Over the past five years, many around the world have opened their eyes to the potential of their own citizens to power economies and expand human welfare through entrepreneurship and innovation. The impact that a relatively small but determined collection of individuals – men and women, old and young – have on their communities and countries has driven a massive expansion of effort to create more entrepreneurs and to help them start and scale new enterprises that can change the world. While much of the energy has emerged from grassroots startup communities in all kinds of economies and political systems, there has been a major commitment on behalf of our leaders to this effort.
SPARK is one such example of this commitment.
Initiated by the White House, SPARK aims to generate more than one billion dollars in private investment for emerging entrepreneurs by the end of 2017 – with half of it to be raised for women and young entrepreneurs. The initiative is underway and already enjoys a strong base of support from organizations dedicated to the cause.
But it is only a start – the world needs more entrepreneurs and we must all work together to encourage the world’s citizens to unleash their ideas.
Youth unemployment. Poverty. Climate change. Access to education. There is an evolving list of global challenges in need of innovative solutions.
The idea for SPARK was first voiced by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009 during a speech in Cairo, Egypt. When he called for efforts to advance entrepreneurship around the world, a multitude of new entrepreneurship initiatives emerged both inside and outside the U.S. government – ranging from training on basic entrepreneurship principles to providing seed funding to entrepreneurs.
Nations have come a long way when it comes to supporting new businesses, and the world has never been more open to innovative ventures. Ambitious individuals and organizations must seize the moment and take the democratization of entrepreneurship to the next level—nurturing high-impact startups that change the world and open new paths for prosperity.
On behalf of the entire SPARK coalition, I hope you will join the cause.