Ambassadors, Small Business Administrator Discuss Global Entrepreneurship

Nearly 50 ambassadors, economic advisers, and officials of the U.S. Small Business Administration came together at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business on Nov. 16 for a roundtable discussion of global entrepreneurship policy. The discussion coincided with the opening day of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

“The work of global entrepreneurship is about providing pathways out of poverty. It’s about helping people harness their talents, provide for themselves and their families, and make a contribution to the betterment of us all,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the Small Business Administration, who provided opening remarks. “As innovators come together in cities across the world, Global Entrepreneurship Week also is a time for governments to come together to create new opportunities in our borderless marketplace.”

The ambassadors of Nicaragua, Singapore, Slovakia, and Spain, as well as economic representatives from Austria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, and Sweden shared the importance of building a global community of entrepreneurship.

The group discussed the ways in which governments can encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as best practices for financing small and medium enterprises.

“Government leaders from around the world want to support startups, but they often struggle to craft effective policies,” said Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative. “The fact that so many senior government officials came together here at Georgetown to share best practices on entrepreneurship policy is a testament to the important role entrepreneurs play in creating a vibrant economic future.”

A group of Georgetown McDonough faculty and students also observed the roundtable.

“I was honored to witness Georgetown’s expressive commitment to endorsing the power of small business as a crucial component of solving some of the world’s greatest problems,” said Meredith Cheney, C ’16, co-president of StartupHoyas.

The roundtable at Georgetown will inform conversations at the second SME Ministerial on March 15, 2016, at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellin, Colombia.