GEN in Lesotho

GEN began operating in Lesotho in 2017 when it launched Global Entrepreneurship Week. Early momentum in the country of roughly two million people resulted in backing from the U.S. Embassy in Maseru, which supported youth pitch competitions and business expos designed to nurture local enterprise and open cross-border trade and investment. As the GEW campaign matured from a series of standalone events into a national rallying point for entrepreneurship, Lesotho’s national institutions became central pillars of the movement. In 2022, the Government of Lesotho and Vodacom Foundation partnered with GEN to launch the Entrepreneurship World Cup, a global competition that includes acceleration support for its competitors.  The next year, GEN established a Startup Huddle chapter in Maseru that provides local founders with a platform for monthly pitching and peer-to-peer feedback. GEN programming and competitions have created opportunities for Lesotho’s founders to join the GEN Starters Club, a global community of promising founders. GEN's work in Lesotho is aimed at removing structural barriers, deepening financial inclusion, connecting local innovators directly to global markets, capital, and knowledge.

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John Matlosa
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GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT

Entrepreneurs Thrive Here: Global Entrepreneurship Week 2026

Millions of people around the world have the ideas, talent, and ambition to build something better for themselves and their communities — but have never seen entrepreneurship as a path available to them. Global Entrepreneurship Week, taking place November 16-22, 2026, changes that. This campaign meets people where they are and connects them to the networks, tools, and support to take that first step — showing what’s possible in their own communities.
 

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