NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Q. So you really think this whole movement is going to drive itself?

Yes. Eventually, the spoils will go to those who figure out how to do it. And if those who figure out how to do it come from the developing world, then those are the companies that are going to be the companies of the future.? I would bet on the companies that are rising up from the developing world, the companies that are coming from Latin America, from Africa, from India, from China. Those are the companies that are cracking the code, that are figuring out how to do this first. And as a result, they have a beachhead, a strong position to work from, and then to move their way up, over time.

What we need to do is generate the industries of tomorrow, where the future jobs are going to be, and that’s going to be in the space of inherently clean and sustainable technology. And those are going to be knowledge-intensive industries. That’s where the future lies.