Reaching the Rising Global Middle Class

As consumers adopt a predominantly digital lifestyle, how can innovations in technology power the global economy and support the needs of the rising global middle class? 

Digitalization has provided round-the-clock access to businesses with e-commerce platforms. With a smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can instantly make purchases and payments and access a myriad of financial services. 

While the global middle class shrank last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dominance of this consumer is continuing to shape the e-commerce landscape for both small and large businesses around the globe. Over the next decade, more than half of the growth in global consumption is expected to come from the middle class and by 2030 close to two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to join the ranks of the middle class. 

As consumers adopt a predominantly digital lifestyle, how can innovations in technology power the global economy and support the needs of the rising global middle class? 

Ahead of the event, The Hill convened a roundtable discussion on the digitally savvy global middle class and the role leaders in the public and private sectors can play in meeting the needs of this economically powerful group.

Thursday, August 12, 2021
1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT

Speakers:

• Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President & Head of International Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council 
• Cheng Li, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; author, Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement

Moderator: 

• Steve Clemons, Editor-at-Large, The Hill