I was honored to be chosen as a US Delegate to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Bahrain. I didn’t know exactly what to expect or what I would get out of this conference, so I went with open expectations. I’m glad for the experience and what I could bring back for Albuquerque entrepreneurs.
The Event
After a long couple of travel days, I arrived in Bahrain. Unfortunately, my luggage didn’t make it. If you’re more interested in the travel aspect of the trip, you can check out my travel post here.
Day one was really impressive. The conference space, the stage, the presentations, and what really loved was plenty of access to coffee, especially after all that travel.
Day 1
Day 1 at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress was a day of connecting and thinking through the issues that struggling entrepreneurs face.
After the opening remarks and presentations, we split into groups to discuss the challenges that entrepreneurs face across the globe. It was eye-opening that everyone in my group has problems with helping rural entrepreneurs.
The group included people from Germany, Africa, Uzbekistan and of course my own experiences with Albuquerque entrepreneurs and surrounding areas. Some were ecosystem connectors and some were entrepreneurs, but we all wanted to find a way to help rural communities.
Some things we talked about – moderate success was met when one country focused on a specific type of business, such as agriculture. Also, many rural makers, doers, and dreamers don’t see themselves as “entrepreneurs” so language needs to be a little bit different for them. For example, “Start a business”, “Sell your product”, and other language tended to get the attention of the target audience.
Day 2
Day 2 at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress was a day of thinking about innovation and global connections.
And I met my first creative! Sure, I know everyone is creative, but I mean the first entrepreneur focused on a more creative business. Hala Ahmed Sulaiman is co-founder of AlRawi Media WLL, a company that turns Arabic books into Arabic audio books. It was a pleasure to meet her and listen to how a company focused on a small segment can turn into a big idea.
Day 3
Day 3 at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress was a day of thinking connecting with more creatives and hearing more about Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).
I got to catch up with California native, and presenter at the conference, Michael Sturtz. His story of how he grew a business to an initial, tiny idea to a community-based project was inspirational. It also started me thinking about how those people who try to change the world for the better tend to do better at building a business.
And, I attended some sessions where the panels talked about how they grew their entrepreneurial ecosystem. What struck me were the discussions around the GEW. I had attended GEW in Denver, CO USA last year and loved the process – basically a ton of presentations and resources available for free during the week to those interested in entrepreneurship.
Day 4
Day 4 at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress was partially a day to discuss inclusion and a day to site-see.
In the morning, delegates and others gathered to discuss how inclusion could be created in an event like the GEW.
After the morning session, we had lunch and then we were off for a little site-seeing.
What it means for Albuquerque Entrepreneurs
When I left for the GEC, I had been thinking about attending the GEW in Denver. After hearing about the growth of other cities through having a GEW, I decided to stay put and do what I can to put on a GEW in Albuquerque – November 18 through 24, 2019. More coming about that soon, but the plan is to convene all the movers and shakers that help Albuquerque entrepreneurs and create events across the city to help inspire and grow businesses.
More coming soon about the GEW in Albuquerque!