The Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between celebrated American entrepreneurs, the White House, the Department of Commerce, and our Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, Small Business Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration partners. Our goal is to harness their energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad. The initiative is organized around three pillars: Providing opportunities and pathways to access capital; access talent and education; and access hope and inspiration.
President Obama launched and established PAGE in April 2014 and the initiative is chaired by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. As part of their commitment to entrepreneurship, PAGE members develop Signature Entrepreneurship Initiatives designed to inspire entrepreneurs, expand networks and global exposure of existing entrepreneurs, or increase deal-flow between investors and entrepreneurs. They also participate in public events and lend their voices and platforms to connect with entrepreneurs at home and abroad.
In the initiative’s first year, PAGE members have actively delivered on the mission. Domestically, Steve Case launched the “Rise of the Rest” – a bus tour that has championed and invested $1 million in startups in nine cities across the country. Tory Burch’s Elizabeth Street Capital initiative partnered with Bank of America to increase mentorship opportunities and loans to female entrepreneurs. Hamdi Ulukaya announced the launch of a food incubator in Brooklyn. On the global stage, Nina Vaca traveled with Secretary Pritzker to Accra, Ghana for two days of mentorship and workshops with entrepreneurs. Alexa von Tobel and Steve Case addressed the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Fellowship Summit. Von Tobel, Ulukaya and Daphne Koller travelled to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco. Rich Barton took part in a Tech Connect sponsored by the Global Innovation through Science and Technology initiative. Koller announced that Coursera would produce an entrepreneurship specialization in partnership with the University of Maryland—an online course that teaches entrepreneurship fundamentals accessible to anyone with an internet connection around the world.
