Jeremy Bentley

Start-up Nations: Creating Laboratories for Developing Economies

Glenn Yago, Clare Akamanzi, Jeremy Bentley, Richard Blum, Eli Groner, Angela Homsi, Karen Ross

A structural inversion where emerging markets now surpass the "Old World" in GDP share has created a critical need to deploy trillions in idle global capital toward addressing climate adaptation and Sustainable Development Goals. Panelists identified that despite available financing, the primary barrier is a lack of scalable "applied innovation" and viable business models to serve deep rural areas, prompting a strategic pivot toward government-led frameworks in Rwanda, Israel, and California. These nations are successfully leveraging public-private partnerships, financial innovation centers, and educational initiatives to transform niche technologies into bankable projects that bridge the gap between capital availability and last-mile implementation.