To be successful, GEW campaigns need to engage stakeholders in the startup ecosystem. As more stakeholders from the government and private sector embrace the GEW compass and what it stands for by organizing their own events, the impact of GEW continues to grow exponentially.
GEW hosts around the world continue to initiate powerful campaigns and engage policy makers to build a stimulating environment that rewards entrepreneurship. In fact, several entrepreneurship competitions were launched recently to both identify and help promising entrepreneurs.
Belgium
Freddy Nurski, one of the GEW hosts in Belgium, is working with a variety of government stakeholders to build year-round support for GEW. He has also begun taking steps to set up a formal GEW not-for-profit. Nurski believes that this is not only the natural progression as GEW continues to grow and mature as a central driver of smart entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world, but also critical in sustaining the growth and innovative capacity of GEW in the years ahead.
“GEW is a celebration to reach new audiences and to embed the importance of new and young firms in national economic strategies,” said Nurski. “Because of this, we do not compete with any local programs and can therefore provide a coordinating platform where all players of our entrepreneurship ecosystem can communicate and issue a consistent message to new audiences knowing that all boats rise on an incoming tide.”
Burundi
Youth Action for Development (YAD), the GEW host organization in Burundi, has recently been selected by the Global Giving Foundation to participate in its Open Challenge, a fundraising opportunity for nonprofit organizations around the world. YAD is an entrepreneurial mindset program based in Bujumbura (Burundi) that specializes in empowering young girls and boys in need by helping them develop entrepreneurial skills in agriculture and IT. In order to succeed in Global Giving’s Open Challenge, YAD must raise $5,000 from 40 donors by June 30, 2014. If they meet this threshold, they will be permanently featured on Global Giving’s website, giving them constant exposure and access to new online funding tools. You can read the details of their campaign on the Global Giving website.
Dominican Republic
GEW Dominican Republic, run by host GEW host organization EMPRENDE under the leadership of Orlando Perez, enjoys solid across-the-board support within the Dominican entrepreneurial ecosystem. One of the prominent supporters of GEW Dominican Republic, Jose Checo, director of entrepreneurship at the Vice Ministry for SMEs was recently publicly recognized for his efforts engaging the government in GEW events, and has now been appointed as the chair of the GEW 2014 Advisory Board.
Indonesia
The Ciputra Foundation, the host organization of GEW Indonesia, has recently initiated a nationwide Startup Indonesia movement which aims to not only engage the startup community but also to reach out to the wider public to create awareness of GEW programs and activities at the grassroots level. GEW Indonesia’s concept for 2014 is to stimulate interactive communication amongst stakeholders to continue to build an ecosystem that will empower local startups. GEW Indonesia will also highlight all the work that needs to be done by local stakeholders to prepare Indonesian startups for the ASEAN economic integration in 2015.
Ivan Sandjaja from the Ciputra Foundation has been in talks with the Central Bank of Indonesia (BI) to jointly organize a meeting to discuss financial policies for entrepreneurs to coincide with GEW in November. Led by BI, Indonesian policy makers including the Indonesian Monetary Authority and the Indonesian Finance Ministry and Taxation Department will meet with representatives from GEW Global to discuss global best practices such as tax holidays, incentives, financial stimulus and micro-investment to create a stimulating ecosystem for the startup community in Indonesia.
Kazakhstan
Entrepreneurial spirit in Kazakhstan is building momentum with KazINNO, a brand new competition, which aims to identify and support Kazakhstan’s most promising startups with growth potential in the agriculture, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors. The winners will be announced on June 28, 2014, and those teams that make it into the top 10 will be rewarded with an internship in one of the world's leading accelerators in Israel, the United States and Norway. KazINNO is organized by JSC, the National Agency for Technological Development with the support of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies. The Young Entrepreneurs' Club of Kazakhstan, the official GEW Kazakhstan host, is responsible for the implementation of KazINNO. Pavel Koktyshev, co-founder of the Young Entrepreneurs' Club of Kazakhstan and CEO of Institute for Development and Economic Affairs (IDEA), will be leading this search for the best startups in Kazakhstan.
Singapore
Moneytree, a social enterprise founded with the mission to equip the young generation with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills, has recently become the new host organization of GEW Singapore. Ryan Soh, co-founder and chief executive of Moneytree, is busy carving a niche for GEW in the competitive VC and startup space in Singapore. GEW Singapore has eight partners on board for 2014 as well as two confirmed events including the annual ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise) challenge, a business case competition for primary and secondary school students. GEW Singapore is also putting together a group of Entrepreneurship Ambassadors who will be instrumental in evangelizing GEW in Singapore.
Photo credit: Oregon Department of Transportation