Title Details

ROB SALKOWITZ is a writer and consultant specializing in the social implications of new technology and the next-generation workforce. He has worked with Microsoft and other leaders in global business to help formulate market strategy and articulate business goals. As an entrepreneur, Rob has helped start seven businesses and is a principal in the Seattle-based communications firm MediaPlant, LLC. Rob is author of Generation Blend and coauthor (with Daniel Rasmus) of Listening to the Future, both from Wiley. He lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
www.youngworldrising.com

Preface ix

INTRODUCTION 1

A Bright and Crowded Future 4

Three Forces Reshaping the World 9

Exploring the Rise of the Young World 13

Promise and Peril 15

CHAPTER 1: The Rising Tide: Three Trends Driving the Emergence of the Young World 17

Demography and Destiny 18

The Rich Old World 18

The Poor Young World 20

The Spread of Ubiquitous Data Networks 27

Youth + Tech: The Emergence of the Global Net Generation 31

The Technology Age Gap in Global Perspective 35

Youth and Entrepreneurship 39

Innovation at the Bottom of the Pyramid 41

Technology and Indigenous Entrepreneurs 44

The Inflection Point 46

CHAPTER 2: Laying the Groundwork: Aligning Institutional Investments with Young World Development Goals 47

Aligning Profit and Prosperity 50

Building a Public-Private Partnership to Equip the Global Net Generation with World-Class Technology 55

Connecting Young World Innovators to Resources for Incubation and Business Development 59

The Seeds Are Sprouting 63

CHAPTER 3: Young World Entrepreneurship in Action 65

The Distinctive Qualities of Young World Entrepreneurship 67

Increasing the Skills of the Knowledge Workforce 71

Building Connections 81

Improving Conditions 93

Reaching the Global Market with Innovative Products and Services 106

Achieving Escape Velocity 115

CHAPTER 4: Engaging the Young World: Strategies for Success 131

Engaging Young World Talent 133

Collaborating with Young World Partners 139

Investing in Young World Opportunity 144

Developing Young World Markets 149

Plan for Uncertainty 155

Conclusion 161

Executive Summary 165

Appendix A 171

Appendix B 179

Notes 183

Acknowledgements 189

Index 193

"Every new generation gets a lot of attention, though it's not always positive. But if millennials have been scrutinized more closely than any generation since the 1960s, it's because of one factor; they're plugged deep into the internet and have the skills to make the most of its opportunities. Salkowitz's book takes this idea and runs with it, globally. He shows how tiny startups in India, Brazil and other nations whose populations trend young are building online businesses on investment shoestrings, collaborating with others in their cohort (often across borders) and creating innovative approaches to maximize minimal resources." (Delta Sky Magazine, July 2010)

"I highly recommend the insightful and visionary book by Rob Salkowitz, to anyone seeking a more complete understanding of the youth based entrepreneurial ITC boom sweeping the developing world. The book will inspire governments, corporations, international organizations, and non-governmental agencies to seek fresh, market based initiatives to ensure that the entrepreneurial revolution continues without being derailed by special interests..." (BlogBusinessWorld, July 31, 2010)

"The world-changing ideas of the near future might not come from settled, industrialized countries, or even from 10-ton economic gorilla China, argues Salkowitz, but from the developing world. Their populations are extremely young, driven to improve their lives, and have unprecedented access to and familiarity with technology." (CIO Magazine, July 13, 2010)

"Three forces are reshaping the world of the 21st century: youth, ICT and entrepreneurship," says Rob Salkowitz in Young World Rising. While he believes these intertwined forces will have some impact in the Western world, he expects them to completely remake business in less developed nations with populations that skew toward youth, including India, Vietnam, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Mexico and Columbia. Tech-savvy twenty-something's with mobile devices in hand will figure out ways to serve base-of-the pyramid markets, he says-and then scale their operations globally to rewrite the rules of business." (BizEd, July/August 2010)