For centuries, Dubai has served as a key crossroads for global trade. The convenient location of the United Arab Emirates between Europe, Asia, and Africa has positioned this growing city to serve as a major logistical intermediary between many foreign markets. With the development of emerging markets such as China and India, there is a growing opportunity for Dubai to expand its logistical dominance in the modern world economy. The construction of Al Maktoum International Airport, which will become the largest airport in the world, signifies Dubai’s commitment to this growth strategy.
globalEDGE Blog Archive November 2011
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Recently, many governments have slowed their momentum as far as environmental regulations policy creation efforts are concerned. This means that it is up to major corporations around the world to be more proactive about going green. One motivation is to be recognized by businesses and consumers as a environmentally friendly company. Newsweek annually ranks global companies and recently released their World’s Greenest Companies Rankings for 2011. They take into account “actual environmental footprints, management (policies, programs, initiatives, controversies), and reporting practices of each big company.” Using these hard facts and ignoring the publicity and public relations efforts companies may have made gives the most accurate picture of how firms are actually doing environmentally.
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Over a decade of recurrent high energy prices has prompted Kenya to look beyond traditional energy sources. The traditional energy supply line in Kenya is unstable and has been for many years, which has caused consistently high prices that will unlikely subside. Green energy firms are emerging and have been largely successful thus far because of the increasing demand for alternative energy sources.
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With Turkey’s location serving as a natural bridge between Asia and Europe, it’s no surprise that Turkey plays an important role in international trade. In fact, this is one of the key reasons why Turkey’s emerging economy is having major impacts on the region and international business. However, this is not the only reason why Turkey is becoming a regional power in today’s business world. The emergence of Turkey has been a positive development for a number of reasons and Turkey is looking to capitalize on this success by striving for continued economic growth.
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When world economies develop, massive urbanization soon follows. As of 2008, there are now more people living in cities than rural areas around the world. Countries currently experiencing significant urban growth have an opportunity to learn from developed nations that have experienced similar trends in the past. With access to modern technology, cities can develop in smarter ways than ever before. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is using thoughtful planning and foresight to establish a new standard for urban development that other regions are likely to follow.
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Africa is the second largest mobile phone market in the world. Does this fact surprise you? Probably, but Africa is expected to reach over 700 million mobile subscribers in the next year. Not only is the African mobile market large in size, it is also the fastest-growing on the planet as well. This provides an abundance of opportunity for investors, technology and mobile companies, and service providers.
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A Basic Guide to Exporting is a comprehensive overview of how to export provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The guide does an excellent job of guiding companies through a complex global economy by examining:
- How to identify markets for your company’s products
- How to finance your export transactions
- The best methods of handling orders and shipments
- Sources of free or low-cost export counseling
The Tenth edition of this highly respected reference book has been revised for 2012 and contains some new case studies and information about the National Export Initiative.
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Government leaders around the world are hoping that business start-ups will fuel economies still struggling since the global financial crisis. To stimulate such growth, policymakers are shaping programs to promote the development of new business ventures. What incentives are most effective for stimulating entrepreneurship? What countries are leading the way for new business growth?
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In the spirit of Global Entrepreneurship Week, today we will look at one of the most innovative concepts of entrepreneurship in recent years: the emergence of microfinance. Microfinance empowers poor individuals, mostly from developing countries, by lending them the capital needed to start their own small business. Access to capital for most individuals would not be available without the institutions that support microfinance. It is seen by many experts as a long-term solution to alleviating poverty, by promoting economic development and fostering international entrepreneurship.
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Entrepreneurship is the key, long-term growth driver of any country's economy. Not only do small businesses, in aggregate, add more jobs than large corporations, they are usually the companies leading technological breakthroughs. These small businesses are clearly very important to every country, but they face different challenges and rewards when operating in developed and emerging markets.
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The Director of the International Business Center at Michigan State University – Tomas Hult – just published the new version of the Total Global Strategy (TGS) book with George Yip. TGS has been the market leader both in multinational corporations’ board rooms and in executive MBA programs for years. From General Motors using the TGS framework to restructure their Asia operations to Michigan State University using it in its world-leading executive training programs in supply chain management to being rated as a top 30 business book previously, Total Global Strategy is the authority on practical and sophisticated global strategy development and implementation. TGS can be bought on Amazon and at all major booksellers.
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With increased globalization, small businesses led by entrepreneurs can play an important role in global growth. In today’s world of interconnected markets and easy technological access, entrepreneurs have increased opportunities to expand their business abroad. Many entrepreneurs around the world have already expanded their small business overseas providing economic success and new jobs for many. In light of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we will take a look at one of these global start-up stories where a small business driven by an entrepreneurial spirit found success in markets abroad.
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The 4th annual Global Entrepreneurship Week kicks off today (November 14th) and runs through November 20th all over the world! Over 100 countries, thousands of partners and activities, and millions of people will be involved in inspiring up-and-coming entrepreneurs, fostering the entrepreneurial spirit, and allowing successful entrepreneurs to pass along their knowledge. Governments, educational institutions, businesses, and the media are all coming together this week to stimulate start-up’s and foster growth among entrepreneurial ventures.
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Monday, November 14, 2011 marks the beginning of International Education Week and this year’s theme is International Education: Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally. This is the 12th annual International Education Week, and its general focus is to increase our understanding of the world around us, so we are able to communicate and interact with people of cultures different than our own.
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Excessive flooding in Thailand has not only made life a challenge for locals, but global businesses are experiencing hardships due to the harsh monsoon season as well. Many technology suppliers are located in Thailand and have suffered because of the massive flooding and have caused a significant supply chain back up. Several have lost large amounts of inventory and suffered excessive property damage. Some say it could take up to a year for these plants to begin operating at normal capacity again.
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As the earth’s conventional oil supply continues to diminish, the discovery of new fuel types is becoming as important as ever. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has recently released a statement stating that global tight oil reserves could produce as many as 300 billion barrels. Tight oil is another name for shale oil, which is a form of light crude oil found in shale deep below the earth’s surface. Although it will most likely be a decade before big supplies of tight oil are produced, the future production could rival the conventional oil production in Saudi Arabia.
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While many governments are trying to help unemployed workers find jobs in the domestic marketplace, the government of Bangladesh is implementing systems to make it easier for their citizens to seek employment abroad in countries overseas. This offers many advantages for the economy and also provides opportunities for the people of Bangladesh. Workers from Bangladesh living abroad earn large amounts of foreign currency for the country. By helping citizens in Bangladesh find work overseas, the government hopes it will also provide more opportunities for young citizens of Bangladesh struggling to find employment at home. To do this, the government has simplified the process for citizens working abroad using business technology.
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When looking at Latin America, Brazil is usually looked upon as the top country of the region with the strongest emerging economy. However, the country of Chile is leading in another aspect of business. According to the 2011 Latin Business Index, Chile remains the country with the best business environment in Latin America. The index studied 18 countries in Latin America and broadly measured the climate for business in each country with Chile coming in at the top of the list. Five major categories were the focus of the study including the macro environment, corporate environment, globalization, infrastructure levels, and the political environment. There were many business factors in Chile that accounted for its success in each of these categories.
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While Asia and North America have been making large strides in the mobile industry, Europe has been falling behind, even though it previously had a large competitive advantage over other regions. This is mainly due to lack of focus on emerging products, less advanced software, and lack of government support.
In the early 90’s Europe was a strong player in the mobile industry mainly due to its cooperative take on the market. The European countries worked together to coordinate an infrastructure that worked through out the continent. In North America, multiple different standards and products that made it more complex and expensive for customers. This structure forced the North American cell phone producers to step up their game and look into a more structured format.
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The constant rise in fuel prices and the movement to cut fuel emissions are leading airline companies to develop biofuels. This year alone, the world’s airlines will emit 650 million tons of carbon emissions in the process of burning over 200 million tons of fuel. In recent years, the popularity of developing biofuels has increased and is now becoming more of a reality than a theory.
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With the United States setting a goal to double exports in the next four years, small businesses play a very important role in accomplishing this mission. The National Export Initiative, the official title of this export growth objective, has a website designed to help small businesses export products to new markets and attain business growth abroad. Doug Barry of the U.S. Department of Commerce is an expert in exporting strategy for small businesses and has helped many small businesses accomplish their exporting goals. Last week, we posted a blog about an interview with Doug Barry where he explains how a small bio-business used international markets to achieve remarkable levels of business growth. This week, Doug Barry has conducted additional interviews where he shares his small business expertise and knowledge.