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

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

When drawing up plans to help stimulate the economic development of new and emerging economies, the United Nations previously looked to multinational operations that could open new plants and offices in specific countries. However, with the ongoing changes in the business environment, the realization is that these large corporations are no longer the source for job creation and have recently been focused on lean operations and downsizing staff.

However, a new and more viable solution has appeared on the world business stage in the form of entrepreneurs and startups that are popping up all over the world, including India and China, various countries across Africa and Latin America, and other more developed economies.

When the United Nations meets in late September to further define the current 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years as the pathway for ending absolute poverty by 2030, this is the time for entrepreneurs and those that support them to step up and make a case for more focus on these small businesses that have the potential for making a dent in the 600 million jobs that are necessary to support the global workforce of the near future.

Dell Founder and CEO Michael Dell noted, “Entrepreneurs, startups, and fast-growing, new businesses create 70 percent of the net new jobs in the world (up to 90 percent in some emerging economies).” In an article published on LinkedIn last year, Dell furthered his case for entrepreneurs as the leading solution for job generation and the end to poverty: