ESG and Of Interest News
Mapped: AI Adoption Rates by Country
January 22, 2026--Key Takeaways
The UAE has an AI adoption rate of 64.0%, the highest globally in 2025.
Even though the U.S. is a global leader in AI infrastructure and frontier model development, it ranks 24th in AI adoption based on analysis from Microsoft.
In the second half of 2025, 16.1% of the global working-age population used AI, indicating substantial room for further adoption.
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Source: visualcapitalist.com
'Frontier Market' Economies Haven't Lived Up to Potential Since 2010
January 20, 2026--Investment growth has halved, more than in other low- and middle-income economies
"Frontier market" economies-a cluster of mostly middle-income economies regarded as the proving ground for the next generation of economic superstars-have largely failed to live up to their potential in recent decades, a new World Bank study has found.
On average, investment growth per person in the 2020s so far has been less than half the rate in the 2010s. Yet the experience of the top performers among frontier markets reveals lessons for the 56 economies currently in the cluster.
For global investors looking for opportunities beyond high-income economies, frontier markets constitute the middle of the range: they are generally less tightly integrated into global financial markets than emerging markets but more so than other developing economies that belong to neither the "emerging" nor the "frontier" classes.
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Source: worldbank.org
Women's Health Investment Outlook: 6% of Funding for Nearly 50% of the Population-Not Just a Gap, but Untapped White Space
January 20, 2026-Women's health represents a large and undercapitalized opportunity in global healthcare. Despite women and girls making up nearly half the world's population, women's health has captured just 6% of private healthcare investment. The fundamentals are strong, but funding remains limited and narrowly focused, historically confined to reproductive and maternal health.
More than 25 organizations from the investment community, industry, philanthropies and beyond provided insights for this comprehensive insight report, Women’s Health Investment Outlook. Developed in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, it addresses critical gaps in understanding investment flows in women's health, market opportunity and unmet need. To quantify private investment flows in women’s healthcare over the past five years, the report introduces the Women's Health Investment Index.
Major areas of unmet need and opportunity across high-burden, high-prevalence conditions that affect women uniquely, differently and disproportionately-such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, menopause and Alzheimer’s disease -have been overlooked. A recent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that effectively addressing these four therapeutic areas for women in the US could unlock a $100 billion-plus market opportunity by 2030.
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Source: World Economic Forum (WTO)
Investing in Blue Foods: Innovation and Partnerships for Impact
January 19, 2026--The future of global food systems hinges on their ability to harness the full spectrum of natural and human potential. Thisa href="https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Blue_Foods_2026.pdf" TARGET="_blank">report focuses on one of the most promising food systems opportunities: the development of the blue foods sector, which has the capacity to drive economic growth, improve nutrition and strengthen climate resilience.
Across Africa, blue foods already supply about 18% of total animal protein, often at a lower cost than meat or poultry. If blue foods production were doubled, the continent could unlock an additional $17 billion in GDP, reduce its protein gap by 25% compared to the global average, and generate millions of sustainable livelihoods.
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Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
Global Value Chains Outlook 2026: Orchestrating Corporate and National Agility
January 19, 2026-Global supply chains face a new operating reality- one defined by persistent volatility and disruptions embedded in the global economy. Leaders face a defining challenge: how can supply chains be designed to remain resilient, competitive and investable when uncertainty is not temporary, but structural?
Drawing on a multi-year collaboration between the World Economic Forum and Kearney, and informed by more than 100 expert consultations and insights from over 300 global executives, this report provides a practical, action-oriented playbook for corporate and public-sector leaders to navigate this shift.
For industry, it outlines how to redesign supply chains around orchestration, distributed scale and optionality to build structural agility and unlock growth under volatility.
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Source: World Economic Forum (WTO)
G20 Growth Outlook: 2026
January 14, 2026-The Group of 20 (G-20) constitutes around 85 per cent of the world output-bringing together the world's largest advanced and emerging economies. Any shift(s) in the growth rates across these economies offer us a glimpse into the broader trajectory of the world economy - which is set for uneven growth in 2026.
There is an important development-the growth momentum is increasingly concentrated across the emerging markets/economies with advanced/developed economies set to grow at slower rates.
With inflation pressures easing and monetary policy easing across the world, growth prospects across these major economies remain stark.
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Source: voronoiapp.com
Global Cooperation is Showing Resilience in the Face of Geopolitical Headwinds
January 9, 2026-The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 reveals strong pressures on multilateral institutions are causing global cooperation to evolve rather than retreat.
While multilateral forms of cooperation declined, smaller and more agile coalitions of countries -and, at times, companies - were instrumental in maintaining overall cooperation levels.
Climate and technology saw strong increases in cooperation even in the face of headwinds, health and trade stayed broadly flat and there was a sharp drop of cooperation in peace and security.
Global cooperation is proving resilient even as multilateralism continues to face strong headwinds, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Cooperation Barometer 2026. However, cooperation is below where it needs to be to address critical economic, security and environmental challenges. Within a more complex and uncertain geopolitical context, open and constructive dialogue is a critical factor in identifying potential collaborative pathways that advance shared interests.
In its third year, the Global Cooperation Barometer 2026, developed in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, uses 41 metrics to assess the level of cooperation worldwide across five pillars: trade and capital; innovation and technology; climate and natural capital; health and wellness; and peace and security.
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Source: World Economic Forum
A Tumultuous Year Tests Optimism Among American Retirement Savers
December 18, 2025-Surveying more than 3,000 Americans, PensionBee Happy Retirement Report finds retirement sentiment drops over 10% in 2025
Retirement optimism dropped by over 10% in 2025, according to new consumer sentiment data by PensionBee. Positive retirement sentiment peaked in March at 55% before dropping to just 44% by year's end.
2025 brought volatile markets, unprecedented tariffs, and the longest government shutdown in history.
PensionBee's 2025 Happy Retirement Report captures the impact of the year's events on 3,000 American retirement savers, with special focus paid to the actions and attitudes that underpin retirement sentiment.
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Source: PensionBee US
Mapping the global quantum ecosystem
December 17, 2025--A comprehensive analysis based on innovation, firm, investment, skills, trade and policy data
Abstract
Quantum technologies are moving from the lab to real-world impact, promising advances in computing, secure communications, and ultra-precise measurement. But who is driving this progress,and how is the global landscape evolving?
This joint EPO-OECD report offers an in-depth mapping of the worldwide quantum ecosystem,revealing where innovation is happening, how investment is growing, and what skills are most needed.
The report draws on unique data from patents, startups, investment flows, and workforce trends to show a fast-growing but uneven field. While the United States leads in innovation and funding, Europe, Asia, and other regions are building strong foundations. Both nimble startups and established companies play vital roles, and public support and international collaboration are key to future progress.
view OECD Mapping the global quantum ecosystem report
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Source: OECD
Quantum sector enters new phase after a decade of rapid growth, according to new OECD and EPO study
December 17, 2025--The quantum technology landscape has expanded rapidly over the past decade, with rising firm entry, increasing investment and strong growth in innovation across quantum communication, computing and sensing.
After this period of exceptional growth, the sector may now be entering a new phase where early rapid expansion gives way to more focused development and maturing technologies, according to a new study published today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Patent Office (EPO)
Quantum technologies harness the unique behaviour of particles at atomic scales to sense, process and transmit information, with applications across health care, finance and industry, and potential to help address global challenges, from boosting productivity to tackling climate change to strengthening food security.
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Source: OECD
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