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Lessons in Accountability from Davos

by Allon Raiz

I was invited to speak and represent South Africa at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January at one of the sessions on entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurship has the ability to change norms.

It was indeed a privilege to be part of the WEF’s famous annual think-tank held at the ski resort in Switzerland known to most of the world simply as “Davos.” For four days the who’s who of global economists, academics, politicians, captains of industry, leaders in civil society and many more shared strategies and proposed solutions to the world’s most pressing economic challenges. I came away with some food for thought for strategists and entrepreneurs back home.

Two years on from the global economic crisis, the mood at Davos shows a new sensitivity to the social impact of global policies and a determination to get it right this time.

As could be expected, much of the thinking was about environmental responsibility (with last year’s BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico top of mind) but there was also a greater awareness that environmental policies need to be pragmatic and mindful of their impact on Third World growth. For instance, restrictions on the use of coal-burning fuel may be good for the West but they are not good for Third World countries which depend on this cheaper form of energy for their economic development. So, the environmental debates showed a stronger awareness of the vastly differing needs between First and Third World, and there was much more exploration of alternate energy resources or solutions that could benefit all levels of the global economy.

A second theme that was prominent was that it is now the turn of the Third World and that Africa is widely regarded as the new frontier for investment and economic growth. However, here at home we need to recognise that First World investment is a prize that is strongly contested, none more so than by India. I was struck by India’s aggressive lobbying as a better investment alternative than Africa and the convincing case it was able to present. India also has great resources and has, of course, shown phenomenal growth in some areas. So, South Africa cannot afford to relax and rely on ‘sympathy’ support from the West. We need to polish up our story, and our act, and provide a more attractive investment environment.

A third challenge that received a lot of attention was the youth bulge in the Arab World (with the uprisings in Egypt seen as one symptom of this). Two-thirds of the Middle East population is under the age of 30, making it the second youngest region of the world behind Sub-Saharan Africa. These young people are better educated, with higher expectations than their parents’ generation, and they face growing disappointment in the job market. The number of unemployed persons in the Arab World is expected to rise to 100 million by 2020.

Sound familiar? Over half the population in South Africa is under the age of 24 – what are we doing to provide jobs and hope for a decent future for this vulnerable generation? World-wide, entrepreneurship is seen as one solution to youth unemployment and the many discussions at Davos on this issue were very encouraging, as was the number of professors of enterprise development who were present at the summit.

While, in South Africa, the focus on enterprise development is well established, we have yet to walk the talk effectively. Urgent action is needed to implement policies that work. After Davos, I will be fighting even harder to get effective enterprise development policies and programmes established in South Africa. In our business communities, in civil society and in government, we are all accountable for making this happen.

Allon Raiz is the CEO of Raizcorp, the only privately-owned business ‘prosperator’ in South Africa, the only service provider with a head start of 8 years in this field and the only Enterprise Development faculty with CHE accreditation. In 2008 Raiz was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. To find out more about Raizcorp’s entrepreneur support programme, telephone 011 566 2000 or visit their website at www.raizcorp.com