TOP 5 BUSINESS IDEAS AND OPPORTUNITIES

1.Brazilian fashion retailer displays Facebook ‘likes’ for items in its real-world stores

C&A has found a way to bring customers’ Facebook approval into full view in its real-world stores through online clothing ratings.

Bridging the gap between the online and offline worlds is a challenge for any brand, but Brazilian fashion retailer C&A has come up with an innovative solution. Much the way both Renault and Bacardi have found ways to translate between real-world approval and Facebook “likes”, so C&A has found a way to bring customers’ Facebook approval into full view in its real-world stores.
Through its new “Fashion Like” initiative, C&A has posted photos of a number of the clothing items it sells on a dedicated Facebook page, where it invites customers to “like” the ones that appeal to them. Special hooks on the racks in its bricks-and-mortar store, meanwhile, can then display those votes in real time, giving in-store shoppers a clear indication of each item’s online popularity.


2.Cardboard bicycle can be built for less than $15

Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Gafni has built a working bicycle entirely out of recycled cardboard for a production cost of less than USD 15.

It was a little over a month ago that Dutch stroller manufacturer Joolz began giving its cardboard packaging a new lease of life as chairs and lamps, and now Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Gafni has demonstrated just how versatile the material can be. In fact, Gafni has built a working bicycle entirely out of recycled cardboard for a production cost of less than USD 15.
We’ve already seen bamboo bikes, of course, but Gafni’s prototype uses recycled cardboard instead and isreportedly designed to accommodate up to 300 pounds. Besides costing very little to produce – between USD 9 and USD 12 per unit, to be specific – the device is also durable, eco-friendly, lightweight and easily carried. Perhaps best of all for those in urban settings is that there will presumably be a reduced chance of it being stolen compared to pricier alternatives. 

3.Battery-free lamp for developing nations is powered by gravity

The GravityLight provides cheap, safe and environmentally-friendly light for areas with poor electricity access.

In areas with poor access to electricity, many people rely on dangerous kerosene lamps once night falls. The Nokero solar-powered light is one solution that is aiming to deal with the problem, and now deciwatt.org’s GravityLight joins it in providing cheap, safe and environmentally-friendly light for developing nations.

While solar panels can be expensive and rely on sunlight and batteries to work, the GravityLight requires neither. The device is connected to a bag that can be filled with sand – or other weight – and is able to convert the energy when the weight is lifted. For example, raising the weight for three seconds provides enough energy for 30 minutes of light. Due to the lack of batteries, there are no costs after the initial investment, and there are zero waste products and no deteriorating parts. Part of London-based design firm therefore.com, deciwatt.org recently surpassed its target funding for the production of 1,000 lamps on Indiegogo.

4.In the UAE, coffee chain’s cup sleeve is printed with the hour’s top headline

Recognizing that reading a newspaper often goes hand in hand with drinking coffee, Y&R Dubai adapted coffee chain Tim Hortons’ coffee cup sleeves into an advertising medium for Gulf News.

If advertising can be emblazoned on napkins, office coffee cups and beer-bottle tags, then why not the ubiquitous coffee-cup sleeve? That, indeed, is precisely the chosen medium in a new campaign developed recently by Y&R Dubai for Gulf News.

Y&R was hired by Gulf News to help it gain subscribers and increase web traffic. Recognizing that reading a newspaper often goes hand in hand with drinking coffee, the agency tapped global coffee chain Tim Hortons – another of its clients in the UAE – and adapted the company’s coffee cup sleeve into an advertising medium. The resulting “Headline News Cup Sleeve” is now printed using a special printer at the Tim Hortons point of sale that pulls tweets from the Gulf News Twitter account. Accordingly, every cup sold in the UAE now bears the newspaper’s current top headline on the coffee sleeve it comes with, with updates made every hour. Also included on the sleeve are a short URL and QR code directing customers to the Gulf News website for the full story. 

5.Digital wallet combines users’ credit cards and selects the best one

The Wallaby Card is connected to each of its users’ credit card accounts and is able to select the best one to take advantage of rewards and savings.

While innovations such as the Canadian government-backed MintChip have aimed to reduce the amount of physical money we carry around with us, our latest spotting is a solution for those who have amassed numerous credit cards. The Wallaby Card is connected to each of its users’ accounts and is able to select the best one to take advantage of discounts and rewards.

Those creating an account with Wallaby load the details of the bank cards they want to link to their digital wallet, which are stored online. Both the continuous and one-off benefits tied to each card are monitored by the service and users can pick the type of rewards they usually choose for those cards. Customers can then replace the various cards they usually carry around with the single Wallaby Card. The date, location of the user and their card details are checked every time the Wallaby card is used to ensure that the best card linked to the digital wallet is chosen to enable customers to make optimal use of deals and their money. Currently in limited beta trialling, the Wallaby Card will cost nothing for the first six months of use and USD 50 a year after that, although the company believes many will make that back in rewards.