Global Entrepreneurship Congress kicks off in Riyadh amid startups boom in the region
RIYADH: The Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2022, or GEC, kicked off on Sunday in Riyadh amid a boom for startups in the region that is attracing venture capital funds and angel investors.
The event will be held between March 27 to March 30 and will focus on making it easier for entrepreneurs to start and scale a business.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Netflix’s first CEO Marc Randolph, and a successful star cast of serial businessmen will speak today to steer entrepreneurs through the onslaught of the business and health issues that have impaired the global economy.
Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman is also among the speakers at the event.
Global entrepreneurial ecosystem a necessity: GEN founder
Global entrepreneurial ecosystem is very much necessary to rebound economies, said Jonathan Ortimans, founder of Global Entrepreneurship Network, GEN.
The organizer of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, GEC, which opened on March 27 in Riyadh, noted that governments should create environments where companies can develop and evolve.
Ortimans asserted that Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in entrepreneurs.
Talking about economic rebound post-pandemic, he said, “We didn’t work together to encounter the pandemic, but we must work together to enhance our economies.”
He added that GEC 2022 which will run till March 30 will examine the common characteristics shared by vibrant, scalable high-performing ecosystems to provide a roadmap for entrepreneurial recovery from the pandemic.
The GEC 2022 will be organized by the Washington-based Global Entrepreneurship Network, or GEN, and hosted by Monsha’at, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises.
“We believe there is a sincere and aggressive effort in the Kingdom to allow new value creation and economic growth potential from entrepreneurship and innovation to flourish,” GEN founder and serial entrepreneur Jonathan Ortmans told Arab News while explaining his choice of holding the GEC 2022 in Saudi Arabia.
