Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, visited Istanbul in early October for a high-level roundtable discussion about GEW/Turkey. More than thirty (30) officials participated, representing universities, incubators, entrepreneurs & industry leaders and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Also involved was Shelly Porges, senior advisor for global entrepreneurship at the U.S. State Department who has recently taken over control of its Global Entrepreneurship Program. 

The purpose of the session was to explore potential approaches to strengthening the impact of GEW in Turkey, and simultaneously strengthening the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem. 

The following recap was pulled from the Global Entrepreneurship Program-Turkey website: 

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Carl Schramm, President of the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest entrepreneurship foundation, supported the mobilization of entrepreneurship that Turkey launched during his visit to the country.

Carl Schramm, President of the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest and most influential entrepreneurship foundation, paid a visit to Turkey on October 5, 2011 together with the main stakeholders of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Turkey.

Stressing that the world’s interest in entrepreneurship and events regarding entrepreneurship have been growing, Schramm said that the Kauffman Foundation closely followed these developments in Turkey. Maintaining that the wealth and employment the US created in the last five years was driven by new, small and dynamic companies, Schramm accentuated that governments have to invest in technology and entrepreneurial companies instead of large companies for world development. Turkey has served as a thrilling inspiration for entrepreneurs around the world. During an era in which entrepreneurship has been the key weapon against poverty, components of Turkey's entrepreneurial ecosystem have helped trigger the life blood of the world economy.

Shelly Porges, the new Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Program, said, “Entrepreneurship was not an issue discussed in association with governments. Now it has a considerable place in the agenda of the new government. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have taken as a mission to spread the consciousness of entrepreneurship and its key importance in economic development not only in the US but throughout the world. The biggest contribution the state can make to entrepreneurship in that country is to pave the way for successful entrepreneurs and create the environment needed for their existence.”

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tags: Barack Obama, Global Entrepreneurship Program, Hillary Clinton, Schramm, Shelly Porges