Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

banner

Small businesses play a role in our everyday lives, but their influence and importance extend far beyond their communities.  In this podcast series, "Local to global: The power of small business," from GZERO and Mastercard, we look at how new technologies can support the growth of small businesses and their impact on the global economy.

Local to global: The power of small business | Episode 1: Where middle class growth and small business meet | GZERO Blue Circle x Mastercard podcast

Where middle class growth and small business meet

Small businesses are more than just corner shops and local services. They’re a driving force of economic growth, making up 90% of all businesses globally. As the global middle class rapidly expands, new opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Listen: Small businesses are more than just corner shops and local services. They’re a driving force of economic growth, making up 90% of all businesses globally. As the global middle class rapidly expands, new opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.


In the first episode of “Local to global: The power of small business”, host JJ Ramberg sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and Co-Founder of the World Data Lab. Together, they explore how the spending power of the global middle class is fueling small business growth from Taipei to Toronto and beyond.

The discussion also highlights how digital inclusion, access to finance, and cybersecurity are essential for small business success.

“Local to global: The power of small business” is a new podcast series from GZERO Media's Blue Circle Studios and Mastercard, where we'll look behind the curtain to explore the world of small businesses and why they’re positioned to play an even bigger role in the future of the global economy.

More from Local to Global

Cyber resilience for small enterprises

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

In this episode of Local to global: The power of small business, host JJ Ramberg sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder & President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Brian Cute, Interim CEO and Director of Capacity & Resilience at the Global Cyber Alliance, to explore what Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy reveals about the cybersecurity challenges facing micro, small and medium-sized businesses everywhere.

Keep reading...Show less

As more small businesses move sales, payments, and customer relationships online, they unlock new opportunities, but they also become easier targets for cyber-criminals and other threat actors.... More >

Tap and go: The future of urban mobility

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Listen: As populations grow and communities evolve, transportation authorities and urban infrastructure are seeking ways to modernize.

In this episode of “Local to global: The power of small business,” host JJ Ramberg sits down with Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President of Transit and Urban Mobility at Mastercard, and Mark Langmead, Director of Revenue & Compass Operations at TransLink in Vancouver, to explore how cities are making transit easier, faster, and more seamless for riders–an approach known as frictionless urban mobility.

Keep reading...Show less

In this episode of “Local to global: The power of small business,” host JJ Ramberg sits down with Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President of Transit and Urban Mobility at Mastercard, and Mark Langmead,... More >

How the circular economy empowers small businesses

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Listen: Imagine an economy where products are designed to be reused, repaired, and regenerated instead of ending up as waste. That’s the circular economy, a model that redefines recycling and transforms how small businesses operate.

In this episode of "Local to Global: The power of small business," host JJ Ramberg sits down with Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, and Rachel McShane, Chief Financial Officer at Depop, to discuss the scale of the circular economy, why circular practices boost both sustainability and profitability, and where the industry is headed next.

Keep reading...Show less

Imagine an economy where products are designed to be reused, repaired, and regenerated instead of ending up as waste. That’s the circular economy, a model that redefines recycling and transforms how... More >

GZERO Podcasts

Ian Bremmer and Rahm Emanuel discuss the deepening conflict in the Middle East, US foreign policy under Trump, and the upcoming midterms.... More >

Listen: What does global energy transition look like in a time of major geopolitical change, including rebalancing of trade? In this special episode of "Energized: The Future of Energy,” host JJ... More >

Creating artificial human retinas in zero gravity. Mining rare minerals on the moon. There seems to be no limit to what could be possible if we continue to take our more important industries to... More >

See: “Raphael: Sublime Poetry at the Met.” The first Raphael retrospective ever mounted in the US is running through June 28 at the Met Museum.... More >

In this episode of The Ripple Effect: Investing in Life Sciences, host Dan Riskin speaks with Patrick Horber, President of Novartis International, and David Gluckman, Vice Chairman of Investment... More >