#GEW2016: 1 global event, 35K events

One of the most exciting features of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which will run from November 14 – 20 this year, is the diverse range of the more than 35,000 events organised in the 160 countries that make up the Global Entrepreneurship Network. This year’s global themes include GEW Cities, GEW Youth, GEW Women, GEW Investors and GEW Scale-Ups.

There are also quite a number of events and competitions where the selection process takes places months before GEW, and then the finalists compete at the national finals during GEW. Nawah is one such event organized by Egypt’s GEW host organization, Middle East Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MSCBE).

Nawah started in 2015, and has grown considerably in size and scope this year. Nawah is a Social Entrepreneurship Challenge with the objective to contribute to a flourishing, collaborative and conscious entrepreneurship ecosystem by empowering young entrepreneurs, developing their skills and capabilities as well as expanding their network and resources.

Entrepreneurs also have the opportunity to compete in a country-wide competition to show-case their business ideas. Ideas are selected based on sustainability, social problem solving ability, impact and innovativeness. Finalists will get an invitation to the Egypt Entrepreneurship Summit in El Gouna in November during GEW Egypt, international exposure and a tailor-made training online and offline exposure. This year the business ideas will be separated into three categories: “Nawah Youth,” “Nawah Vocational” and “Nawah High Schools.”  There will be120 business ideas, 10 from each category, 30 from each region (Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and Port Said) that will make it to the semi-finals. An independent judge panel will select the best 12 initiatives, three from each region. A total of 12 entrepreneurs will be invited to pitch their idea at the finals in El Gouna during GEW Egypt.

European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI), the GEW host organization in Czech Republic is organizing more than 100 events this year, which has risen from 70 events last year. The main event is the “Summit of the Entrepreneurship Week” on November 15 at Slovanský dům in Prague, which will be the biggest ever event for entrepreneurs and startups in the Czech Republic.

The summit will feature both Czech and overseas speakers, as well as a large number of seminars, workshops, conferences and specialized trade fairs. There is also an exciting event called “Art Meets Business” which will bring together businesses and promising young artists and designers. There is also a business fair, franchising fair and food fair – that fine-dining lovers cannot afford to miss. The Summit will end with the popular event Get in the Ring, one of the largest startup competitions held worldwide. Additionally there will be seminars, workshops, lectures, networking, business breakfasts and other meetings throughout the Czech Republic.

GEW is also the perfect opportunity to forge regional alliances. GEW host organization in Botswana, Ngwana Enterprises, will lead a VIP delegation of businesses, investors and entrepreneurs from Botswana from November 14 – 18 this year, to participate in a collaborative impact forum for developing an entrepreneurial partnership between Botswana and Angola. If you are interested in taking part in this delegation, you still have until October 15 to confirm your participation, you can email [email protected].

The GEN country affiliate in Sierra Leone was recently established, and they prove that even with limited resources and a small time frame, it is possible to celebrate a creative Global Entrepreneurship Week. They have organized a film showing on Saturday, November 19, “The Startup Kids” at Sensi Tech Hub. Their GEW event partner, Evelyn Lewis, which runs training courses for businesses, will hold a series of courses with themes such as “Kick-starting Your Business with Crowdsourcing,” “Entrepreneurship 101” and “Building an Online Business.”

Source: gew.co