My friend Steve Smith just called. Steve was a managing director at GE Capital, where he successfully oversaw a large portfolio of venture investments. Steve and I both have an interest in investing in sustainable development projects in the third world—as well as in technology-based conversions of traditional industries in the first world. Our overall take is that there are 6.3 billion people in the world—probably going to 9 billion over the next decade—and that our current world economy only works for about 500 million of us. Big problem. Big security problem. Big moral problem. Big happiness and lifestyle problem. Big ecological problem.
But also, big opportunity. If you (we) are an optimist about the creativity of our species, and of the cosmos, we are going to change our world order. The good things that have been learned in venture capital and startups are going to be a part of the change. For example, we know the enormous value of small amounts of risk capital combined with the energy of entrepreneurs and the collective wisdom of well-managed small teams—and all of this thriving in a business and social environment where all is permitted if not specifically prohibited, and where new entrants—new “species” of individuals and ideas are welcomed and celebrated.
But this will be joined by a new attention to wisdom—to solutions that have long-term viability in a world struggling together to minimize the use of zero-sum resources—such as petroleum and threats to global climate resiliency such as global warming or the buildup of toxic chemicals-while maximizing non-zero-sum resources such as happiness, ideas, health, joy, sex, love, fun…
Anyway, our current interest is how to prudently start to redirect more and more capital and human creativity toward the broader set of opportunities in the 6.3 billion-person world. This involves developing synergies among a number of players who now live mostly in local silos, and includes investors, technologists and entrepreneurs who are also local and regional community members around the world—and institutions ranging from business to NGOs and civil society, development banks, and national and multilateral agencies.
By the way, I think co-creating sustainable solutions is a better way to ensure our long term security from threats like terrorism than relying on top-down destruction of things we don’t like, and/or relying on the (illusory) control of military-led “nation building.”
