Symone Graham
Nov 15, 2024
Charlotte's Global Entrepreneurship Week is back this year with a weeklong series of events created for founders at any stage.
The event runs from Nov. 18-21 in Charlotte and from Nov. 18-24 worldwide. Innovate Charlotte, the city of Charlotte, NC IDEA and Pitch Breakfast are hosting the Queen City’s GEW this year. The organizers are collaborating with local nonprofits, educational institutions, tech organizations, municipal governments and ecosystem leaders to offer a range of speakers, workshops and networking events.
Global Entrepreneurship Week launched in 2008 by Global Entrepreneurship Network to help people across the world cultivate their ideas and scale their businesses. More than 40,000 events will take place in 200 countries, impacting more than 10 million entrepreneurs across the globe.
Charlotte's GEW will include 17 local events to help new founders and seasoned entrepreneurs connect, network and scale their businesses.
This year marks Charlotte's fourth GEW. There will be a mix of free in-person, virtual and hybrid events.
Juan Garzon, managing director of Innovate Charlotte, previously told CBJ that GEW will allow visitors to get a taste of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
"Small business and entrepreneurship remain the main drivers of our economy," he said. "Now more than ever, we need to support and nurture our budding entrepreneurs.”
Two big events include the NC IDEA Ecosystem Summit and the Venture 135 Conference, each held Nov. 19-20 and Nov. 21-22, respectively. NC IDEA's Summit will bring together leaders to discuss the need to support entrepreneurs. Venture 135, a limited guest event, showcases the top Seed Stage, Series A and Series B companies across the world.
Other events to be held next week include Standups and Startups, which combines comedy and entrepreneurial life, on Nov. 21 as well as Davidson Entrepreneurs Network Showcase Celebration, which highlights the Hurt Hub community's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, on Nov. 20.
Click here to see the full list of entrepreneurial events happening across the city.