Global Entrepreneurship Week: November 18-24, 2019

Mark your calendars for the week of November 18-24, 2019, the 12^th annual celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week.  GEW is a big deal around the world.  It currently engages 20,000 partners in 170 countries, who sponsor 35,000 events that engage more than 10 million people.  All of this work is devoted to telling the story of how entrepreneurship can be a tool for personal enrichment, economic development, and community building.  It’s an excuse to throw a great party, while learning something and doing good along the way!  There are tons (actually 35,000) of great events going on during the week, and lots of cool activities here in the US as well.  As home to the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City always celebrates GEW in a big way, with several dozen great events planned for the week.  I’m also pleased to see several current and former EntreWorks Consulting clients who are using GEW events and activities as part of their regional ecosystem building activities. For example, in Fort Worth, the local team is supporting a gala event at the Fort Worth Science Museum, a special Startup Weekend event, and workshops on a diverse set of topics including food-focused startups, doing business in Vietnam, real estate trends, and tips for effective marketing. Smaller towns can and do get in the mix too.  In Monroe County Pennsylvania, Startup Pocono is sponsoring workshops and boot camps on coding, entrepreneurial finance, graphic design, and many other topics.  Check out the GEW USA site for events in your area, and get out there and support your local entrepreneurs.   If your region isn’t engaged with GEW 2019, make plans to participate in GEW 2020!