Trust is a key factor to trade and economic development - but also to political and societal movements. But this thing called "Trust" is hard to grasp and understand. What builds trust? And what's the state of the world in terms of trust?

When I was working with a global trade credit insurer I realized that a lot of their business was driven by a lack of trust. If one party does not trust another, they need a trusted third party to participate in the deal. It's a way of reducing the risk.

Over the past weeks I talked to many Uber drivers in Nairobi. While they all have their issues (e.g. Uber cut prices, they don't own their cars, etc.), everyone agreed on one thing: Uber is good because it connects them to clients and gives them security in doing their jobs as drivers. Many of the guys were former taxi drivers and have been subject to carjacking, robberies, and assaults. With Uber, they know their client and feel much safer doing their job. In a country that is lacking trust in governmental institutions, this is a significant achievement.

Edelman, a PR agency, measured trust in NGO's, Business, Media, and Governments globally. Two outcomes are particularly interesting.

First, in many countries there is a divide in trust levels (average trust in all four areas) between what Edelman calls the "mass population" and the "informed public". Even more, there is a correlation between that trust gap and income inequality.

Intuitively this seems to make a lot of sense. With higher income inequality, people at the lower end of the income spectrum might feel increasingly disadvantaged and excluded from any economic and political developments. With no positive outlook for this to change, it makes sense for them to have a lower level of trust in institutions and business.

Second, people trust their peers more than any leader and the trust in business is significantly higher than that in governments. In fact, trust in peer-driven media is among the most trusted sources of information in the overall population. And 80% of people agree that business must lead to solve problems.

The study explains what we see materializing in the success of collaborative consumption (aka the sharing economy). With technology allowing to clearly identify people and capturing peer feedback, reputation is created and trust enabled. It is like the modern version of a town square, where people exchange their experiences dealing with others in the village.

As trust in business is higher than in governments, business leaders have a responsibility towards the general public in conjunction with massive opportunities. A focus on positive long-term impact, and the aspiration to engage in societal issues are not only improving a companys reputation (and probably help more than any marketing campaign), but will also lead to opening new markets for their products (particularly in an increasingly digital world).

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Please share your comments and inputs (via comment function, twitter, e-mail, etc.). In my short write-ups I address topics that I am particularly interested in because they align with my values and beliefs. As such, they are always a reflection of my ideas, thoughts, and opinions. The only thing I am positive in that regard is that I do not have all the perspectives, all the knowledge, or all the facts - help me be better tomorrow.