GEC 2025 (Global Entrepreneurship Congress)

All Founders. All Players. All Economies. Building One Global Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress is the only place where founders at all stages of development and policymakers, investors and support organizations from all economies are in the same room — collaborating to bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.     

Hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network in a different rising entrepreneurial city each year, the Congress gathers thousands of delegates from 200 countries to share and strengthen innovative approaches to empowering entrepreneurs everywhere.     

Over the course of four days, thought leaders inspire and challenge new thinking, trends and opportunities. Government officials participate in a Startup Nations Ministerial to explore new policies to stimulate new firm formation. Academics share performance data about entrepreneurship programs as well as whole ecosystems that support them. Startups share new business models while connecting with experienced mentors and investors to help them scale. All participants make invaluable connections, extending their footprint in entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems around the world.    

Since it began in 2009, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress has increased awareness of the role that entrepreneurs play in driving economic growth while developing innovative solutions to our world’s largest challenges – improving our daily lives and making the world a better place.    

The GEC brings upwards of $30 million in economic value to the local economy. It also leads to major legacy projects like 22 on Sloane, which at 10,000 square meters, is the largest startup campus in Africa. But the real impact lies in the indirect, intangible, and long-term developments that cities and countries experience over many years after the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.    

Previously, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress has been hosted in Dubai, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kansas City, Liverpool, Manama (Bahrain), Melbourne, Milan, Medellin, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Riyadh and Shanghai. On June 2-5, 2025, Indianapolis will become the second city in the United States to host the Congress since the inaugural event in 2009.   

Why is the GEC important?

• The globalization of entrepreneurship has brought an explosion of programs, startup communities and investment into a new field where there is a paucity of data around what works and what does not in supporting nascent entrepreneurs and new firms forming and trying to scale. Traditional business, education and government leaders have been eager champions, but they need more sophisticated tools, programs and research to help them most efficiently direct their attention and funds to areas that have the greatest impact on future economic growth. The GEC helps address these needs by identifying effective initiatives – in all types of economies, large or small, advanced or developing – that positively impact entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world.

Where has the Global Entrepreneurship Congress been held in previous years?

• The following cities have hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Congress: Kansas City (2009), Dubai (2010), Shanghai (2011), Liverpool (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Moscow (2014), Milan (2015), Medellín (2016), Johannesburg (2017), Istanbul (2018), Bahrain (2019), Riyadh (2022) and Melbourne (2023).

PROGRAM

The Bold Change the World 

What is faster than exponential change? Whatever it is, that is where we are right now. Complex global challenges, shifting societal dynamics and rapid technological advancements that are reshaping industries, economies, and societies at an extraordinary pace. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it presents both immense opportunities and significant challenges for entrepreneurs who navigate this new landscape, as well as the communities who support their growth.  

In a world of constant change and complex challenges, it is the bold who move from ideas to action – stepping forward to drive transformative change.

• Entrepreneurs who accept and overcome risk as they develop products and services that improve our daily lives.
• Investors who build funds and identify promising new startups while shaping their growth.  
• Policymakers who simplify regulations and reduce burdens to entrepreneurship – ensuring that legal frameworks support business formation and growth.
• Ecosystem builders who are the connective tissue – bringing everything together to ensure entrepreneurs have the infrastructure, resources and networks necessary to succeed.  

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress  gathers all of those ecosystem players under one roof – building community-level connectivity through cross-cutting interactions and collisions between delegates to design innovative solutions and mobilize collective action.  

GEC 2025: The Bold Change the World will gather more than 5,000 entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders from 200 countries – providing you with an opportunity to build an impactful network and gain deep knowledge that you just can’t find while scouring for content in a virtual meeting.  

GEC 2025 will kick-off with curated delegate connections through self-selected areas of interest identified by entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders, such as: Building Stronger Networks, Facilitating Cross-Border Collaboration, Optimizing an Entrepreneurship Regulatory Environment, Expanding Access to High-Quality Deal Flow, Boosting Due Diligence Readiness and more. Throughout the Congress, highly-interactive sessions are designed to drive delegates into side conversations to maximize value and impact.   

A Clear Vision for a New World by 2035 

Delegates will contribute to the development of an ambitious 10-year roadmap for the global entrepreneurial ecosystem to strengthen performance while measuring year-on-year progress at each GEC leading up to 2035. The recommendations, compiled in a global Vision 2035 framework, are being built off dozens of pre-GEC working group sessions. Interactive sessions at GEC 2025 will explore data-driven interventions with a proven impact, including:  

• Breakthroughs in entrepreneur-focused ecosystem development and how to replicate those across other cities and countries
• Resources and programs for entrepreneurs at all stages
• Effective policies to stimulate business creation and growth
• Efforts to expand capital and get it in the right hands at the right times