President Barack Obama with co-founders of the Global SPARK coalition, Jonathan Ortmans, CEO of the Global Entrepreneurship Network; Tony O. Elumelu, CON, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation; and Sriram Bharatam, Chairman, Africa Growth Initiative, (EO); during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, over the weekend
An impressive collection of organizations have come together to answer President Barack Obama’s call at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya, to advance entrepreneurship and economic growth around the world.
Representatives of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) participated in a formal signing ceremony at the Summit, committing to lead the Spark Global Entrepreneurship initiative. Spark is a coalition that is seeking to mobilize like-minded organizations, companies and investors that collectively generate more than $1 billion dollars in private investment for emerging entrepreneurs by the end of 2017.
“The world is full of nascent entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas—but they need stronger ecosystems to help them unleash those ideas and grow them into game-changing startups,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of Global Entrepreneurship Network and one of three Spark coalition co-chairs. “Spark increases coordination and collaboration among startup support programs and amplifies their efforts.”
The first wave of companies that have stepped forward include Citi, EY, GE, Google and IBM. Two African companies, Rendeavour, the continent’s largest urban land developer, and SkyPower, the largest provider of utility-scale solar power projects in the world, have joined as well.
“African entrepreneurship has been the missing link in Africa’s development. The actions of just one entrepreneur sends ripples across a community and entrepreneurship lifts people permanently out of poverty and creates social wealth,” said Tony Elumelu, founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. “We all know entrepreneurship, anywhere in the world, is not easy nor is success guaranteed. All stakeholders – the private sector, governments, NGOs and donors – must make a commitment to use their respective powers to address the hurdles facing African entrepreneurs. That is what Spark is all about.”
Spark taps into the growing involvement of government programs in helping entrepreneurs start and scale new firms.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden announced the Spark initiative at the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Morocco and outlined the commitments of some of the most active and effective U.S. government programs such as the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, Young African Leaders Initiative, African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and more.
Spark is asking for commitments from organizations and individuals willing to “start the spark” by collaborating and contributing resources, networks, data and ideas to multiply efforts and help founders start and scale new firms.
“We are excited to leverage our in-market presence in nearly 50 countries to support Spark, inspire today’s entrepreneurs and foster the next generation globally,” said Vijay K. Tirathrai, CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization. “Our organization provides numerous platforms to bring entrepreneurs together for enhanced learning and leadership growth. Spark is a natural extension of our commitment and we call on others to join us and affect positive change through entrepreneurial support.”
To join Spark, visit www.startthespark.org.
About Spark Global Entrepreneurship
Spark brings together the world’s leading entrepreneurial organizations and support programs under one umbrella—led by its founding sponsors, Global Entrepreneurship Network, Entrepreneurs Organization and the Tony Elumelu Foundation. With a common goal and shared resources, Spark starts a global dialogue on creative new ideas to help entrepreneurs start and scale new enterprises while igniting the next era of innovation and opportunity for the entire world. For more information, follow @StartTheSpark on Twitter or visitwww.startthespark.org.
About Entrepreneurs’ Organization
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 11,000 influential business owners with 150 chapters in 48 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond. For more information, please visit www.eonetwork.org and follow @EntrepreneurOrg on Twitter.
About Tony Elumelu Foundation
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is an African-based, African-funded philanthropic organization, founded in 2010, which is dedicated to transforming the continent through entrepreneurship. Guided by Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, the Foundation’s core programs include the $100 million Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, research and advocacy through the Africapitalism Institute, and the Tony & Awele Elumelu Legacy Prize. For more information, please visit tonyelumelufoundation.org and follow @TonyElumeluFDN on Twitter.
About Global Entrepreneurship Network
Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is a year-round platform of programs and initiatives created by the communities that celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week each November. Aimed at creating one global entrepreneurial ecosystem, GEN helps people in more than 160 countries unleash their ideas and turn them into promising new ventures—creating jobs, unearthing innovations for society and strengthening economic stability around the world. For details on the programs and initiatives that make up GEN, visit weareGEN.co and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.
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