Businesses are the backbone of modern society, driving the economy and fostering creativity. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) was created to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship through a series of global activities each November. Since its launch in 2008, GEW has become the world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship, inspiring individuals to explore and develop their business ideas.

Supported by various partners, GEW creates vibrant ecosystems that nurture new ventures and innovative ideas. For businesses, it’s a valuable opportunity to engage with the community and gain exposure. This guide will explore how your company can make the most of the Global Entrepreneurship Week through effective event planning, promotion, and impact measurement.

Ready? Let’s hop into it!

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is an annual event designed to celebrate and promote entrepreneurship worldwide. Launched in 2008, GEW aims to inspire, engage, and connect entrepreneurs through a wide range of activities, including workshops, networking events, pitch competitions, and panel discussions. The week-long event, typically held in November, spans over 170 countries and brings together millions of participants, including aspiring entrepreneurs, established business leaders, and community organizations.

GEW focuses on fostering a culture of entrepreneurship by highlighting innovative ideas, showcasing successful ventures, and providing resources and support for individuals interested in starting or growing their own businesses. The initiative helps to raise awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship in driving economic growth and job creation, while also creating opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing among entrepreneurs and stakeholders across the globe.

In addition, the Global Entrepreneurship Week aims to spark a love of entrepreneurship in younger people. This event occurs simultaneously in almost every continent. Currently, 125 countries participate in the global entrepreneurship week to achieve various goals. This is done through cooperation with host organizations in each country to organize these events. The event starts on the second Monday in November.

What Does Global Entrepreneurship Week Teach?

Global Entrepreneurship Week is focused on imparting a range of core skills and attitudes to young people. After all, the goal is to create the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs. So, what does this involve?

In other words, what makes a great entrepreneur?

Successful entrepreneurs are essentially responsible for all elements of growing a business. This means that entrepreneurs have to be resilient and adaptable above all else. This is a high-pressure endeavour, so entrepreneurs can’t crack under pressure. Additionally, one of the biggest challenges for any entrepreneur is finding new opportunities.

The first element of this is coming up with the right entrepreneurial ideas. Then, the next step is to use soft skills to find customers and clients. This requires determination, communication and organisation above all else.

How Does Global Entrepreneurship Week Teach These Skills?

So, how does Global Entrepreneurship Week help to promote these skills? As a massive international event, GEN has a diverse range of events worldwide. However, the majority of these fall into a handful of categories.

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

Networking Events

As an entrepreneur, many of your idea’s success relies on presenting it to the right people. It is always important to keep a busy contact list. Networking events aim to help like-minded individuals meet.

This is a valuable opportunity for individuals trying to enter the business world, exactly what Global Entrepreneurship Week aims to do.

Through meeting people who have similar ideas, it makes way for the possibility of partnerships or cooperation between those individuals. Furthermore, if you attend these events, you will have the valuable opportunity of meeting some of your local business success to learn from their experiences.

Workshops

This is another great type of event, which is very informative. Workshops are like smaller-scale lectures where the audience interacts with the speaker. These are incredibly useful when convincing your audience about your experiences and decisions.

These workshops can be thought of as an entrepreneur boot camp.

The attendees learn various lessons about launching a business. They can learn various useful strategies regarding how to improve their initial ideas, how to estimate its viability and how to obtain investors.

Presentations and Question Sessions

These events are aimed at highly successful entrepreneurs, where a large audience is expected.

It is usually a lecture given by an owner of an incredibly successful business. Afterwards, there is usually a question and answer session where the audience may ask questions about the discussed topic.

Now that we know the available events during Global Entrepreneurship Week let’s look at some previous events.

Activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week

Planning impactful activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) requires a strategic approach to engage, inspire, and support entrepreneurs at various stages of their journey. GEW is a global celebration of entrepreneurship that connects innovators, educators, investors, policymakers, and community leaders to help people explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Here are key steps to planning meaningful activities for this significant week:

Brainstorming Event Ideas

Host workshops that align with your expertise, such as social media marketing or fundraising, to provide valuable learning opportunities for your community. These sessions not only share knowledge but also position your startup as a thought leader in your industry. Additionally, organizing startup pitch competitions with prizes and a panel of judges from your local community can foster innovation and encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas.

Beyond workshops and competitions, create spaces for meaningful connections by facilitating networking events, panel discussions, and inspirational speaker sessions. Arrange office tours or open house events to give others a glimpse into your startup’s culture and operations. Consider sponsoring a co-working day, where entrepreneurs can collaborate and exchange ideas in a supportive environment. Lastly, support student events at local universities that focus on entrepreneurship, helping to nurture the next generation of innovators.

Finding Potential Partners

Engage with small business sponsors to secure essential resources, judges, mentors, and promotional support for your events. These partnerships can enhance the quality and reach of your initiatives, while also providing valuable exposure for the sponsors. By aligning with local businesses, you create a mutually beneficial relationship that strengthens the entrepreneurial ecosystem in your area. Additionally, consider collaborating with startup incubators or accelerators to co-host events. These organizations often have established networks and expertise that can amplify the impact of your efforts, making your events more attractive to a wider audience.

Further, reach out to local economic development agencies and chambers of commerce to involve them in your initiatives. Their support can offer credibility and access to additional resources, as well as help connect you with key stakeholders in the community. Leverage existing entrepreneurial communities and groups to promote your activities, ensuring that your events are well-attended and engaging. By tapping into these networks, you can maximize participation and create a dynamic environment that fosters growth and innovation.

Handling Logistics

Choose event venues that align with your anticipated attendance and the specific resources required for a successful event. The right venue should accommodate your expected audience size while also providing the necessary infrastructure, such as ample seating, breakout rooms, and accessible facilities. Consider factors like location, parking, and ease of access to ensure your event is convenient for participants. In addition to securing a suitable venue, hire vendors to handle essential services such as catering, A/V equipment, signage, and other supplies. High-quality vendors can enhance the overall experience by providing reliable and professional support throughout your event.

To ensure a smooth and well-organized event, recruit a dedicated team for various roles, including registration, setup, photography, videography, and volunteer coordination. These individuals are crucial for managing logistics and ensuring that all aspects of the event run seamlessly. Having a skilled team in place allows you to focus on engaging with attendees and maximizing the impact of your event. Finally, register your event on the Global Entrepreneurship Week website to increase visibility and attract a broader audience. This platform connects you with a global network of entrepreneurs, offering additional promotional opportunities and the chance to be part of a larger movement celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship.

Involvement with Global Entrepreneurship Week

Pitching Media

• Contact local business publications, radio stations, and TV news with event press releases and story pitches.
• Highlight unique elements like competitions, high-profile speakers, or tie-ins to a hot industry.
• Offer editorial previews of your event and interviews with organizers.

Leveraging Social Media

• Share event details across your startup’s social accounts leading up to the week.
• Post video teasers, speaker spotlights, and registration links.
• Ask partners to help amplify your content.
• Share live coverage, photos, and attendee testimonials as the event occurs.

Tie-ins and Giveaways

• Run ticket giveaways and contests to drive registrations.
• Offer special discounts or perks for participating startups.
• Hand out branded swag – t-shirts, pens, and stickers to promote your involvement.

The key is generating excitement both in advance of and during your event through media, social channels, and attractive offers.

Measuring the impact of your Global Entrepreneurship Week events:

Setting Goals:

• Attendee numbers – a target for signups and actual turnout.
• Social media – followers gained, content reach, engagement.
• Media hits – aim for several media stories and interview opportunities.
• Leads captured – emails, signups to your services or platform.

Tracking Metrics:

• Monitor event registration and attendance in real time.
• Use social media analytics to track reach and engagement.
• Record media mentions and coverage secured.
• Collect lead contact info through sign-up forms.

Conducting Surveys:

• Poll attendees on satisfaction, key learnings, and feedback.
• Ask partners and sponsors for testimonials on the event.
• Follow up via email for additional thoughts on the post-event survey.

Analyze data to identify successes and areas for improvement and quantify your event’s impact. Measure against your predefined goals.

Previous Global Entrepreneurship Events

These are some of the most successful events in the history of Global Entrepreneurship Week. These give the attendee valuable tips and motivation to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

Inspiring Women to Make It Happen

This was a meetup on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day that aimed to celebrate women entrepreneurs. This event contained some examples of female business success. These UK-based women were able to transform their idea into a successful business.

They were able to convince investors of the viability of their idea and were willing to take the risk. This event aimed to prove that women can play a major role in the business as entrepreneurs, as was proven by the various examples attending like:

Roxy Vickerman of SOAK Shakes & Co.

Roxy and Emma shared a love for diner-style milkshakes. They saw a gap in their market for such drinks and thus began their vision for creating and selling these drinks in various shops across the UK.

They created a healthier drink that relied less on chemicals, which captured the public’s admiration. Now, it is unlikely to find a shop that does not have its drink available.

Sudha Kheterpal of Shake Your Power

Sudha Kheterpal is a British-Indian musician who had great ideas regarding clean energy. Her company has created Spark, which is a percussion-like device that generates electricity out of the supplied kinetic energy.

In addition, it also generates power from solar energy. This device is sold as kits that you have to assemble yourself. This provides a great lesson for children and adults alike regarding renewable energy and its accessibility.

Currently, the business aims for its learning kits to reach schools to raise awareness among the newer generations.

Patria-Kaye Aarons of Sweetie Confectionery

Patria is a great example of a truly ambitious entrepreneur. She chose to leave her stable job as a marketer in order to pursue her dream of creating her own candy manufacturing business.

Coming from Jamaican origins, she found a gap in Caribbean flavours in candy, and she chose to fill that gap. She struggled to transition from marketing to creating her product, but her hard work paid off in the end.

Through several networking events, she met the right people, and currently, her candy is shipped to several countries where it is an established brand.

Load Sharing 3.0 Breakfast

Load Sharing 3.0 is an event based in Cape Town, South Africa, where entrepreneurs meet up in person to share experiences. It is an event that allows all kinds of people interested in entrepreneurship to discuss their ideas, success stories and tips.

You can find all kinds of business people attending such an event, from incredibly successful entrepreneurs to aspiring ones who have just started. It is truly a great opportunity for learning, networking and motivation.

Business Gateway Workshop – Business Planning

A workshop that aimed to teach aspiring entrepreneurs the essentials of having a successful business. This workshop, in particular, revolved around the steps needed to create a plan for your business.

Starting from a simple idea, followed by creating a description of your business, and then starting the planning process. The event also highlighted some skills entrepreneurs should have to convince people when pitching their plans.

How to Guarantee Your Business Success Online

The benefits of online marketing are of no argument. This event tackled the importance of your business’s presence online.

The speaker, Martyn Brown, discussed the key elements to the success of your business online. He claims that any business, no matter the size, should work on its online brand, and he has provided the essential tips necessary to ensure your success.

Decades of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

2017 was the 10th anniversary of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

If you are interested in this year’s GEW, you can look up planned events near you to join in on this wonderful celebration of business.

Alternatively, suppose you have any experiences to share. In that case, it might be a good idea to sign up as an available speaker, which is a great addition to you as an entrepreneur and for your business that will gain a lot of exposure.

It is no doubt that this event provides useful insights for new and old businesses alike. It is always a good idea to attend these events as they are a true eye-opener to the available business solutions.

Conclusion

Global Entrepreneurship Week provides unparalleled opportunities to support and participate in your local entrepreneurship ecosystem. By strategically planning events aligned with your startup’s strengths and resources, you can attract and inspire your target audience while making a broader community impact.

With smart goal-setting, promotion, and measurement practices, your hard work can result in valuable media exposure, partnership development, lead generation, and brand visibility during the world’s largest celebration of innovators.

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