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Today, young people born after 1995 are becoming active participants of the market. Participants of the Open Innovations Forum discussed habits of Generation Z people, trends they set, and their impact on the global economy.

The issue was discussed by Jane Treadwell, Lead Digital Development Specialist at World Bank Group, Tomas Casas i Klett, Professor at the University of St. Gallen, Andrey Krishnev, General Manager at Nike Russia, HR vice president at PepsiCo Russia and BUCCA, Natalia Khvan and other experts.

Along with accelerating global processes, the spreading of digital technologies and social media enhances, in particular, the Generation Z’s influence on the global economy. The fact that young people are ready to create, consume, and share content at high speed sets groundbreaking consumption mechanisms.

"I am from Finland, and when I was a little boy nobody ate avocados in my country. In the aughts, they started to import avocados in small amounts, but the demand remained unimpressive. And then one video blogger posted a video called “Best avocado pasta”, following which all Finnish children and teenagers began asking their parents to cook that pasta. Avocado sales in the country instantly went up, and Finland became one of the countries with the highest demand for that product," told Pekka Viljakainen, Member of the Skolkovo Foundation Board of Directors.

Session speakers discussed common features and differences of Generation Z people from different continents. Common traits of the Western and Eastern people are: concern about environmental conditions, being used to constant communication and interaction with the world, aspiration to launch own projects rather than being an employee.

"The ability to always be in the communication ecosystem of social media makes Generation Z capable of great breakthroughs. To reduce poverty, create jobs, develop entrepreneur culture, we must design new solutions and look for answers to various questions. The only right approach is to look for them together. That is why the ecosystem-oriented way of thinking is crucial for elaborating global solutions today," said Jane Treadwell, Lead Digital Development Specialist at World Bank Group.

When talking about the creation and positioning of goods for Generation Z people, experts have noted that today young people get attracted by eco-friendly locally manufactured products and goods.