8-Nov Global Entrepreneurship Week: Celebrating Innovation Worldwide

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a vibrant, worldwide initiative that inspires and introduces entrepreneurship to millions of people—especially youth—across six continents. Established in 2008, GEW grew out of the successful Enterprise Week UK and Entrepreneurship Week USA in 2007. Its mission is to empower individuals to pursue innovative ideas, launch new businesses, and drive economic and social development around the globe.

The Kauffman Foundation and Global Entrepreneurship Week

GEW is powered and supported by the Kauffman Foundation, a leading organization dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship and education. The week celebrates innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who bring ideas to life, launch startups, and create significant social and economic value.

Entrepreneurs worldwide often face complex and unclear administrative requirements, which increase the cost of doing business and can deter new company registrations and investment. These bureaucratic hurdles may also foster environments susceptible to corruption. To address these challenges, the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) has partnered with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). UNCTAD has developed digital government systems that simplify and automate administrative procedures, making essential services more accessible for entrepreneurs everywhere.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM): Measuring Entrepreneurial Activity

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is an annual research project that evaluates entrepreneurial activity and attitudes across multiple countries. Based in London, GEM provides valuable insights into national levels of entrepreneurial interest, helping policymakers, researchers, and ecosystem builders understand the factors that influence entrepreneurship.

GEM’s comprehensive data supports initiatives aimed at fostering healthier startup environments and scaling businesses effectively worldwide.

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN): Empowering Entrepreneurs Globally

The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates a robust platform of projects and programs in over 180 countries, all designed to make starting and scaling businesses easier. GEN fosters cross-border collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers, and support organizations, building stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems that create jobs, accelerate innovation, and drive economic growth.

GEN’s global footprint includes national operations and international initiatives focused on policy, research, and programming. This diversity ensures participants can access relevant knowledge, networks, and resources tailored to their unique economic context, language, culture, geography, and developmental stage.

GEN’s Four Pillars of Action

GEN organizes its work into four key pillars, supporting entrepreneurs at every stage:

Celebrate

Global Entrepreneurship Week is the flagship program under this pillar, engaging millions each November through approximately 35,000 events. These activities celebrate entrepreneurs and inspire others—especially those facing structural barriers or new to entrepreneurship—to start their own ventures.

Understand

This pillar includes GEN Research and other data-driven projects that collect and analyze information related to new business formation. The goal is to better understand the conditions that enable entrepreneurs to thrive and to inform effective policy and program design.

Support

GEN offers a variety of programs to support entrepreneurs at all levels, providing policy guidance, investment opportunities, acceleration programs, educational resources, and community-building tools. Key initiatives include:

GEN Policy – Advocacy for entrepreneurship-friendly policies
GEN Invest – Connecting startups to investors
GEN Accelerates – Business acceleration programs
GEN Campus – Entrepreneurial education and training for students
GEN Space – Physical and virtual spaces supporting startups
GEN Starters Club – A community for early-stage entrepreneurs
Global Enterprise Registration – Simplifying the legal process of starting a business
Startup Huddle – Crowdsourcing solutions to challenges faced by local founder groups
Entrepreneurship World Cup – A major global pitch competition offering top-tier education and mentorship

Connect

Through its digital platform and live events, GEN connects entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, and community leaders worldwide. Notable events include the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, GEC+, and the Startup Nations Summit. GEN is also expanding its virtual programming to foster deeper global connections and collaborations.

For more information about GEN and its programs, visit GEN Global.

Global Entrepreneurship Week in Action

Every November, Global Entrepreneurship Week brings together millions of people through thousands of events, workshops, competitions, and networking opportunities. These activities highlight entrepreneurship’s vital role as a driver of economic growth and social change worldwide.

Participants range from first-time entrepreneurs to seasoned business owners, investors, academics, policymakers, and students. GEW’s inclusive approach ensures that people from diverse backgrounds and regions can engage, learn, and be inspired to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.

Why Global Entrepreneurship Week Matters

Entrepreneurship is a powerful engine for innovation, job creation, and economic resilience. GEW plays a crucial role in raising awareness and providing resources that empower individuals to turn ideas into impactful businesses. By celebrating success stories and offering tools for growth, GEW helps cultivate a global culture that values creativity, risk-taking, and problem-solving.

The week-long celebration also helps identify and address systemic challenges entrepreneurs face, such as regulatory barriers and access to finance. Through collaboration with international organizations, governments, and private sector partners, GEW supports the development of policies and ecosystems that foster entrepreneurship worldwide.