WASHINGTON, DC – Argentina’s Entrepreneurs’ Law, established in 2017, has resulted in the establishment, promotion and growth of new firms, helping to grow the national entrepreneurial ecosystem. To build on this success, Jorge Lawson, former Minister of the Province of Cordoba in Argentina, is leading the development of the Global Entrepreneurship Network’s new affiliate in the country.
“After I was appointed as acting managing director of GEN Argentina, I learned a lot about the region, participated in various events and I understood that GEN is an important organization, because it plays a role of a link, connecting countries all over the world,” said Lawson.
Appointed by GEN in June 2018 as acting managing director of its in-country affiliate, Lawson is working to establish GEN Argentina with Carla Goglia, who has more than 16 years of experience in providing support to entrepreneurs and enterprises to develop and implement their positioning strategies with a strong commitment to the economic development of their communities. Lawson has extensive experience executing a variety of programs and public policies aimed at building a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem in his community.
GEN operates in more than 170 countries worldwide, propelling start and scale ecosystems by fostering cross-border collaboration, cutting-edge research studies and initiatives that engage entrepreneurs and ecosystem stakeholders across sectors and locations.
GEN Argentina will build on these initiatives by facilitating collaboration among the country’s startup champions, and connect them to their counterparts around the world. It will foster the development of entrepreneurial culture, and initiate activities that promote inclusive economic growth.
Initially, GEN Argentina will focus on:
- Serving as a convener to strengthen local, national and regional entrepreneurship ecosystems to facilitate collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
- Disseminating activities, research and information on the market, from national and international sources that is useful for the benefit of entrepreneurs and their businesses.
- Providing training and support programs that enable people to formulate productive new ventures or boost the growth of existing ones.
- Producing information at the national level about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to create applicable regulations, public policies, training programs and financial opportunities for entrepreneurs, with the purpose of streamlining efforts as well as increasing the impact of the implemented measures.
- Organizing and promoting competitions that allow the identification of disruptive initiatives in topics of interest for national productive development.
- Promoting the inclusion of entrepreneurship curriculum in formal education in order to promote the values of entrepreneurship, from early ages and in a sustained manner.
He founded E+E Foundation in 2007, where he promoted the creation of nearly 1,500 MSMEs. During his time as the Minister of the Province of Cordoba, Lawson executed a variety of programs and policies aimed at building an ecosystem that can continue to develop, well past government support. This experience allowed him to create the “Communities With Value” program, which is implemented across Argentina through Fundación Empretec since 2016, with the support of UNCTAD. Lawson is also member of the board at Banco de la Nación Argentina and the president of Empretec Foundation. In recognition of his remarkable record of accomplishment, Lawson won the 2017 Startup Nations Award for Local Policy Leadership.
