Throughout this week, when another 80 countries launch Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), there will be a significant number of events organized by GEW partners at universities, schools, companies, professional associations, technological centers and municipalities. Like last week’s events in Muslim countries, the activities will be diversified, ranging from thematic conferences to networking with investors and entrepreneurs, presentation of business plans, recreational events, sport events, cultural events, etc. There will be something for everyone and I encourage all to take advantage of these opportunities.
I am currently in Portugal where much has changed since the country joined the EU in 1986. Over these years, Portuguese governments have liberalized some areas of the economy, such as the telecommunications sector, unleashing a wave of opportunity-recognition among its people. At the same time, the status of entrepreneurs, particularly of the innovative, high-risk-taker kind, has rapidly evolved in a positive way. As a recent article on INSEAD’s site explains, in the past there was a strong tradition of family business and industrial organizations that dominated sectors and government-held companies. High-growth, high-impact entrepreneurship was not mainstream. Today, it is not hard to come up with a list of Portuguese innovators like ISA, a global technology company that spun off Portugal’s the University of Coimbra, and BA Glass and Purificação Tavares, whose entrepreneurs were all recognized during the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 ceremony.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Global Entrepreneurship Week Kicks off Around the World and Portugals New Age of Discovery - Entrepreneurship.org
Author: Jonathan Ortmans is president of the Public Forum Institute, a non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering dialogue on important policy issues. In this capacity, he leads the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, focused on public policies to promote entrepreneurship in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he serves as a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation.
