Partnerships for the Goals

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

• [New] The Franco-German partnership is the first attempt to offer a European alternative to Amazon, Microsoft and Google in cloud computing, a business expected to grow by 6.3% in 2020 to $257.9 billion.
• [New] In partnership with Megaport, a Network as a Service provider, Leaseweb Cloud Connect will initially provide connectivity to AWS, with plans in place to add additional hyperscalers throughout 2020.
• Rolls-Royce previously demonstrated a fully autonomous passenger ferry in Finland and announced a partnership with Intel as part of a grand plan to bring self-guided cargo ships to the world's seas by 2025.
• In 2021, AI augmentation - a human-centered partnership model where people and AI work together to enhance cognitive performance, including learning, decision making, and new experiences-will create $2.9 trillion of business value and 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity globally.
• The benefits of partnerships between InsurTechs, banks, and insurers will become increasingly evident in the coming years, as the potential for InsurTechs in improving the bancassurance segment becomes clear.
• Germany will continue to push to seal a new partnership agreement with Britain by the end of the year, but the European Union should also prepare for an abrupt split from 2021.
• The divide between the US and China will grow in 2020, forcing adversaries and allies alike to choose their partnerships and alliances carefully.
• Rolls-Royce previously demonstrated a fully autonomous passenger ferry in Finland and announced a partnership with Intel as part of a plan to bring self-guided cargo ships to seas by 2025.
• The new Partnership Agreement between the EU and Africa, expected to be concluded in the second half of 2020, proposes a comprehensive framework for a future partnership to achieve common goals and to tackle global challenges, including the green transition.
• India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 has been endorsed between India and EU as a common roadmap to guide joint action and further strengthen the Strategic Partnership over the next five years.
• Google will deploy its $10 billion capital pool over the next five to seven years in the form of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.
• India plans to enhance trade with Bangladesh India is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to enhance trade and business partnership with Bangladesh amid Beijing's recent efforts to woo Dhaka with duty-free access to its products.
• The UK has already secured a bilateral deal with AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University, but there are fears that some initial vaccines may not be effective and the UK reserves the right to be involved in all projects in the EU's 2020 budget.
• The deterioration of US credibility in the GCC - resulting from the Trump administration's apparent lack of commitment to regional security - could provide Europeans with an opportunity to show the value of their partnerships.
• Click and collect will make up more than 12% of online sales by 2023, which means retailers could use click and collect partnerships to increase footfall into stores - a key challenge for them today.
• By engaging multilateral development banks, private investors, and partnerships such as Mission 2020, global investment can funnel towards climate-friendly projects that will create jobs and economic growth.
• While some existing GM vehicles already feature infotainment systems that run on Google's Android platform, this partnership will see GM add core Google services to its vehicles, including Google Assistant, Google Maps, and the Google Play store.
• H&M - which joined the TENT Partnership for Refugees at the GRF and pledged to create 2,000 jobs for refugees by 2025 - opened its social media channels to UNHCR to share important messages with its millions of followers around the world.
• With political risk rising between Washington and Beijing, Taiwan could be an attractive locale for some of the AI and other laboratories and research partnerships that American and global companies have established in mainland China.
• Consideration of biodiversity as a human right can provide an opportunity to align support from the EU and explore innovative partnerships as part of a holistic human rights-based approach to biodiversity conservation.
• AI augmentation, defined as a human-centered partnership model of people and AI working together to enhance cognitive performance, could generate $2.9 trillion of business value by 2021.

See full forecast

Last updated: 20 September 2020