The English-speaking Rotary Club “Tallinn Global” received the Tallinn City Chapter of the ImpactBuilders Foundation on one of their club meetings. Attendants were from Norway, the UK, Belgium, Estonia, Switzerland, and Lithuania. Our founder Jan Lagast inspired them with a speech about the future of Europe. “It is high time that we become less dependent on the US and on the other continents around the globe”, was his key message.
What if …
“What if the US decided Europeans cannot use Microsoft technology any longer,” starts Jan. “Then the lights go out. Literally.” Of course, the main reaction is why would they ever do that. Well, they already did with the most advanced AI technologies. And, the current vision is not to create the best export situation for US companies. So, why would they not?
“What if China invades Taiwan, and a war starts in the South China Sea. Then the global supply will be hindered substantially. And, that will have a huge effect on Europe,” explains Jan. As long as transport and production are that cheap, indeed, European businesses are tempted to outsource and buy in South-East Asia. Now include a potential increase in transport price, the additional delays, and the risk of no supply into those calculations, and all of sudden the current centralisation logic might not be cheap for long.
Three solutions
According to ImpactBuilders Foundation, there are three solutions for the future of Europe:
- Create, finance, produce, and buy More European tech.
- Re-wire the existing supply chains to the European soil.
- Create, stimulate, a Europe-first capital market.
ImpactBuilders Foundation has taken two initiatives that will assist in this Europe-first movement and strengthen European’s self-reliance:
- ImpactBuilders Studio – a Europe-first venture studio creating the future ventures Europe needs.
- ImpactBuilders Industry – a services firm specialised in connecting and integrating European companies.
And, of course, ImpactBuilders Foundation is organising the First Tuesday of the month business networking events where European business leaders, institutional stakeholders, and purposeful investors meet and inspire each other.