Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia (AmCham Mongolia) organized its May Webinar as part of the Webinar Series initiative and discussed Digital transformation during pandemic: Where is Mongolia? The panelists were George Chen, Head of Public Policy at Facebook Inc; Ganhuyag Hutagt, CEO and founder of Ard Financial Group; Bayarsaikhan Volodya, COO of And Global Pte Ltd and Founder and CEO of TomYo EdTech; and Uyanga Khurelbaatar, Director of Digital and Technology Solution Division at Wagner Asia.

Over 60 attendees participated in the online discussion, including representatives of AmCham member companies, and domestic and international businesses, discussing global digital transformation trends and how its shaping businesses in Mongolia and steps needed to be taken to embrace Digital transformation.

In her opening remarks, AmCham Board Director B. Gerelmaa noted that digital transformation means two things for companies: embracing innovative strategies using cloud platforms, mobile apps, and social media to connect products and services to customers; and the change of the nature of business using digital technology.

George Chen, Facebook highlighted as a forerunner in digital transformation that Facebook has become more than a social platform that connects individuals. It developed into a platform that connects global consumers to products and services. As digital transformation is happening in 2 layers, the first layer is the way you work, which is being transformed so that the use of digital technologies to connect is becoming the norm. The second layer is how you run businesses in times of social distancing, starting from food delivery services to the use of e-commerce. Facebook is encouraging institutions to make use of Facebook features to teach classes online, developing policy guidebooks for SMEs, and working to help consumers address misinformation.

Mr. V. Bayarsaikhan noted that digital technology is a way to make services more accessible and easy to use. Most importantly, it is essential to leverage technology to make health and education more affordable, which is why he developed TomYo EdTech that compiles global courses into one platform, which Mongolian youth can take advantage of without traveling and at a reasonable price.

Ms. Kh. Uyanga emphasized that Digital transformation has already started from the moment we had access to the internet. It is not a question of Are we ready for this transformation? We are already ready, and COVID-19 is only accelerating the process that was already happening. However, taking business operations fully digital takes time; at least at Wagner Asia, a global mining company, it is happening in several phases from getting the platforms ready to ensure the potential logistics and security issues are addressed.

Finally, Mr. Ch. Gankhuyag, CEO and founder of Ard Financial Group, has urged the government to prepare the infrastructure and policy frameworks to enable businesses to start the digital transformation process and use this tide created by the global pandemic to effect change in Mongolia.

Following the discussion, the panelists took part in a Q&A session and answered the virtual audience’s questions.

Source: AmCham Mongolia