Sri Lanka yesterday officially kickstarted the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) for 2024, under the theme ‘Entrepreneurship is for Everyone’, at a launch event held at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Colombo. 

For the third consecutive year, the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) will host the week-long initiative in collaboration with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). It will feature over 200 events and activities for entrepreneurs across all 25 districts in the country. 

This year’s event, supported by 100 ecosystem partners and 20 universities, aims to involve over 20,000 people in promoting entrepreneurial activity, job creation and economic growth.

“The purpose of the GEW is to support, connect, celebrate and understand entrepreneurs as well as individuals and companies that champion them. Through initiatives and collaboration between investors, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and support organisations, the GEW effectively builds better ecosystems for start-ups to start and scale,” GEN Global National Ambassador for Sri Lanka Suresh De Mel stated during the launch.

Founded in 1994, the GEN is a global networking platform promoting entrepreneurship across 200 countries through programmes, initiatives and events. The network’s first GEW in 2007 event saw representation from 37 countries and has since expanded to offer access to top-tier resources, knowledge and exposure to entrepreneurs all over the word.

Sri Lanka began hosting GEW in 2022 and was ranked at the seventh position on the GEN leaderboard at the conclusion of GEW 2023.