The G20 generation gap: Young entrepreneurs want global connections

As G20 leaders met in Buenos Aires for the 2018 Summit, I’ve been reflecting on my trip to the same city earlier this year with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (YEA), where I had the honour of representing young entrepreneurs in Australia.

In reading the lengthy Declaration released at the end of the G20 Summit, the differing priorities and outlook from the two meetings is stark. Young entrepreneurs are actively seeking global alliances at the same time as some G20 leaders are retreating from them.

There is heartening mention of the importance of education — particularly for women and girls, embracing transformative technologies, a goal to attract more private investment in infrastructure and a renewed focus on food security.

However, increased protectionism and current trade issues are also front and centre in the Declaration, with leaders noting that economic growth has been “less synchronised between countries” partly due to ongoing geopolitical concerns. The declaration also acknowledges that the system of multilateral international trade and investment is falling short of objectives — which comes as no surprise to anyone following the news cycle.

It was also the G20 Summit with the fewest female leaders — ever.

Compare that meeting’s objectives, along with a striking difference in tone, with the priorities of G20 Young Entrepreneurs. In our Final Communiqué, the world’s young entrepreneurs voted for the following priorities:

• Promoting sustainable entrepreneurship as a way to achieve sustainable development;
• Supporting inclusive entrepreneurship, including the promotion of women and those traditionally excluded from entrepreneurial opportunities; and
• Promoting networks and mobility for entrepreneurs across and within G20 member countries to build skills as well as to gain “digital legal and ethical competency”.

It’s a huge concern that as the next generation is actively seeking to connect with peers and colleagues from around the world, some world leaders are more set on creating barriers and fences — both figuratively and literally.

Australians are looking beyond our own backyard

Working with young Australian entrepreneurs with The Hacker Exchange, I see first-hand the impact that global connectivity and mindsets can have on their confidence, impact and speed to market.

Insights from the 2018 Startup Muster report echo the desire of Australian entrepreneurs to remain connected globally.

It’s not just the fact that over 35% of our founders were born overseas, like myself, but it also uncovered that in the next 12 months:

• 41% of founders plan to expand sales significantly outside Australia;
• 21% of startups plan to undertake capital raising overseas; and
• 20% of startups plan to travel overseas to take part in a program.

If we truly want Australian talent to be creating businesses on a global scale and contributing to economic development and growth, it’s crucial that we have freedom of movement, trade, and knowledge sharing across borders.

I believe this extends to a focus on learning a second language — a skill that many migrant children acquire naturally, as well as higher targets for international study experiences. Having an international component of study helps young Australians build global networks, increase cross-cultural empathy, and to step outside of their comfort zone — all useful skills for entrepreneurs and employees alike.

We come from a land down under — and the future looks bright

I'm an American-born woman of Chinese-Malaysian descent who spent my childhood in Hawaii, Singapore, Japan, Brisbane and Melbourne — and I'm proud to call myself an Australian.

At the G20 YEA, it was fascinating to see that every country presented a different version of entrepreneurship. For some it was pure cutting-edge technology, others focused on colourful consumer marketplaces, and unfortunately, some were entirely represented by men.

The Australian delegation included fourth-generation Australians, first generation migrant Australians, LGBTQI representatives, education change-makers, brick-and-mortar small business owners, scalable tech startup founders, cryptocurrency experts, and gender equality pioneers.

I can say without a doubt that Australia was one of the most diverse, youthful and socially conscious delegation at the Summit. This made me incredibly proud.

We should be so lucky

If there’s one thing I’d like to tell emerging Aussie entrepreneurs is to graciously appreciate how good we have it in Australia. We have a unique opportunity to make smart decisions and capitalise on our status as The Lucky Country.

Australia has fantastic access to resources. We have world class education. We have a close proximity to some of the fastest growing markets in the world. And we have grit. We are also very comfortable, having gone 27 years without a recession. Some may say we don’t know quite how lucky we are, and just a small amount of exposure to the uncertainty in volatile economies around the world can put this into sharp perspective.

What we sometimes lack is the mindset to think globally and the confidence to put ourselves on the world stage. The tall poppy syndrome hangover is real and we would be doing the next generation a favour if we could move past this and become comfortable with celebrating wins.

With global empathy and access to international mentors, resources and markets, I believe young Australian entrepreneurs will become leaders who create truly human-centred, future-focused businesses that benefit us and people around the world.

Jeanette Cheah is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of the Hacker Exchange, a company created to advance entrepreneurial education for tertiary students in Australia and beyond. The Hacker Exchange partners with leading universities to provide undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to immerse themselves in world-class innovation ecosystems like Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, Singapore and beyond.

What is the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance?

The G20 YEA is a global network of over half a million young entrepreneurs and supporting organisations. Just a few hundred representatives from around the world represent the YEA at the annual Summit.

Launched in Stresa, Italy in 2008, the Summit is a collaborative event where young entrepreneurs meet to share ideas, build relationships, and release a final communiqué presented to B20 and G20 Leaders with recommendations to advance the policy interests of global youth entrepreneurship.