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Save a seat for the unsung heroes at Davos

The world’s most influential business and economic figures are meeting to discuss growth, jobs and prosperity this week – and we want the job creators to have a place at the table. 66% of all new jobs are created by you – Small & Medium Business owners – and you have no voice at Davos. So we want you to tell us what would unlock the potential of your business, the issues you’d put on the agenda at an ‘alternative Davos’ or #AltDavos and we’ll act as your voice.

From Wednesday, world leaders will convene in Davos to discuss the major economic issues of the day at the World Economic Forum. Speakers and thinkers from George Osborne to Bill Gates will address the Fourth Industrial Revolution and global security issues, as part of the high level economic gathering – but there’s one important voice missing at this exclusive table: the world’s entrepreneurs and risk-takers.

Once again, small and medium businesses are woefully under-represented at Davos. This means that the issues you face simply won't get aired in the way they should. But even more than that, Davos’ small business 'blind spot' proves a very real risk for the global economy.

In the Davos2016 launch video, the WEF asks its central question: ‘How do we avoid a world of joblessness, low productivity and inequality?’ Sage knows that small businesses are the key to solving these problems: you are creating a colossal two thirds of the jobs in developed economies. In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama noted 14m jobs had been created during his presidency, and as ever two thirds of them were created by small and medium businesses. The President himself said: 'In this new economy, workers and startups and small businesses need more of a voice, not less."

Some people are critical of Davos, and say it is just a networking opportunity for the rich and powerful. Which Entrepreneur on the way up could afford the $75k and the 4 days out of the office to attend this exclusive event? Small businesses don’t have the time, resources or funds to attend, even if they made it onto the exclusive invite list – but I wonder if we might see more concrete actions emerge from the summit if they did. We all know that entrepreneurs are 'doers’ by nature, making huge personal sacrifice to pursue their dream with 70% of Business Owners using their life savings to fund their business dreams.

World leaders MUST pay more attention to the ‘hand that feeds the economy’. We believe that unlocking your potential could deliver significant growth to the global economy. This week, we’re asking entrepreneurs to tell us what issues you want on the agenda at the WEF and we’ll highlight your top concerns to the Government representatives attending so they know what’s on the mind on as they board their private jets to Davos.

So, what would make a real impact on your small business? Whether it’s the constant problem of regulation and red tape, pre-internet land based taxes, or something completely different, we want to make policy-makers across the world wake up to your issues.

www.sage.com

 

 

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