This flagship ESCWA report presents a forward-looking analysis of how artificial intelligence might reshape the Arab region by 2040. It explores AI’s potential across healthcare, education, cultural preservation, and government services, and identifies three strategic pathways: aligning global AI technologies with local needs, building culturally grounded Arabic-language AI systems, and leveraging AI to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Alongside promising opportunities—such as job creation and innovation—it also tackles critical challenges, including ethics, data governance, and inequality, offering actionable recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society.

Published on the Preventable Surprises blog, this piece draws parallels between public health failures during Covid-19 and shortcomings in ESG investing. It argues that ESG suffers from unclear communication, fragmented systems, and a reactive mindset—mirroring the CDC’s struggles in the pandemic. The author calls for greater coordination, adequate funding, and a return to first principles to make ESG fit for purpose in addressing systemic risks like climate change.

ESG is moving from buzzword to baseline. In this keynote talk from ECEC 2022, Jérôme Tagger unpacks how environmental, social, and governance factors are reshaping finance. He shows why investors are moving past voluntary pledges to adopt clearer standards and real accountability. The discussion makes a clear case: integrating ESG isn’t just good optics—it’s becoming essential to managing risk and creating long-term value.

This ImpactAlpha article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has created new political, legal, and reputational risks for companies and investors. The authors explore how the rollback of reproductive rights destabilizes the workforce, disrupts social consensus, and creates polarization that threatens economic prospects. They also examine how Gen Z activism and shifting employee expectations are pushing businesses to take positions on issues they once avoided, making neutrality an untenable strategy.

Relying on technology alone to solve climate change and biodiversity loss is a dangerous illusion. This article challenges the belief that innovations like carbon capture and clean energy can fully replace the essential functions of healthy ecosystems. Instead, it calls for pairing technological progress with a commitment to protect and restore nature—recognizing that only this dual approach can meet the scale of today’s environmental challenges.

Scenario planning isn’t just about anticipating what’s next—it’s also a powerful way to surface future leaders. This article shows how engaging teams in exploring alternate futures can reveal who is comfortable with uncertainty, who brings fresh thinking to complex challenges, and who inspires others to act. By designing these exercises as spaces for collaboration and learning, organizations can strengthen their strategies while uncovering the talent ready to guide them forward.

This report assesses whether a Ukraine-focused venture capital fund could attract private sector investors. Drawing on over 100 interviews with global investors, the analysis finds almost no appetite for investing in a standalone Ukraine fund due to structural risks: political instability, corruption, lack of investor protections, and an unpredictable macroeconomic environment. The study also identifies ecosystem gaps—like talent shortages, weak bankruptcy laws, and barriers to scaling—that hinder Ukraine’s entrepreneurial growth. It concludes with recommendations, including strengthening legal frameworks, supporting non-tech SMEs, and engaging the diaspora.

How can social enterprises and nonprofits negotiate investment terms that protect their mission and fuel their impact? This article, published in Stanford Social Innovation Review, explores how early-stage organizations can secure more equitable deals by understanding and shaping the dynamics between investors and founders. It offers practical guidance for balancing financial sustainability with mission integrity—and ensuring that a good deal is good for the world.

This explainer details why small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to get loans, not because capital is unavailable, but because regulations—especially Basel III capital requirements and Know Your Client (KYC) rules—make lending unattractive to banks. High capital charges, compliance complexity, and risk-weighted returns push banks to prefer low-risk assets over SME credit, constraining growth in emerging markets. The authors advocate revisiting regulatory frameworks to avoid unintended consequences that starve SMEs of financing.

This article explores how impact investing has drifted away from its roots in emerging markets, with more capital flowing into developed economies and larger deals. The authors trace this shift to the entrance of major asset managers whose scale and mandates crowd out small, high-impact investments in emerging markets. They call for renewed dialogue among investors, underwriters, and development finance institutions to realign capital flows with the original promise of impact investing: supporting small and growing businesses that drive inclusive growth.

Narratives aren’t just illustrative—they sharpen scenario planning. This research highlights how weaving compelling stories into foresight exercises challenges assumptions, reshapes leaders’ mental models, and brings potential futures to life. By anchoring scenarios in richly detailed narratives, organizations—from governments to small enterprises—can test strategies, uncover early warning signals, and prepare more robust responses. In practice, this approach turned abstract trends into actionable insight, helping decision-makers align strategy with plausible futures.