What did you do to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week? The week, which drew to a close on 22nd November, was billed as ‘the world largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship.’ Through a mix of local, national and global activities, Global Entrepreneurship Week aimed to help people to explore their potential as a self-starter or innovator.
In the UK, activities included entrepreneur forums, hackathons, workshops and competitions. Some of these continue to run outside of the week itself; for example in Newquay Cornwall there is a chance for entrepreneurs to meet up, network and work on the beach every Friday. Although the week was aimed at entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, there is nothing in the rules to say that larger businesses too shouldn’t get involved in promoting entrepreneurship. In fact, those businesses looking to build a culture of innovation as part of their corporate strategy will know that the more they can encourage their people to become internal entrepreneurs, or intrapreneurs, the greater the chance of creating innovative solutions and providing game-changing customer experiences.
Speaking about the week, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said…
“Global Entrepreneurship Week is about growing enterprise ambition and ensuring that those with ideas know where to get the support they need to make them a reality.”
He may have been talking about small and start-up businesses, but his words could equally apply to organisations of any size with innovative ambitions.
What have you done to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week? If you haven’t taken steps to look at your business and ensure that those with ideas have the support which they need, perhaps it’s time you put a culture of innovation firmly on your corporate agenda.