When Bank of Nova Scotia customers miss a credit card payment, an artificial intelligence system is shaping how the bank tries to get its money.
The system, which was completed in December, is the result of a partnership between the bank and DeepLearni.ng, a Toronto-based AI startup. It analyzes the individual customer's past behaviour, as well as the bank's large data set around credit card collections, looking for connections.
"You're trying to find the patterns of behaviour that lead you to believe a customer will pay you back," says Neil Bartlett, Scotiabank's senior vice-president of Analytics. Full story (Globe subscribers)
Surge in craft breweries fuels hop farming revival
Once almost a dead industry in Canada, hop farming is making a comeback. Most farms are tiny. In Ontario and Quebec, they typically grow two to three acres. But in British Columbia, some growers are tending more than 100 acres. Full story.
Bill aims to reduce taxes on family business transfers
Farmers, fishers and other small-business owners looking to sell the operation to their kids are awaiting a private member's bill vote this week aimed at changing how the sale transaction is taxed.Bill C-274, tabled last spring by Quebec MP Guy Caron, calls for a change in the Income Tax Act to give parents more favourable tax treatment when they sell their incorporated small businesses to a child's corporation. Mr. Caron says current tax rules discourage small-business owners from selling to their offspring, and encourages deals with people outside of the family. Full story.
Cash infusion gives B.C. insole maker a spring in its step
Wiivv Wearables Inc., a Vancouver bionic-technology company that has shipped more than 10,000 pairs of its 3-D-printed custom foot orthotics, will announce Wednesday that it has raised $4-million (U.S.) in Series A funding. Full story.
How do I create the company culture that I want?
Some leaders complain about how their staff are letting them down often without ever having told them what was expected in their effort, results, leadership etc. Telling people what your expectations are helps them enormously. Ironically I have found that a common complaint among staff is that they don't have a clear idea of what is expected from them. Once you all know you can start working more effectively together. Full story.
More small business news from around the web
Here are the tax changes to watch out for in the upcoming federal budget
There's much speculation as to both the date of the upcoming federal budget and its potential contents. Typically, the budget is issued in February or March in anticipation of the start of the government's fiscal year, which begins on April 1. Over the past decade, prior years' budget dates have ranged from late January (in 2009, to hastily deal with the fall 2008 economic crisis) to as late as March 29 (in 2012). Full story.
Meta Inc. rode a wild rollercoaster of a startup, and then Chan Zuckerberg came along
Founded in a bedroom in their parents' house by cancer-genomics researcher Sam Molyneux and his technologist sister, Amy Molyneux, Meta has seen highs and lows: learning business through an accelerator program, forging partnerships with publishing giants, seeking investors, surviving sales droughts. Just nine months ago, when the company suffered a cash-flow crunch, Meta's investors had to decide whether or not to pony up more capital. Full story.
Meet Botler, an A.I. chatbot that helps people immigrate to Canada
His creation has become Botler, an immigration tool powered by artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Moravej and his team launched an updated product, designed to help users through the process of putting together an immigration application. Full story.
Prison entrepreneurship: 'Giving a little bit of belief goes a long way'
A report argue that helping prisoners start a business is an effective form of rehabilitation and points to reduced reoffending rates among prisoners who take entrepreneurship programmes. After an entrepreneurship programme in Germany, for example, only 11% of prisoners went on to reoffend, compared to the German national average of 46%. Full story.