Countdown to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit

President Obama believes "Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: the idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country. And in fulfilling this promise, entrepreneurs also play a critical role in expanding our economy and creating jobs."

With that in mind, the President announced in 2009 the creation of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), a platform intended to facilitate the exchange of views and ideas between global business leaders and entrepreneurs and strengthen alliances among them. Previous summits have been hosted by the United States, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia.

At last year’s GES in Malaysia, President Obama asked Secretary Pritzker to chair the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE), making her the Administration's point person on entrepreneurship. In April, Secretary Pritzker chaired the first PAGE meeting, bringing together a group of America’s most inspiring innovators to serve as ambassadors for global entrepreneurship.

Six months later, the PAGE initiative continues to gain momentum, with PAGE members actively engaged in promoting innovation here at home and abroad.

To celebrate six months of the PAGE initiative, we are launching a video blog series, featuring our very own PAGE members who will share with you why entrepreneurship is important and why it is integral that the public and private sectors work together to make our economy stronger and more innovative.

Please visit http://beta.commerce.gov/PAGE to learn more about PAGE and the ambassadors who are committed to sharing their time, energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs in the United States and around the world.

Among many events, here is a sample of what PAGE members have been doing to create an environment where creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship can grow and thrive.

• Revolution CEO Steve Case has completed two successful “Rise of the Rest” bus tours, visiting Madison, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Nashville, to celebrate entrepreneurship and accelerate local entrepreneurship in cities off the Silicon Valley path. In each city, Case awarded $100,000 to one startup pitch contest winner. He believes that vibrant startup communities across America are emerging and gaining momentum.
• Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller led the way for the online learning company to roll-out a new entrepreneurship specialization, which will give anyone the opportunity to follow university-led courses, complete a real-life project, and earn a certificate to show prospective employers.
• The Tory Burch Foundation joined Bank of America to launch an initiative called Elizabeth Street Capital, which encourages more female entrepreneurship and provides fledgling businesses with the financial support they need. They will also leverage their physical presence in Boston, Charlotte, Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, to offer mentoring events and ongoing networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
• LearnVest CEO Alexa von Tobel shared her experiences and expertise at the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Launched in 2014, YALI is a signature effort that connects young African leaders to leadership training opportunities at some of America’s top universities to help expand their skills and knowledge so they can foster entrepreneurial change in their communities and countries.
• Pinnacle CEO Nina Vaca joined Secretary Pritzker in Ghana to visit the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and the MEST Incubator program, which provides training, investment and mentoring opportunities for aspiring technology entrepreneurs in Africa.
• Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, Tory Burch, and Steve Case delivered commencement addresses at the University of Albany, Babson College, and Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, respectively. Although each member has a unique story to tell, each PAGE member focused on the critical role of entrepreneurship.

As someone who spent 27 years in the private sector and created five companies, Secretary Pritzker knows what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur and turn a good idea into a successful business. Part of her outreach to the business community – she has met with more than 1200 CEOs, including over one-third of Fortune 500 companies – has included a focus on meeting with entrepreneurs. For example, she stopped in Nashville and New Orleans, where she visited non-profit incubators that connect entrepreneurs with investors, mentors and resources that are crucial to accelerating the launch of their startup businesses and contributing to their local communities.

In April of this year, Secretary Pritzker went to Arizona to tour SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center that provides business services and programs to budding and established companies. In addition, Secretary Pritzker joined Steve Case in Cincinnati as part of his “Rise of the Rest” bus tour in June, to visit local incubators and start-ups together. She has also taken the entrepreneurship conversation abroad, holding productive discussions with entrepreneurs in the Philippines, Korea, Ghana, Poland and Ukraine.

Secretary Pritzker will continue working with PAGE members and America’s business leaders to spur creativity and entrepreneurship in the United States. Promoting entrepreneurship is part of the Commerce Department’s “Open for Business Agenda” and its focus on innovation, and it can generate prosperity globally by spurring job growth and encouraging innovative solutions to pressing challenges.