Global Cooperation Is Holding Steady But Its Shape Is Evolving

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New research from McKinsey and the World Economic Forum finds that global cooperation is holding steady, but its shape is evolving. 

Read The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026, which shows that overall cooperation is largely unchanged from previous years, but its composition appears to be changing.

Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses in Cambodia

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Despite their importance, small businesses often struggle to access international markets due to the high costs of infrastructure, marketing, distribution, compounded by complex compliance and regulatory barriers.

However, technological advances, especially in online shopping, are alleviating some of these barriers by providing affordable digital storefronts and access to global customers without needing a physical presence.

Over the past decade, the Cambodian government has made significant strides to enhance the export potential of its small enterprises.  

Learn what those strides are here and a lot of it is digital support.

Top 10 Global Risks in 2024

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The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 says the biggest short-term risk stems from misinformation and disinformation. 

In the longer term, climate-related threats dominate the top 10 risks global populations will face.

Two-thirds of global experts anticipate a multipolar or fragmented order to take shape over the next decade.

The key findings of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 reflect these most pressing challenges faced by people in every region of the world.

Does Globalization Need a Revamp?

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Does globalization need a revamp?  Find out via a video from Robin Niblett, Distinguished Fellow, Chatham House – published by World Economic Forum.

Facing the New Age of Constant Disruption in the Global Marketplace

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Normal is over according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Climate change, geopolitical conflict, aging populations, developing technologies and the like are not issues that can be addressed in isolation by any one constituency and must be undertaken through collaboration, which is, of course, the mission of the World Economic Forum. 

The WEF also suggests we move and act boldly while maintaining this bifocal vision.  Increase your company’s recession readiness and position for near-term opportunities.  Keep an eye on the longer-term forces shaping the future.

Learn more about how our world keeps getting more complex.

Today in Global Small Business: The Big Opportunity Behind Global Small Businesses

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• The big opportunity behind global small businesses.
• Reducing our waste’s impact on the planet requires new technology and materials — and, more importantly, a complete rethink of how we incentivize the production and use of resources.  It requires we upend how global business works.
• Quote of the week:  "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• YES, YOU CAN!  Go global according to Canadian trade experts.
• Chinese startups have challenges going global.
• Big cities drive half of global economic growth.

Global Small Businesses Should Become Future Ready

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Olivier M. Schwab, Managing Director, World Economic Forum says:

SMEs - small- and medium-sized enterprises- represent about 90% of all firms globally and about 70% of employment and of GDP, according to some estimates. So at an aggregate level, these businesses play a significant role in enabling and shaping the nature of growth, innovation and sustainability of our global, regional and local economies. It's therefore essential that small businesses and medium-sized businesses are future-ready. In other words, they simultaneously are able to achieve high levels of growth, but also positive social impact.

Read more to learn what others have to say about China's household services industry, remote work, the Metaverse, digital world, nature financing, protecting biodiversity, nature, interconnected challenges, rebuilding resiliency, global supply chains, globalization, innovation for impact, learning from the past, equitable access to healthcare, technology in healthcare, global food crisis, China's dairy industry, sustainable development of energy, reducing emissions, renewal energy, China's economic outlook and investment opportunities.

Ryan Heath Says Globalization Isn’t Over, It’s Just Outgrowing the World Economic Forum

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As Ryan Heath, Editorial Director of Global Growth for Politico says, "Once upon a time globalization was mostly about economics: intensifying trade, falling tariffs, outsourcing and the rise of multinational brands."  He goes on to say, "No longer. Today political risk is multiplying and power is decentralizing, changing globalization with it."

Tensions were on full display recently in Davos.

Columbia University’s Adam Tooze [professor of history] rejected the idea that globalization is ending. “It’s B.S. Ending globalization? Life as we know it would cease to exist,” he told POLITICO. “When people say this, they’re either naive or apocalyptic,” he said, adding “it’s a bad way of thinking about the problem.”

"Globalization isn't over, it's just outgrowing the World Economic Forum," says Heath.

What's a K Shaped Economy?

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Small businesses are a powerful and influential piece of the economy.  In fact, 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. qualify as small businesses, collectively employing almost half (47.3%) of the nation’s private workforce.

Unfortunately, they’ve also been one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy amid the pandemic.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) talks about the K-shaped recovery, where some industries see more improvement compared to others that stagnate in the aftermath of a recession.

Read on to learn more.  The good news?  Despite the continued hardships, the global entrepreneurial spirit endures.

WEF says:  "Even in the face of a global pandemic, the perseverance of such metrics prove that the innovative American spirit is unwavering, and spells better days to come for small business recovery."

You might also take a look at the visual, "Mapped:  The State of Small Business Recovery in America."

How Countries Are Performing On the Road to Recovery

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The Global Competitiveness Report series aims to prompt policy-makers beyond short term growth and to aim for long-run prosperity. The 2020 special edition by Klaus Schwab and Saadia Zahidi, World Economic Forum, is dedicated to elaborating on the priorities for recovery and revival, and considering the building blocks of a transformation towards new economic systems that combine “productivity”, “people” and “planet” targets.

Access the report here.

Push to Reset the World

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Is it time for a great reset?  According to the World Economic Forum COVID Action Platform:

To achieve a better outcome, the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a “Great Reset” of capitalism.

Read more ... and visit the Great Reset microsite.  Working together, we can emerge from this crisis to create a better world.

Eighty Percent of Women-Owned Businesses with Credit Needs Worldwide are Either Unserved or Underserved

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When a woman wants to start or grow her own business, the odds of securing a business loan are heavily stacked against her.

As we [World Economic Forum] search for a solution to the inequality between men and women in accessing finance around the world, the answer could be simple: stop asking for collateral.

Let me repeat:  stop asking for collateral.

Calling on all banks to rise to this challenge, rethink their approach and create equal access and opportunities for women around the globe.

Read more about how to improve women's access to finance worldwide and unleash huge economic potential.

Free-of-Charge Cybersecurity Toolkit for Global Small Businesses

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When it comes to cybercrime the risks are great, especially for small businesses that are the lifeblood of the global economy.

The statistics, according to the World Economic Foum (WEF) show that 58% of cybercrime targets small businesses, with the global cost of cybercrime standing at $600 billion in 2018.

What many people don’t know, however, is that small businesses are often the easy way into larger enterprises. Attackers will, for example, gain access to the credentials of a small business in the supply chain of a large enterprise as a pathway into the larger company, and the breach will often go unnoticed until after the attack has been carried out.

Read more about how helping small businesses fight cybercrime benefits the global ecosystem.

Tip of the day:  The GCA Cybersecurity Toolkit for Small Business enables smaller firms to navigate the confusing array of advice free of charge, to help them shore up their cyber defenses and reduce their cyber risk.

Let's all work together to fight cybercrime on a global scale!

The New World of Artificial Intelligence

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Africans are ready for the fourth industrial revolution, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa confidently asserted at the World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos earlier this year.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab sees the fourth industrial revolution as being shaped by the emerging digital technologies that will “fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another."

The new world of artificial intelligence, which requires the cultivation of independent thought and self-learning skills at the school level to prepare children for a world where life skills are critical, is conspicuous by its absence in Africa.

As the article below goes on to say:  "Africa is not short of young entrepreneurs with good ideas, ambition, energy and talent, which can be harnessed to drive more inclusive growth."

Read more about the new world of artificial intelligence and how Africans are eager to engage with technology to create new opportunities for themselves and their country.

Davos 2018: Put Women First

Women are a driving force in our global economy.  Learn more about what's happening at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018.  For example, here are 7 things that happened on the first day at Davos (Switzerland) 2018.

Today in Global Small Business: The Impact of NAFTA on Midwestern Businesses

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• How could changes to NAFTA impact Midwest businesses?
• Our 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Friday, October 20 with the theme Global E-Commerce Explosion (#GEE) was a HUGE success. We thank our event sponsor, MB Financial Bank and our host sponsor, Loyola University Chicago, Center for International Business, Quinlan School of Business for their support on the program.  We'll be sharing photos and a recap tomorrow, 10/24, at this blog.  Watch for it.
• Urban warehouses:  what's old is new again.
• How can you master and simplify global shipping?  Easy solution.  Listen in on our next WEGGinar™ on 11/1/17 where UPS Illinois Small Business Marketing Manager Andrea Cervini will talk about how to take the guesswork out of international shipping: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3272777010361474561.
• Here's why you need to know about trade finance.
• The state of small business marketing.
• What trade data tells us about the state of globalization.

Guiding Principles of World Entrepreneurship Forum

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On my way to the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France (November 18-21) and our 2009 main topic is:

How can governments, at all levels, support the development of entrepreneurship?

We will also review the nine (9) recommendations we proposed during our 2008 Forum, aimed at enabling and fostering the development of the various forms of entrepreneurship. They are as follows:

World Entrepreneurship Forum Guiding Principles

1. Reform Regulations

To promote a truly entrepreneurship-centered business climate, reform tax and regulatory environments so as to make it easier, faster, and less costly for entrepreneurs to set up enterprises, grow them if they are successful, or close them if not; minimize the time they spend on licenses, tax procedures, litigation and other similar activities.

2. Create New “Entrepreneur-Friendly” Institutions

Introduce new-style entrepreneurship-friendly support institutions that provide technological knowledge, market information, business know-how, certification services, access to capital, and other essential business support.

3. Promote Proper Governance

Set forth a governance framework which unambiguously encourages risk-taking, while also ensuring that ethics lapses, corruption, and neglect of environmental sustainability carry a high cost to reputation.

4. Foster Positive Entrepreneurial Attitudes

Foster a cultural context where entrepreneurship has a positive image and where entrepreneurial success is publicly celebrated.

5. Create an Early Education Entrepreneurial Curricula

Include within schools a curricula that promotes the development of the skills and attitudes that are the hallmark of entrepreneurship, such as: Creating a vision, perseverance, creativity, spotting needs, empathy, leadership, dealing with ambiguity, risk-taking, and follow-through.

6. Develop Young Adult Entrepreneurial Curricula

Include within an education curricula practical elements of entrepreneurship and business development so as to increase the entrepreneurial IQ within the community.

7. Promote Lifelong Entrepreneurial Education

Provide entrepreneurs lifelong learning and development platforms for sharing of experience and best practices, coaching and mentoring, mutual support, and international networking, with the strong support of key stakeholders from business and civil society.

8. Empower Entrepreneurial Women, Minorities and the Disadvantaged

Support programs must also specifically target women, minorities, and the disadvantaged. Further, governments should implement laws and policies that ensure that entrepreneurs are sensitive to gender empowerment as well as diversity promotion.

9. Understand Entrepreneurship

Make it known that entrepreneurs are positive agents of social change, wealth creation, transparency, sustainability, and innovation.

Formal Guiding Principles can be found here.

I hope to have a chance to report out to you while in France but if I get too busy, which is very likely, I will wait until after I return to provide you with key takeaways. However, in the meantime, catch a LIVE broadcast of key moments here (http://www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com).

By the way ... here's why I am a member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum.

Entrepreneur for the World

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The World Entrepreneurship Forum’s “Entrepreneur for the World” Award, Politician category, has been exceptionally granted during a conference held on October 20, 2009 hosted by EMLYON Business School (Lyon, France). And the winner is Mary Robinson!

From the press release:

Mrs Robinson's passion and faith left the audience capitivated and charmed. In her speech to more than 600 EMLYON students, Mrs Robinson highlighted that “The world needs leadership and especially leadership of values” saluting our School mission statement "educating entrepreneurs for the world" that gives sense to any action and project at EMLYON Business School.

Patrick Molle, President of EMLYON Business School, and Jean-Luc Decornoy, Chairman of KPMG SA, presented the Award to Ms. Robinson in the presence of the official partners of the World Entrepreneurship Forum (full disclosure: I am a member).

The broadcast of the conference will be on the World Entrepreneurship Forum’s website: (http://www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com) as a video shortly.

The "Entrepreneur for the World" Awards are granted to emblematic international personalities, in recognition of their actions in favor of entrepreneurship and social justice.

There are four different award categories: Entrepreneur, Social Entrepreneur, Politician and Academic Expert. The names of the award-winners are being held secret until the Award Ceremony which will be held on November 19, 2009 during the 2009 World Entrepreneurship Forum (full disclosure: I am attending).

The "Entrepreneur for the World" Awards have been initiated during the 2008, and first edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, when all its members freely voted for each one of the four categories. The vote was secret. A biographical research has been conducted by the World Entrepreneurship Forum committee to ensure that nominated personalities are in line with the World Entrepreneurship Forum ethics and values of entrepreneurship, social justice and international exposure.

The final Jury was held in Lyon, on April 1st, 2009, composed of 15 personalities of 6 different nationalities.

More information about the World Entrepreneurship Forum can be found here. Guiding Principals which enable and foster the various forms of entrepreneurship can be found here.

Best Countries for Global Business

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) each year handicaps the economic-development race. The Global Competitiveness Report tallies 113 factors that contribute to an economy's competitiveness -- a buzzword that roughly boils down to how well a country is positioned to squeeze efficiency out of its businesses and attract companies and investment from abroad.

Components of the resulting Global Competitiveness Index range from the quality of a nation's roads to the independence of its judiciary to the incidence of tuberculosis to how easy it is to hire an engineer. Parts of the index are culled from official data; many others are drawn from a survey of 11,000 international business executives. This year TIME partners with the WEF to bring you in-depth data on 37 key countries at time.com/globalbusiness.

Note, this is different from what we reported October 10, 2007 on the World Bank's Doing Business 2008.