Why Gender Parity In Entrepreneurship Matters

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As Claudia Valladares, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Impact Hub Caracas says, gender parity in entrepreneurship is not just a moral imperative but a crucial driver of economic growth and innovation.

She goes on to say, that despite significant progress in promoting gender equality globally, women remain underrepresented in entrepreneurial ecosystems.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 by the World Economic Forum, closing gender gaps in economic participation and opportunity will take over 134 years if current trends persist. Bridging these gaps is essential to fostering inclusive economies.

Gender parity in entrepreneurship matters to unlock the untapped potential of women, half the world's population.

Mintel Says Global CPG Innovation Reaches Record Low

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Over the first five months of 2024, only 35% of global CPG launches were entirely new products, the lowest percentage since Mintel started tracking new products in 1996. The other 65% of launches, according to new insights from Mintel, were renovations — reformulations, line extensions, new packaging and so forth.

As inflation eases and consumers regain confidence, demand for innovation is likely to increase.  

Today in Global Small Business: Accelerating Women's Economic Empowerment

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

• 5 things to accelerate women's economic empowerment.
• Women own almost half of all Indonesian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  However, these women often have difficulty borrowing money to invest in their businesses/
• Empowering SMEs for innovation and success.
• Quote of the week:  "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." – Bill Gates
• Empowering Africa's economic growth.
• SME strategies for 2024.

Today in Global Small Business: How to Start an Import-Export Business

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

• How to start an import-export business.
• Alternative data transforming SME finance.
• How to move the needle on innovation.
• Quote of the week:  “Thanks to the Internet, setting up an import/export business can be ridiculously simple and very profitable.” – Laurel J. Delaney, President, GlobeTrade.com
• UpLink is the innovation platform for people and planet.
• Sustainability and energy innovation.

An Electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) Would Save $6.5 Billion in Direct Costs and Enable $40 billion in Global Trade

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Trade finance can be a huge booster to global trade—to make it accessible by ensuring that importers receive their goods and exporters receive their payments. But the core ecosystem—exporters, importers and banks—is complicated with multiple parties involved in a single transaction.

But according to a CEO of a global trade finance network, there are three factors at play that he thinks will reshape the future of trade finance. 

1.  There are still huge opportunities to digitize trade finance.
2.  Integration between financial institutions and fintechs will be key to future growth.

For example, one area is digitizing documentation and the bill of lading (BL). According to McKinsey, an electronic bill of lading (eBL) would save $6.5 billion in direct costs and enable $40 billion in global trade.

3.  The next wave of innovation in trade finance is in digital assets.

Read more here.

10 Asia-Pacific Companies Offer Game-changing Solutions to Difficult Problems

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The United States is a leader in every respect – take Walmart, Amazon, Exxon Mobil and Apple.  Yet, South Korea’s Seegene, for example, helped the world diagnose the novel coronavirus quickly and effectively. 

India’s MilkMantra allowed the country’s small-scale dairy farmers to bring their products to market, while ensuring quality control. And Australia’s ProAgni has cleaned up the food chain by developing antibiotic-free supplement for cattle and sheep. 

Read on for more of this year’s best in Asia-Pacific published by Fast Company.

Innovation Has Gone Global and Is Arguably the Most Powerful Force Today

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Below is an interview with Alexandre Lazarow, the author of Out-Innovate, which was recently reviewed by Irish Tech News.

Alexandre presently works with Cathay Innovation, a global firm that invests across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, and was previously with the Omidyar Network. Outside of his day job, he teaches impact investment and entrepreneurship at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

In addition, he is a Kauffman Fellow, completed his MBA from the Harvard Business School and has a B.Comm from the University of Manitoba.

In the interview, one of his keys statements is:

Innovation is arguably the most powerful force today. In the US, 40% of publicly traded companies (representing 60% of market cap and 80% of R&D budgets) were once venture backed startups. They hold the promise not only of job creation but solving some of our thorniest problems. Innovation has gone global.

Read the entire interview about how how entrepreneurs are rewriting the rules.

Innovation: A New Idea, Method or Device

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." -- Steve Jobs

The New World Order: Innovation

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As research and development programs become more global, a geographic footprint of innovation is changing dramatically.

An overwhelming 94 percent of the world’s largest innovators now conduct elements of their R&D programs abroad, according to the 2015 Global Innovation 1000 study, our [PwC's Strategy&] annual analysis of corporate R&D spending.

Where are innovation dollars going?  To countries in which their sales and manufacturing are growing fastest, and where they can access the right technical talent.  Markets like China and India are booming (no surprises there).

Bottom line:  Firms that favor a more global R&D footprint outperform their less globalized competitors on a variety of financial measures.

Read more:  Innovation's New World Order

Is Manufacturing the Primary Driver of Innovation?

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Is it too late for the United States to regain its competitive footing regarding innovation and creating high-tech products?

Professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih have something to say about this hot topic.

Read: "Why Manufacturing Matters," HBS Working Knowledge

One of the key concepts in their Q&A is:

Exporting manufacturing has a negative impact on the country's industrial commons, which represents the collective capability to sustain innovation.

Be sure to read the reader's comments -- very thought-provoking.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Globalization Matters

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Technology and globalization
have changed our economy forever. ~ Carly Fiorina

Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett Packard, told some 2,300 members of the International Franchise Association yesterday in her keynote address at their annual convention being held in San Diego, that businesses, which she says have created two-thirds of jobs in the country, will lead the way to restore America’s faith in how business operates.

“If we’re going to get our economy working again, we have to pay attention on how to get people and small businesses to perform and prosper ... I think you are vital to the restoration of growth in our economy ... It is innovation and entrepreneurship that will lead us out of this economic crisis. Not big government, not big business, not big labor.”

Way back when in his "The World Is Flat" book, Thomas Friedman wrote about how technology and globalization have changed our lives forever.

Read more about her Carly's talk here.