SIS Business IT Talks

It is the fastest growing personal information device ever in history. It has overtaken the PC and has become the icon of a new lifestyle. Today, every second person in the world has a mobile phone. People use it to communicate, to connect and to transact. It's a music player, a TV screen, a game console and a camera – all in one!

Some talk about convergence, others social networking, and there are those who chant the mantra of a second life.

Whatever it is, the mobile phone has spawned a new social and economic revolution. Societies are leap frogging into the new digital era and getting connected to one another, giving a new meaning to the concept of globalisation.

This talk will examine some of the exciting changes which are taking place in the world of mobile today, how we can benefit from these bold developments and what lies ahead in the future. It will also feature some real live demonstrations of cutting edge mobile applications which have been developed by Tagit, an innovative Singapore-based mobile solutions company.

Since graduating from the then University of Singapore in 1973, and post-graduation in Marketing Communications from the Penn State University, Navtej Singh (“Naffi”) has trodden on the road less traveled. In a journey spanning 25 years he has developed various innovative business concepts in food and beverage, interactive media, electronic payments, and most recently, mobile commerce. After a successful stint in the food business that saw him start and run Singapore's first satay restaurant and health juice bar franchises, drawn by the buzz about the Internet, Naffi set up Boomerang Consultants, a Communications and Franchising Consultancy in 1999. With a vision to hatch new business ideas for the online world, Naffi together with two other partners, founded Globeweb Technologies, an Internet Incubator. Two ‘big' ideas were hatched -- one an e-payment concept for which a patent was granted. The other was an interactive idea using intelligent, animated icons which could emote and engage users on mobile phones. Both ideas were funded by well-known VCs and one of them, the e-payment company, was subsequently sold, giving Naffi and his partners a timely exit during the turbulent melt down of internet bubble in 2002. In 2004, Naffi and his partner founded Tagit, the innovative m-commerce concept for today's mobile generation. He is currently the CEO of Tagit nurturing the growth of the company, and the adoption of its innovative mobile transactions platform by leading bluechip companies such as Citibank, Singapore Airlines, and leading cineplexes in large markets such as India.

Naffi is committed to various community-based activities, particularly those involved in the cause of entrepreneurship. He is Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD Business School, where he coaches students with their business projects. He is on the Board of The Indus Entrepreneurs Singapore, part of a global organisation for the development of entrepreneurship. He is also a Mentor to students at NUS, and has been actively sharing his experiences with students at SMU.