GEN in Puerto Rico

Connecting Puerto Rico's entrepreneurs to the global ecosystem

GEN began operating in Puerto Rico in 2010 when Carlos Jiménez, co-founder of the Youth Entrepreneurship Education System (YEES), launched the island's inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) campaign. The initiative brought together entrepreneurs, investors, educators, business leaders, and support organizations, creating new opportunities for founders to build connections, access resources, and grow their businesses while linking Puerto Rico's entrepreneurial ecosystem to GEN's expanding global network.

As Puerto Rico's longtime GEW Coordinator, Carlos established the foundation for GEN's presence on the island, building a collaborative platform that engaged universities, entrepreneur support organizations, corporations, government agencies, and community leaders across Puerto Rico.

Building on that foundation, Gloria Viscasillas helped elevate GEN's reach and visibility through her leadership at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Echar Pa'Lante. By expanding participation across the private sector and strengthening connections among entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and support organizations, she helped take Puerto Rico's GEW campaign and broader GEN engagement to a new level. Through Echar Pa'lante, Puerto Rico's universities—including the University of Puerto Rico, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, and other higher education institutions—have become active contributors to GEN initiatives, engaging students, researchers, faculty, and aspiring entrepreneurs through entrepreneurship education and ecosystem-building activities.

The impact of Echar Pa'Lante's work has also been recognized across the GEN network. In 2025, Echar Pa'Lante—now an independent organization after being launched by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico—received the GEN Rookie Award as part of the GEN Compass Awards at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Indianapolis. The award recognized Echar Pa'Lante's outstanding contributions to fostering entrepreneurship and strengthening Puerto Rico's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

GEC+ Puerto Rico: A regional platform for innovation

GEC+ Puerto Rico in 2024 brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, educators, and ecosystem builders from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond. Organized around the theme "Vision 2035: An Entrepreneurial Future for Latin America + the Caribbean," the event positioned Puerto Rico as a regional convener for dialogue on innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

GEC+ Puerto Rico was co-hosted by GEN and the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority, with support from Banco Popular, and in collaboration with a broad coalition of Puerto Rico's leading entrepreneurship organizations, including Discover Puerto Rico, Invest Puerto Rico, Colmena66, Parallel18, Endeavor Puerto Rico, universities, investors, and entrepreneur support organizations. This collaborative effort reflected the strength of the island's entrepreneurial ecosystem and its ability to convene partners around a shared vision for entrepreneurship and innovation.

The GEC+ program featured internationally recognized founders, investors, policymakers, university leaders, and entrepreneurship support organizations, alongside many of Puerto Rico's leading ecosystem champions. Through keynote conversations, panel discussions, workshops, startup showcases, and curated networking opportunities, participants explored strategies to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, expand access to capital, foster innovation-driven growth, and deepen regional collaboration.

The event's impact extended well beyond the conference itself. GEC+ strengthened relationships among ecosystem leaders across the Caribbean and Latin America, elevated Puerto Rico's international visibility as an innovation hub, expanded collaboration with the island's entrepreneurial diaspora, and laid the groundwork for new partnerships connecting entrepreneurs with global markets, investment, and expertise. It marked an important milestone in Puerto Rico's evolution from a participant in the global entrepreneurship movement to a host and regional connector within the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

Engaging Puerto Rico's global diaspora

Beyond strengthening the local ecosystem, GEN has helped deepen connections between Puerto Rico and its entrepreneurial diaspora. Through GEC+, Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, and GEN's international network, Puerto Rican founders, investors, and ecosystem builders living abroad have re-engaged with the island to mentor entrepreneurs, explore investment opportunities, and build strategic partnerships.

This has included Puerto Rican leaders serving in prominent roles within international investment organizations, including the Latinx Business Angel Network (LBAN) and the Chicago-based Angeles Investors, creating new opportunities for mentorship, cross-border investment, and collaboration between Puerto Rico and entrepreneurial communities around the world.

Puerto Rico has also actively showcased its ecosystem across the GEN network. At the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Indianapolis, the island hosted a networking reception that brought together members of Puerto Rico's entrepreneurial community with international delegates, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders, highlighting Puerto Rico as a gateway for innovation, investment, and collaboration in the Caribbean.

A growing ecosystem with global connections

Today, GEN continues to work alongside partners including Echar Pa'Lante, YEES, Invest Puerto Rico, Colmena66, Parallel18, universities, investors, entrepreneur support organizations, and public-sector institutions to strengthen Puerto Rico's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Together, these partnerships connect Puerto Rican entrepreneurs with global markets, knowledge, investment opportunities, and the worldwide GEN network, reinforcing the island's role as a bridge between the Caribbean, Latin America, and the broader global innovation economy.