It was like any other day for me as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. A passionate and brilliant entrepreneur pitches his company. He’s young and idealistic, but I have to admit, he has a solid grasp of the global marketplace and has built an innovative product. The only difference is, we’re not in Silicon Valley. We’re in North Africa.
I recently returned from the Maghreb region as part of a delegation focused on entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. We worked with entrepreneurs, students, business leaders and senior government officials in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity, part of the global alliance Partners for a New Beginning, and led by the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program.
In June 2009, President Barack Obama laid out a bold vision for a new beginning between the U.S. and local communities in emerging markets. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has designed an innovative diplomatic framework of engaging countries around shared values and shared economic growth as the key to enduring prosperity. These State Department programs are an on-the-ground embodiment of this New Beginning policy. It is the unseen story of U.S. relations with North Africa and the broader Middle East.
For the past couple years, while the world focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it overlooked this work. But as the wars wind down, and the revolutions of the Arab Spring give millions of people the right to control their destiny, this economic engagement is emerging as the prescient and powerful hope for a “Spring” in U.S.—Middle East relations.
The U.S. cannot pump huge amounts of aid into other economies. What we can offer, however, and what is perhaps more effective, are the insights of our own experience with entrepreneurial growth as an economic engine. Even when we disagree on other matters, people abroad admire America’s leadership in entrepreneurship and innovation. And the great thing is, our culture and capacity for entrepreneurship only thrive further when we share them.
This engagement is in the tangible interest of the U.S. Economic growth abroad means bigger markets for our companies and thus more jobs here. Well-being abroad also means greater stability and security in the world. Economic progress is especially crucial at this early stage to protect recent democratic gains. But it also speaks to ideals that make us Americans, such as ensuring economic opportunity for all as a critical light against the darkness of violence, exploitation and oppression.
Earlier this year, the small country of Tunisia surprised the world. Ordinary people, burdened by decades of frustrated dreams but endowed with courage and hope, revolutionized Tunisia. The shock waves of change spread throughout the Middle East and inspired the world. With freedom in hand, people are turning to the economic opportunities so long denied them. This is the next great challenge of the Arab Spring.
The wise economic engagement work of Obama and Clinton is coming to the fore. America shares a common story with the recent democratic revolutions. And I believe that countries like ours, brave enough to fight for our freedom and rights, will not stop until economic opportunity exists for everyone. The road will be long and hard. But for the Arab Spring’s impact on the world, politics was just the beginning.
Craig Hanson is a general partner with Next World Capital, an international venture capital firm, and a Truman Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. Recently, he was an entrepreneur competition judge at the second Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Turkey. He wrote this for this newspaper.
Craig Hanson is a general partner with Next World Capital and a Truman Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. Recently, he was an entrepreneur competition judge at the second Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Turkey. He wrote this for this newspaper.