The internet has already revolutionized the way we live, work and play. Today, nearly 3 billion of the world's population are connected to the internet through smartphones. This is a profound shift that brings new opportunities to do business, to learn and to connect with audiences online. As the pace of technology continues to advance, we partnered with Debating Europe, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), European Small Business Alliance (ESBA), European Digital SME Alliance and EU40 to bring together app developers, educators, policymakers and big thinkers to discuss how to improve skills, jobs and growth in Europe in the mobile era.

“Thanks to the Internet, a farm manager in Kenya has the same access to information as a policymaker in Brussels,” said Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, our president for strategic relations in Europe. This changes everything, but only if people can take part. And according to the European Commission, over 750,000 ICT jobs could remain unfilled in Europe by 2020 due to a lack of digital skills.

Speakers took on the big issues that are crucial to Europe’s future. Innovation is coming from new and unexpected places, as Michael Quigley of the Progressive Policy Institute explained. Their report shows in Europe, 1.6 million jobs have been created through the app economy and through the mobile transformation of more traditional companies. “The leading countries are Germany, France and the Netherlands, but really it’s across the EU,” he said. “Whilst bigger countries create most jobs, the Nordic countries surprise -- their app intensity levels are very high, even higher than in US.”

We heard from the creator of one app designed to deal with intense times -- Monica Archibugi started Le Cigogne (Italian for the fabled stork). Rather than deliver babies, this app helps parents to find babysitters. It covers 107 cities across Italy and connects 20,000 babysitters with 10,000 parents. “Grandparents are our biggest competitors,” she said.