As the World is being faced by major new challenges brough about by the COVID 19 pandemic and its unprecedented ripple effects on the World Economy coupled with the need to act fast on addressing the SDGs; all within the backdrop of the swift digital transformations. All these pressures are creating more imbalances within the World and are deepening the economic and technological gap. Hence, it is unsurprising that entrepreneurs, start-ups and MSMEs are some of the most heavily impacted.
Although COVID 19 has presented major negative challenges, it has also played a positive role in inducing an accelerated technological transformation; and it is crucial to support MSMEs and entrepreneurs through facilitating their integration in the 4th industrial revolution. Many entrepreneurs where able to swiftly move into virtual platforms to ensure their business continuity and many are struggling to make ends meet.
Putting that into perspective, it is vital that decision makers and stakeholders ensure that the ecosystems in their countries swiftly adapt and embrace this transformation; in order to maintain sustainability and develop new tools that would enhance, boost and facilitate conducive ecosystems for unleashing entrepreneurship, investment both domestic and foreign, innovation and digitalization especially in the Arab Region and Africa; thus, leading to a more inclusive and sustainable future.