Description
In this detailed paper relating to the global entrepreneurship program at the u.s. department of state.
The Global Entrepreneurship Program
at the U.S. Department of State
Issue 1 February 5, 2011
Dear GEP Partners and Friends,
Now entering the Global Entrepreneurship Program’s first full year in existence, I am
excited to offer our first quarterly GEP Newsletter. The GEP has made tremendous
progress since its April 2010 launch by Secretary Clinton at the Presidential Summit
on Entrepreneurship. We have partnered with nearly 100 organizations to support
entrepreneurs around the world, ranging from corporations to NGOs, academia to
foundations as well as financial institutions and investors.
Now that the GEP has reached critical mass and garnered increasing support, we
are increasingly focused on the GEP’s role as Catalyst, Convener and Coordinator.
This quarterly newsletter will act as a tool not only for sharing information and
suggestions between the GEP and partners, but also for maximizing synergies
between partner organizations. Through the newsletter we encourage you to
summarize your ongoing events and activities, offer opportunities for involvement in
your programs for other partners, and propose resources and ideas to the group.
Along with the expansion of GEP’s partner network, we are also witnessing growing
support within the U.S. Government to promote entrepreneurship as a major
component of our foreign economic and development policy. As Secretary Clinton
has explained, supporting entrepreneurship exemplifies a new approach to global
engagement—an approach ?based on investment, not aid; on supporting local
leadership and ideas rather than imposing our own.?
As many of you know, our first pilot country, launched in the summer of 2010 was
Egypt, followed a few months later by our second pilot country, Indonesia. Our
progress in Egypt has included the announcement of our first GEP country office
headed by a Lead Entrepreneur, and on January 13, the wrap of an incredibly
successful Entrepreneurship Delegation. Of course, a few short days after our GEP
Egypt Delegation concluded, the situation in Egypt dramatically changed and as of
this writing, continues to evolve.
We intend to continue our work promoting entrepreneurship in Egypt not in spite of
the events, but rather because they underscore the importance of our work. Egypt
has one of the highest rates of unemployment among college-educated men and
women under the age of 30 in the world – over 33% of Egypt’s unemployed have
university degrees. Entrepreneurs are drawn disproportionately from this group,
such as the two extraordinary startups that won our GEP Delegation Business Plan
Competition. It is precisely these people that not only seek meaningful opportunities,
but frankly, upon whose shoulders the future growth and prosperity of the country
most likely will depend.
We look forward to our continued work together to spur and promote
entrepreneurship as a way to create new enterprises and value-added jobs.
Best regards,
Steven R. Koltai
Senior Advisor for Entrepreneurship
About GEP
The Global Entrepreneurship
Program (GEP) is a U.S. State
Department-led effort to promote
and spur entrepreneurship around
the world. The U.S. Department of
State has the unique ability to
play the role of catalyst,
convener and coordinator.
Leveraging this ability, the GEP
marshalls primarily non-
governmental partners around six
key areas that are essential to
creating a successful
entrepreneurial ecosystem. These
six areas include: identifying
promising entrepreneurs, training
them, connecting and sustaining
entrepreneurs, guiding them to
capital, advocating for
supportive policy and regulations,
and celebrating their successes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Latest GEP News
Entrepreneurship Delegation Fosters New Partnerships with Egyptian
Innovators
New GEP Programs
Updated GEP Partner Package
GEP Partner Updates
Current List of GEP Partners
GEP Partner Spotlight: ImagineNations Network
GEP Partner Spotlight: Sawari Ventures
Partner News
- EO Partners with Department of State’s Int’l Visitors Leadership Program
- Abraaj Capital Launches Seed Funding Program and Announces
Partnership with Endeavor
- Grassroots Business Fund Named as G-20 SME Finance Challenge
Winner
- Cisco Entrepreneur Institute Offers New Training Opportunities,
Announces Strategic Partnerships
- William Davidson Institute to Host Global Summit on Educating
Entrepreneurs
- Stanford Technology Ventures Program Launches Roundtable in the
Middle East/North Africa
Bid/Ask
GEP Partner Bids
o Access to Cisco Internal Telepresence rooms & Cisco WebEx
o Training Sessions for Entrepreneurs
o Access to Global Entrepreneur Indicator Data
GEP Partner Asks
- Seeking Nominees for upcoming GEP Entrepreneurship Delegations to
Indonesia, the Maghreb and Turkey
- Women Needed for ?Wisdom Sessions?
- Volunteer as a Mentor for INN Business Plan Competition
- Entrepreneurs to Act as Strategic Partners to grow the EO Network
- Support for Research on Angel Networks in South AfricaShare Success
Stories with Africa Report
LATEST GEP NEWS
Entrepreneurship Delegation Fosters New Partnerships with Egyptian
Innovators
** The events unfolding in Egypt have had economic ramifications for Egypt. The GEP hopes
to continue its work in our first pilot country of Egypt. Supporting entrepreneurship in Egypt is
an important way to create economic growth through new enterprises and value-added
jobs—which can benefit all Egyptians. **
From January 9-12, 2011, the U.S.
Department of State’s Global
Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), led
by Senior Adviser for Entrepreneurship
Steven Koltai, brought a delegation of
11 prominent U.S. investors,
entrepreneurs and government leaders
to Cairo, Egypt to learn about business
opportunities and foster partnerships to
support entrepreneurship in Egypt. The
Upcoming
Entrepreneurship Events
January 31: The Cisco
Entrepreneur Institute will present
its Cisco UAE Select Partner
Summit 2011 in Dubai on January
31, with guest speaker Dr Eesa
Bastaki, CEO of the TRA ICT Fund.
February 21-26: The American
University in Cairo will hold the
Entrepreneurs’ Society Convention
in Cairo to enhance the
awareness of entrepreneurial
skills in advancing society.
For more information, please
contact Sayed Omar at
[email protected]
February 24: Grassroots Business
Fund will hold an ?Impact
investment? round table discussion
with Harold Rosen (Grassroots
Business Find) and Bob Annibale
(Citi) in London.
For more information, please visit:http://www.csfi.org.uk/ (By
Invitation Only)
February 28-March 4: The
American University in Cairo will
present ?The International
Conference on Global Economy
(ICGE)? in Cairo.
For more information, please
contact Sayed Omar at
[email protected].
March 4: The University of Cape
Town Graduate School of
Business will hold a presentation
on ?Creating angel investor
groups in South Africa? in Cape
Town.
For more information, please
contact Craig Mullett at
[email protected].
delegation, which included the founder and former CEO of Carmax, an MIT
management scientist and a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, was largely supported
and organized by GEP’s lead private sector partner in Egypt, Sawari Ventures.
Over the course of four days, the delegates met with and were hosted by
representatives from Egyptian business and industry, government, and academia,
including the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Cairo’s Smart
Village, Nile University, the US-Egypt Business Forum, the American Chamber of
Commerce in Egypt, and the American University in Cairo. The GEP Egypt
Entrepreneurship Delegation was the ?most useful trip I’ve taken in the past 5 years,?
said Austin Ligon, one of the GEP delegates and Founder/Chairman of Carmax.com.
The delegates also hosted a business plan competition, and, at an event on January
12, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the American University
in Cairo, and Sawari Ventures, awarded two cash prizes worth $20,000 each to the
winning concepts for a new Egyptian startup business.
The awards went to two innovative, Egyptian start-up companies whose
entrepreneurial ideas and business plans impressed the visiting U.S. delegation of
entrepreneurs: Kngine (www.kngine.com), founded by brothers Ashraf and Haytham
El Fadeel, is a web 3.0 personal assistant and search engine that can be accessed
on mobile devices. The other awardee was the Egyptian company Silminds
(http://silminds.com). CEO Mostafa El Khouly, CTO Hossam Fahmy, Design Manager
Assem El Gamal, and a team of 17 employees contribute to the team at Silminds, a
digital design company that specializes in hardware accelerators of financial
computing systems.
For more information, please see the Egypt Entrepreneurship Brief. The GEP will be
organizing a series of upcoming delegations, including delegations to Indonesia, the
Maghreb and Turkey. If you are interested in more information, please contact us at
[email protected].
March 7-9: The Stanford
Technology Ventures Program
(STVP) will hold a roundtable on
Entrepreneurship Education
Middle East/North Africa (REE
MENA) in Abu Dhabi, Dubai.
For more information please visit:http://ree.stanford.edu/mena_2
011/
March 23-25: The Global
Technology Symposium will occur
in Silicon Valley. For more
information, please visit:http://globaltechsymposium.com/
index.html
GEP Programs
In an effort to address the gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the GEP has created programs that not only focus on
the needs in GEP core countries, but that are also relevant and available to non-GEP core countries. The GEP-driven
programs are global in design and can be implemented in a country which expresses need or interest. Funding for
these programs differs based on the circumstance and we are looking for GEP partners to leverage their resources to
make these programs a success.
GEP’s Updated Partner Package
The GEP Partner Package explains in detail the overall mission of the GEP. It also outlines the process of becoming a
partner and includes a sample letter of intent as a model to express an incremental commitment to the program. As an
official GEP Partner, an organization will be able to participate in the ?Bid/Ask? section of the newsletter, have access
to GEP resources, and be invited to GEP delegations and events. We work with partners both globally and at the
country-level, so we ask partners working in GEP core countries to specify their activities in these countries and express
their incremental commitment as it relates to this country.
PARTNER UPDATES
Current List of GEP Partners
The GEP Network continues to grow! We now have 90 partners working to support entrepreneurship around the world.
See the attached file for the full list.
GEP Partner Spotlight: Sawari Ventures
With the stated goal of ?identifying, serving, and providing capital for extraordinary
entrepreneurs who are changing the MENA region?, it’s no surprise that Sawari Ventures was
a perfect fit for the role of lead private-sector partner during the GEP Egypt
Entrepreneurship Delegation earlier this month. Sawari Ventures played a pivotal role
supporting and organizing the delegation. Most notably, the Sawari team organized an Entrepreneur Showcase, a
business plan competition that awarded two Egyptian entrepreneurs $20,000 each in seed funding and offered
mentoring opportunities for 52 other contestants.
While the events of recent days remind us of the significant issues that remain in Egypt and other countries in the MENA
– political instability and high unemployment, as an example – Sawari Ventures see the potential of Egypt’s talent.
?Local entrepreneurs possess world-class talent, but need access to capital, mentorship and expanded networks to
realize their full potential,? said Ahmed El Alfi, Founder and Chairman of Sawari Ventures. Egypt represents a market
of more than 80 million people, and is the gateway to the broader MENA market of 320 million people (larger than
US, Brazil or Russia).
In confirmation of this need, Sawari is doing more than providing much needed access to capital to entrepreneurs. At
the final event of the GEP’s Delegation to Egypt, the firm signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the
American University in Cairo (AUC) to launch a new entrepreneurship lab, Flat6 Labs. Leslie Jump, Partner at Sawari,
calls the lab ?Y-Combinator meets Survivor.? Flat6 Labs will offer financing, mentoring and relationship capital for a
new generation of entrepreneurs to deliver on the promise of the mobile and social web. The Lab, which Jump describes
as similar in feel to a Soho industrial loft--an uncommon aesthetic for Cairo, will provide desktop space, bandwidth, and
other incubator-like services designed to support startup operations. Unlike traditional incubators, Flat6 Labs does not
?incubate? businesses; rather Flat6 Labs is about accelerating entrepreneurs in Egypt.
About Sawari Ventures: Sawari Ventures is a Cairo-based venture capital firm, focusing on early- and growth-stage media and
communications companies in the Middle East and North Africa. Led by Ahmed El Alfi, Hany Al-Sonbaty and Leslie Jump, the firm
announced the launch of its fund as well as initial investments the week following the delegation on January 18, 2011.
GEP Partner Spotlight: ImagineNations Network
ImagineNations Network is a platform of global and local portals that engages and connects
young entrepreneurs to each other and to mentors, supporters, financing sources and markets to
spur the development and growth of youth-led businesses. Through global and local portals,
ImagineNations Network (INN) offers a one-stop platform for young people, NGOs,
supporters, financing sources, commercial outlets, and others to interact virtually to promote youth-led entrepreneurship
and economic development.
INN enables entrepreneurs, mentors, and supporters to interact virtually by offering access to:
o Peer Networking: Linking people or groups in the same country or across the globe who share common
interests, ideas and challenges
o Q&A Forums: Personalized answers to business questions
o Mentoring and Advising: Expertise from experienced peers and business
professionals
o Content Knowledge Base: Educational articles, videos and practical tools
covering a range of business topics
INN is the host of the GEP’s E-Mentor Corps. GEP partners are encouraged to participate by signing on as a mentor or
sharing the site to entrepreneurs in need of a mentor. In addition to participating in the E-Mentor Corps, Partners can
participate in the first INN-sponsored business plan competition.
The Business Plan Competition
INN’s first Business Plan Competition offers a new way to engage the almost 1,000 young entrepreneurs registered on
the network. One winner will be able to turn their business plan and idea into reality with $10,000 in start-up funding.
The competition leverages INN’s vast mentorship resources, by linking up entrepreneurs in the second round with mentors
who have experience writing business plans. To join click here (entry deadline is 2/14). For more info please contact
Rafael Viturro at [email protected].
EO Partners with Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership
Program
From September 20 – October 8, 2010, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
participated as a lead partner on the Department of State’s International Visitors
Leadership Program (IVLP) entitled A New Beginning: Entrepreneurship and Business
Innovation. Announced by President Barack Obama at the 2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, this program
provides a professional exchange experience for 28 leading entrepreneurs from 28 countries.
In each of the program’s four cities, the local Chapters of EO hosted Accelerator educational seminars, engaged in
peer-to-peer sharing in Forums with the delegates, created networking events to connect with local entrepreneurs and
built lasting relationships. A New Beginning will continue for three additional years, with this year’s program running
September 26 - October 14, 2011.
“Through these relationships, we are building momentum with leading entrepreneurs that are ready to make an impact and in need
of support in development of communities and connections to a global entrepreneurial network.”
- Adrienne Cornelson, Global Communications Committee for EO
Abraaj Capital Launches Seed Funding Program and Announces Partnership with Endeavor
Abraaj Capital’s SME Investment Platform, Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), has recently
launched a seed-funding program in Egypt in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of CIT
(MCIT) and the Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (TIEC). In addition to the
services offered by the TIEC, the successful startups will have a chance of receiving seed
funding to support early phases of their project development.
Abraaj Capital and Endeavor recently announced a strategic alliance to combine the
expertise of the region’s largest private equity firm with Endeavor, a NGO that transforms emerging markets by
establishing high-impact entrepreneurship as the leading force for economic development. The joint venture will include
the founding of an Endeavor regional hub for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, hosted
by Abraaj Capital and headquartered in Dubai. This will become a base for the organization to grow its capabilities in
the Arabian Gulf and beyond, offering the opportunity for early-stage businesses to access the mentorship and
networks required for them to flourish. The Dubai office will allow Endeavor to promote its expansion to new countries
in the region and to provide expanded services to its country affiliates in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, all of
which will continue to operate independently.
Grassroots Business Fund Named as a G-20 SME Finance Challenge Winner
During the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit, world leaders launched a
global SME Finance Challenge to locate the best models for
catalyzing finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
around the world. The first-ever competition was a unique
financial inclusion initiative aimed at giving small entrepreneurs
a chance to help them grow and scale up solutions.
The Grassroots Business Fund, which is an impact investing
organization that builds and supports High Impact Businesses around the world, was named one of 14 winners for the
G-20 SME Finance Challenge. GBF’s winning proposal to establish the ?East African Rural Enterprise Facility? will help
create wealth, and provide jobs for up to 150 SMEs specializing in agribusiness. In addition, the facility will provide
technical assistance targeted at improving business management, reporting systems, and internal controls of these SMEs.
Cisco Entrepreneur Institute Offers New Training Opportunities, Announces Strategic Partnerships
The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute announced the establishment of its AMIDEAST/West
Bank Gaza office in Ramallah. The first training of entrepreneurs expected to begin
in March 2011. Abu Dhabi University offered its first Cisco Entrepreneur Institute
course in December 2010.
The Institute also recently announced new partnerships with Abraaj Capital, USAID and World Learning. In November
2010, Cisco partnered with Abraaj Capital to support the launch of Wamda, www.wamda.com, a platform created by
Abraaj Capital and its subsidiary, Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), to facilitate entrepreneurship in the Middle
East, North Africa and South Asia. Cisco’s partnership with USAID and World Learning will promote local entrepreneurs,
workforce development and economic growth, though the establishment of the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute and the Cisco
Networking Academy.
William Davidson Institute (WDI) to Host Global Summit on Educating
Entrepreneurs
The William Davidson announces the ?Global Summit on Educating Entrepreneurs,?
to be held June 16-17, 2011 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This
conference will bring together leading thinkers in the field of international
entrepreneurship; experienced educators who have designed, tested, and
delivered successful programs, and U.S. governmental and other multilateral
donor agencies who have declared entrepreneurship development a priority.
Other participants will include international development agencies, international non-profits, and micro-lending
institutions.
?Entrepreneurship programs, and training in particular, have made significant strides in the emerging markets over the
past three years,? said WDI Executive Education Director Amy Gillett. ?This conference will facilitate discussions about
how to deliver world-class entrepreneurship programs. We will explore programmatic and curriculum approaches for
successful entrepreneurship development in emerging markets, with a focus on Muslim countries as well as non-Muslim
African nations.?
For more information on the conference and to register, please visit: www.wdientrepreneurship.com. To inquire about
sponsorship or speaking opportunities, please contact Amy Gillett at [email protected].
Stanford Technology Ventures Program Launches Roundtable in the Middle East/North Africa
The Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) at Stanford University presents five annual international conferences
for entrepreneurship educators called Roundtables on Entrepreneurship Education (REE). They are designed to stimulate
communication and collaboration between business, science and engineering faculty who teach high-technology
entrepreneurship in universities around the world. This year, Stanford will launch its first REE Middle East/North Africa
(REE MENA). The event’s co-host is the Higher Colleges of Technology, and the event will take place at the Abu Dhabi
Men’s College campus.
The event, entitled ?Entrepreneurship Oasis: Building the Regional Ecosystem?, will be a landmark event, bringing
together entrepreneurship educators and other members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem from throughout the Middle
East and North Africa, as well as other parts of the world. The goal is to create a vibrant and growing community that
works together to advance entrepreneurship education in the region.
Call for Presentations
The organizers of REE MENA 2011 invite you to share your experiences with regard to:
- Entrepreneurship education methodologies and curricula
- Research on innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East/North Africa
- Innovative entrepreneurship education programs
For more information, visithttp://ree.stanford.edu/mena_2011/index.html#call_for_pres
The Global Entrepreneurship Program
U.S. Department of State
Visit Our Website | Contact Us
doc_196562637.pdf
In this detailed paper relating to the global entrepreneurship program at the u.s. department of state.
The Global Entrepreneurship Program
at the U.S. Department of State
Issue 1 February 5, 2011
Dear GEP Partners and Friends,
Now entering the Global Entrepreneurship Program’s first full year in existence, I am
excited to offer our first quarterly GEP Newsletter. The GEP has made tremendous
progress since its April 2010 launch by Secretary Clinton at the Presidential Summit
on Entrepreneurship. We have partnered with nearly 100 organizations to support
entrepreneurs around the world, ranging from corporations to NGOs, academia to
foundations as well as financial institutions and investors.
Now that the GEP has reached critical mass and garnered increasing support, we
are increasingly focused on the GEP’s role as Catalyst, Convener and Coordinator.
This quarterly newsletter will act as a tool not only for sharing information and
suggestions between the GEP and partners, but also for maximizing synergies
between partner organizations. Through the newsletter we encourage you to
summarize your ongoing events and activities, offer opportunities for involvement in
your programs for other partners, and propose resources and ideas to the group.
Along with the expansion of GEP’s partner network, we are also witnessing growing
support within the U.S. Government to promote entrepreneurship as a major
component of our foreign economic and development policy. As Secretary Clinton
has explained, supporting entrepreneurship exemplifies a new approach to global
engagement—an approach ?based on investment, not aid; on supporting local
leadership and ideas rather than imposing our own.?
As many of you know, our first pilot country, launched in the summer of 2010 was
Egypt, followed a few months later by our second pilot country, Indonesia. Our
progress in Egypt has included the announcement of our first GEP country office
headed by a Lead Entrepreneur, and on January 13, the wrap of an incredibly
successful Entrepreneurship Delegation. Of course, a few short days after our GEP
Egypt Delegation concluded, the situation in Egypt dramatically changed and as of
this writing, continues to evolve.
We intend to continue our work promoting entrepreneurship in Egypt not in spite of
the events, but rather because they underscore the importance of our work. Egypt
has one of the highest rates of unemployment among college-educated men and
women under the age of 30 in the world – over 33% of Egypt’s unemployed have
university degrees. Entrepreneurs are drawn disproportionately from this group,
such as the two extraordinary startups that won our GEP Delegation Business Plan
Competition. It is precisely these people that not only seek meaningful opportunities,
but frankly, upon whose shoulders the future growth and prosperity of the country
most likely will depend.
We look forward to our continued work together to spur and promote
entrepreneurship as a way to create new enterprises and value-added jobs.
Best regards,
Steven R. Koltai
Senior Advisor for Entrepreneurship
About GEP
The Global Entrepreneurship
Program (GEP) is a U.S. State
Department-led effort to promote
and spur entrepreneurship around
the world. The U.S. Department of
State has the unique ability to
play the role of catalyst,
convener and coordinator.
Leveraging this ability, the GEP
marshalls primarily non-
governmental partners around six
key areas that are essential to
creating a successful
entrepreneurial ecosystem. These
six areas include: identifying
promising entrepreneurs, training
them, connecting and sustaining
entrepreneurs, guiding them to
capital, advocating for
supportive policy and regulations,
and celebrating their successes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Latest GEP News
Entrepreneurship Delegation Fosters New Partnerships with Egyptian
Innovators
New GEP Programs
Updated GEP Partner Package
GEP Partner Updates
Current List of GEP Partners
GEP Partner Spotlight: ImagineNations Network
GEP Partner Spotlight: Sawari Ventures
Partner News
- EO Partners with Department of State’s Int’l Visitors Leadership Program
- Abraaj Capital Launches Seed Funding Program and Announces
Partnership with Endeavor
- Grassroots Business Fund Named as G-20 SME Finance Challenge
Winner
- Cisco Entrepreneur Institute Offers New Training Opportunities,
Announces Strategic Partnerships
- William Davidson Institute to Host Global Summit on Educating
Entrepreneurs
- Stanford Technology Ventures Program Launches Roundtable in the
Middle East/North Africa
Bid/Ask
GEP Partner Bids
o Access to Cisco Internal Telepresence rooms & Cisco WebEx
o Training Sessions for Entrepreneurs
o Access to Global Entrepreneur Indicator Data
GEP Partner Asks
- Seeking Nominees for upcoming GEP Entrepreneurship Delegations to
Indonesia, the Maghreb and Turkey
- Women Needed for ?Wisdom Sessions?
- Volunteer as a Mentor for INN Business Plan Competition
- Entrepreneurs to Act as Strategic Partners to grow the EO Network
- Support for Research on Angel Networks in South AfricaShare Success
Stories with Africa Report
LATEST GEP NEWS
Entrepreneurship Delegation Fosters New Partnerships with Egyptian
Innovators
** The events unfolding in Egypt have had economic ramifications for Egypt. The GEP hopes
to continue its work in our first pilot country of Egypt. Supporting entrepreneurship in Egypt is
an important way to create economic growth through new enterprises and value-added
jobs—which can benefit all Egyptians. **
From January 9-12, 2011, the U.S.
Department of State’s Global
Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), led
by Senior Adviser for Entrepreneurship
Steven Koltai, brought a delegation of
11 prominent U.S. investors,
entrepreneurs and government leaders
to Cairo, Egypt to learn about business
opportunities and foster partnerships to
support entrepreneurship in Egypt. The
Upcoming
Entrepreneurship Events
January 31: The Cisco
Entrepreneur Institute will present
its Cisco UAE Select Partner
Summit 2011 in Dubai on January
31, with guest speaker Dr Eesa
Bastaki, CEO of the TRA ICT Fund.
February 21-26: The American
University in Cairo will hold the
Entrepreneurs’ Society Convention
in Cairo to enhance the
awareness of entrepreneurial
skills in advancing society.
For more information, please
contact Sayed Omar at
[email protected]
February 24: Grassroots Business
Fund will hold an ?Impact
investment? round table discussion
with Harold Rosen (Grassroots
Business Find) and Bob Annibale
(Citi) in London.
For more information, please visit:http://www.csfi.org.uk/ (By
Invitation Only)
February 28-March 4: The
American University in Cairo will
present ?The International
Conference on Global Economy
(ICGE)? in Cairo.
For more information, please
contact Sayed Omar at
[email protected].
March 4: The University of Cape
Town Graduate School of
Business will hold a presentation
on ?Creating angel investor
groups in South Africa? in Cape
Town.
For more information, please
contact Craig Mullett at
[email protected].
delegation, which included the founder and former CEO of Carmax, an MIT
management scientist and a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, was largely supported
and organized by GEP’s lead private sector partner in Egypt, Sawari Ventures.
Over the course of four days, the delegates met with and were hosted by
representatives from Egyptian business and industry, government, and academia,
including the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Cairo’s Smart
Village, Nile University, the US-Egypt Business Forum, the American Chamber of
Commerce in Egypt, and the American University in Cairo. The GEP Egypt
Entrepreneurship Delegation was the ?most useful trip I’ve taken in the past 5 years,?
said Austin Ligon, one of the GEP delegates and Founder/Chairman of Carmax.com.
The delegates also hosted a business plan competition, and, at an event on January
12, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the American University
in Cairo, and Sawari Ventures, awarded two cash prizes worth $20,000 each to the
winning concepts for a new Egyptian startup business.
The awards went to two innovative, Egyptian start-up companies whose
entrepreneurial ideas and business plans impressed the visiting U.S. delegation of
entrepreneurs: Kngine (www.kngine.com), founded by brothers Ashraf and Haytham
El Fadeel, is a web 3.0 personal assistant and search engine that can be accessed
on mobile devices. The other awardee was the Egyptian company Silminds
(http://silminds.com). CEO Mostafa El Khouly, CTO Hossam Fahmy, Design Manager
Assem El Gamal, and a team of 17 employees contribute to the team at Silminds, a
digital design company that specializes in hardware accelerators of financial
computing systems.
For more information, please see the Egypt Entrepreneurship Brief. The GEP will be
organizing a series of upcoming delegations, including delegations to Indonesia, the
Maghreb and Turkey. If you are interested in more information, please contact us at
[email protected].
March 7-9: The Stanford
Technology Ventures Program
(STVP) will hold a roundtable on
Entrepreneurship Education
Middle East/North Africa (REE
MENA) in Abu Dhabi, Dubai.
For more information please visit:http://ree.stanford.edu/mena_2
011/
March 23-25: The Global
Technology Symposium will occur
in Silicon Valley. For more
information, please visit:http://globaltechsymposium.com/
index.html
GEP Programs
In an effort to address the gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the GEP has created programs that not only focus on
the needs in GEP core countries, but that are also relevant and available to non-GEP core countries. The GEP-driven
programs are global in design and can be implemented in a country which expresses need or interest. Funding for
these programs differs based on the circumstance and we are looking for GEP partners to leverage their resources to
make these programs a success.
GEP’s Updated Partner Package
The GEP Partner Package explains in detail the overall mission of the GEP. It also outlines the process of becoming a
partner and includes a sample letter of intent as a model to express an incremental commitment to the program. As an
official GEP Partner, an organization will be able to participate in the ?Bid/Ask? section of the newsletter, have access
to GEP resources, and be invited to GEP delegations and events. We work with partners both globally and at the
country-level, so we ask partners working in GEP core countries to specify their activities in these countries and express
their incremental commitment as it relates to this country.
PARTNER UPDATES
Current List of GEP Partners
The GEP Network continues to grow! We now have 90 partners working to support entrepreneurship around the world.
See the attached file for the full list.
GEP Partner Spotlight: Sawari Ventures
With the stated goal of ?identifying, serving, and providing capital for extraordinary
entrepreneurs who are changing the MENA region?, it’s no surprise that Sawari Ventures was
a perfect fit for the role of lead private-sector partner during the GEP Egypt
Entrepreneurship Delegation earlier this month. Sawari Ventures played a pivotal role
supporting and organizing the delegation. Most notably, the Sawari team organized an Entrepreneur Showcase, a
business plan competition that awarded two Egyptian entrepreneurs $20,000 each in seed funding and offered
mentoring opportunities for 52 other contestants.
While the events of recent days remind us of the significant issues that remain in Egypt and other countries in the MENA
– political instability and high unemployment, as an example – Sawari Ventures see the potential of Egypt’s talent.
?Local entrepreneurs possess world-class talent, but need access to capital, mentorship and expanded networks to
realize their full potential,? said Ahmed El Alfi, Founder and Chairman of Sawari Ventures. Egypt represents a market
of more than 80 million people, and is the gateway to the broader MENA market of 320 million people (larger than
US, Brazil or Russia).
In confirmation of this need, Sawari is doing more than providing much needed access to capital to entrepreneurs. At
the final event of the GEP’s Delegation to Egypt, the firm signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the
American University in Cairo (AUC) to launch a new entrepreneurship lab, Flat6 Labs. Leslie Jump, Partner at Sawari,
calls the lab ?Y-Combinator meets Survivor.? Flat6 Labs will offer financing, mentoring and relationship capital for a
new generation of entrepreneurs to deliver on the promise of the mobile and social web. The Lab, which Jump describes
as similar in feel to a Soho industrial loft--an uncommon aesthetic for Cairo, will provide desktop space, bandwidth, and
other incubator-like services designed to support startup operations. Unlike traditional incubators, Flat6 Labs does not
?incubate? businesses; rather Flat6 Labs is about accelerating entrepreneurs in Egypt.
About Sawari Ventures: Sawari Ventures is a Cairo-based venture capital firm, focusing on early- and growth-stage media and
communications companies in the Middle East and North Africa. Led by Ahmed El Alfi, Hany Al-Sonbaty and Leslie Jump, the firm
announced the launch of its fund as well as initial investments the week following the delegation on January 18, 2011.
GEP Partner Spotlight: ImagineNations Network
ImagineNations Network is a platform of global and local portals that engages and connects
young entrepreneurs to each other and to mentors, supporters, financing sources and markets to
spur the development and growth of youth-led businesses. Through global and local portals,
ImagineNations Network (INN) offers a one-stop platform for young people, NGOs,
supporters, financing sources, commercial outlets, and others to interact virtually to promote youth-led entrepreneurship
and economic development.
INN enables entrepreneurs, mentors, and supporters to interact virtually by offering access to:
o Peer Networking: Linking people or groups in the same country or across the globe who share common
interests, ideas and challenges
o Q&A Forums: Personalized answers to business questions
o Mentoring and Advising: Expertise from experienced peers and business
professionals
o Content Knowledge Base: Educational articles, videos and practical tools
covering a range of business topics
INN is the host of the GEP’s E-Mentor Corps. GEP partners are encouraged to participate by signing on as a mentor or
sharing the site to entrepreneurs in need of a mentor. In addition to participating in the E-Mentor Corps, Partners can
participate in the first INN-sponsored business plan competition.
The Business Plan Competition
INN’s first Business Plan Competition offers a new way to engage the almost 1,000 young entrepreneurs registered on
the network. One winner will be able to turn their business plan and idea into reality with $10,000 in start-up funding.
The competition leverages INN’s vast mentorship resources, by linking up entrepreneurs in the second round with mentors
who have experience writing business plans. To join click here (entry deadline is 2/14). For more info please contact
Rafael Viturro at [email protected].
EO Partners with Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership
Program
From September 20 – October 8, 2010, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
participated as a lead partner on the Department of State’s International Visitors
Leadership Program (IVLP) entitled A New Beginning: Entrepreneurship and Business
Innovation. Announced by President Barack Obama at the 2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, this program
provides a professional exchange experience for 28 leading entrepreneurs from 28 countries.
In each of the program’s four cities, the local Chapters of EO hosted Accelerator educational seminars, engaged in
peer-to-peer sharing in Forums with the delegates, created networking events to connect with local entrepreneurs and
built lasting relationships. A New Beginning will continue for three additional years, with this year’s program running
September 26 - October 14, 2011.
“Through these relationships, we are building momentum with leading entrepreneurs that are ready to make an impact and in need
of support in development of communities and connections to a global entrepreneurial network.”
- Adrienne Cornelson, Global Communications Committee for EO
Abraaj Capital Launches Seed Funding Program and Announces Partnership with Endeavor
Abraaj Capital’s SME Investment Platform, Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), has recently
launched a seed-funding program in Egypt in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of CIT
(MCIT) and the Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (TIEC). In addition to the
services offered by the TIEC, the successful startups will have a chance of receiving seed
funding to support early phases of their project development.
Abraaj Capital and Endeavor recently announced a strategic alliance to combine the
expertise of the region’s largest private equity firm with Endeavor, a NGO that transforms emerging markets by
establishing high-impact entrepreneurship as the leading force for economic development. The joint venture will include
the founding of an Endeavor regional hub for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, hosted
by Abraaj Capital and headquartered in Dubai. This will become a base for the organization to grow its capabilities in
the Arabian Gulf and beyond, offering the opportunity for early-stage businesses to access the mentorship and
networks required for them to flourish. The Dubai office will allow Endeavor to promote its expansion to new countries
in the region and to provide expanded services to its country affiliates in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, all of
which will continue to operate independently.
Grassroots Business Fund Named as a G-20 SME Finance Challenge Winner
During the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit, world leaders launched a
global SME Finance Challenge to locate the best models for
catalyzing finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
around the world. The first-ever competition was a unique
financial inclusion initiative aimed at giving small entrepreneurs
a chance to help them grow and scale up solutions.
The Grassroots Business Fund, which is an impact investing
organization that builds and supports High Impact Businesses around the world, was named one of 14 winners for the
G-20 SME Finance Challenge. GBF’s winning proposal to establish the ?East African Rural Enterprise Facility? will help
create wealth, and provide jobs for up to 150 SMEs specializing in agribusiness. In addition, the facility will provide
technical assistance targeted at improving business management, reporting systems, and internal controls of these SMEs.
Cisco Entrepreneur Institute Offers New Training Opportunities, Announces Strategic Partnerships
The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute announced the establishment of its AMIDEAST/West
Bank Gaza office in Ramallah. The first training of entrepreneurs expected to begin
in March 2011. Abu Dhabi University offered its first Cisco Entrepreneur Institute
course in December 2010.
The Institute also recently announced new partnerships with Abraaj Capital, USAID and World Learning. In November
2010, Cisco partnered with Abraaj Capital to support the launch of Wamda, www.wamda.com, a platform created by
Abraaj Capital and its subsidiary, Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), to facilitate entrepreneurship in the Middle
East, North Africa and South Asia. Cisco’s partnership with USAID and World Learning will promote local entrepreneurs,
workforce development and economic growth, though the establishment of the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute and the Cisco
Networking Academy.
William Davidson Institute (WDI) to Host Global Summit on Educating
Entrepreneurs
The William Davidson announces the ?Global Summit on Educating Entrepreneurs,?
to be held June 16-17, 2011 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This
conference will bring together leading thinkers in the field of international
entrepreneurship; experienced educators who have designed, tested, and
delivered successful programs, and U.S. governmental and other multilateral
donor agencies who have declared entrepreneurship development a priority.
Other participants will include international development agencies, international non-profits, and micro-lending
institutions.
?Entrepreneurship programs, and training in particular, have made significant strides in the emerging markets over the
past three years,? said WDI Executive Education Director Amy Gillett. ?This conference will facilitate discussions about
how to deliver world-class entrepreneurship programs. We will explore programmatic and curriculum approaches for
successful entrepreneurship development in emerging markets, with a focus on Muslim countries as well as non-Muslim
African nations.?
For more information on the conference and to register, please visit: www.wdientrepreneurship.com. To inquire about
sponsorship or speaking opportunities, please contact Amy Gillett at [email protected].
Stanford Technology Ventures Program Launches Roundtable in the Middle East/North Africa
The Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) at Stanford University presents five annual international conferences
for entrepreneurship educators called Roundtables on Entrepreneurship Education (REE). They are designed to stimulate
communication and collaboration between business, science and engineering faculty who teach high-technology
entrepreneurship in universities around the world. This year, Stanford will launch its first REE Middle East/North Africa
(REE MENA). The event’s co-host is the Higher Colleges of Technology, and the event will take place at the Abu Dhabi
Men’s College campus.
The event, entitled ?Entrepreneurship Oasis: Building the Regional Ecosystem?, will be a landmark event, bringing
together entrepreneurship educators and other members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem from throughout the Middle
East and North Africa, as well as other parts of the world. The goal is to create a vibrant and growing community that
works together to advance entrepreneurship education in the region.
Call for Presentations
The organizers of REE MENA 2011 invite you to share your experiences with regard to:
- Entrepreneurship education methodologies and curricula
- Research on innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East/North Africa
- Innovative entrepreneurship education programs
For more information, visithttp://ree.stanford.edu/mena_2011/index.html#call_for_pres
The Global Entrepreneurship Program
U.S. Department of State
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