Tashabos students in Afghanistan celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week.
“Entrepreneurship thrives where what you know matters more than who you know. Entrepreneurs are natural champions of these ideals; they crave space for creativity and possibility. These aren’t just economic ideals. They are political ideals too. Not just American ideals, but universal ones, and entrepreneurs are among their strongest advocates.” - Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington, DC.
Last week was Global Entrepreneurship Week, which CIPE and partners celebrated here on the blog, on Twitter, and at events around the world.
On November 12, CIPE kicked off the week with a blog post from CIPE Chair Karen Kerrigan discussing why entrepreneurship, and particularly the “entrerpenruial ecosystem,” matters.
At a #GEWChat Twitter chat on Tuesday, November 13, 56 contributors discussed the economic, social, and political importance of entrepreneurship, reaching more than 390,000 people.
In Pakistan, CIPE hosted three major in events in Karachi, Islamabad, and Peshawar. The students at all three events discussed the difficult regulatory environment in Pakistan for start-up businesses, the lack of access to finance, law and order issues, and the discouragement of entrepreneurial risk-taking. Hammad Siddiqui wrote about the importance of supporting the next generation of Pakistani entrepreneurs.
In Latin America & the Caribbean, CIPE partner Revista Perspectiva organized a Spanish-language Twitter chat on entrepreneurship in Latin America. The discussion reached nearly 65,000 Twitter accounts and directly engaged entrepreneurs and thought leaders in the field.
In Afghanistan, an event held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education built awareness of the contributions of young entrepreneurs to Afghanistan’s economy and society. An exhibition at Bibi Sahrah girls’ high school gave 11 students from CIPE’s Tashabos high school entrepreneurship course the opportunity to display crafts and products they have developed and practice their marketing skills.
In Ukraine, CIPE partners hosted events all around the country, including the 5th “Ecoenergy” Youth Festival in Sevastopol.
Entrepreneurship is an especially important topic in the Middle East & North Africa region, where frustration with high youth unemployment and restrictive regulations led to the Arab Spring in 2011. On the blog, Brandon Nickerson discussed some of the barriers young entrepreneurs face in the MENA region and how they can overcome them.
On the blog, contributors also wrote about social entrepreneurship — what it means and how to categorize it.
Learn more about CIPE’s entrepreneurship programs around the world by watching the Prezi below!
