Push the Future

Rwandan-American Antoine Bigirimana, co-founder and managing director of Thousand Hills Venture Fund (THVF), kicked-off the technology section of PUSH 2008 by discussing how technology has started to advance Rwanda into the 21st century.

After the Rwandan genocide in 1994 when 1.2 million people were killed in 100 days there was an incredible opportunity for technology advancement throughout the country.

Starting in 2001, anything was possible for Rwanda. The economy was destroyed after the genocide. A virgin economy was available, offering opportunities across the nation that were ready to be embraced.

“Every time there is a problem there is an opportunity,” said Bigirimana.

In 2003, Rwandan President Kagame decided to reinvent the future using technology, with a vision of making Rwanda the technology hub of Africa. The early increase of technology created Rwanda’s first chance at a democratic election.

Vision 2020 was also developed. This idea was that by 2020 Rwanda would be a middle-income country - an idea that all Rwandans could base their future around.

Rwanda offered ample opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses. People came to the country to work, but credit was a major issue in Rwanda. In 2004, Bigirimana co-founded THVF. It allowed people to get a variety of loans, some interest free, and investments to start these businesses.

As businesses and wealth come to Rwanda, it will continue to get closer to reaching the goal of Vision 2020.

Looking into the future, Rwanda is creating 1000 telecenters. There will be a variety of services offered including: literacy, computer literacy, job listings and information on commodity prices for all national markets.

THVF is looking to bring in 1.2 million One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) computers, and hoping to have this localized by August 2008. The social impact of OLPC will be huge; the young will teach the adults how to use the OLPC, bringing access to information and knowledge that was not accessible before.

The access to information and technology needs to be available to 100 percent of the people in Rwanda, thus eliminating inequality and preventing another genocide.

Posted by Melissa Turtinen

After a half-hour break, Katherine Marshall closed the section on economics at PUSH 2008.

Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and a senior advisor for the World Bank, has worked for over three decades on international development with a focus on issues facing the world’s poorest countries.

Marshall began her presentation, “Flatness: Realities and Myths,” by asking several questions that are important for the future.

· What kind of world are we seeking?

· Why do the choices matter?

· How do we navigate fierce debates?

· Why should you (personally) care?

· What can we do?

“It is ideas that really matter. It is ideas that change. It’s ideas that come out of this type of event,” Marshall explained.

There are many different ways to look at the changing issues in the world, but Marshall believes that looking at it as a kaleidoscope is important because, “what we are looking at is constantly changing and is a diverse picture that is always on the move.”

There are seven basic lessons/ issues that are important to the future of our world:

· Global poverty

· Keeping poverty on the agenda

· The role of the United States and changing its image to the rest of the world

· Working with wisdom and humility is important

· Pay attention to the “minefields” – have respect for how others might view the situation

· Human development is key

· Ethics and values matter

“With a plea for dialogue, intense support for mobilization efforts, that we all [Chandran Nair and Jonathan Greenblatt] are talking about, combined with individual action, and all it needs is a little PUSH!” concluded Marshall on what we can do to help the world for the future.

Posted by Melissa Turtinen

Entrepreneur in socially responsible business, chief executive officer of GOOD and co-founder of Ethos Water Jonathan Greenblatt brought his business ethos to his Monday morning talk.

Greenblatt began speaking about the “economy of integrity,” individual social action and potential. Globalization and the immediacy of technology mean that more people are more aware than ever before. There is as much potential for entrepreneurial corruption as there is for entrepreneurial authenticity as businesses vie for new markets in the arena that pits the “haves” against the ”have-nots.”

This fertile arena has the potential to spawn ethical and socially responsible new ventures to which consumers want to respond. In creating models for such companies, entrepreneurs and executives must seize the opportunity to leverage the consumer appeal of credibility and carry a socially responsible ideology throughout the entirety of their product and product identity to prohibit it from deteriorating into corporate spin or just good PR.

Greenblatt’s first venture, Ethos Water (which he co-founded with Peter Thum), and current endeavor at GOOD Worldwide (where he serves as CEO) represent the technological and ideological response to global inequalities. As ethical brands, they start with intention, are rooted in authenticity and transparency, demand competition-trumping performance and deep commitment to an issue, and engage consumers and vendors in their cause.

The concept behind Ethos Water sprung from the aspiration to help eliminate water shortages in the developing world. As an ethical brand, Ethos does not just satisfy the body’s basic need for water or the ego’s desire to hold a fancy bottle, but satiates one’s need for a brand that incorporates these elements and more, making the product meaningful.

Noticing a void on the newsstand, GOOD Magazine was developed by Ben Goldhirsh as a bottom-up, question-asking publication, designed to engage and inspire its readers. It asks the basic question “what’s good?” and inspires the authentic promise that the world can be.

Posted by Anna Wool

Internationalist Chandran Nair opened the economics section of PUSH 2008.

He is the founder and chief executive of the think tank, Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT), based in Hong Kong. His work is defined by the questions he asks himself and others. Known for being challenging,

thought-provoking, constructive and sometimes uncomfortable, Nair advocates a sustainable approach to growth in Asia, and the rest of the world, seeing it as part of how nations deal with each other.

“Behind the Scenes: a Peak at reality” is the title of his presentation about the challenges the world is going to face in the future because of growing populations and the needs of Asia and other low-income regions.

Nair explained that we live in an unfair world - 20 percent of the world population accounts for 85 percent of the world’s consumption.

Asia is changing and expanding rapidly. 800 million Chinese people live on two dollars a day, but they are starting to become wealthier. What do they do when they get wealthier?

“They want to buy seafood. If they do the oceans will be empty, but who can say that they can’t have what you and I take for granted?” said Nair.

That is just one example is the growing number of countries wanting what countries like the United States have. But if these growing nations start using these resources there will be less for the big consumers, like the U.S.

There is unprecedented economic growth that is going to occur. People have to be aware of the new reality - by 2050, 3 billion people will be added to the world, mostly in low income countries. This means that fossil fuel consumption, and other non-renewable resource consumption, is only going to go up.

The challenge of our times is to alleviate poverty, increase economic prosperity for all, halt the destruction of the natural world, manage and conserve natural resources for human well being. We need to be aware of the threat of climate change, decrease the destruction of the natural world, increase cultural and religious tolerance and create a new business leadership.

“The giants have awakened. How will they sustain themselves?”

Posted by Melissa Turtinen

It used to be that when I spoke about a future in which we’d have mini-manufacturing hubs in the home, that I’d see the audience squirm with discomfort. It just seemed too freaky, too unrelated to life as we know it.

But in this last year I’ve been able to share video clips demonstrating current technologies that “print” products, and seen people’s expressions transform from “Eeeeww!” to “Wow!!” The old saw that “seeing is believing” proves its point once again; the problem is that by the time trends and innovations can be seen, you’ve lost the advantage of anticipating them.

It’s not too late, however, to appreciate the ultimate impact of personal manufacturing hubs on the economy, with it’s potential to disrupt every link of the supply chain, from raw materials to design, production to distribution, inventory to retail and marketing. Watch the following video from Fab@Home, an open-source tool set that allows anyone to download blueprints and instructions to assemble your very own 3-D fabricator, right now. Material cost runs around $2,400.

Desktop fabricators allow users to print 3D objects

Ignore the impact of environmental concerns on the marketplace, and you’ll risk the same fate as that of the poor snowman. Consider the following:

• A survey released this month by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows that sustainability strategies provide the ultimate feel-good dividend: improved share price performance by at least 50%.
• But be authentic or beware: consumers are watching for greenwashing, and will hold you to account.

The good news is that new incentives are moving sustainability strategies from reputation enhancement and “sentimental shoulds” to market mandate, including:

• Wal-Mart pressures suppliers to adopt sustainable practices and is looking for ways to reduce non-renewable energy sources
• Taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and penalties for not using renewable energy sources may be passed in California
• Consumers want to participate! Check out Carbon Hero, the new cell phone GPS system that calculates the carbon footprint of the user’s daily travel, going into open beta testing this April (in the UK).

Leave a comment and share any behaviors, practices, research or innovations that are a part of your sustainability strategy.