Enabling local businesses to seize new opportunities
May 28, 2026 | 1:30 PM - 2:45 PMPlenary room: Room: 2.1/2.2 Volga/ Zambezi
May 28, 2026 | 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Plenary room: Room: 2.1/2.2 Volga/ Zambezi
Description
Shifting global value chains create both competitive pressures and new opportunities for local firms — but businesses rarely make these transitions in isolation. Their ability to innovate, scale and reach new markets depends on the strength of the ecosystem around them: finance, talent, research capacity, networks and business support. This session explores how places can build entrepreneurial ecosystems that help firms of all sizes and types — from start-ups and SMEs to co-operatives and social enterprises — plug into reconfigured global value chains, adopt new technologies, and move into higher-value activities. It also examines how foreign investment can be better leveraged to generate local spillovers, and how approaches like the circular economy can build stronger local linkages can help anchor more value within communities and reduce exposure to external shocks.
