“The concept of the metaverse — a realistic 3D digital world where you can do things like purchase and sell goods and services, sign and enforce contracts, recruit and train talent, and interact with customers and communities — has quickly become a buzzword in technology and business. Its future is still unknown, but forward-thinking organizations are already formulating strategies to manage the complexities and risks it poses. They are taking a test-and-learn approach in order to explore and understand the emerging technology so they can facilitate adoption and implementation when the time is right for their business.”
– Bert Miller, President & CEO, MRINetwork
EMEA
PwC’s EMEA Heatmap provides an overview of the relative attractiveness of 34 different EMEA jurisdictions as locations to foster private businesses and entrepreneurship. The attractiveness rankings are based on scores obtained across 37 metrics within seven different categories, including such factors as the tax and regulatory environment and available skills and talent. It aims to provide guidance to private business leaders, as well as governments and policymakers.
Five of the 34 jurisdictions scored a “leading” ranking, a total score of more than 60 out of 100: Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden; 12 jurisdictions were given an overall “advancing” ranking with an overall score of at least 50; 12 jurisdictions were identified as “developing” with a score of between 40 and 50; and 5 jurisdictions were identified as “emerging” with a score of less than 40 out of 100.
Find out more at EMEA Entrepreneurial & Private Business | PwC, which includes a link to the overview of the methodology and data used.
ASIA PACIFIC
The 2022 First Tianfu Metaverse Conference, hosted by Sichuan Tianfu International Convention and Exhibition Co and organized by the Tianfu Metaverse Industry Association, was held this month in China in the Sichuan Tianfu New Area.
Representatives of domestic and foreign enterprises, associations, and government departments, as well as experts and scholars, were invited to the conference to share their insights into the future development of the metaverse, display technology and products related to the metaverse, and promote the development of the metaverse industry. The conference was held both online and offline and displayed a new vision of the metaverse that is digital, virtual, interactive and immersive.
An online exhibition area displayed the new technologies, new products and new applications of 19 enterprises focusing on the metaverse. During the conference, 12 metaverse research institutes were officially established under the Tianfu Metaverse Industry Association to encourage scientists, entrepreneurs and artists to explore the metaverse ecosystem and promote the implementation of the metaverse in society.
The event was reported on by Asia Pacific Daily and can be accessed at Metaverse event held in Sichuan Tianfu New Area | Asia Pacific Daily.
THE AMERICAS
With high levels of political instability, labour informality and public distrust, doing business in Latin America is challenging, but the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the quest for new models of business that offer greater resilience to external shocks. Among these is the emergence of Sistema B, the Latin American arm of the B Corp movement, a model that started in the United States in 2006 and is based on the premise that companies should be “inclusive, equitable and regenerative.”
Felipe Chajin is head of Sistema B, the B Corp movement’s fast-growing Latin American chapter. He notes that as a first step in the B Corp certification process, companies are required to complete a standardised impact assessment, which shows where their main social, environmental and economic impacts occur and suggests how these might be improved.
Latin America boasts the second largest number of companies after Europe that are members of the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact. The continent also has a well-established network of business-led organisations promoting corporate responsibility.
Like the U.N. Global Compact, Sistema B works with businesses of all sizes, not just large corporations. With small or medium-sized firms generating 60% of productive employment in Latin America, this fills an important gap. To learn more about the B Corp movement, go to From Philanthropy to Radical New Business Models in Latin America | Reuters.