August 2015
When I was in Abu Dhabi recently, specifically
on 6 August 2015, I had time to page through a publication titled “Philanthropy Age” Issue 8, June-August
2015. The sub title (in case that matters) was “Power to the people".
The two sections that caught my eye were the
one with interesting statistics under the section “Bright young things"(pg
13) and the other one under the section "The world in 2025" (pg
26). I have to say, for completeness,
that the publication is looking more at this part of the world.
“Bright
young things"
“According to a poll of more than 2500 global
entrepreneurs, the Middle East and South Asia region offers fertile ground for
start-ups". It continues that Turkey and India, by way of example, outrank
mature markets such as the United Kingdom and United States of America when it
comes to supporting entrepreneurial activities. The same section refers to a study by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) which shows that there is an emergence of New Wealth Builders
(NWBs) which is influenced by changing patterns of prosperity. NWBs are those
with assets between $100 000 and $2million. The NWBs, according to the EIU,
hold around $88 trillion globally, expected to be about $145 trillion by 2020.
“The age at which entrepreneurial urge kicks
in is falling. Entrepreneurs who are 60 years old today first considered going
into business when they were 37 years old. Current business-savvy youth, in
contrast, start out at an average of 30 years and one month"
“The
world in 2025"
The contributors to this section offer their
predictions on how the industry (should we say the world) will change “for good
or bad over the next decade".
“Gender:
closing the gap”
"Worldwide, women are still not equal to
men. They earn less, they are highly vulnerable to violence and they are under-represented
at every level of leadership". The Author, Musimbi Kanyoro continues “I would like us to look back over
a decade that saw exponentially more funding for women's rights - especially for
the grassroots women's groups we know are the best mobilizers of lasting
change.
“Aid: the long game”
“The days of handing out basic pots and pans
and plastic sheeting to desperate refugees must end". According to the Author
of this piece, “Refugees are no longer a short-term concern. The involvement of
the private sector in this regard is critical. The Author concludes that “By
2025, our intervention methodologies must be on preventing disaster, rather
than responding to it. If we fail, the consequences will be vast”.
“Youth
employment: a tipping point”
“Education and employment top the list of
issues set to create an outsized impact on the future of the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA). The Author, Ron Brunder, quotes “the International Labour
Organisation forecasts regional youth unemployment will rise to 30 per cent by
2018", and further states that “many predict the situation will only
worsen through 2025". "A decade from now, the region will witness a
deepening crisis with social, political and economic reverberations". On
the positive side, the Author is of the view that “massive improvements in the
employment outlook for youth will unleash tremendous creative energy and
growth".
“Over
the next decade, the private sector has a chance to drive a transformation in
Education and Workforce Development Practices". If this is done by the
private sector “Classroom education will be more closely aligned with the
skills that companies need and we'll see the first signs of the Education
systems and business working together to anticipate future skills needs".
“Mobile
Money: complex cash”
"Mobile money did not exist 10 years ago
and it may not exist 10 years from now". “In the next decade, we may see the mobile
wallet torn asunder by the draw of informal, unregistered services on the one
hand, and the freedom to choose among any service through mobile data and smart
phones, on the other". According to the Author, Tillman Bruett, “we could
see a growing pay-as-you-go economy, with banks and regulated deposit taking
institutions, the likely platforms for these digital transaction accounts”.
“Migration:
winds of change”
“Migration or human mobility will be a mega
trend well beyond the first half of this century". The Author, William
Lacy Swing, identifies the need for a change of the narrative about migration.
"From the current negativity, to reflect
the historical reality that migration has always been overwhelmingly positive".
The second challenge “is to help countries learn to manage social and economic
diversity as well as ethnic and business diversity". The next five years
will be very difficult, but beyond that the issue will become less complex
simply because societies will recognize that they are only hurting themselves
by not bringing their policies on migration up to date".
Over the next decade the Author hopes "to
see more countries passing laws as to allow dual citizenship and to see
regulations that support portability of social security benefits".
“Education:
beyond the classroom”
“There are 58 million primary-age children
across the globe today without access to education. What is more worrying is
that a further 250 million primary-age children are not able to read, write or
count adequately". The author, Tariq Al Gura, identifies education as “a
central driver of social and economic change". "It is a primary
mechanism to tackle poverty, increase income, reduce conflict and aid
sustainability". The author is looking forward, amongst other things, to
"seeing more and better prepared, better compensated and better supported
teachers across the developing world".
As we acknowledge that governments have a
pivotal role to play in these factors, the question to ask is, what is the role
of business, the intelligentsia and especially
the black middle class in addressing these challenges?
As we solve the problems of today and
yesterday, can we pause to look at these predicaments and integrate solutions in our daily lives to
provide leadership on these challenges of tomorrow.
Sango
Ntsaluba
