Summary of the Week

SUMMARY OF THE WEEK
Celebrating Global Entrepreneurship, Creating Ecosystems for Economic Growth
 United States government is a proud supporter of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2015, the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life and drive economic growth.
As Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, Scott Nathan have spoken with entrepreneurs around the globe and heard firsthand just how important it is to recognize small and emerging businesses during celebrations like Global Entrepreneurship Week. From Nairobi to Warsaw, and Marrakesh to Islamabad, the enthusiasm and energy of these men and women has been inspiring.
In the United States, entrepreneurs make up the heart of our small business community.  Combined, they account for more than 50 percent of our country’s GDP and employ almost 70 percent of the country’s workforce.  These numbers tell me that they are doing something right. How can welearn from these successes and help support innovation and the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world?
One of the ways is through the Global Entrepreneurship Program. Through this program, the State Department works closely with key partners to both support and promote innovation. Their goal is to connect U.S. companies, universities, think tanks, and other key stakeholders with emerging entrepreneurs. In doing so, they seek to support small and emerging businesses in their efforts to create jobs and foster.
GEW Kosovo Celebrates Youth, Women and Investors
The Innovation Center of Kosovo (ICK), along with its 28 partners and supporters, held over 38 events during Global Entrepreneurship Week this year, and included the global themes of investors, gender in entrepreneurship, youth and cities. Kosovo celebrated each theme on a different day.
GEW Kosovo featured youth competitions, seminars on VET schools and angel investors, brainstorming sessions on how to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem and roundtable and panel discussions on a variety of topics.
South Korean Science Minister Receives Startup Nations Award for National Policy Leadership
The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), an organization of programs and initiatives that promote entrepreneurial growth, honored Dr. Choi Yanghee, Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning in South Korea, with the 2015 Startup Nations Award for National Policy Leadership.
Choi was recognized for his national public sector leadership in championing new policies or programs that advance new and young firm formation. He is the driving force behind Creative Economy Initiative, one of Korea’s biggest administrative goals.
Warsaw and entrepreneurship
During Global Entrepreneurship Week, Google officially launched its new Campus Warsaw, similar to its existing campuses in London and Tel Aviv, and with more on the way in three other cities. The Google campus is located across the Vistula River from the main part of Warsaw—and, incidentally, the part of the city that was not destroyed by the Nazis. One of the reasons to choose the Polish capital was the density of IT talent and startups in the city.
Furthermore, the city has built on existing efforts and fostered entrepreneurship is with Virtual Warsaw, a system of beacons and open data across the city. Warsaw has worked with a company to install thousands of beacons around the city that send signals to smartphones and create an Internet of Things ecosystem around city space and transportation and buildings. Startups can plug into the beacon system through the city’s APIs, and use beacon data for their business (the city plans to install millions of beacons). This has created a platform for different entrepreneurs to address problems and pursue ideas, but without specific direction from the city itself.