Tuesday 06 October Youth Forum 14:30 – 18:00 YF4 Interactive Session Room C The Global Financial Crisis: New Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries The role of ICTs in fostering economic development, wealth creation, poverty reduction and job creation has been taken as an undisputed fact. Will the global economic crisis lead to a slow-down in ICT-enabled jobs and wealth or are there new opportunities waiting to be seized? How do recent graduates from secondary school and universities envision their futures in light of the current harsh economic reality? What role will ICTs play in economic growth and opportunity for young people in developing countries? Has consumer demand slowed in developing countries or are there still paying customers lining up to become one of the next billion members of the Information Society? Do developing countries, with lower-cost labor, offer a solution to cash-starved companies in the developed world? Could this be a boon to online back-office processing and other Internet-enabled jobs? How are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) using ICTs in developing countries to build their businesses? How are micro-credit financed businesses such as village phone operators and mobile-banking faring in the face of the economic crisis? How will these businesses, based on basic mobile phones, evolve with the advent of mobile broadband networks in developing countries? This session will examine the financial and business dynamics of building an ICT-enabled business in developing countries in light of global economic conditions. It will explore barriers faced by businesses, in particular youth entrepreneurs in developing countries, and highlight how ICTs could be deployed as a solution. How can young talented entrepreneurs ride the wave of global economic uncertainty and find ICT-enabled opportunities? What if you’re sitting on the next Google or Skype business idea or an ICT application that can lead to poverty reduction in the developing world? What steps can you take to bring your ideas from brainstorm to the boardroom? 105