Secretary Pritzker and Three PAGE Ambassadors to Attend Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Marrakech, Morocco

Over the past 16 months as Secretary of Commerce, one of the most exciting aspects of my job has been meeting with dynamic entrepreneurs who have the creativity, talent, and ambition to put forward new ideas, drive economic growth, and create the next wave of jobs around the globe.
 
From Scottsdale, Arizona to Saudi Arabia to Ukraine to Nashville, Tennessee and dozens of other cities in the U.S. and abroad, I have been truly inspired by young leaders who are turning their concepts into businesses and creating lasting impacts in their communities.
 
We know that entrepreneurship is a common thread connecting young people and innovators across borders, cultures, and markets—and that an individual’s ability to pursue his or her dreams and achieve prosperity is a force for stability around the world.
 
President Obama sought to promote the power of entrepreneurship with the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Cairo five years ago, and our Administration-wide efforts to inspire the next generation of innovators globally have never been stronger. We look forward to continuing those efforts with this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Marrakech, Morocco.
 
The idea behind these yearly gatherings is to bring together the world’s best and brightest innovators to demonstrate what is possible, and inspire more great thinkers to follow their dreams.
 
At last year’s Summit in Malaysia, President Obama gave me a very important task. He asked that I bring together and chair a group of America’s most inspiring innovators to serve as entrepreneurship ambassadors at home and around the world. As someone who started five companies and spent 27 years in the private sector, this is something I know a little bit about.
 
Our group – the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship – or PAGE – truly embodies the spirit of American innovation, which is one of our country’s greatest assets and exports. From Tory Burch, who grew her eponymous lifestyle brand from one small boutique back in 2004 to a global fashion empire, to Rich Barton, who turned his company Zillow into the largest real estate marketplace in the United States, our PAGE members are promoting the power of entrepreneurship here at home and around the world.  
                                        
The idea behind the PAGE program echoes our Administration-wide efforts on entrepreneurship: to empower young people to turn their ideas into startup successes; and to lay the groundwork for opportunity and job creation in every community. PAGE is organized around three things that entrepreneurs need to succeed-- access to education and talent, access to capital, and access to inspiration and hope.
 
This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit represents an opportunity to build on the energy of dynamic entrepreneurs from around the world, and to leverage their talent and spirit to deepen ties between governments, businesses, foundations, universities, and innovators worldwide.
 
So let's use this Summit as a call to action—for entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, and policy-makers around the world to forge sustainable networks, share best practices, create pro-innovation policies and demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship to grow local and global economies.
 
I look forward to joining all of you in Morocco this November to celebrate the spirit and success of young entrepreneurs around the world.