The Portulans Institute and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford invite you to an online discussion about Digital Natives and Entrepreneurship: Perspectives from the US, UK and Africa. This webinar is part of a wider series of discussion drawing on the theme of the 2022 edition of the Network Readiness Index (NRI) focusing on the role of youth in the process of Digital Transformation.
Register here and join us on May 2, 2023, 2:00pm BST (9:00am EDT).
Network Readiness Index 2022
First launched with the World Economic Forum in 2002, and redesigned in 2019, the Network Readiness Index (NRI) is an in-depth analysis of 131 countries’ performance across four dimensions of digital readiness – technology, people, governance, and impact – using 58 different indicators.
The 2022 report, titled ‘Stepping into the new digital era: how and why digital natives will shape the world’, is published by the Portulans Institute and Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.
About the event
The world of entrepreneurship is changing fast. Digital natives, who grew up in the era of the internet and social media, are a new breed of global entrepreneurs. Across all regions, digital natives prefer autonomous, flexible and often location-independent lifestyles that are driven with purpose and, most importantly, positive social change. Enabled by technology and digital solutions, some of the more socially-conscious and ambitious young people set up digital startups that receive incubator, angel, and series A, B and C funding allowing them to build or expand digital enterprises. Despite these positive trends, barriers to entrepreneurship continue to exist all over the world.
Drawing on the theme of the 2022 edition of the Network Readiness Index, this webinar will explore some of the key challenges to becoming an entrepreneur, from lack of appropriate education and skills, to shortage of funding opportunities, geographic limitations, gender stereotypes and policy shortcomings.
Tune in as some of the leaders of the global startup ecosystem share their thoughts on successfully navigating entrepreneurship and identifying the right opportunities for your venture. You will hear from Meagan Loyst (founder and CEO of GenZ VCs) Cecilia Zhao (Venture and Growth Investor at Kinnevik ) and Gilles Ametepe (Co-founder at Ghana for Startups).
This moderated discussion will last one hour and will cover the following questions:
- What makes digital natives more entrepreneurial than previous generations?
- What are the challenges that young founders face?
- Is this lack of education, skills, incentives, or the ability to attract investors within and beyond their national markets?
- What opportunities are available and what could be improved?
Speakers:
- Meagan Loyst – Founder and CEO at Gen Z VCs
- Cecilia Zhao – Venture and Growth Investor @Kinnevik
- Gilles Ametepe – Co-founder at Startups for Ghana
The discussion will be moderated by Mariam Chaduneli – Senior Policy Associate at Portulans Institute.
Register here and join us on May 2, 2023, 2:00pm GMT (9:00am EDT).
