The Stars Align for Valloop and the World Economic Forum's Conference Themes
The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual conference continually sets the stage for crucial themes that shape the future. 2024 sees two prominent themes take centre stage: "Creating Growth and Jobs" and "AI Technology as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society."
This is very refreshing and great to see we are aligned with these pivotal WEF themes.
Theme 1: Creating Growth and Jobs
With 600m Small to Medium sized companies (SMEs) worldwide1, 2bn SME employees worldwide1 (representing 60% of all employed2) and 20% of those employees in poverty3, we recognise the importance and potential employee ownership has as a catalyst for both economic growth and job creation.
By going a step further and providing an online platform (Valloop Exchange), we’re helping SME businesses to implement and scale employee ownership quicker than before. Through the Valloop Exchange, SMEs can democratise ownership, allowing employees to have a stake in the success of the very business they work for. This innovative approach will help stimulate economic growth and ensure that the benefits of that growth are distributed more equally among employees – significantly helping to reduce the current wealth divide.
Theme 2: Technology as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society
We live in a digital first world, and this should be no different for the employee ownership process. We have valuable learnings from over 100 transitions and have plugged this into our own platform. By leveraging innovative technology like AI, data analytics, and user-friendly interfaces, we’re helping drive this digital change and making a once complex process simple and accessible to more SMEs than ever before.
Our platform not only drives efficiency but also helps retain company legacy within local communities driving a positive social and economic outlook. It also gives us real-time insights and more valuable data to constantly improve, encouraging a culture of collaboration with organisations and governments worldwide.
In this way we are right being the technology as a driving force theme, showcasing how digital innovation can be channelled for societal and economic benefit.
Strategic Impacts
Valloop Exchange will go beyond mere functionality; it represents a strategic approach to addressing the challenges outlined by the WEF. By helping to facilitate a more equal ownership model, we can contribute to the creation of meaningful jobs and a business environment where success is shared more equally.
Stephen Greenwood, CEO at Valloop said "We would love to see employee ownership grow so big every SME wants to do it and why not? We’re helping to make it simple and more accessible, so there’s less holding them back – unless it’s a little bit of apprehension and uncertainty but we can support them there too.
Let’s work together and aim to hit 1m employee owners, in the UK, by 2030. Sounds like a big challenge? It is, but we’re ready to take it on – with a little help of course".
1. International Finance Corporation
2. https://globalnaps.org/issue/small-medium-enterprises-smes/
3. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/going-without-deepening-poverty-uk