Steven Koltai argues entrepreneurship's cross-cultural benefits in NextBillion piece

Job creation, KolCo Managing Director Steven Koltai says, may not be the most important benefit of entrepreneurship development programs – or at least not the only one critical to alleviating today's troubles of mass migration, terror, and ethnic and national tensions. 

Writing in NextBillion, Steven argues that "Western governments should spend heavily on supporting young entrepreneurs because, as I like to say, entrepreneurs are the same person all over the world."

"Entrepreneurs tend to be like-minded folks who get along and who value productivity over difference," Steven explains. "As such, they are natural peacemakers. They are a 'bridge' class of people, making entrepreneurship a unique link among nations and cultures. The world of entrepreneurship – especially in the cross-border international development sense – is about peaceful collaboration, transnational investment and shared expertise and learning."

Steven's piece is part of NextBillion's special series of entrepreneurship articles. Based at the University of Michigan's William Davidson Institute, NextBillion is a platform devoted to "exploring the connection between development and enterprise."