Opporty Ecosystem: Offering Global Opportunities for Economic Growth and Development

As recent technological innovations become entrenched in our daily lives, opportunities abound for individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to work together to create a more equitable and sustainable world for all of earth’s inhabitants. Forward-thinking individuals who are willing to cast aside old ways of living, learning and working now possess the tools to reimagine a world without poverty, hunger, corruption or oppression.

The Role of SMEs in Economic Development

One important aspect of achieving social and economic well being on a global scale is the creation, expansion and growth of small and medium business enterprises (SMEs). According to a 2013 report by the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector provides nine out of 10 jobs in developing countries. In the United States, SMEs make up 99.7 percent of US employers, providing 49.2 percent of private-sector employment. According to the International Labor Conference (ILC) SMEs account for two-thirds of all jobs worldwide.

In addition to providing necessary and meaningful employment to a large sector of the world’s population, SMEs make a significant contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for 55% of GDP in high-income countries, and 70% in low-income countries. SMEs tend to be more elastic and resilient than large corporations, and operate more efficiently. They are quicker to adopt new technology and to adapt to changing market demands.

In developing countries, the IFC estimates that eight to 10 million SMEs are owned by women, representing roughly a third of all formal SMEs. The IFC also notes that small SMEs with between five and 99 employees are responsible for more than 50 per cent of total net employment creation. (Net job creation is calculated as the difference between jobs created by new or existing companies and jobs destroyed through downsizing and business closures.)

There exists a direct link between business creation, employment opportunities, and individual welfare. According to the IFC Jobs Report, the majority of the world’s 200 million unemployed are women and young people living in developing countries. Without the means to care for themselves and their families, they and their children are destined to live in conditions of poverty and social unrest, making them easy targets for corruption and exploitation.

While governments can play a role through legislation, investment in infrastructure and providing public services like health, education, transportation and water, business growth is largely dependent on the “informal behaviour, customs and norms that determine business conduct and shape how markets work — and where governments can only have an indirect impact,” according to a report by Act Alliance EU.

Future goals to end extreme global poverty and promote shared prosperity will largely depend on private sector growth, especially the growth of SMEs. Yet even in the most affluent nations, SMEs face many challenges. Lack of trust between counter-parties, inability to establish brand awareness in the shadow of large corporations, and disadvantageous market conditions that favor large enterprises are just some of the obstacles faced by SMEs.

In developing nations, the obstacles for SMEs are even greater. A recent survey of 200 SME officers and managers from five local Nigerian governments found that the most common constraints faced by small and medium businesses are lack of financial support, poor management, corruption, lack of training and experience, insufficient infrastructure, low profits, and low demand for products and services.

Corruption within the legal system of developing countries often poses insurmountable obstacles to SMEs. Even in developed countries, the legal system is slow, costly and inefficient. In many cases, it is more cost-efficient to forgive a dispute than to seek restitution in civil court proceedings.

How the Opporty Ecosystem Facilitates SME Success

Small business startups and young and female entrepreneurs hold the keys to realizing a more equitable and sustainable global marketplace, bringing to the table fresh and innovative ideas, and a worldview untainted by Old World ideologies and methodologies.

Technological breakthroughs in just the past few years have already begun to revolutionize the way business deals and financial transactions are executed. Now more than ever, given access to cutting edge technologies, education and protective mechanisms, SMEs can thrive and compete in a rapidly changing global market environment.

Opporty Ecosystem is an innovative blockchain-powered environment that seeks to equip entrepreneurs and SMEs with tools for success and growth. A small startup with grand-scale aspirations, Opporty is already making inroads on the global business scene with its three-tiered business relationships ecosystem that encompasses Proof-of-Expertise (PoE) protocol, a business scoring system, and an SME-oriented B2B marketplace platform.

Advantages for users of the Opporty Ecosystem include:

• PoE-enabled verification and validation of business expertise and reputation based on transaction metadata. PoE enables new and unknown businesses to build a reputation of trustworthiness and reliability from the very beginning.
• Niche-specific standardization of products and services. By establishing best practices and standardizing systems, Opporty eliminates the trade-off between quantity and quality that is often inherent in small enterprises, fostering the creation of quality goods and services, and creating meaningful employment.
• Transaction privacy enabled by Proof-of-Expertise (PoE) protocol. Issues of identity theft and lack of transaction privacy do not exist within the Opporty Ecosystem, thanks to Opporty’s immutable blockchain.
• Customer protection through smart contracts and decentralized escrow. Decentralized Escrow is a proposed framework of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution for SMEs. Quality goods and services are virtually guaranteed, and both buyers and sellers are protected from fraud and abuse. When disputes do arise, they are quickly and equitably settled by decentralized escrow judges.
• An escrow voting board that operates on digital democracy principles. Party-neutral escrow judges eliminate the need for civil court intervention in disputes between buyer and seller, saving time and money, and mitigating corrupt legal activities.
• Blockchain technology that enables smart contracts, offering a financially viable alternative to arbitration in civil courts. Smart contracts spell out the immutable terms of an agreement without the possibility of misinterpretation. Releasing this technology to the public for open sourced usage, Opporty offers its community access to successfully tested solutions for independent transactions, and for building third party B2B applications.
• A knowledge-sharing platform incentivized by token rewards to help community members grow and develop. Lack of training and experience can be overcome by participating and building relationships in Opporty’s knowledge sharing system. By incentivizing industry leaders to contribute meaningful content that fosters community growth and development, Opporty grants access to knowledge from developed countries to entrepreneurs from less affluent developing regions.
• Access to global markets without the need for intermediaries and middlemen. Community members can execute quick, safe, inexpensive cross-border payments using cryptocurrency. They can offer services and products, and secure contracts from buyers in the international arena.
• Exposure to targeted audiences through content, Q&A, and advertising, helping SMEs find customers and increase demand for goods and services. Users can share their knowledge to educate the community and build an expert reputation in their niche. Opporty Ecosystem is devoted to helping businesses establish a brand following that will grow organically.

Opporty’s vision is to revolutionize the way businesses and service providers conduct business, offering unprecedented opportunities to entrepreneurs and SMEs on a global scale. Membership at the Opporty Ecosystem is free of charge and its advantages are available to everyone, making it easy for business owners on a tight budget to launch and nurture their concepts.

Empowered by blockchain technology, Opporty Ecosystem gives new businesses a leg up over established competitors. At Opporty, we envision a world where transactions are validated on the blockchain, and trust and protection is established utilizing the advantages of released open source technology, available to community members at no additional charge. Providers are assigned a business score based on transaction metadata, providing a means for new and unknown companies to establish reputations as trustworthy providers of goods and/or services. Scores provide consumer protection and instill confidence in customers placing orders with new providers.

Through Opporty, businesses are able to:

• Gain access to global markets
• Conduct safer, faster and cheaper transactions
• Enjoy safer, more private conditions for domestic and cross border transactions
• Efficiently resolve disputes
• Collaborate within a clear and transparent framework
• More easily find potential customers
• Gain access to direct leads
• Directly access government and enterprise procurement
• Have unlimited access to Oppory’s knowledge sharing database
• Develop professionally and forge global business relationships

As an online platform, Opporty is accessible to any business, contractor or customer who has Internet access. Already established in the US, UK and Canada, Opporty is on track to offer its services to the Chinese market in 2018. Long-term plans to reach developing markets are well underway.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, outlining 17 Sustainable Development Goals to improve the lives of people around the world, in ways that safeguard the environment. In particular, Goal 8 (“Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”) and Goal 9 (“Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”) call on the private sector to lead the charge against income inequality, extreme poverty, social instability and environmental endangerment.

Despite obstacles faced by small business owners and startups trying to compete on an uneven playing field, SMEs offer hope and opportunity for those willing to invest their time, energy and talents. Geopolitical boundaries are becoming less relevant, as technological advances facilitate cross-border interactions. Business transactions can now be quickly and easily executed without the need for travel, permits or documentation, opening doors of opportunity to individuals living in previously isolated areas.

Why Opporty Makes an Ideal Partner for the UN 2030 Agenda

Opporty is a business ecosystem geared to enabling SMEs to gain a competitive toehold in a global economy that has for too long been dominated by behemoth corporations. The platform addresses issues most commonly faced by SMEs, and nurtures the growth and professional development of small business owners and their employees.

In particular, Opporty offers at least partial solutions to several of the subgoals outlined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda:

Goal 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries.

• Opporty helps businesses to work in more efficient ways. Economies with higher percentages of SMBs grow faster, and provide meaningful employment that eradicates poverty. With its inbred knowledge-sharing community, access to advanced technologies and protective mechanisms, Opporty dramatically reduces the cost of starting and conducting business.

Goal 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors.

• Opporty gives companies free access to technological tools that improve efficiency and save money. Tools for production tracking, food safety and supply chain visibility make it possible to track a product from production to delivery. The platform facilitates secure payments, dispute settlements and the smooth and efficient transfer of assets.

Goal 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.

• Opporty creates a safer and more efficient market environment for small businesses, and provides safe and protected conditions for large companies to work with smaller newly established companies. Opporty’s network of supportive communities provides encouragement, builds confidence and encourages creative innovation.

Goal 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.

• Opporty Ecosystem’s knowledge-sharing platform provides education and support to the community, giving employers access to information and resources to enrich their knowledge, attract skilled labor and grow their business. Knowledge shared from more experienced business owners can help new businesses avoid common mistakes and pitfalls that lead to failure. Opporty’s community-oriented ecosystem provides the ideal environment for physically disabled entrepreneurs to network, secure contracts and establish their brand. Opporty shares and promotes best practices for employing disabled people among its entrepreneurs and business owners.

Goal 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.

• By providing access to global markets, fostering community relationships, and providing technological tools that facilitate cross-border transactions, Opporty opens doors that enable small businesses to vie for lucrative contracts with larger entities. At the same time, interactions with businesses in developed countries combined with access to Opporty’s knowledge sharing platform exposes business owners in developing nations to invaluable information about business management, finances, credit and other knowledge vital to professional growth.

Goal 9.8: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.

• Opporty’s knowledge sharing platform promotes professional development and networking opportunities for all community members. Using open source code licenses, most of the technologies developed by Opporty are free of charge and easy to use. By providing informational support and rewards for community development, Opporty strives to create a decentralized self-regulated business oriented community that connects entrepreneurs and technical professionals in developed and developing countries.

Opporty’s ultimate goal is to create a business toolset and a decentralized self-regulated community that enables companies and providers to conduct business based on established standards in a trustworthy environment, and allows for the development and implementation of PoE-empowered platforms onto third-party applications. We strive to make Opporty a global business marketplace and an expertise validation provider on the blockchain, with a solution that establishes and grows trusted business relationships globally.

As a 2030 Agenda partner, Opporty Ecosystem offers SMEs in developing and developed countries a seat at the global marketplace table, where access to technology, targeted audiences and professional development are freely accessible. Opporty aspires to empower SMEs to succeed and grow in an environment free of fraud, corruption and abuse. With protective mechanisms that provide privacy and security, standardization of systems, best practices, and incentives to actively contribute to the community, Opporty offers a fertile landscape to grow and nurture fledgling SMEs, making the world a better and more sustainable place to live, work and learn.

References

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