The 2024 World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum adopted a declaration calling on the international community “to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation in pursuit of the [SDGs], with a strong emphasis on including women, youth, persons with disabilities and productive families in these efforts.”
The 2024 World Entrepreneurship Investment Forum convened in Manama, Bahrein, from 14-16 May. It was held on the theme, ‘Achieving the SDGs Through Fostering Innovation and Economic Growth.’
According to a UN news story, the Manama Declaration acknowledges the role of innovation in driving the development of technologies and products that can help address socioeconomic and environmental challenges. It calls on the international community “to promote and leverage promising new sectors, [including the ‘orange’ (creative) economy,] embrace digital transformation, including artificial intelligence [(AI)], and instill smart farming practices that would create jobs and attain economic development.”
The Declaration calls on governments, the private sector, academia, civil society, the media, and international organizations, as well as ecosystem operators, “to cooperate in facilitating the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovative enterprises towards achieving the [SDGs] and the outlook towards… 2050.” It calls on all stakeholders “to work together to promote entrepreneurship and innovation towards achievement of the SDGs.”
The Manama Declaration will be presented to the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The Forum’s discussions were driven by a multifaceted approach to fostering innovation and economic growth that includes: promoting entrepreneurship as the driver of innovation; encouraging partnerships, collaboration, and knowledge sharing; investing in research and development (R&D); and creating a “Culture of Innovation.”
Looking to the Summit of the Future (SoF), UN Secretary-General António Guterres encouraged delegates to “find ways to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to make our world a better place for all people and the planet we share.”
The Forum’s sessions focused on:
- Building sustainable partnerships and creating a brighter future for Arab and African entrepreneurs;
- Entrepreneurship- and innovation-conducive ecosystems;
- Smart sustainable financial inclusion;
- Enriching lives and empowering dreams through a collaborative journey towards economic independence and inclusive living; and
- Harnessing the power of nature for a sustainable future for the green and blue economy.
Disruption and innovation, trade and innovation, educational institutions’ role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, and harnessing agricultural technology for food security were also among the topics discussed.
The Arab African Entrepreneurs Investment Summit and a side event on promoting economic independence and inclusive living for people with disabilities and productive families also convened, and the International Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ICEI) was formally launched.
The World Entrepreneurship Investment Forum is facilitated by the General Secretariat at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Bahrain, in partnership with the League of Arab States, Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Union of Arab Chambers, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce, and several local, regional, and international partners. [UN News Story of 14 May] [UN News Story of 15 May] [UN News Story of 16 May]