Global Tech Innovations

Global Tech Innovations

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i now want to introduce uh olav our next  session is going to be about global tech   so the type of innovation that goes  on across boundaries geographically   where we see a lot of leapfrog innovation olaf  joined us from yale about a year or so ago   he is the faculty research director for the  price center for entrepreneurship and innovation   he's got a lot of plans to continue growing the  research the course offerings etc at anderson   all related to entrepreneurship and uh and  innovation um his research is very much focused   about entrepreneurship and how it affects certain  geographic regions how it affects growth in those   regions competitiveness in those regions etc olaf  please uh come up and it's great to have you here   great uh thank you terry for the uh introduction  i'm uh happy to be here and one of the things that   uh he didn't mention in my biography but i think  is one of the reasons why i'm particularly excited   about this session is that you know over the  last decade i've led uh entrepreneurship themed   student trips to estonia hungary russia south  africa and there's a lot of interesting things   uh that are happening you know kind of around  the world uh in technology entrepreneurship so   you know to frame the descript discussion i'd  like to uh mention just a couple of i think   you know sort of interesting tidbits that people  may not be aware of so um you know when i started   i'm teaching a course on venture capital when  i started teaching venture capital 15 years ago   you could basically teach that just about the us  in fact you could almost teach that just about   california because there wasn't much happening  uh in other parts of the world um but that's   really dramatically changed if you looked at  the last you know two or three years there are   essentially as many deals just in china as there  are in the united states and if you start adding   up other places around the globe there's actually  more happening outside the us than in the u.s   and that's even true on a dollar value basis so  even the the number of dollars being deployed is   larger outside the u.s than inside it and i think  what we're seeing is just the beginning of a wave   if you looked for the last you know sort of 12  to 18 months on a per capita basis you know what   have been the fastest growing you know kind  of tech areas where has vc been most active   san francisco the bay area is not even in  the top five the top five would include   amsterdam dublin london um so i think that  you know this kind of trend that we're seeing   is is only going to continue and accelerators  are popping up you know kind of everywhere   around the world so uh we have a really  interesting panel here today um we have uh dieng   who's going to be joining us she's with  the company formerly known as 500 startups   um fortunately the name change was not quite  as extreme as meta and we also have zinnia tata   joining us who was formerly with the xprize um so  before i uh let them briefly introduce themselves   i would like to remind you that we're going  to be using slido for the questions i have   this handy ipad so i will see your questions  popping up the uh code for this session is tnsp1   and for those of you who uh like the nato code  signs we can go for tango november sierra papa   and the number one um so uh with that uh  maybe we can have the the panelists give   just a very brief introduction uh to themselves  marine would you like to start us off   thank you so much so um as just mentioned my name  is marem i lead our global innovation strategy at   i'm looking particularly at europe middle  east and africa and especially because as   just previously mentioned venture capital today is  definitely more active in emerging markets and so   i look at our strategy both in implementing  ecosystem development work as well as   understanding where are the underlying markets  where there is the highest investment potential   and xenia hello everyone thank you so much for  having me olaf um i'm xenia tata and i have had   the absolute privilege for the last 20 years to  watch this entire innovation landscape especially   in the global south absolutely explode just been  part of my career journey i was last for the   last eight years with xprize as the chief impact  officer where i designed prizes and just designed   impact programs and my entire career journey has  been about designing innovation for high impact   the kind of innovation that truly can transform  the lives of of many great thank you so i i think   an interesting pla you know kind of place to start  would be to say you know what are some of the   places that you find particularly exciting right  now you know both of you have had experiences you   know kind of around the world and you know there's  different pockets different ecosystems popping up   and and i'd be curious which ones you think  are are currently really interesting uh maybe   we could start uh with uh xenia so i i think olaf  you're asking about geographically but i'm going   to talk a little bit about sector-wise if that's  all right with you um so i think some of the most   interesting innovations that are popping up for  me are are in climate tech and um i'm really   uh tracking those and trying to figure out um now  of course these climate innovations some of the   beauty about them is that these are multi-country  efforts so you can't say that it's just in one   hot spot of innovation or another and that's  that's kind of part of the charm of them as well   because again when you're dealing with climate  you're dealing with such a massive global issue   so uh for me i've been tracking  a lot in climate tech recently miriam hmm thank you zunia um i would say that  for me and i'm probably a little biased um   because i am from from senegal that there are  quite interesting um companies that we're seeing   come out of particular emerging markets  so i specifically think of the different   fintechs that have been coming out of nigeria  in the past few years but i also think about   the different companies coming out of egypt  both in edtech fintech e-commerce and logistics   and also as well kenya which today we're seeing  a quite active um unlocking of industries in   agritech and so like zenya said i think there are  interesting companies coming out of many different   sectors um but if i had to say the geographies  that i am definitely the most excited about   um those are geographies that we see today on  the african market as well as the mena region   for that matter so very exciting companies  coming out of uae saudi um so it's a very   exciting time for a lot of different emerging  markets and i think that we're going to see a   lot more of that come up in the next coming years  yeah marin could i uh follow up on that maybe so   you know what do you think is really driving  some of the innovation in these places so   you know i i know i i'm you know some of it  could be driven by local needs but of course   the other thing that we know is happening is you  know places like near nigeria are just having a   boom in the sort of the middle class so is it  you know kind of general increase in demand is it   differences in needs that  what do you think is happening i think there's two very exciting phenomenas  that are happening in those in those markets   and the first one i think has been the realization  that technology can solve um primary issues and   i think for a long time there was kind of this  narrative that technology can only be applied to   higher needs on the pyramid of maslow and  nowadays what we realize is actually that   technology can allow us to exponentially and  in a much more sustainable and scalable manner   address some of the most primary and important  issues of the continent and being able to that   empowerment and that realization i think has  tremendously changed the landscape and and you   were mentioning earlier so nigeria today what  we're seeing is that the capacity at which um   startups have taken over fintech and financial  services in order to allow a much bigger amount   of the population to have access to those  financial services has tremendously changed   um the landscape of the country and as well has  actually catalyzed the growth of this middle class   that we're talking about because it has allowed a  distribution of services and the second thing that   i also think is happening across those different  markets is the realization that they have the   potential to go from technology and innovation  consumer to technology and innovation producer   and i think that that has made a major major shift  across those markets as well because today we're   seeing them wanting to drive and lead emerging  technologies and their adoption and we often   talk about the concept of leap frogging which is  when different markets are actually able to skip   um certain phases of technological development and  i see it as an incredible competitive advantage   and strength of these markets because it's  allowing them to go much faster in adoption and   it's allowing them to actually be and turn into  case studies for what the penetration of emerging   technologies would look like um i'm always very  pleasantly surprised when i hear in remote areas   of senegal people talking to me about their crypto  wallet right those are individuals who do not have   bank accounts who barely have access to to to  computing technology as a matter of fact but they   are a lot more savvy on crypto wallets than other  individuals who i know who are middle class in   certain western markets so i'm incredibly excited  uh for for these markets and i really think that   the shift is happening because there is a level  of empowerment that's happening and also um actual   case studies that prove that technology can solve  some of the most important issues of the continent   xenia do you feel similarly as to what's sort  of driving this or do you think there are other   factors maybe particularly if we sort of think  outside of africa southeast asia and other areas   um is it a different type of dynamic yes i  think there are a few other factors as well   and i'll get into them in a second but i wanted  to comment on on uh what i was thinking uh miriam   when you were speaking is that you know in  the mid kind of 2000s what we were seeing   is you know this burst of entrepreneurship  just starting out um in in other countries   to address issues like water and energy and waste  etc uh so cut and health of course you know so so   again down on on that maslow's hierarchy of  needs but they were being addressed with very   basic technology you know the kind of technology  that that probably existed here in the west uh of   many decades ago and now what we're seeing is um  the confluence of the exponential technologies and   the emerging tech actually being used to solve  some of those bigger problems which allow for   those problems to be solved uh faster uh in a more  affordable way and also at much greater scale than   than sort of the the older analog versions of  technology that we were seeing so um other things   that make up that enabling environment uh i think  is that governments have got more savvy about   being real partners and bringing partnerships  to the table that focus on improved policy and   ease of business in certain cases and and  so again when governments come on board as   partners of course everybody thrives especially  in countries where uh the government presence   is very large and and you have to work through  those bureaucratic barriers so easing easing that   has has helped for example in in a country like  india that that has happened uh especially in in   though it is india still remains a very difficult  country to do business in but the government has   made efforts especially in the last eight years or  so to open up doors especially for entrepreneurs   to to have ease of business and then i think  the the diaspora um uh in a lot of countries   the the people who came to silicon valley in the  90s made made some good money going back home   have encouraged uh and become vcs become angel  investors and have encouraged entrepreneurship   through the example of their own success and  teaching risk teaching the rewards of risk   teaching the ability to fail which traditionally  doesn't exist in so many of our cultures   so i think those are a couple of the other factors  that have enabled uh this this uh spark to blossom   uh that's interesting dude i'm curious um uh  marim do you think there's also been a diaspora   aspect in in kind of africa's uh latest wave  of submerged emergence i know that you know you   went to ala and that was actually founded kind of  around the idea of creating that type of diaspora   a hundred percent um and i think that me  and many other ala students are a testimony   of what zenia was just talking about today  which are um africans who had had the chance   and the opportunity to go and learn from  these markets but who also very still rooted   within their culture and within their cultural  realities and who are coming back not as saviors   but who are coming back to try to understand  and to try to create more opportunities based on   what i have they have seen and i think that  that has definitely changed the landscape   on the possibility to unlock more for  the continent but also the perspective   of how do you actually use international best  practices to relate them to what's happening on   the continent because before i think also a lot of  you know the frustration came from the fact that   the examples that were being taken were not very  examples that could be replicated on the continent   you can't take what's happening in paris in london  and try to replicate it somewhere in in nairobi   or in takara but now we're seeing more and more  also the diaspora going places like india malaysia   singapore go to markets that have actually  historically experienced similar issues that   have similar infrastructural hurdles and take best  practices from those markets as well i think about   brazil mexico so looking a lot more outside of the  scope of what is the best that can be taken from   what's happening elsewhere but also how can it be  actually adapted to the realities of today and i   have to say that today more than ever the quality  of the local talent is absolutely astonishing   i have been traveling across the continent this  year and the local talent of people who have been   on the continent who have been working there for  the past couple of years and built their career   there so they need to go to educations abroad  they didn't need to work abroad the talent of that   the quality of the talent pool has exponentially  grown and so today what we're seeing is that there   is also a lot of best practice being  learned from the continent itself   i keep telling entrepreneurs that they can find  a lot of lessons learned from going to nairobi   from looking at the work happening in lagos from  learning about what um kaza is doing on miracle   because now the ecosystem is growing and we're  really being able to actually nurture that growth   so i i i want to dig into this just a little  bit so what do you think have been some of the   you know maybe key additions in a sense to  the ecosystem that's really you know kind of   allowed some of these places to take off what  wasn't there before was it the money was it the   you know having the kind of models to follow  i'd be curious what your perspective is there   of course capital uh is is one of them and you  know we would be naive to not acknowledge that   capital definitely does make a difference in being  able to create more distributed opportunities   uh for sure but i also think that something  that wasn't there before and that's here today   is success stories what we're seeing now  today is that you don't need to go looking   at what's happening in other countries to  know that it's possible to be done right here   because today we have actual examples to look at  and to learn from flirter wave is one of them all   pay is another one thinking about also paystack  andela fari all of those are actual companies   that were built on the continent that have  most of their market on the continent and that   have built job opportunities that have created a  redistribution of opportunities for those that are   working on it and so that tangible people usually  i think neglect the importance of tangible outcome   tangible stories right when you're thinking  about what would the development of the continent   look like in the next 10 years it's right here we  can actually see it now today we can see what is   it like when we're able to leverage on technology  to create opportunities and to actually create   economic development on the continent and so that  in itself has completely changed the landscape   today people are actually looking at people like  e as a role model they can actually personalize   and create a direct relationship between what  does that success and growth look like for them   and finally what i think the continent has now and  hadn't had before is also time it takes time for   this development to happen and that's something we  sometimes forget that most of these countries are   basically maximum 70 years old we're talking about  an extremely young content with young economies   and young infrastructures that are yet to  be developing and now we're at the dawn of   what we're seeing success to look like but  we still need time and it will take time   and kind of allowing that process to happen is  also a very key part of understanding that we are   all today part of building an ecosystem that we  may not see the result of and that should be okay   we should be okay of the idea of participating in  building the foundation of an economic development   that we may never see because it's going to be in  the next 100 200 300 years but that acceptance i   think really makes a difference in being able to  also provide perspective to how that growth is   happening and how rapidly it's happening great  uh zinnia do you think it's sort of a similar   issue in say southeast asia or are there  different factors at play there i think one factor   that we should discuss and add to is the role  of industry and um so for example if i look at   india and where where the sparks happen where this  movement started and bubbled up these were hotbeds   of and they were emerging industries at the time  too but they were hotbeds for i.t uh for medicine  

uh for healthcare services rather you know that's  so so there was a role that industry played   where they didn't want to see their talent  leave their shores either and so they understood   that they have to nurture this new  wave and uh and somehow feed it because   uh this is again that rising tide that will lift  all boats and it does play into that longer vision   of success economic upliftment and success um  not just for a country but a whole entire region   so i think the role of industry um you know has  been important especially in southeast asia where   those clusters did exist and then of course with  that comes you know again a different kind of a   role model right that well you could be you  could you could be a mega industry one day   you you also that pathway was open to  you you know um the role of education   um you know educational institutes um again  talking a little more on the asia side because   that's more of my familiarity in southeast asia  right now a lot of the the premier universities   have accelerated programs have entrepreneurship  programs have uh their alumni uh seating um a new   new ventures that that come out of that particular  university so again the government on one side   fantastic role models from diaspora or even local  role models emerging but then the influx of the   support from industry and and the support  from universities themselves to actually   teach that mindset that has been a game changer so  there's a question that came in from the audience   which i think is an interesting one to think about  in this perspective which is you know is there   anything that you know well-established countries  uh or if we're going to use the the opposite   of the global south youth banism the global  north i guess uh like the u.s can learn from   these emerging regions or you know maybe another  way of thinking about that is there are there   things that are being done particularly well there  that the u.s europe other places could learn from i think that um two there was a point that was  made earlier about how today we're seeing more   even investment activity happen outside of um  silicon valley which was historically kind of   kind of the hub of that for me when i'm looking at  again um how the investment landscape has evolved   i would love for you know american-based startups  to refocus their initial approach towards   entrepreneurship around solving problems i think  that um something they could really learn from   the emerging markets is well you have emerging  markets that would have tons of problems and that   are now trying to leverage emerging technologies  to solve those problems and i would love for   american startups to also re-center and refocus  their approach and use of emerging technologies   around solving problems and not necessarily  creating problems to solve because that creates   an incredible difference in the sustainability  of these solutions on the long term but also   it will allow them to truly have two to five to  ten steps ahead of where the world will be in the   next coming years and how their solution can also  then be applicable and deployed in other markets   so it's really that thinking ahead of as the world  and other economies are also growing and with the   status of where the u.s economy is today how can  they adapt emerging technologies to solve the us's   issues today and even prepare for the next coming  issues in other emerging markets and i think that   will truly give them a differentiating factor  that will allow these solutions to be sustainable   otherwise what we we fear to see is that in  the coming years with emerging technologies   begin being absolutely leapfrogged in in emerging  markets and um you know us-based companies not   necessarily always working on solutions that  are actually solving problems they actually   may miss out on the future um and miss out on what  technology and emerging technologies in particular   will truly do and i and i i re-emphasize something  that then i actually said earlier which was that   the true magic happened when emerging markets  are now figuring out how to not just use basic   technology they are using emerging technology  to solve their issues so they have done that you   know two-step ahead already because they are not  even looking at now regular technologies they want   you know a lot of markets on the content for  example have already given up the idea of   credit cards and bank it's not even something  that they think would be viable and so and the   the funny part is for example here in europe the  adoption of mobile money is incredibly difficult   to get because there's a lot of infrastructural  change that needs to be done before they get there   and so i really really encourage um startups in  the us and in more developed markets in general   to really try to think about that five to ten  step ahead which is where will the world be   in 10 years and what will those issues look  like and how can i already start with the   access to technology that i have now solving for  those great xenia yes so um i'm always fascinated   by by entrepreneurs who take on a big problem but  have to quickly design for unprecedented scale   and that is something that you don't see quite  in the u.s you know you see or um you just  

you just see the usual kind of uh plotting through  those steps of scale up whereas um when you're   dealing with uh even even a problem whether it's  whether it's you know leapfrogging the financial   system or leapfrogging transportation traditional  transportation systems whatever it might be you   have to design for such massive scale and and  rapid adoption and so you have to adapt so quickly   you know whether whether it's it's a piece of  hardware or software i mean your your market is   growing so fast and and it is so varied because a  lot of uh uh these countries are extremely varied   right they're they're they are really a collection  even in india it's a collection of multiple tribes   really you know so so you're navigating all these  these cultural differences at breakneck speed   while you're growing your company while you're  adapting your technology and while you're gaining   new market momentum uh all the time looking behind  your shoulder because you know the copycats are   right there because that's part of the culture  you know success is going to be imitated and   uh flattery or not you know however you want  to view that and so uh so i think that's um   that's something that that in the west uh  entrepreneurs don't have to grapple with   for a while scale kind of they have the luxury  of waiting and planning for scale whereas that   doesn't happen in the emerging markets that's  interesting i almost feel like those might be   flip sides of the same issue in a sense where  you know if you're really solving a core you know   problem that the face a lot of people face then  once you have the solution you know the demand is   almost instantly there right and you need to  scale up the production of it for that demand   you know kind of right away whereas you know  if you're trying to basically create the demand   through marketing you know that's a you know  kind of slower uh process um super interesting   so like you know so there's a lot of you  know exciting interesting stuff going on   um what's holding it back what's  keeping it from you know being   kind of emerging at an even more breakneck  pace what are the kind of key features   that you think is preventing these ecosystems  from having an even larger number of   successful startups than they have like i said  earlier i would say that for me it's time um   they have finally unlocked that critical moment  where they realize that it works um that it's not   just theory it's not just predictions it actually  works um people's lives are being changed by these   solutions um they are finally now attributing  change and growth to not just the public sector   um they are realizing that a individual  entrepreneurs can change completely their way of   living and the opportunities that they have access  to so they themselves are now internalizing what   that looks like and especially in markets like  africa but also southeast asia and latin america   entrepreneurship is not new at all um to to  their way of functioning because it has been a   very strong pillar to their economic development  for the past couple of years and so they have most   of the time attributed that entrepreneurship  power to building mainly small and medium   sized businesses so smes for the most part and  now that they have unlocked that very important   piece around being able to leverage technology to  solve issues i think their most important need is   going to be around time giving them the time but  also for us as ecosystem stakeholders to continue   making sure that we are allowing them to have  opportunities and i reinforce on that very   importantly because at 500 we believe that talent  is equally distributed but opportunities are not   and so there is talent everywhere and they  are um incredible entrepreneurial potential   in all markets but opportunities are not  necessarily distributed so you can find amazing   solutions being built um in certain markets but  they don't have access to neither their capital   nor the network nor um the mentorship that  they need and so what we can continue to do   as ecosystem stakeholders is to continue providing  that access to as many opportunities as we can   to as many markets as we can and that the map  the magic will happen when those entrepreneurs   are able to leverage on those opportunities  and only with time um will we actually see   what happens in this market  and where does it take them   do you feel like you're not able to do enough  i mean you know 500 500 startups you know i   had a goal of of really trying to invest i know  you've gone way past 500 already but you know is   it still sort of not enough if you had 10 times  the capital deploy would you really be able to   push that out there i don't know i don't know if  i feel that there is not enough capital um i think   there's a lot of capital already in the market  and um we need to be better about distributing   that capital for sure um but something that  i do feel is never enough is human resources   i feel like there is never enough mentors never  enough time that can be dedicating coaching and   supporting these entrepreneurs never enough time  that can be dedicating to allowing them networking   opportunities never enough human resources that  can really leverage upon that and i think that   that's also something we're seeing for example  in certain specific markets where now today   a lot of capital is going to right there's  a lot of vc activity in nigeria you'll be   tremendously surprised there's a lot of bc  activity in egypt there's a lot of bc activity in   all of these markets so there's definitely and the  thing about capital is it goes where it can grow   and um as as investors we know that capital  will flow in markets where it can grow and   multiply that's how that's the nature of how  investment works but i always will feel like   there is not enough human resources to dedicate  i always wish that we could do more um i wish   that we could do more as institutions i wish  we could do more as individuals i wish that   we could create more knowledge transfer and that  we could dedicate more time to helping those not   make the same mistakes that we may have made in  the past so capital i think that of course there   should be more but human resources to me is very  much the one that we will never have enough of   xenia what you know kind of coming back to this  ecosystem question you know what do you think uh   maybe the missing ingredients are what's holding  them back yeah i mean you know at the end of the   day you're still talking about uh countries that  are struggling um they have infrastructure issues   they um yes there is a rising middle class but at  the same time not you know the purchasing power is   still low um and and and so those those problems  haven't quite gone away you know the way might   have been eased a little bit there might be a  better enabling environment but you're still   operating in countries that that have those  setbacks that hasn't fundamentally changed and   uh and so those will always slow things down those  kinds of factors will just just slow it down um   i think the question about opportunity and and  you know the access to opportunity rather is   is is massive i'm sorry um that's that is  still fundamentally um uh lies in the realm   of the few who were able to get an education in  these countries and a lot of times just not any   education but in education that was a little more  international in probably an english medium school   and an english medium college and that makes all  the difference um you know so so again access   to opportunity is still minimal and it isn't for  everyone you know you're talking about countries   with hundreds of millions of people in them um  and and it's just the few that were able to do   something so yeah so those those problems still  exist and that's slowing everything down and maybe   what miriam what you're saying it you know is  give it give it more time is maybe that is what   is what is needed you know one thing that hasn't  come up but you know i i think a lot of people uh   you know feel like is a drain in some sense  on on growth in a number of these countries is   corruption yes you know to what extent is you know  corruption whether it's at the highest levels or   you know kind of more mundane a real impediment  to business yeah yeah so i think that's a huge   impediment to business and it's a huge impediment  to the desire to be an entrepreneur frankly um you   know you have to have a different level of  tenacity to be able to break through those   barriers and so at the end of the day i mean you  know a corruption or let's do the opposite i mean   the enabling environment uh for startups and  for innovation has to have decent rule of law   you cannot um innovate or or you know create  enough entrepreneurship that will leapfrog that   i mean that has to exist so  that is a very large impediment do you want to comment on that as well maram  yeah no i i very much um agree with zenya i   think that the effect of corruption if anything  are also strongly psychological because you   know entrepreneurship and especially the type of  entrepreneurship we're talking about where we're   legitimizing technology and leveraging upon  it is based on this common understanding that   if you have a product market fit and a solution  that actually has a demand for it in the market   it should work right so it's that basic  foundation that is completely broken   when there is corruption because then it doesn't  allow for that fair pursuit of a product market   fit because there are other factors that  could either prevent that topping or or   enhance that to happen um and i think particularly  in some emerging markets it's been a historical   barrier also towards trust um and and you  know it's hard to build anything without trust   and it's hard to scale and sustain anything  without trust and that psychological barrier   um i know that you know it's something that  different countries have been really working   toward eliminating to a certain extent um and who  have tried to do extensive work but the reality is   it's truly still very very present and it  also kind of then destabilizes the ability   of the entrepreneurs to really truly um see the  potential in themselves and in their products if   there are additional factors that can either  enhance that growth or block it completely   also the radical swings right in some of  these countries with the ruling parties   uh you know where it doesn't even necessarily  happen every four or five years it can happen   a lot a lot quicker than that so that  fluidity i mean in a place like america   fine you know you know your party might change  you know with the president and all the rest of it   uh your your uh the party in control as  such might change but fundamentally that   does not completely disrupt your business  here again it comes back to i can't trust   my government to even have consistent policy  around a critical issue that will break   or make my uh my my uh my venture so you know and  and when you know that that could change every   couple of years then you're more hesitant to to  actually weight in those waters yeah instability   i mean another you know kind of interesting  type of instability that's not even necessarily   related to the kind of political instability uh is  even thinking about you know currency volatility   uh which is another uh potential issue i guess you  know that's mostly an issue when we're thinking   about exporters and i guess you know one of the  things that i want to maybe come back a little   bit too is you know we are seeing some really  interesting innovations here are these going to   be mostly for domestic consumption or do we really  believe that these can become you know engines for   wealth creation by creating opportunities for  exporting to other countries as well i think a   lot of them are are probably more regional  uh than than you know just widely globally   adaptable and so maybe more regionally  adaptable um also let's go back to what we   talked about you know at the beginning of this  conversation about about these entrepreneurs   really trying to solve a big hairy problem that  exists for their society right where they are   which is which is what we all want to  encourage and so just the nature of doing that   um sort of cuts back on the ability to be globally  adaptable and and you know uh in in that way so i   think that depends on the industry and depends on  on on on this on the startup itself and you know   these these companies are not startups anymore  some of them are huge uh now and so yeah there's   some regional transference that can happen but for  the most part that's not what they were set up for   that's not what they were built for and they have  such enormous markets and such enormous potential   right where they're at that the incentive  to look across the seas is not as much yeah absolutely something that's kind of   i guess related to this that just came in from the  audience is you know what what's a sector that you   think actually needs more innovation in emerging  markets but that's not really getting attention i would say um for me it's a sector that i  think is getting attention but should get more   and it's definitely not getting as much as i think  it should uh which is agritech and food systems   because you know a lot of you know the excitement  right now in emerging markets of course around   e-commerce and fintech of course because  we're seeing some business model work   we're starting to see some benefit from from  actually investing in those type of companies   but let's also remember what technology and  innovation is about which is about sustainability   how do we create a world where we are constantly  trying to do two things improving the quality of   life of the people who are in this world and  increasing the length of that life and so in   improving the quality of life um it's incredibly  important to think about food systems and agri   technology especially in emerging markets where  they base a lot of their actual raw resources in   their natural resource and technology is the best  tool to enhance and kind of amplify that existing   competitive advantage that they have which is  access to those resources and so i'm a very big   advocate for agri-tech and food systems and i  know that it's a sector that you know we have   in vogue but to me it should be getting as much  attention as much investment as fintech with those   e-commerce and of course it's a sector that takes  longer to yield returns because there is a lot   of r d that goes into it but to me investing in  agritech and food system is basically investing in   the sustainability of our future and making sure  that no matter how the technological development   goes we are creating sustainable systems that the  next generation can actually find themselves upon   all right so agritech and zinnia education all  levels of it higher education basic education   um yes yes their innovations happening  not fast enough not wide enough um   and honestly you know i would debate that it  needs to happen in this country as well that's   a sector that is ripe for innovation and ripe  for for major disruption there have been some   disruptions you know people have tried tried  different things they have and haven't worked   mixed results but i think it's a sector that is  ripe for massive disruption all across the board   yeah i mean there's at least in in the u.s there's  obviously been a lot of attempts uh to going to   moocs and other forms of online you know most  of those have not been particularly successful   why do you think they keep running into trouble well i mean the mooc discussion is is a  slightly separate one and a larger one but   i think you know people have realized that  uh uh everybody learns in very different ways   and just having access to information which we  have access to all the information in the world   right now right so having access to information  isn't it it is how people actually um uh imbibe   that information and then regurgitate it and put  it into action um and and that there is some power   in the collective in the in in discourse in  the classroom uh setting whatever that might   look like in today's world i mean look at us we're  all in different parts of the world right now and   having great conversation but there is power  and discourse there has always been power and   discourse all the way back to the greeks right  and that is how people have learned to you know   and and learned how to think critically and  uh just having access to information which   is what the moocs did doesn't allow people  to really learn how to think critically and   dialogue intelligently and actually uh take away  and adapt and create uh from that knowledge base   yeah so i mean it's interesting that you bring  that up i i think that um so uh marim you you know   i believe that you said you're friends with fred  swaniker who is the founder of ala and i'm sure   you're aware that his latest uh venture is sort of  these alus you know what they're they're basically   trying to bring university education to the masses  in some sense and in africa what what are they   doing differently the success of alu and ali and  the ale group um as a whole has always been that   um the vision was to be able to allow to educate  but most importantly to empower and i think that   that makes a very crucial difference because the  alu education even in itself is very much rooted   in entrepreneurial education so it's not only just  about knowledge and how you acquire knowledge it's   what you do with that knowledge and as a group as  the the ale group both alu and ala the educations   are also such centered around you know the african  realities and the african economies that it say   imagine a high quality education that's entirely  centered around the realities where the education   is happening so providing examples that are rooted  in the environment that the students are actually   living in providing applicable practice that are  rooted in the environment that the students are in   and making sure that that knowledge then  transfers into empowerment and really allowing   those students to be able to transfer that into  actionable items again in the environments that   they live in and i think that that truly made  a difference and alu's hope is to be able to   widespread that education to as many as possible  and that's what i was saying earlier around   we could never have enough human resources we  could never have enough education and we we   really try to think about what are different  models of education that can work on the   content because there are different models  of education that can work there's not only   one way to educate when we refer to education  sometimes we make the mistake of thinking about   simply one kind of education which could  be a western education but really there are   multiple different ways of going about education  and it's really about many different institutions   bringing that different those different aspects  to the table and so providing knowledge with   empowerment and that being applicable to many  different things so the l group is doing it   in one way and there are also many other  educational institutions on the continent   that are also doing it differently addressing  different pieces of education whether it be   through art whether it be through sports whether  it be through creative sports and and you know i   i was actually quite amazed by an orphanage that  i visited in nairobi that is utilizing art therapy   and creative sports like skateboarding to help  kids who are in an orphanage feel reaccepted   into society and feel reaccepted by themselves and  others so aside from just the academic education   the big piece of the orphanage is really around  this art therapy and creative sport education   to allow them to feel empowered so that they can  use their academic education into something useful   for them and so education really has different  aspects and is flourishing on the continent in   different ways and i think different groups  are doing it differently but the al education   in particular really leverages on that idea of  empowerment to actually help um kids do something   useful with that education interesting so you  know we could have this conversation i think   for uh for a long time but our time is uh running  short here uh and uh at least in this time zone we   are standing in front of uh lunch um so i i want  to um you know kind of give uh you know kind of a   brief chance to um see if you have kind of last  thoughts that you'd like to leave people with   um you know that maybe we haven't had a chance to  talk about yet uh xenia do you want to lead us on uh you're on mute though xenia thank you yes since we're talking to a student body here um the markets are vast and the opportunities have  asked globally and um a part of of being in   such a privileged school system here is being  given the license the permission to to take a   chance and to actually create something to fail  at it to lift yourself up again and maybe never do   it again but also be enrichened by the experience  and the experience the journey of entrepreneurship   and or innovation because they  don't always have to go hand in hand   you know but of creating something new that might  impact the lives of many and actually trying it   even if you fail at this point in your  journey is is will just be so valuable for   for your entire life and uh a lot of us started  after school started later and um and and again   the privilege of having this kind of education  and this sort of platform and where where you   are today at ucla um you have the ability to do it  while you're here so take that chance and try it thank you i i will have to agree with everything that zenya  just said they the you know i think i realized the   safe haven uh of of university once i was  out of it um in being able to really truly   be in an environment where failing is  success because then you're learning   and you have the ability to learn while being  protected and having a safety net and that's   incredibly important because always ask yourself  you know what's the worst thing that could happen   if i'm about to start this project about to start  this business idea i want to start what's the   worst thing that could happen i would do it i'll  probably fail it i'll go back to class period   so really leverage and take advantage of that  opportunity of being able to to be in that safe   haven to fail as much as you possibly could so  that you learn and you actually absorb as much   as you can in such a short time frame because that  then you can actually take as a tangible outcome   that will provide you with the ability to avoid  some of those mistakes once you're actually   leading your own ventures and remember that at the  end of the day try to have fun with it as much as   possible building a company is fun and it's fun  because it's something that you get to do and you   get to design and you get to go about it as in the  way that you want so remember that a big part of   it is having fun and that's why it's successful  because you're having fun while doing it because   you're finding meaning in doing it and you're  actually harnessing that purpose that's great i   think both of those are excellent pieces of advice  and i hope that our students will pay attention to   them and even our alumni may benefit from thinking  about those a little bit more you know i i think   this has been a really interesting conversation  there's a couple of things that i would sort of   highlight uh that i think are interesting  points here um you know one is uh you know   the importance of of you know kind of stories  and stories that are salient to individuals so   you know in my own research i've actually done  some work on this we often call this pure effects   but you know there's kind of this idea that uh in  order to believe that i can do something i need to   see somebody else do it it's not necessarily about  having the knowledge but about understanding that   in some sense you're empowered to do that yourself  and and i think that that's uh not just important   to a lot of these emerging markets but it's  also you know oftentimes i think why we see   the sudden emergence of uh ecosystems even in  the united states right so like you know if you   went back to cambridge massachusetts in you know  1995 there wasn't a lot of startup activity there   it had all the ingredients except it didn't have  this sort of stories of locals who had done it   that changed very rapidly and now you know it  rivals silicon valley in the u.s as a startup   ecosystem uh i think a really interesting and  important lesson that that hopefully the students   will will take away is the value of thinking  about basing your startup on solving a real   problem uh it you know really does then uh you  know in some sense i i mean it's not necessarily   easier because you know that may actually be a  really hard problem to solve there's probably   a reason why it's a problem but it does eliminate  some of the issues involved with marketing trying   to create demand for something that perhaps no  one really needs it could create other issues as   xenia pointed out this you know creates  perhaps the need then for rapid rapid scaling   and that's a different type of problem but in some  sense a good it's a good problem to have and the   last kind of point that i thought was just really  interesting here and and i agree with is that um   in some sense the constraint is not you know money  or you know kind of other types of institutional   resources but it's really the people i love this  idea that you know there's never enough you know   kind of mentors there's another enough you know  kind of network connections uh and anything that   we can do to you know kind of build that uh  capacity uh that supply would probably make   more of a difference than any amount of dollars  uh thrown into these places um so with that i'd   like to thank you i'll i'll also thank the easton  center and terry and i'll hand it back to terry   for uh the kind of final words thank you excellent  great olaf thank you very much and let me thank   the the panelists here as well good learnings  here and especially on these enablers for what   success is required let me add a couple of items  to olaf's point in terms of the so what's here the   bottom of maslow's hierarchy that is a fundamental  message about what are the market opportunities   and when they talked about education they talked  about agriculture they talked about financial   services those are huge market opportunities these  are not niche opportunities candidly a bit of   helpful condemnation of u.s entrepreneurs in  very nice terms so what was it that that uh  

caused that for u.s uh entrepreneurs to think that  they understand emerging markets you're basically   getting messages that say you know what we're  learning more from indonesia and from india etc   into the african continent than we are from u.s  startups and european ones so for all of you are   going to be involved in young startups and want  to truly go global that's an important warning   sign about understand the market sierra you're  going into a couple last points just to add on   leapfrog innovation so i think maureen was  mentioning it in financial services so credit   cards and atms are old they're passe mobile  payments are the new things by the way you see   this in china a lot we find leapfrog innovation  in payment related activities final one important   messages about taking risks and failing and making  that part of the the culture and all the things   that olaf said about how that becomes part of  the enabling force for uh for success so let's   take a five minute break or so then we'll come  back here for the final uh final panel thank you

2021-11-27 16:48

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