to read,  doesn’t it ? đŸ€”
Oh! Before going further, this email is kind of an “inhouse news” that I will personally send once a month ( not more, promised !)  to my personal contacts. If you  don’t want to receive them, just  click here  🙏.


Prelude to some cool news


A poem! … In French … Sorry for this language shift
but I’m not gifted enough to make a poem which makes sense  in English😂 . Don’t worry, I’ll come back to English  just after.

The rationale behind this humble amateur piece of literature is that, often, I have been asked for my analysis of 2020 and for an economical forecast of 2021.

Obviously, I have my opinion on both, but I have no expertise to publicly analyze the past and future macroeconomic situation. I’ll leave that to experts.

On the other hand, I do feel emotions, like 
everyone (even if my wife sometimes does not agree đŸ€”). A nd like everyone else, I am therefore entitled to express my feelings.  Because they are… mine,  I guess I am the only expert in regards to them? đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž

One of the main art forms to express feelings is poetry and I am a particular lover of the Alexandrine structure. Please oblige me, by allowing me to use this art form (as a humble amateur) to give an emotional dimension to some of my thoughts.

At this point you can:
1) Just read the below poem with your own tone and feelings
2) Listen to me reading the poem to understand the feelings behind the words ( click here to view the video)
3) Both 1) and 2) 😉
4) Close the mail đŸ˜”
5)
A choice I have not yet forecasted đŸ€”

It’s not my usual custom to express myself outside of the local context, but here I express myself as not just a Mauritian but a global citizen:

Nous sommes dans de la poĂ©sie Elle n’est pas destinĂ©e Ă  ĂȘtre comprise mais Ă  ĂȘtre ressentie, donc interprĂ©tĂ©e:

C’est en Alexandrins qu’en ce dĂ©but d’annĂ©e,
Je vous formule, mes chers amis, nos souhaits.
Vous aurez noté que, vue la date avancée,
Ils sont un dĂ©but, loin d’une finalitĂ©.

Étranger au sentiment, passe ton chemin !
Car aujourd’hui c’est en quelques Alexandrins
Que je souhaite partager deux mille vingt,
Et deux mille vingt et un, le voir en gamin

Nulle autre analyse ne sera ajoutée
À celles expertes, dĂ©jĂ  bien formulĂ©es,
par les spécialistes autoproclamés,
ProphĂštes d’exĂ©gĂšse si falsifiĂ©es.

En effet, Qui suis-je en tant que fort simple esprit
Pour sonder cette défaillante économie
Dont je ne suis ni un expert ni un Ă©rudit
Mais qui au contraire, comme vous, la subit!

En revanche, comme vous, je suis un humain.
En tant que tel j’ai ressenti deux mille vingt.
En tant que tel, je dote mon Ăąme de mains
Pour aujourd’hui vous modeler mon instinct mien

Toi, zététicien ! Qui est tu pour avoir
pris en otage ce trĂšs critique savoir ?
Est ce ta volonté qui a créé ce noir ?
Ou ton ignorance notoire ? Va savoir !

La peur nous parvint d’abord d’un lointain lĂ  bas.
Puis, vint rythmer notre national effroi
Par la suite, notre entourage s’alarma
Enfin, notre mental personnel se brisa.

De lĂ -bas parvenaient des Ă©chos alarmants,
Et nous les Ă©coutions, curieux mais distants.
Une catastrophe, en rien ne nous concernant,
Frappait encore ailleurs, nos cƓurs indiffĂ©rent

Le dix-neuf mars la chimÚre fut annoncée.
La curiosité, vers là-bas dirigée,
Se mua en peur dans notre réalité.
Nous les vrais humains étions enfin concernés

Il bondit vite le cerveau reptilien
Lui qui fait que l’autre, d’humain ne passe à rien
Bien qu’en ce temps, nos Ăąmes furent en soutien,
La raison s’effaça au profit du malin

Ce jour de mars active le mode survie
Une nouvelle routine s’installa, puis
De confinés nous devinrent des confinis.
Car incognito, nous passĂąmes sous Vichy

D’aucuns n’avaient rien de trĂšs notable Ă  parfaire
D’autres furent par la famille dĂ©passĂ©e
Les cƓurs, Ă©trangers Ă  la promiscuitĂ©
MalgrĂ© des dĂ©cennies d’amour, furent brisĂ©s.

Le premier lockdown est clos et un an plus tard,
Le voilĂ  qui revient en force le bĂątard !
Vichy plus haut, qui n’Ă©tait pas qu’art oratoire,
Montrait les lubies d’un dictateur salopard

Staline lui-mĂȘme n’aurait pas rĂȘvĂ© mieux.
Nul Goulag, on trouva bien plus ingénieux:
Nos maisons sont devenues des camps Ă  pouilleux
Chapeau! Minutieux, odieux mais pieux.

Bref, toi! Oui toi, il faudra que tu te démerde
Mais nulle contrainte pour autant que l’on perde
Tais toi! L’expert qui nous a mis dans cette merde.
Nous rendrons à notre liberté sa superbe.

Via mon consentement libre et éclairé
Mes confrĂšres et chĂšres consƓurs tant aimĂ©s
Je vous souhaite enfin une bonne année
Sans Ă©gard aucun pour les apprentis sorciers


The Game Changer
Extra Billing system

Hoteliers we’ve got you!

In a time of crisis for an industry that adds so much to the local economy we’ve developed a tool to help Hoteliers reduce their costs. The MIPS Extra Billing System or affectionately known as EBS, is a brand new MIPS technology that allows the Hotel to collect payments from extra guest expenses after they’ve already checked out.


Extra billing is built into the original payment request; therefore the Hotelier claims for extra billing expenses automaticallywithout further intervention from the guest required. T his is perfect for housekeeping , expenses, extra nights, extra meals… well any extra billing.


This new tech is in fact a bad news for you because… Well… sorry but… 🙄 you won’t be able anymore to quit the hotel after “forgetting” to pay the mini bar 😉.


By the way this system works for Car or Equipment Rental Companies as well.




Stupidities of the boss



I commited quite some this month:

1) I was on Kool FM talking about women integration in “Digital Mauritius”. ( Watch here)
2) I was invited at the launch of “Le Wagon”, the N° 1 Coding Bootcamp in the world! ( Watch here)
3) I Talked about CVV into Credit Card ecommerce Industry ( Watch here)
4) I tried an analogy to explain Paradigm Shift concept through music (I’m subjectively proud of this one with 35K views cool) ( Watch here)
5) I mixed some stuffs on MBC TV concerning Fintechs ( Watch here)
6) We “celebrated” the 
Independence   Day and the Women’s day at the same time…( Watch here)
7)An uppercut right into the jaw 👊. Have fun, no listeners will be harmed!” ( Audio here) ( Text here)

And finally, Diane and I were featured in L’Eco Austral. Ok, I agree that in this photo, she is prettier than me. But just on this photo 😇
ecoaustral net.png

ECO AUSTRAL ARTICLE

 

Cool new stuffs
QuickBooks compatibility


Our “Come & Play with us” philosophy is fully illustrated here. 

QuickBooks is an accounting software and that’s
 not breaking newsđŸ€”.

But what is breaking news is that we can integrate your WooCommerce website to QuickBooks, which is already integrated with MIPS !

In Layman’s terms, stop making so many manual entries into your accounting software and let the automation beginđŸ€˜â€Š you’re welcome. đŸ€—
 


Dynamic Failed Payments AutoRetries


Now this is a cool innovation in terms of payment collection👌

Our MIPS payment System can now adapt itself automatically to a Failed Payment . Meaning that we analyse the root causes and try to collect the merchant’s payment in a different way. Several retries at reduced amounts are affected until a successful transaction has been made.


The awesomeness doesn’t stop there… Once a successful transaction has taken place, the system continues to retry payment collection at the new amount until 100% of the original payment amount is collected😎.



Mini cool stuff

1) A brand new support process
2) A blog to follow in live our progress, Big ones and Small ones ( here)
3) Auto Cancellation Reminder before a QuickPay Payment expires ( SMS and Email claims)
4) Resend SMS receipts anytime if lost ( news here)


TIPS AND INITIATIVES
MIPS Trusted Partner Label

















Back to Basics! Up to  these players to now commit themselves to a simple and elementary  code of conduct (not rules) 👉We achieved a project that stood at the heart of my very own sense of ” Neo Ethics“. ( Read more about this initiative here)


A LinkedIn Group for innovation in Mauritius

We created a LinkedIn Group to promote through games (but not only) concrete  innovations ideas in Mauritius.

The first “Hypothetic Crisis Game” was launched! The first report will be available very soon. You are welcomed to join 🙏 .

JOIN THE GROUP !



Tips for Ecommerce Merchants


For merchants who want to sell more efficiently, here are some home-made MIPS Tips for merchants (assuming the merchant has something to sell right ? Otherwise… it will not be a merchant right ? đŸ€”)


Eshops.mu is still growing


Eshops.mu was born on the first Mauritian lockdown and has continued to grow from strength to strength . With the new surge in onboarding merchants and eShoppers (due to Season 2 of Lockdown Mauritius) we’ve made the platform better. As they say necessity is the mother of all innovations. You can now browse through the 150+ merchant websites (including CEBand CWA) using our newly introduced search engine and revamped category navigation. Shop online for any brand or item and have it delivered to you in the comfort of your home
 because we know you’re there anyway.


Joining Hands with
New Family Members or Family get together !




1) Regeneration Mauritius – “ A partnership for people, communities and companies who aim to make Mauritius a regional hub for sustainable innovation in food systems ” ( More details )
2) Project Cybele – “ We conserve land through outreach win win situations and restoration ” ( their website here ). I invite you to have a close look at that initiative.
3) MITIA AGM. A locomotive for Mauritian IT ( more info here )
4) SME Mauritius Talks at Flying Dodo. It was a nice way to brainstorm together. (more info  here)
5) AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) AGM where a lot of cool things for Mauritius development into Africa through America could  happen.




5) Activations Terrains de “ Made in Moris “. Which will give a great opportunity for “Made in Moris” Family to be present on the spot ! More info to come soon.
6) MAHF Beer & Pizzas ! Talking FinTech and innovation around Beer and Pizzas, What else ?
7) Turbine Graduation of Startups ( Small video here  and details there ) This is what I call “NĂ©o entrepreneurs” and “NĂ©o leaders”. By the way, we partnered with one of these Neos: Lean Search. They are now our Google Ads Trusted Partner. Contact us for more details on their offer.
8)  Finally, I was invited to a great talk from Rogers Capital about Cybersecurity . I drank, ate, met friends and learnt some cool stuffs ( More details here )


Key MIPS Figures
Belly dancing times…
We proudly published this month our Key Figures concerning our FinTech activities. I think that the curves are self explanatory. If not… More details here


MORE DETAILS


New Clients



These businesses have taken on  new MIPS solutions this month. We are grateful for their Trust.

HAVE A LOOK

That’s it ! Done ! Read ! Finished ! Kaput (!)

Dear, Thanks for having the courage to read me till there🙏

Take Care.

SĂ©bastien.