Bissau, Guinea- Bissau – November 18th, 2022 – InnovaLab will mark Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) on November 18th – December 6th by hosting a series of events and activities across the country to promote and celebrate entrepreneurship.
GEW Guinea-Bissau includes two weeks of activities, beginning November 18th. The first week of events will include an entrepreneurship roadshow. Stops will cover each of the regions in bissau: Canchungo (North), Bissorã (Center), Bafata (East), Bubaque (South/islands), Buba (South) and Bissau (Univ. Amilcar Cabral). Activities at each location will include a one day bootcamp and an ecosystem survey.
The second week of activities begins with two online convenings of entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders. The first will cover topics pertaining to regional successes and challenges, with representation from Senegal, Guinea-Conakry, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia. The second event will bring together representatives from Lusophone countries, including Angola, Moçambique, Cabo Verde and São Tomé & Príncipe, Portugal, Brazil to share and discuss how their respective ecosystems are designing and implementing approaches to build back stronger post-Covid.
The GEW activities will end with a formal presentation to national, regional and international stakeholders on the launch of Orik Capital, an impact fund dedicated to financing micro, small and medium sized businesses in Guinea-Bissau. During this gathering we will discuss how this approach, chosen by the Government of Guinea-Bissau, can leverage entrepreneurship and digital transformation to help with the economic recovery of the country post-COVID-19 and beyond.
GEW is an international movement, organized by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and powered by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation with support from strategic partners, dedicated to making it possible for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a company.
Each November, GEW celebrates and empowers millions of entrepreneurs in every country and community around the world. GEW is hosted in Guinea-Bissau by InnovaLab, the country’s pioneering innovation hub, in partnership with the Government of Guinea-Bissau, US Embassy in Dakar and the Support Cell for the Management of COVID-19 Funds from the office of the President.
“The closing of so many businesses and loss of jobs brought on by COVID-19 has been a wakeup call. We are rallying to reboot our economy for a better, more sustainable and equitable post-pandemic. Meanwhile, we are also rethinking approaches to build back stronger and regenerate growth with many initiatives nationwide that need to be connected. This is what motivated the choice of this year’s theme: Connecting approaches to build back stronger and regenerate growth“ – Adulai Bary, CEO of InnovaLab and GEN MD for Guinea-Bissau
5000 of people will participate in local events, joining the more than 10 million people and 20,000 organizations participating in thousands of activities, competitions and events globally.
2022 marks 15 years of GEW celebrations and activities. The campaign launched in 2008 with 77 countries participating. This year, activities will take place in 200 countries.
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