Innovation and Entrepreneurism in Post-Covid Economies

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced all nations to adapt and evolve at an accelerated rate, pushing the boundaries of science and technology. It has also created an economic landscape that’s become fully accustomed to remote working and online transactions and services. Cashless payments are increasingly becoming the norm, while sectors like online education and learning, health care and biotechnology are finding a growing market share.

All sectors increasingly rely on technology and digital connectivity, making the digitalization of government services and construction of modern infrastructure the base requisite for any country looking to rebound from the previous two years.

In this new landscape—in which we must reboot businesses as well as our global economy; rethink the way we live, work and create strategies that carry us forward; regenerate our communities, cities and countries; and implement more sustainable economies—the first people to adapt and create flexible and intuitive solutions will always be the entrepreneurs.

“Entrepreneurship plays a hugely significant role in helping global economies rebuild both during and after crises,” says Saleh Ibrahim Alrasheed, Governor of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) of Saudi Arabia. “While the past two years saw global economies ravaged, it was entrepreneurs, with their innate sense of flexibility and innovation, who nimbly adapted to this new environment and were able to grow. We have seen the change they can make, so we need to remove the barriers to entrepreneurship and let ideas flourish.”

Global Entrepreneurship Congress

Rising to the challenge, the investors, researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs that comprise the world’s entrepreneurial ecosystems are creating solutions. At the end of March, representatives from 180 countries will come together at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to “help rebuild the global economy in the post-pandemic world.”

These are the people who know what opportunity looks like and have the vision to make it happen. Representatives from Silicon Valley, London and Beijing bring experience from long-established technology hubs. Those from less mature but rapidly rising ecosystems, like Mumbai, India, Bogotá, Colombia and Lagos, Nigeria, bring new ideas and energy.

“Recovering from any crisis requires resilience, and nowhere will you find more resilience than within the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says Alrasheed. “Entrepreneurs identify and act on opportunities, and their innovations facilitate new patterns of work, learning and leisure activities—key for post-Covid economies.

Positively impacting entrepreneurial systems

How quickly entrepreneurs act, and how influential their actions are, depends on their environment and the degree of institutional support, resource access and market volatility.

The globalization of entrepreneurship has brought an explosion of programs, startup communities and investment into this field—where there is still a paucity of data around what works and what doesn’t—to support nascent entrepreneurs and new firms trying to scale. While leaders in business, education and government have been eager champions, they need more sophisticated tools, programs and research to help them most efficiently identify and fund sectors and projects that will have the greatest potential impact on economic growth.

The GEC helps address these needs by identifying effective initiatives in all types of economies—large or small, advanced or developing—that positively impact entrepreneurial ecosystems. The Startup Nations Ministerial and related sessions bring to light effective government efforts that are streamlining the paths to market in economies around the world. The Global Business Angels Summit explores the rising trend in cross-border investing and effective approaches to funnel the growing volumes of venture capital to nascent entrepreneurs. Matchmaking sessions for founders create real-world connections with investors and mentors.

First GEC since Covid

GEC 2022 is the first time since the pandemic that entrepreneurial ecosystem leaders will meet to help rebuild the global economy from the bottom up.

“GEC 2022 is particularly important on two levels. Firstly, entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers are looking at the new landscape in front of them and working out how to best take advantage of it, and GEC 2022 is really the first opportunity, and maybe the only place at the moment, where you can see how the pandemic has transformed the world’s entrepreneurial landscape,” says Alrasheed. “On a more regional level, GEC 2022 marks the entrepreneurial rise of the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia’s potential as an innovation hub for the region, and the world.”