During his visit to Cork today (Friday), Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced that Ireland had been selected to host the Startup Nations Summit in November 2016. The event, organized annually by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), has never been held in Europe previously and is likely to draw startup-savvy policymakers, advisers and startup community leaders from around the world, who are interested in helping entrepreneurs start and scale new enterprises.
Kenny congratulated Cork innovates and Startup Ireland, the organizations that led the consortium to bring the event to Ireland in November 2016.
“Ireland is garnering international attention for it’s successful creation of a strong supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurship,” Kenny said at the Summit announcement in Cork. “Global Entrepreneurship Week and the Startup Gathering in 2015 were clear examples of how we are working regionally, nationally and internationally to support the startup community, through policy, programs and promotion. We are delighted that Ireland is the first European country ever to host the Startup Nations Summit in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network.”
Startup Nations is a global initiative, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, focused on exploring different regulatory changes and policy ideas to help accelerate new and young firm formation. The Startup Nations Summit connects policymakers, advisers and startup community leaders to help enable high impact entrepreneurship and stimulate entrepreneurial growth around the world. The 2015 Summit, held in Monterrey, Mexico, brought together delegates from 56 countries.
Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, visited Ireland last week and met with the key stakeholders involved in the Startup Nations Summit bid.
“The government of Ireland has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to setting a policy environment that allows entrepreneurs to flourish,” Ortmans said. “Bringing the global policy community to Ireland will further advance a fast moving global dialogue on the most impactful policies and programs that can be replicated in countries around the world – while highlighting the rapid expansion of Ireland’s startup ecosystem.”
The Summit will serve as the official conclusion of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016, a weeklong celebration of entrepreneurship with more than 30,000 events and roughly 10 million participants in 160 countries.
“We are delighted that the first time this event is held in Europe, it will be in Ireland,” said Eoin Costello of Startup Ireland. “In order to create the most supportive environment possible for entrepreneurs, it will be useful to not only learn about new and innovative policy approaches from other startup nations, but to apply those lessons throughout Ireland.”
Startup Ireland, a partnership committed to advancing the country’s startup sector, led the effort in partnership with Cork innovates to bring the summit to Ireland. Siobhan Finn of Cork innovates will act as project director and will lead the planning for the event in Cork. She said local authorities, business support agencies, educational institutions and Cork innovates have been working together for the past few years to drive and nurture entrepreneurship in the Cork region.
Awarding the 2016 Startup Nations Summit to Ireland is part of an effort by GEN Global to scale its work in support of high-growth entrepreneurship in Ireland – including an expanded Global Entrepreneurship Week Ireland in November 2016, a meeting of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Network in Dublin and the development of a new GEN Ireland affiliate to coordinate and connect all Ireland’s entrepreneurship ecosystem leaders to their counterparts across the globe.
Previously, the Startup Nations Summit has been held in Ottawa (Canada), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (Korea) and Monterrey (Mexico). The 2016 Startup Nations Summit will be held in Cork from 18th to 20th November 2016.
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About Global Entrepreneurship Network
The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) operates a platform of projects and programs in 170 countries aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration through initiatives engaging entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier start and scale ecosystems that create jobs, educate individuals, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. For details on the programs and initiatives that make up GEN, visit genglobal.org and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.
