WASHINGTON, DC – This November, Global Entrepreneurship Network celebrates 10 years of helping millions of people unleash their ideas to start and scale new businesses through Global Entrepreneurship Week. The campaign began in 2008 with an emphasis on inspiring young people to make their mark and has quickly grown to become a comprehensive effort that engages entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, support organizations and others collaborating to advance economic growth and innovation in more than 170 countries around the world.
#GEW2017 will be held November 13-19, 2017.
“While we see nationalism on the rise in different parts of the world, we are reassured by the fact that entrepreneurs are not constrained by geographic boundaries,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network. “This initiative continues to bring together a broad array of individuals and organizations who are passionate in their belief that entrepreneurs make our world a better place—and I look forward to 10 more years discovering the best ways entrepreneurs can succeed in any culture and in every economy.”
Roughly 35,000 events and competitions will take place during #GEW2017—connecting nearly 10 million participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors. Dozens of world leaders on every continent and a network of more than 15,000 partner organizations support the initiative every year.
Global Entrepreneurship Week traces its origins back to a launch announcement in London where then-UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged the support of the British government alongside a multi-year commitment from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. At the announcement, 18 representatives of youth business and startup support organizations volunteered to run national GEW campaigns for their countries.
By November 2008, Global Entrepreneurship Week was celebrated in 77 countries with 3 million people participating in 25,000 events. Ten years later, GEW is in more than 170 countries—unleashing roughly $140 million into entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world.
In celebration of GEW’s 10th anniversary, GEN plans to highlight individual stories and moments from Global Entrepreneurship Week events and activities from the past decade. If you have a personal success story about how GEW inspired or helped you, please submit it online.
For more information about Global Entrepreneurship Week, or how you can get involved in your country, please visit gew.co.
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