Joining ESCAP (Economic and Social Committee for Asia and the Pacific) Trade & Investment week
held in the United Nations Centre in Bangkok, Thailand between the 30th of October and the 1st of November 2017.
The Taskforce of Youth and Women Entrepreneurship joined the ESBN (Escap Sustainable Business Network) taskforces meeting,
sharing the initiatives conducted in 2017, followed by the Trade and Investment Committee meeting and concluding
with three panels on Youth Entrepreneurship and Digital Economy
held in the United Nations Centre in Bangkok, Thailand between the 30th of October and the 1st of November 2017.
The Taskforce of Youth and Women Entrepreneurship joined the ESBN (Escap Sustainable Business Network) taskforces meeting,
sharing the initiatives conducted in 2017, followed by the Trade and Investment Committee meeting and concluding
with three panels on Youth Entrepreneurship and Digital Economy
Dialogue on Youth and Digital Economy
Realizing the Growth Potential of Young Entrepreneurs
for Sustainable Development
United Nations, Conference Room 4, Bangkok, Thailand, 1 November 2017
Realizing the Growth Potential of Young Entrepreneurs
for Sustainable Development
United Nations, Conference Room 4, Bangkok, Thailand, 1 November 2017
The purpose of this event is to promote dialogue about the opportunities and challenges faced by young entrepreneurs in a rapidly changing economic environment, where advances in information and communication technologies are spurring new ventures in multiple sectors at an ever-increasing speed.
Asia and the Pacific has the largest number of young people in the world - 717 million of the population is between 15-24 years old, corresponding to 60% of the worlds’ youth. In India, nearly 50% of the population is below 25 years of age. The energy and transformational drive of this large cohort of young people has the possibility to help rapidly drive development and transform societies in the region. Quality education and an enabling business climate for young people to start up, finance and run their enterprises will be key to tapping this growth potential. The ‘millennials’ that are entering business today have the possibility to drive rapid development of more sustainable ways of delivering products and services. To tap this potential, policy makers need to stay ahead and ensure that policies, infrastructure and financing sources meet the needs of budding young entrepreneurs in the new digital economy.
The importance of youth is also recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which sets out to ‘substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship’ by 2030 (target 4.4).
Panel 1: Young Digital Entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific
The digital economy has a huge growth potential. In this round table, young entrepreneurs from a variety of digital sectors will present their journeys and discuss opportunities and challenges for young digital entrepreneurs in Asia-Pacific. They will discuss how technology can transform regional economies and societies, and what policies would be needed to maximize the developmental potential of young entrepreneurs and tap the opportunities of this fast-growing sector.
Mr. Pedro Eloy, Chair, Taskforce on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship, ESBN
Ms. Shannon Kalayanamitr, CEO and co-founder, IKIGAI group
Mr. Siva Devireddy, founder, GoCoop, India
Mr. Shahab Shabibi, co-founder at Machine Ventures, Philippines
Mr. Miguel Lopes, Vice-President Product Line Management Applications, Dialogic USA
Mr. Simon Lacey, Vice-President, Trade Facilitation & Market Access, Huawei Technologies
---------------------------------------
Panel 2: Improving Access to Finance for Young Entrepreneurs
Access to adequate financing is vital at every stage of a business, in particular at the start-up phase. From early stage seed financing to growth funding to listing a company on a stock exchange, a developed financial sector is necessary to promote growth of entrepreneur innovation. Panelists will discuss solutions to increase access to finance and mentoring support for young start-ups, and how financing can accelerate the development of innovative, digital entrepreneurship.
Ms. Pahrada Sapprasert, Director, 500 Startups / 500 TukTuks, Thailand
Mr. Nitij Pal, Corporate Lawyer and founder of ICT Incubator in the Pacific
Ms. Isabella Carvalho Silva, EY & Angel Investor
Ms. Shriya Damani, Director & CEO, Skyquest Technology Group, India
Mr. Syed Musheer Ahmed, General Manager, FinTech Association of Hong Kong
---------------------------------------
Panel 3: Enabling the Growth of Young Digital Entrepreneurs
The panel will discuss the obstacles faced by young entrepreneurs in the region, especially in the LDCs. From access to finance and quality education, to infrastructure, including the quality and speed of broadband, the panellists will discuss a range of challenges preventing further growth and development. The session will explore avenues for the creation of an enabling, growth conducive environment. The aim is to identify solutions to common obstacles facing young entrepreneurs in the region and inspire action by policymakers to unleash the developmental potential of young entrepreneurs.
Mr. Chinawut Chinaprayoon, Director, New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office, Thailand
Mr. Htun Htun Naing, President, Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Association, Myanmar
Mr. Hans Lukiman, Director International Affairs, Indonesia Young Entrepreneur Association - HIPMI, Indonesia
Mr. Savinda Ranathunga, UNDP´s Regional Youth Project on Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Mr. Laurent Timmermans, Founder and Managing Director, ATHENASIA Consulting Limited, Hong Kong, China
---------------------------------------
Read Further: www.unescap.org/events/youth-and-digital-economy
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/926398124867780608
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/926289052021788673
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/925635901471956992
Asia and the Pacific has the largest number of young people in the world - 717 million of the population is between 15-24 years old, corresponding to 60% of the worlds’ youth. In India, nearly 50% of the population is below 25 years of age. The energy and transformational drive of this large cohort of young people has the possibility to help rapidly drive development and transform societies in the region. Quality education and an enabling business climate for young people to start up, finance and run their enterprises will be key to tapping this growth potential. The ‘millennials’ that are entering business today have the possibility to drive rapid development of more sustainable ways of delivering products and services. To tap this potential, policy makers need to stay ahead and ensure that policies, infrastructure and financing sources meet the needs of budding young entrepreneurs in the new digital economy.
The importance of youth is also recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which sets out to ‘substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship’ by 2030 (target 4.4).
Panel 1: Young Digital Entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific
The digital economy has a huge growth potential. In this round table, young entrepreneurs from a variety of digital sectors will present their journeys and discuss opportunities and challenges for young digital entrepreneurs in Asia-Pacific. They will discuss how technology can transform regional economies and societies, and what policies would be needed to maximize the developmental potential of young entrepreneurs and tap the opportunities of this fast-growing sector.
Mr. Pedro Eloy, Chair, Taskforce on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship, ESBN
Ms. Shannon Kalayanamitr, CEO and co-founder, IKIGAI group
Mr. Siva Devireddy, founder, GoCoop, India
Mr. Shahab Shabibi, co-founder at Machine Ventures, Philippines
Mr. Miguel Lopes, Vice-President Product Line Management Applications, Dialogic USA
Mr. Simon Lacey, Vice-President, Trade Facilitation & Market Access, Huawei Technologies
---------------------------------------
Panel 2: Improving Access to Finance for Young Entrepreneurs
Access to adequate financing is vital at every stage of a business, in particular at the start-up phase. From early stage seed financing to growth funding to listing a company on a stock exchange, a developed financial sector is necessary to promote growth of entrepreneur innovation. Panelists will discuss solutions to increase access to finance and mentoring support for young start-ups, and how financing can accelerate the development of innovative, digital entrepreneurship.
Ms. Pahrada Sapprasert, Director, 500 Startups / 500 TukTuks, Thailand
Mr. Nitij Pal, Corporate Lawyer and founder of ICT Incubator in the Pacific
Ms. Isabella Carvalho Silva, EY & Angel Investor
Ms. Shriya Damani, Director & CEO, Skyquest Technology Group, India
Mr. Syed Musheer Ahmed, General Manager, FinTech Association of Hong Kong
---------------------------------------
Panel 3: Enabling the Growth of Young Digital Entrepreneurs
The panel will discuss the obstacles faced by young entrepreneurs in the region, especially in the LDCs. From access to finance and quality education, to infrastructure, including the quality and speed of broadband, the panellists will discuss a range of challenges preventing further growth and development. The session will explore avenues for the creation of an enabling, growth conducive environment. The aim is to identify solutions to common obstacles facing young entrepreneurs in the region and inspire action by policymakers to unleash the developmental potential of young entrepreneurs.
Mr. Chinawut Chinaprayoon, Director, New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office, Thailand
Mr. Htun Htun Naing, President, Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Association, Myanmar
Mr. Hans Lukiman, Director International Affairs, Indonesia Young Entrepreneur Association - HIPMI, Indonesia
Mr. Savinda Ranathunga, UNDP´s Regional Youth Project on Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Mr. Laurent Timmermans, Founder and Managing Director, ATHENASIA Consulting Limited, Hong Kong, China
---------------------------------------
Read Further: www.unescap.org/events/youth-and-digital-economy
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/926398124867780608
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/926289052021788673
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/925635901471956992
Committee on Trade and Investment
Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2017
The Committee on Trade and Investment is one of the nine committees that make up the subsidiary structure of the Commission.
It is held every other year. The fifth session of the Committee will refer to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2017: Channeling Trade and Investment into Sustainable Development as the background document
Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2017
The Committee on Trade and Investment is one of the nine committees that make up the subsidiary structure of the Commission.
It is held every other year. The fifth session of the Committee will refer to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2017: Channeling Trade and Investment into Sustainable Development as the background document
Moderator
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar
Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Panel
H.E. Mr. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade, Ministry of Development Strategy and International Trade, Sri Lanka
H.E. Mr. Swarnim Wagle, Vice-Head, National Planning Commission, Nepal
Mr. Pedro Eloy, Chair, Taskforce on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship, ESBN
Mr. Paul Baker, International Economics Ltd.
---------------------------------------
Read Further: http://www.unescap.org/events/committee-trade-and-investment-fifth-session
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925215577307623424
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925211077427699712
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925208591232991232
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/925191627978575872
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar
Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Panel
H.E. Mr. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade, Ministry of Development Strategy and International Trade, Sri Lanka
H.E. Mr. Swarnim Wagle, Vice-Head, National Planning Commission, Nepal
Mr. Pedro Eloy, Chair, Taskforce on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship, ESBN
Mr. Paul Baker, International Economics Ltd.
---------------------------------------
Read Further: http://www.unescap.org/events/committee-trade-and-investment-fifth-session
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925215577307623424
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925211077427699712
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ARTNeTontrade/status/925208591232991232
Tweet: https://twitter.com/UNESCAP/status/925191627978575872
Joint Sessions of ESCAP Business Advisory Council
and ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN)
and ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN)
The ESCAP Business Advisory Council (EBAC) held its thirteenth session in Bangkok, Thailand on 30 October 2017, jointly with the 4th session
of the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN). The meeting reviewed updates of the work of the ESBN taskforces and future initiatives;
potential reform of the EBAC/ESBN governance structure; as well as the organization of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum
and future EBAC/ESBN meetings.
---------------------------------------
Read Further: http://www.unescap.org/events/reshaping-business-engagement-achieving-sdgs-esbn
of the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN). The meeting reviewed updates of the work of the ESBN taskforces and future initiatives;
potential reform of the EBAC/ESBN governance structure; as well as the organization of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum
and future EBAC/ESBN meetings.
---------------------------------------
Read Further: http://www.unescap.org/events/reshaping-business-engagement-achieving-sdgs-esbn
