I consumed with relish the series of Big Cat Live on BBC last week. Thankfully was not travelling (much) and could check in almost every evening for my fix. Just when I thought the lioness was the most impressive beast, I fell for the charms of the cheetah and her five (then three) cubs. Then the leopard. They are mesmerising. Must plan a safari in Kenya.
Saturday's Telegraph made for good afternoon reading. Great coverage of the US elections. Astounded reading this one though as I will happen to be in NYC on election day (4 Nov) and was hoping to know the result by the time I headed back to London. Perhaps not.
Having just enjoyed delicious hummus in Lebanon I enjoyed this article. It also made me hungry. But then I seem to be hungry every two hours with all this marathon training. Love this picture of a chimpanzee with his new friend (a rare white tiger cub) in North Carolina.
I also read an interview with Geoff Hoon, the new Transport Secretary. His first major decision is regarding the expansion of Heathrow airport and I know this is not good news for some people.. but for someone who has to travel out of LHR frequently on business, I am very pleased to learn that apparently he is in favour of a third runway:
"If you look at the kind of businesses that operate in that south-west corridor out of London, people like Microsoft are there because of the access to a hub airport that allows their people to travel all around the world. Those kind of businesses, we want to keep them in the UK, they are valuable sources of employment".
Saying that I have cut back on travelling pretty substantially and will do calls with people where possible, rather than get on a plane. Live Meetings are also a good option - now that one of the guys in the office has explained to me how to use the technology! Pretty cool..
Back to animals for a moment and I have to admit to having a huge amount of admiration for this guy - the mouse who killed the snake. Firstly, he was supposed to be lunch. And it turned out he didn't fancy being lunch. I do not like snakes. They always seem to be in a bad mood, with nasty big teeth and ...oh I dunno, they just do not seem like the kind of creature to share a G&T with you on a Friday night. And I love the underdog. The winner that no-one - absolutely no-one - bets on. Anyone who supports the Irish rugby team during Six Nations knows what I mean.
Fancy finding an excuse to visit LA in a few weeks? Register for our PDC event. There is even a letter to convince your boss to let you go! Details of pre-sessions also posted on our start-up zone site.
At Microsoft we are supporting this year's European Venture Contest - with semi finals in Eindhoven, Prague, Copenhagen and Pamplona, along with a summit in Dusseldorf and finals in Barcelona in December.
If you are a start-up seeking funding, you should consider applying. For info on events take a look here. It is a great platform to connect young, early stage innovative companies with potential investors from across Europe. The contest's winner will get €90,000. Worth a look.
The one thing I manage to consume everywhere on my travels, regardless of timezone or climate, is the FT. These days it is full of desperate tales of economic decline, of course. Along with every other quality publication, every television channel and every outpost of communication from Beijing to Bognor. Thank goodness they managed to find a picture of some European leaders smiling this week.
There is no hiding from it. The message is clear. We are all doomed. Allegedly. One of the best commentaries I have read is in today's Times.
The most ironic conversation with the financial services sector for me this week has to be with a fine representative from one of the largest, wealthiest (once) Swiss investment banking institutions who, in the throes of our discussion about partnership on start-ups and Entrepreneurship, seemed terribly distracted and asked me if we had any jobs going. Back in London on Thursday, my meetings with Sir Stephen Wright from IFSL and with HSBC were a little more rewarding. Neither of them asked me for a job.
With a good coffee and a little sunshine to accompany it, I read through the San Francisco Chronicle last week, learning more about the Obama and McCain campaigns. Our VC Summit in Silicon Valley went well. We hosted visitors from US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, China, Russia and Ukraine. SteveB was in fine form. He has incredible energy. Mine was eroded somewhat with all the plane hopping so I was not able to run across the Golden Gate bridge with my German colleague. Hit the shoe dept at Barney's instead.
The week before, on an incredibly brief pitstop, I managed to soak up a little of the atmosphere while in Beirut and sample the festivities one evening around Iftar - the breaking of the fast at sunset, during Ramadan. Those guys sure know how to party. And eat. I love the vibe in Beirut. A wonderful city. Munich was not so exciting for me as I was perpetually tired and the hotel had a rubbish gym (one treadmill in a room the size of a stamp - do not stay at the Sheraton Munich Airport if you need the treadmill). I also had to decline the beer during Oktoberfest. Its hard being virtuous sometimes. But I reckon it suits me.
From San Fran to Oslo for a team meeting and, again, not much sleep or running. Back in the UK before taking off to Brussels tomorrow, I escaped into updates on the cabinet reshuffle and Mande's return. Hidden gem from Janice Turner. I also managed to run 16.5 miles. Not sure I am really ready to do 26.2, but will give it a go. Still fundraising by the way!
Thankfully everyone I work with is buzzing with the sense of potential and building up to the launch of some very exciting programs in a months time. Credit crunch? What credit crunch.
August in London was quite a contrast to the climate around our team meetings and conferences in San Fran and Atlanta, but despite most of Europe being on holiday it proved a good time to explore partnerships with organisations such as EBRD and IMG and explore things further with HSBC and BT.
We also finalised a partnership with UK India Business Council this week which sees us collaborate to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs and increase the IP and capital flow between UK and India. We'll announce our partnership at their event at Mansion House on Monday 1 September.
UKIBC, under Sharon Bamford's leadership and championed by a great board of advisors including Vijay Mallya and Karan Billamoria, has done a great amount to increase the impact of Indo-British relations.
After the British and Indian governments launched the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in 2006, the House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee recognised the group (then IBPN) as the ‘de facto’ chamber of commerce for UK and India. IBPN evolved into UKIBC and in January 2007 Gordon Brown announced that the Government would significantly boost the annual funding to £1 million with a strategic partnership implemented through UK Trade and Investment.
Our team will identify the next generation of high growth start-ups and entrepreneurs, as we aim to broker greater access to mentoring and support from organisations such as TiE and access to capital from UK India Business Angels Network. Our Enterprise team in the UK will also help customers leverage Indian technology skills with partners such as TCS.
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This week sees our Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston. I hear it's hot and humid. If you're not there in person you can see some of it online. Getting texts from the guys there. They get funnier as the night goes on. Whereas, I have just arrived in a hot and sunny San Fran, leaving a rather autumnal London behind.
I love this place. I don't know why I feel so at home here. Perhaps it's the weather, the way you order eggs sunny side up (that puts you in a good mood in the morning), the buzz, or the fact that as a Manic Paddy (as my former boss calls me) I fit right in. That and the marvelous shoe collection at Barney's. At the hotel I was instantly relieved of my bags and handed a glass of chardonnay. I walked into my room, docked my ipod and got online. It's all so civilised. It might be 2am for me right now but I'm wide awake and ready to soak it up...
Tomorrow I meet up with the leadership team to talk about all things start-up and entrepreneur; we're building up to launching major programs and doing this worldwide does take some orchestrating, I can tell you. We may suffer from overwhelming levels of potential and possibility right now, but what a nice position to be in. Finding focus is they key. Changing the world is never easy. So we have to bite off manageable chunks...
After a few days assimilating, debating, plotting and strategising, it is on to a quiet hotel down the coast to chill - and run. 12k in an hour - between vineyards. More exercise and sleep is required - and less fine dining and fine wining. Now that I have my NY marathon place I am compelled to don the shorts and ipod every day. Not easy when you are shifting timezones and working long hours. But hey, I am glad I signed up to the challenge. You're dead long enough. And as my friend Rob said the other day - I believe in life before death.
I was practicing partying technique in the sunshine at Henley Regatta on Friday where several tankers of Bollinger and Laurent Perrier were consumed. So Tuesday night I resisted the fizz (wow) at the launch of politicsandthecity.com - brainchild of the wonderful June Sarpong. I love the fact that June is so unapologetically feminine and - dare I say it - girlie; and at the same time a successful businesswoman. She has great charisma...as seen in Brussels at our recent summit when she hosted the student session for me.
Last night's launch party at the ICA in London was a total celeb fest, complete with paparazzi snapping outside and "mwwaaw hello dahling" exclamations echoing all over the room. June's speech was inspiring (as always) and I was so proud watching her. Look at me getting all maternal. It's a great site and we will see some cool content in the coming months. It does address an interesting thing though. Serious Girls. They are everywhere. One minute discussing IRR on Venture funds or a new project in South Africa and the next someone is admiring your Louboutins. Alistair Darling and Diane Abbott looked on as June eloquently described her passion, mingling effortlessly with size zero's and telly types, techies, entrepreneurs, City folk, corporate types even (me and the guy from Sun Microsystems having our perennial debate about who is more cool). June asked me to write a blog on the site a few months ago and I know there is plenty of material for this - I just need to stop long enough to write it.
From here I'm off to Atlanta (which is also going to be pretty hot and sticky). We just closed our fiscal on 30 June so we are now in kick-off mode. 10,000 Microsofties from around the world will convene to reflect on the year just gone, celebrate late into the night (they are never quiet affairs) and hear from SteveB about our plans for the year ahead. Then I have a weekend in Miami to recover on the beach. And no doubt burn a few calories on the dance floor. I hear the Delano is just awesome. Decadence is certainly something that has not been in short supply of late. It's a hard life. You wouldn't guess I was in training for the NY marathon by my routine for the last few months. 18 weeks and counting. But for now, I am off to sample what SF has to offer. The Clift (in Choo's) will be on the list. Awful place. Bye for now.
After our Brussels summit it was time to get a bit closer to home for the BBAA conference in Brands Hatch (via Barcelona). The sun was still shining at that point. At the awards dinner the night before, I bumped into the very charismatic Richard Farleigh.
Back in London, I caught up with Ian Robertson from NCGE who told me they have 10,200 graduate entrepreneurs registered now. Flying Start helps university grads inventing products and services take them to market and start a business on the back of those ideas. We're hoping to announce a Flying Start for Software Entrepreneurs soon. We also talked about Ian's business dealings in China and I'm helping him find some partners out there.
I also spent some quality time with (Dr) Sally Ernst from Sinocode. They have 90 developers in Beijing and we are looking at ways to help more Euro-based software companies leverage their skills. They already do quite a bit of work for MCS on Sharepoint and for UK customers. Apart from doing business, Sally and I have become good friends. Sal told me about her involvement with the MIT Entrepreneurs Organisation. The EO as it's known is a club for successful ($1m+) entrepreneurs. That rules me out then. I spend too much on shoes. Sal does too but she managed to sell WebCentral in Australia when it had a turnover of $40m+ and now goes between London, China and Oz.
At the team meeting in Amsterdam last week it was time to catch up and see what everyone else was up to. My colleague Andreas just got back from China - he said the smog is really something. Andreas is very very tall. As are most Dutch people it seems. (Good blog from Matt in Beijing by the way). We talked about our team charter for the (fiscal) year ahead. We were brainstorming how to more innovative and effective! You have to constantly challenge yourself if you're going to make a difference at a corporate. That conversation reminded me to send them a copy of Tom Peters Re-Imagine Manifesto. Reading some of the entries on Change This is enlightening too. Better than reading the newspaper at the mo, which I find full of doom and gloom....
No time for that here. After stopping off in Dublin to see Enterprise Ireland again, I was back in Brussels for the JA-YE Europe Entrepreneurship Forum at the EU Parliament. What a great day. I was judging the student team entries for the JA-YE Enterprise Challenge (Microsoft Innovation) award with fellow judges Andy Reinhardt from Business Week, Brian Lang, VP at Mastercard, and Peter Baur from the Commission. Have a look at the pics here. Some of the ideas were really great. Many with an environmental angle - like the intelligent waste solution from the guys in Romania. Next Stop - California!
Last week we held our European Investor Summit in Brussels attended by 170+ VC and Angel investors and top tech start-ups from over 20 countries, as well as Microsoft execs.
We saw the launch of our IP Ventures company Zignals, and 45+ exhibiting companies connect with potential investors. Feedback from the start-ups from UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Russia and Greece was really great.
We also had a very lively session moderated by the lovely June Sarpong, where five student teams pitched to a panel of investors in the Meet the Money session. You can see interviews with the Dragon’s Den panel members here.
In addition to our Investor Summit on 11 June, we also held the 4th Annual SME Day on 12 June. Have a look at the SME Day video here.
Microsoft reinforced its commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs with our newly announced partnership European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). EBAN represents angel and early stage investment market and together with Microsoft will collaborate in the coming years to build capacity for innovative start-up companies. Under a global agreement, Microsoft and TiE will work closely in Europe: partnering to foster entrepreneurship and innovation globally by educating, mentoring and networking in UK and Nordics.
I'm already looking forward to the next one. We hope to replicate this in the Middle East and Asia in the coming year too. Thanks to everyone who supported this event and I hope you go on to secure funding for your ideas!
It's been a while since I had time to reflect and update my blog. Where did May go? After my US trip in April, things have been a little hectic.
I spent the first week of May in SA meeting Partners, Govt officials, seeing our facilities and programs and discussing our plans with the local Microsoft team - who are really something. We made some good connections while on the ground: HPV-A and Enablis both finance start-ups and are keen to work with us. Several partners are looking to grow export revenues and target markets outside SA, or raise VC funding for growth.
I was hugely impressed at what David and team have achieved thus far and in a relatively short time, with e.g. SmartXchange in Durban, JCSE in Joburg, Citi in Cape Town.
SA is a vibrant economy but, like many emerging markets, it can still be a challenging environment. The Reconstruction and Development program in 1994 set out an ambitious course for economic improvement, redressing the imbalance that existed post Apartheid, when so many were excluded, lacking access to skills and employment. SA recorded 10 years of strong economic growth since and in January 2004 the President signed the BEE Act. Actually the BEE strategy doc provides good bedtime reading. Investment in BEE is massive: in 2002 the Govt allocated R2.2bn and a further R1.3bn in loans was provided by Khula - 79% to BEE's and 56% to women-owned businesses. Enablis are funding entrepreneurs in conjunction with Khula: two funds of R50m and R100m and 300+ member entrepreneurs in their network.
Mmabatho Matiwane who leads the DTI's Gender and Women's Empowerment Unit is an impressive creature. In 2006 the Govt decided to focus on this as a jobs/wealth creation strategy. They set up SAWEN to get more women into enterprise and they now have a network of 5,000 women entrepreneurs in 9 provinces with 4 offices in the main centres already and more planned, providing walk-in centres for business advice and mentorship. They also launched a fund to support women-led companies which, from memory, is around R500m. We're discussing how to support the TWIB program which helps women-led companies embrace technology and become more successful. I'm also working on a very cool project with Trestle co-funded by VFI focused on finding more 'girl geeks'.
While presenting on a panel at the INSEAD Alumni re-union event in Paris last Friday, I pointed out how SA has such a large proportion of women in senior policy-making roles in Govt and how European country cabinets and boardrooms are not so representative. This rather lively debate was moderated beautifully by Frank Brown who tabled the notion of quotas like they have applied in SA (30% of Govt positions will be held by women) and in Norway (women should comprise 40% of public-listed companies boards). Sitting in a room on the Fountainbleu campus it really didn't seem that much of an issue - smart, successful women (and men) were everywhere. It's enough to give you an inferiority complex. Not only is Ninie Wang an INSEAD MBA grad, she's young, driven, attractive, dynamic, fun, and running her own company in Beijing which is launching a new website and platform to connect and empower senior citizens in China.
Another event, this time organised by CIDA at the British Embassy in Brussels, addressed the issue of "improving the lingua franca in Creative Industries financing" and I found myself on a panel - a rather ecclectic mix - including Wendy Malem (Centre for Fashion Enterprise), Mark Fenwick (NStar Finance) and Leon Hill (Universal Music). I thought I was out of my depth when I realised a penchant for Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin did not in fact qualify me to talk about investment in fashion but nevertheless it proved a fascinating event and I made some great connections. One of which was an introduction via Sydney Levinson to Kaospilot. A business school with a difference, n'est pas?
While in Brussels I also had the opportunity to meet Javier Echarri who heads up EVCA. Georges Noel is one of the panelists at the event I am busy organising in Brussels on 11/12 June. We should have 100+ investors and start-ups attending day one. From there I took off to Dublin to check in with the MS team there on proposed start-up engagement plans and meet up with Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Science Foundation Ireland. Great meeting. Much to do. Managed to squeeze in a visit to MSR in Cambridge and witness a day of awesome future technology. Then back to London to meet with PERA, NESTA and EBAN, UKIBC and TiE - with whom we are teeing up some very cool joint activities for the coming year.
Ah, so that's where May went.....
Last week was a comedy of errors - without the comedy. Yet even when things are this crazy in this job (often) I can't help thinking how lucky I am to work with such a bunch of smart, funny, passionate, talented folks. If ever there two people that sum up the essence of this Gaping Void cartoon it is Frank and Eileen.
I've just arrived in Seattle (failing miserably to adjust again) to catch up with my team and attend a 3-day planning meeting organised by Frank. Frank's blog has a huge following - and no wonder. He's an Aussie in America. Unlike me, he is a geek - but quite a human geek who likes sharing mind-boggling facts with the readership.
Eileen is a force of nature. And a Girl Geek. Her blog is also massively subscribed (over 1m hits per month she tells me). I'm off to Whistler with Eileen for the weekend, where we will no doubt change the world over a few bottles of wine. Hope my liver survives. While busy not sleeping last night, I immersed myself in the political thriller that is the race for the White House. Constant coverage on CNN (when they weren't interviewing lawyers and psychoanalysts about Naomi Campbell).
Next week I will start to write a blog on startupzone proper on all things Emerging Business International. It will have perspectives mostly on Entrepreneur, Start-up and Investor community. This Armadillo blog will be reserved for related matters like Economic Policy, work we do with Government and Academia, travelogue and general rantings from the edge.
It's been a while since I stopped long enough to read some of the wisdom that John shares with me and other friends and associates. Thankfully the Exchange server ran out of space and forced me to delete email before I could send anymore (NOTE: this is a rare statement and is unlikely to be repeated in the coming decade. Normal reaction to technology challenges resumes now). Anyway, I'm glad - as I found John's emails with snippets and gems. Here are a few samples. Hope it brightens up your Monday.....as it did mine.
“Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.” Karl Marx
"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” - Oscar Wilde
“Knowledge comes from the past so it’s safe. It is also out of date. It’s the opposite of originality.” - Paul Arden
“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.” - Douglas MacArthur
“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” - William Bernbach
“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.” - Douglas Adams
“The greatest power is often simple patience.” - E. Joseph Cossma
“Every morning I awaken torn between the desire to save the world and the inclination to savour it.” - EB White
“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” - J.K. Rowling
“A man is not as big as his belief in himself; he is as big as the number of persons who believe in him.” - Woodrow Wilson
“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes.” - Victor Frankl
“Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.” - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
“Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.” - Sir Winston Churchill
“What do we live for; if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? ” - Mary Ann Evans
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” - George Orwell
“Sails” - Jorn Utzon’s one word value proposition on pitching his un-buildable (at the time) design for the Sydney Opera House
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions. Their lives a mimicry. Their passions a quotation.” - Oscar Wilde
“Fail, fail again, fail better.” - Samuel Beckett
“If we don't get lost we'll never find a new route.” - Joan Littlewood
“Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.” - Jean De La Fontaine
“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” - Jean-Paul Sartre
“Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.” - Peter F. Drucker
“It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” - Irish Proverb
“Energy, it's 75 percent of the job. If you haven't got it be nice.” - Paul Arden
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” - Confucius
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm". - Sir Winston Churchill
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito” - Unknown Author
Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Europe. I've spent the last few days in Brussels attending the Benelux Venture Forum.
There is certainly no shortage of great technology start-ups and venture capital in the region from what I witnessed.
Investors were various and numerous - I was on a panel with Cees-Jan Koomen from Point-One and Herman De Latte who set up Big Bang Ventures and previously Solid Ventures both of whom have invested seed capital in several of the high-growth companies. Patrick Polak from Newion moderated a lively session.
I also spent time with Jenny Tooth who represents GLE in London, who in turn are involved in EASY (supported by PRO INNO) and part of EBAN. Jean-Bernard Schmidt from Sofinnova and Rene Savelsburg opened the morning session discussing where they reckon the hottest investment opportunities are.
William Stevens from the organisers Europe Unlimited presented the latest Ernst & Young statistics - European investment is flat at just over €1bn last quarter, the #1 investment sector is Biotech and Software is #2 (then IT services/Internet at #3 and Mediatech #5).
In terms of geo's, the UK represented 25% of the €1.2bn invested following by FR and GER. Then Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. Venture One stats show there were 353 deals in Q2/2002 as compared to 217 deals in Q4/07.
Paul Webber from Europe Unlimited released the Benelux Venture top 50 companies list.
Companies who pitched innovative propositions in the ICT track included David Schrieberg from Cinelan who have a platform for short films targeting online publishers; and online e-lending company Boober.
Scense from Rotterdam, backed by Solid Ventures, and Mirror42 also in the Netherlands, have solutions to make enterprise investment in IT more effective. Koen from Scense - an impossibly well-educated and successful serial entrepreneur and all-round nice guy - won the award for a great presentation.
Marina Tognetti showed a new online language platform and was also selected for an award.
Myngle will go forward for the European finals in December.
In the mobile / social networking space we saw Teydo with Location Based Services which is useful for tracking (in the US apparently the most popular application of this technology is 'spouse tracking'), for 'buddy finding' and for other 'peace of mind' applications e.g. child safety. In the future it will have a lot more uptake by operators as the mobile platform evolves beyond navigation. iNewit also presented as did the very entertaining ex-VP of Real Networks, Marco Menato, CEO of 24access solutions.
cellixx launched their B2B travel application last year and already have Jumeirah and Hertz as customers. Wheras cameramanager allows you to keep an eye on things while traveling.
On the subject of asset tracking, Ambient Systems are doing some interesting stuff in the field of active RFID (or Real Time Location Systems as it is also known). Apparently investment in this technology was accelerated after the the Pentagon realised they had a use for active tracking of stuff after the US Army lost the equipment en route to Kuwait during the second Gulf War. Fascinating day............
Yesterday Microsoft announced the acquisition of San Francisco-based Rapt - their software helps web sites get the most money out of their ads through pricing and other strategies. Microsoft will include Rapt’s technology in the Atlas Publishing Suite. Press release here.
Just back from a week at the mothership in Seattle and what a week it was.
In order to prepare appropriately for a series of demanding sessions with our senior worldwide leadership team, we felt it necessary to hit the slopes first. Just as well I got some exercise to counter the calories consumed in the last few days. Much of the incremental ones coming from the great local wine. And larger-than-average blueberry muffins.
Driving 1.5 hours from SEA-TAC airport you hit deep snow and towns with funny names like Enumclaw; and Muckleshoot with their scores of casinos. Might have to play the Lucky Leprechaun. The skiing was great though. Even managed to survive a double-black diamond. Scare yourself at least once a day and all that...
One evening the team had the company of our recently-appointed leader and chief. Walid is a really great guy. Very passionate and up for the challenge it seems. Talking to him at the dinner (actually we were cooking our own dinner that night - good fun) we got onto the subject of politics. Not sure how. He hails from Palestine originally but from what I gather has spent many years in the US. His knowledge of the US political voting system and of US political history is impressive. I got a fix of national politics every morning from CNN and to be honest I was yearning for that FT on the plane home today. It's all very complicated.
Me and Walid got chatting about my recent trip to see the MEA folks in Dubai and Beirut. The regional team is headed up by Ali and encompasses 8 subsidiaries, 30 offices covering 79 countries. The opportunity in that region is immense.
Dubai is buzzing. Since investing in the Microsoft Innovation Centre in Kuwait we've see the creation of groups like ABAN eager to invest and leverage the growth of innovation. BillG's recent visit in Jan this year highlighted some of the work we're embarking on in the Gulf. I was stuck by the momentum there:
In the next four years, the region's IT sector (in this case comprising Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE) will generate more than 210,000 new jobs and account for the creation of more than 4,100 new IT companies.
Lebanon itself, the venue for my meeting on day two, is not without its challenges of course. I was saddened to find such a great city empty of tourists. The team there comprise people from all over the region, some educated in the US and all well traveled and somewhat pragmatic as to the road ahead. What is evident by their stoicism and positive attitude (a fair percentage of buildings in Beirut are yet to be "refurbished" after even 1975 events, not to mention last year's) is how business can transcend religion and politics. It can drive change.
There are countless tangible example of where investments in education and enterprise programs, in partnership with Government, Institutions and Foundations, are paying off. We're seeing new venture funds created and even the rise of more cross-continental co-operation (like Vietnam and Oman).
One thing I do know: after my US over-indulgence and expanding waistline, I need to embark on a diet of just great bread and hummous. With perhaps some tabbouleh for good measure. Can't wait to get back out there. Inshallah. Now I must sleep....
