MyPlaceMatters: A One-Stop Resource for Place-Based Economic Development I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new website. MyPlaceMatters is a resource for anyone working in local and regional areas to develop the economy, create jobs and improve the quality of life. Where we live, work, invest, and grow affects who we are. It…
Better business regulations create jobs
Business environment reform for job creation I this post, I explore how business environment reform nurtures job creation. The World Bank’s annual Doing Business assessment was released today with some important claims regarding the impact of regulatory reform on job creation. There has been much debate over the years about the significance of the link…
Egypt's increasing informal economy
Ghada Barsoum, professor of public policy at the American University in Cairo (AUC) claims that the informal economy has become the “number one source of income in Egypt,” as a result of “the lack of opportunities in the formal economy.” Seventy-five percent of Egyptian youth, according to Barsoum, are working in this situation. Maurice Chammah’s article, “With…
Private Sector and Enterprise Development Fostering Growth in MENA
Private Sector and Enterprise Development; Fostering Growth in the Middle East and North Africa is a 2010 book published by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and written by Lois Stevenson, a Visiting Research Fellow at the IDRC in Cairo, Egypt. The book is concerned with the context for private sector development (PSD) including micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs1), the PSD…
Accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Arab World
This month, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL), in collaboration with Booz & Company, launched the Accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Arab World report, which highlights ten recommendations to promote a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem across the region. Policy-makers, business leaders, academia and civil society leaders are all aiming to…
Local entrepreneurship ecosystems
New from the Startup Foundation with support from the Kauffman Foundation, this site focuses on startup communities are around the world. The site asks people in the target cities to add their initiatives and events. It seeks to map local entrepreneurship ecosystems. In July of 2011, Startup Weekend and The Kauffman Foundation partnered to launch the Startup Foundation in eight…
Three things entrepreneurs do
A nice video of on the role of entrepreneurship from the Kauffman Foundation. Very US-centric, but an effective way of communicating the message.