Technology & Entrepreneurs: Of the People, By the People, For the People

As we face the third industrial revolution, technology and entrepreneurs are spurring global change by creating jobs to alleviate poverty and increase prosperity.

To employ the eligible workforce in 2020, we will need 500 million new jobs, and entrepreneurs will be the ones that make that possible. Social impact and job creation was the center of conversation at a recent entrepreneur roundtable (pictured below) where members of the United Nation’s Foundation, its Global Entrepreneur Council, and the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network shared their visions around building a better business and a better world.

Jim Lussier of Dell Ventures meets with members of the United Nation’s Foundation, its Global Entrepreneur Council, and the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network

While we all agreed that today’s businesses have enormous potential to help make the world a better place by producing products and creating jobs that are at once profitable and at the same time good for people and the planet (triple bottom line). The participants shared some unique perspectives on the role that both the public and private sector can play. In short, to innovate, we must collaborate. The public sector must work to make global policies friendlier for entrepreneurs so they can scale and create jobs. The private sector – companies like Dell and our global peers – can empower entrepreneurs by providing them in providing access to technology, capital and other skills to further their economic progress.

At Dell, our mission is to help people and organizations everywhere do and achieve more and realize their potential with the help of technology. We know that entrepreneurs are the foundation for innovation, economic growth and job creation and we want to empower them. One way we do that is through our corporate venture program, Dell Ventures.  When we invest in companies, we partner with them so that they can scale – and thereby create jobs – by providing more than just capital but our deep tech experience, brand, channel and go-to-market programs to help companies gain access to our 10 million business customers and our 20,000-plus sales force.

Dell and the UN Foundation are focused on keeping this important dialogue going and finding real solutions to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses in order to have social impact, globally. Corporate venturing is one of many ways the private sector can help spur entrepreneurial growth and job creation. We want to hear your ideas on how the private and public sectors can collaborate, to spur innovation.

About the Author: Jim Lussier