The World Ahead

2021 Trends and Beyond

 Andrea Maria Cosentino

Andrea Maria Cosentino Copyright 2021 2

What’s Hot
Looking Ahead

3
From 28 Days Later to 24 hours later…

“… The world changed in March 2020. Almost overnight,

the COVID-19 pandemic strained health care systems
to the breaking point, put much of the global economy
on an indefinite hiatus and radically reshaped societal
norms and interactions. For businesses everywhere,
these events are undermining established assumptions
while catalyzing new models and approaches..”
-EY

4
Welcome to The New World (Order?)

“… The next normal is going to be different. It will not

mean going back to the conditions that prevailed in 2019.
Indeed, just as the terms “prewar” and “postwar” are
commonly used to describe the 20th century, generations
to come will likely discuss the pre-COVID-19 and post-
COVID-19 eras.”
-McKinsey

5
Food for Thought
• The return of confidence unleashes a consumer rebound

• Leisure travel bounces back but business travel lags

• The crisis sparks a wave of innovation and launches a generation of entrepreneurs

• Digitally enabled productivity gains accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution

6
How businesses are adjusting
• The return of confidence unleashes a consumer rebound.

• Pandemic-induced changes in shopping behaviour forever alter consumers.

• Supply chains rebalance and shift.

• The future of work arrives ahead of schedule.

Green, with a touch of brown, is the colour of recovery

• All over the world, the costs of pollution, the benefits of environmental sustainability, are increasingly recognized.

• Businesses need to respond to the sustainability concerns of investors.

• Green growth opportunities abound across massive sectors such as energy, mobility, and agriculture.

7
8
9
Primary Forces
Technology: Human Augmentation & 5G provide the speed, data volume
and low latency to become the connective backbone of human augmentation.
Edge Computing will move computing back to your phone from the clouds;
Precision Sensors & Quantum Computing will take us to the next level.

Beyond Globalization: Scaling the world back as global

trade is expected to shrink, non-tariff barriers are appearing
and Nationalism and Populism are here to stay.

Gen Z (1995 to 2015), the largest generational cohort In history. Gen Z was born entirely in the internet
age and finds commonality in digital. For the generation coming up behind Gen Z, the post-pandemic new
normal will just be “normal.” This generation will likely bring very different assumptions and expectations
related to society, technology and ethics, and the role of private companies in providing public goods.

Environment and Climate Challenges: Climate-driven changes to

the earth are happening faster than we thought. Climate disruption
exacerbates existing resource and social challenges.

10
Megatrends
• Decarbonization: New carbon removal solutions are emerging for decarbonizing
business models, driving long term value and demonstrating climate leadership.

• Techonomic Cold War: Populism and trade disputes, company blacklists and a
technology arms race, cyber attacks and information warfare. The future of war is
permanent, invisible — and fraught with risks for multinational companies.

• Behavioural Economy: If data is the new oil, behaviour is the new data.
Armed with sophisticated capabilities, companies and governments can shape
behaviour like never before. How will you succeed amid shrinking trust?

• Synthetic Media: Synthetic media is emerging as a new cyber risk for

businesses. Ensuring authenticity will be critical to maintain trust with
stakeholders, safeguard brand reputation and drive business performance.
11
Megatrends
• Future of Thinking: Phone addictions and filter bubbles are so 2019. How will AI, deep
fake videos and autonomous vehicles change mental faculties and transform workers
and consumers? Addiction, Polarization, Critical Thinking and Other Cognitive Abilities.

• Unbounded Work and Life: Imagine a world without weekends, colleges

replaced by lifelong learning, and 30-year-old retirees and 70-year-old workers.
Are you ready for the unbounded future of work, leisure and learning?

• Microbiomes: Harnessing the capabilities of microorganisms will help solve our

biggest challenges and create innovation opportunities across industries. Last year
US$621 million was invested in startups pursuing microbiome solutions related to
climate and agriculture.

• Synthetic Biology: Our ability to read and rewrite the code of

life is transforming the way we treat illness, make things and
feed ourselves.
12
Top Industries of the future

13
Back to the future
• Africa’s New Century ?
With supercharged growth and interactive mobility, Africa is forging its own path to economic
development. Is the continent finally reaching the tipping point?

• New Econo-Metrics ?
Is GDP aligned with a digital economy? Is the unemployment rate relevant in the
future of work? Does shareholder value reflect what society values? As capitalism
changes, so must our metrics.

• Mending Social Fabric

Endemic loneliness, financial fragility, political polarization, rapid shifts in
migration, family structure and digital media are creating new risks.
Mending our social fabric requires investment.

14
The Next Digital Wave
COVID19-Powered

15
An Engineered New Reality

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 25
Industry 4.0
The New-New-New-New Industrial Revolution

26
What is Industry 4.0 ?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0) is the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial
practices, using modern smart technology. Large-scale machine-to-machine communication (M2M) and the internet of
things (IoT) are integrated for increased automation, improved communication and self-monitoring, and production of
smart machines that can analyse and diagnose issues without the need for human intervention.

27
What is Industry 4.0 ?

28
4 Trends for the 4th Industrial Revolution

29
Case Study: IOTA
IOTA’s Tangle is an open, feeless and scalable distributed ledger, designed to support frictionless data and value transfer.

30
News Headlines in 2025

31
Questions ?
Q&A Session

32