At the welcome address of Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) 2016, Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network and chair of the GEC, opened the Congress by elaborating on the concept of entrepreneurship. He reminded us that entrepreneurship today is not simply for commercial purposes, but something more profound. It is about the “possibilities of human endeavors.”
The theme in the joint welcome address is the power of people. Medellín is an aspiration in the history of entrepreneurship because, as Ortmans put it, “people decided to fight for reconciliation and rebranding of the city.”
With only 22 percent of Medellín’s entrepreneurial potential being utilized, there is much room for expansion and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city. It is not hard to imagine what the people of Medellín are capable of in the future, with their burning passion to make life better and the potential of the city over all.
Federico Gutiérrez, mayor of Medellín, emphasized that the city has to first invest in education. Indeed, for entrepreneurship to continue striving, we have to empower the next generation so that the entrepreneurial community becomes lastingly stronger.
Ortmans mentioned that society now has many young people who have an optimistic perspective, are well-connected and passionate to change the world. He predicted that this new generation would bring about a new wave of value creation on top of fostering economic growth. They will create impacts from a grassroots level and, at the same time, push for institutions to create more efficient ways to create new values.
To sum up, people are the body and heart of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Cities with the potential for exponential growth and value creation have to remember that investing in and supporting its own people is the best way to maintain and strengthen the chain of hope, passion and possibilities made only possible with a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem. The future waits for more interesting ideas and values from future generations.
Ziyu Huang is a student with the University of Sheffield and is reporting on the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellín, Colombia.