Global Entrepreneurship Week 2017

Dr. Sharon Freeman and Sheena Lindahl from the United States talked to students and young entrepreneurs at the University of Groningen about U.S. and global business developments and entrepreneurship dos and don'ts.

There were thousands of events in 160 countries around the world for Global Entrepreneurship Week 2017, including more than 100 here in the Netherlands.

Dr. Sharon Freeman
Dr. Sharon Freeman

As part of the week-long program to inspire millions into entrepreneurial activity, U.S. Embassy the Hague invited two U.S. speakers to participate in numerous events. Dr. Sharon T. Freeman, president and CEO of the All American Small Business Exporters Association (AASBEA), and Sheena Lindahl, co-founder and president of U.S-based Empact, made presentations in Groningen, Eindhoven, The Hague, and Rotterdam.

Freeman is a successful entrepreneur who has been on the cutting edge of social change and innovative business development for almost three decades. Lindahl’s company Empact celebrates young entrepreneurs and exposes individuals to entrepreneurship as a viable career path.

In Groningen, they were part of an event in which more than 70 students from the University of Groningen’s Centre of Entrepreneurship, pitched their business ideas concepts to a group of international experts and entrepreneurs.

The following day, the two talked to students and young entrepreneurs at TU Eindhoven about U.S. and global business developments and entrepreneurship dos and don’ts. It was a wonderful collaboration with the TU/e Innovation Space and Brainport Eindhoven for which we are very grateful.

Sheena Lindahl
Sheena Lindahl

After a wonderful Women’s Entrepreneurship Dinner at the Chargé d’Affaire’s residence with a dozen ground-breaking and inspiring female innovators, the two headed off to Rotterdam. There, they visited the innovative co-working space of Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and the Get in the Ring pitching battle at the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship on Thursday to see what change entrepreneurs are making to the city of Rotterdam.  The excitement and buzz that they witnessed were truly inspiring.

Thanks to CIC and Venture Café for hosting and congrats and success to all young entrepreneurs who participated in Get in The Ring the Netherlands.

It was an inspiring week for the two, meeting several hundred of the best young Dutch entrepreneurs, learning cutting edge ideas and teaching

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