New Delhi [India], Nov.15 : By offering to host the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GES) next year, India has clearly demonstrated that it is wholly committed to entrepreneurship and innovation, said United States Ambassador to India Richard Verma on Tuesday.
"We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with the Government of India to co-host GES 2017. GES 2017 will be an important opportunity for India to advance ease of doing business efforts, highlight skills and entrepreneur development, and encourage more private sector investment.
I know the Indian government is developing an ambitious vision for this one-of-a-kind event which demonstrates that India is open for business and that it is a global leader when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship.
And, I can assure you that our governments are working together to nurture this culture of innovation and ensure there is an ecosystem in place to support innovators, their ideas, and marketisation, Verma said in introductory remarks at the American Center, which is hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016.
Describing entrepreneurship as a major feature of the American economic landscape, Verma said that since the founding of the United States in 1776, entrepreneurship has been a driver of economic growth, of job creation, and the source of countless ideas, many of which were successfully translated into products and services that touch citizens across our country and around the world, saving lives and enhancing the quality of life.
He said India too has a rich tradition of entrepreneurship. "In recent years, Indian American innovators have contributed to the success of Silicon Valley and its startup culture, and there are strong ties between Silicon Valley and such Indian tech hubs as Bangalore and Hyderabad.
And that same strain of innovation and entrepreneurship is manifest in the growing wave of startups in India: in health technology, mobile apps, e-commerce, and so much more," he added.
Verma said entrepreneurship is more than just an engine of economic growth. It is also a factor that makes communities more vibrant, inclusive, and secure. "President Obama highlighted entrepreneurship's transformative properties when he noted that it is the, "ability to turn an idea into reality - a new venture, a small business - that puts rising economies on the path to prosperity, and empowers people to come together and tackle our most pressing global problems, from climate change to poverty." These are but some of the reasons that we are so excited about entrepreneurship and are doing what we can to promote it worldwide, including here in India," he said.
He further went on to state that entrepreneurship and innovation are central to Prime Minister Modi's vision for transforming India.
"When the Prime Minister visited Silicon Valley last fall, I heard him speak about the need to bring together the best minds in India and the United States to solve our two countries' - and the world's - biggest challenges.
He encouraged all of us to look at ways to harness our great networks of entrepreneurs and innovators to improve the lives of ordinary people," he said.
He said that the GES is a a preeminent global forum on entrepreneurship and a shining example of how governments, educational institutions, and private sector stakeholders can work together to foster the kind of entrepreneurial ecosystems that encourage economic growth, business-friendly environments, job creation, and secure communities.
He said that to promote this growing entrepreneurial summit, the United States will launch an entrepreneurship knowledge hub and business incubator.
"This facility - which we hope to inaugurate early next year and housed in part right behind this wall - will work with entrepreneurs to help them learn how to turn their ideas into enterprises.
The incubator, which will be managed by the University of Texas's prestigious IC Institute, will also work with companies to help connect them with the investors who can move their concepts off the drawing board and onto the store shelf, and will work with other players in the Indian entrepreneurial universe to help foster a vibrant, cohesive and collaborative ecosystem," he said.
Source: ANI
