Brain Regain

I am seeing a real change in the way people view the developing world. No longer is Africa the hopeless land or Southeast Asia the backward economy. Instead these are the new lands of opportunity and we are seeing intrepid young entrepreneurs flock to these countries (both diaspora and ex-patriots) with sheer opportunity in their eyes…

In my travels I met an insanely cool pocket of highly educated, extremely sharp, and totally crazy passionate entrepreneurs. They are building locally sourced and designed fashion enterprises: Indigreen / Suno, starting companies that develop new mobile phone platforms to serve the poor, looking beyond profit, taking on their governments with multimillion dollar contracts that will bring solar energy to the masses, and developing financing companies to support private schools around India.

While some are doing it for profit and some for the social good this group is redefining our world. They are leveraging the tools of social media, technology, and development and not only riding the wave but creating the swell. And they have an energy in their bones that is just contagious. It makes you eager to find your niche and jump in…

So I ask the question will the brain drain turn into a brain regain in the next 20 years and what will happen to the talent of the west? Might we lose it to the east? You never know…