The Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Full Agenda consist of breakout sessions, master classes, and workshops. Three networking sessions are planned in the schedule to enhance opportunities to interact with other GES 2017 participants.

Breakouts - Panelists will discuss key themes, innovative industries, and other aspects of entrepreneurship that are being highlighted in GES 2017. Capacity of 300-350 people.

Master Class - Master class sessions are immersive, and typically focus in depth on a certain topic. Capacity of 150 people.

Workshop- Workshops invite more hands-on, interactive conversations on a chosen topic between the panelists and the audience. Capacity of 40 people.

GES 2017 - AGENDA

DAY 0: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Inaugural Session

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29

7:30 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast & Networking & Shuttles to HICC

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Plenary Session

We Can Do It! Innovations in Workforce Development and Skills Training: Boosting women’s participation in the workforce is an important first step to accelerating economic growth. Increased access to skills training, education, and career counseling are powerful means to improving women’s lives, the communities they represent, and their countries’ economic potential. Innovators in workforce development and training will discuss what works and what more can be done to open doors for women in the workplace.

10:30 AM – 11:15 AM Networking & Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Catalyst Pitch Competition

The GIST Catalyst pitch competition provides featured startups from India, the United States, and other countries around the world an opportunity to elevate their businesses by showcasing their pitch, furnishing feedback from high-level judges, and affording opportunities to win entrepreneurship resources.

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM Breakout sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

Money Counts: Attracting Private Equity: (Breakout) In this session, panelists will talk to entrepreneurs about how they can tap into private equity. What works? What doesn’t? How do you use private equity to achieve sustainable growth?

From Hollywood to Nollywood to Bollywood: The Path to Moviemaking: (Breakout) While arts and entertainment are attractive to people, many lack a full understanding of the business behind the industry and how to successfully and profitably tap into the creative economy. In this session delegates will learn from panelists who are turning art and entertainment into sources of revenue, jobs, and wealth creation.

She Means Business: Mentoring and Networking: (Master Class) Panelists discuss the vital roles coaches, mentors, and sponsors have played in launching and scaling successful businesses, and how they found these important contacts.

Easy Entrepreneurship: Public Sector Perspective: (Master Class) Countries prosper when entrepreneurs and investors flourish. What policies or programs can governments put into place to help entrepreneurs thrive? Public sector officials discuss their efforts to improve country competitiveness and create opportunities for growth and investment.

Innovations that Bridge the Digital Divide: (Master Class) Online platforms allow greater participation of women who had previously not engaged due to financial, cultural, and time constraints. This panel will address how new generations of women are further revolutionizing the field by creating innovative products and inspiring a wave of women who make a difference through coding.

Under the Microscope: Investing in Healthcare Startups: (Master Class) Life science/healthcare attracts more venture capital than any other sector except for IT. Hear from a panel of experienced investors about their motivations for investing in the sector. What are the characteristics of an investable startup? Given the long life cycles of healthcare advances, how long are investors in this field willing to wait to see returns? Is it sufficient to possess great science/technology, or do investors want more in the healthcare field?

Own Your Message: Effectively Using Traditional and Social Media: (Master Class)

AgriTech Matters: Feed Billions by Harvesting Technology: (Master Class) With endless possibilities and challenges, the time is now for women to be at the forefront of agriculture. Panelists will discuss how technologies are helping communities to farm strategically and improve yields while using fewer resources.

12:30 PM– 1:15 PM Lunch

1:30 PM– 2:30 PM Breakout sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

Design Thinking #1: (Workshop) TBC

Capital Success: Crowdfunding and Bootstrapping: (Breakout) This session will provide insights on these funding models as well as strategies to engage potential investors based on a startup’s current needs and projected growth.

Eye on Global Entrepreneurship Summit

“If I Knew Then What I Know Now”: (Breakout) Making mistakes is inevitable when starting a business, but hearing from those who have already navigated the challenge of starting a business can help entrepreneurs avoid learning some lessons the hard way. Panelists discuss the lessons they’ve learned over their careers, and how they propelled their businesses toward success.

Meet George Jetson: Modernizing Mobility Infrastructure: (Master Class) Poor infrastructure, such as difficult roads and long wait times at borders, have a clear impact on businesses trying to reach their markets. Entrepreneurs are developing innovative ideas to address these problems, which in turn better connects cities and promotes access to capital. Panelists will discuss how businesses resolve infrastructure challenges and how to identify future technology innovations.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Full Agenda

Easy Entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurs’ Perspective: (Master Class) What policies or programs have been put into place to allow entrepreneurs to thrive? Entrepreneurs who were successful in entering the U.S. and other global markets discuss how opportunities were shaped by various laws, policies and trade agreements.

Water Everywhere: Managing a Scarce Resource: (Master Class) This session will discuss how entrepreneurs are using innovative technologies to help cities and countries manage this scarce resource. Learn more about the business opportunities in this important marketplace, with annual revenues exceeding $700B.

Payment Platforms: What’s the Next Game Changer?: (Master Class) The introduction of digital payment platforms revolutionized monetary transfers as a low cost technology that enables mobile-to-mobile financial transactions. How has marketing to underserved areas of the banking sector, including women and underserved populations, resulted in economic benefits? FinTech disruptors will discuss the business models that fuel this major innovation, and what the next evolution of digital payments might look like.

Retooling Learning and Schooling: (Master Class) Technology and computing innovations are changing the classroom environment. Panelists will discuss how the educational technology market is changing the learning experience, and identify opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs alike to contribute to this multi-billion dollar market.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Full Agenda

Grassroots Grows: Women in Emerging Markets: (Master Class) This panel explores how women entrepreneurs have successfully secured new opportunities in emerging markets and highlights the cultural opportunities and challenges for women entrepreneurs scaling businesses in South Asia.

2:45 PM– 3:15 PM Networking & GIST Pitch Competition

3:30 PM– 4:45 PM Breakout Sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

Design Thinking #2: (Workshop) TBC

Byte into a Better Future: FinTech Disruptors: (Breakout) This session discusses solutions ranging from M-Pesa to digital banking, and how they are helping women and the unbanked contribute to the global economy.

Getting on the Grid: (Breakout) Providing energy solutions to communities living off the grid presents a multitude of opportunities in a mostly untapped market. In this workshop, panelists will share views on the nature of the market to identify emerging technologies, business models, and financing sources that are enabling new strategies to leapfrog the traditional ways of expanding access to reliable, affordable energy.

Building Your Customer Oriented Brand: Getting and Keeping Customers: (Master Class) Keeping sight of your customers, evaluating the customer experience, and attracting new customers will guarantee that your business does not fail. This session will provide participants key tools to identify, maintain, and expand their customer base.

Easy Entrepreneurship: The Investor Perspective: (Master Class) What policies or programs have been put into place to allow entrepreneurs to thrive? Investors will discuss how legal and regulatory environments have influenced their decisions to fund entrepreneurs.

From the Drawing Board to the Boardroom: Creative Entrepreneurs: (Master Class) The aspiring director who can’t get her film distributed to theaters. The screenwriter who can’t get a meeting with an investor or production company. The fashion designer who is seeking customers. This panel will discuss the challenges faced by creative entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on women, and how those challenges can be overcome through technology and networking.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Full Agenda

Go For It: Tapping Alternative Financing Solutions: (Master Class) Entrepreneurs worldwide find themselves unable to access traditional sources of funding through conventional banking systems. This panel focuses on alternative sources of financing, including philanthropies, foundations, and other solutions, helping entrepreneurs to realize their investment potential by focusing on atypical capital.

Better Health without Breaking the Bank: How Low-Cost Innovations are Revolutionizing Healthcare: (Master Class) In recent years, the emergence of a new generation of low cost, point-of-care technologies has transformed the healthcare industry, and is now poised to revolutionize the field of global health in lab environments, homes, and treatment centers. This panel will explore emerging global health technologies that improve patient access to better outcomes and quality of life and provide treatments for communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The Missing Middle: Making the Leap: (Workshop) The funding gap known as the “missing middle,” where outside financing in unavailable for those companies in the mid-stages of growth, affects many entrepreneurs. Panelists will identify opportunities that are targeted towards those businesses.

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Networking and Shuttles to Hotels

DAY 2: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30

7:30 AM – 8:45 AM Breakfast & Networking & Shuttles to HICC

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM Networking & GIST Catalyst Pitch Competition

9:45 AM – 10:45 AM Breakout Sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

Capital Success: Seed Funds to Venture Capital: (Breakout) This session will provide participants with insight into seed funds and venture capital as alternatives to conventional financing. What are the characteristics of an idea worth investing in?

Beyond Returns: Investing in Emerging Markets: (Breakout) Panelists debate whether impact investing in emerging markets results in lasting return on investment, or is just philanthropy, and discuss how external markets are informing emerging market opportunities.

Harvesting Change through Entrepreneurship: Tackling Global Agricultural Challenges: (Master Class) Across much of the world, agriculture remains the most important sector to national economies, providing jobs and livelihoods to a majority of people. During this session, entrepreneurial ecosystem members will discuss how they have tailored their goods and services locally while tapping into the vast resources of the global agricultural development community.

The City that Never Sleeps: Cities of Tomorrow: (Master Class) What will the cities of tomorrow look like? Panelists will discuss whether they can be sustainable, and what threats and opportunities are available as cities become smarter and get on the digital grid.

Diversifying Supply Chains: Linking Global Commerce and Women-Owned Businesses: (Master Class) Women-owned businesses are vastly underrepresented in global supply chains. Although many companies have made commitments to address this gender gap, room for improvement remains. This session will offer strategies on how companies can adopt procurement policies that promote women-owned businesses, and how women-owned businesses can become a part of global supply chains.

Protecting Your Genius: (Master Class) Panelists offer case studies on how protecting intellectual property (IP) helped businesses thrive and discuss linkages between strong IP systems, innovation, and successful economies.

Innovation Hubs: Skilling the CEOs of the Future - Incubators: (Master Class) This session will explore the roles, opportunities and business models of incubators that focus on industries that employ women. Participants will also learn how incubators can both help and hinder their enterprises.

From the Lab to the Market: Connecting Science to the Entrepreneurship World: (Master Class) How do you profitably transition that great innovation from the lab to the commercial marketplace? Leaders in this field offer top tips.

Manufacturing the Future: Emerging Technology Disruptors: (Master Class) Additive Manufacturing, the “Internet of Things” and 3D printing are changing the way we live. Are these technologies here to stay?

An Audience of Billions: How to Break into Big Emerging Markets: (Master Class) Understanding how to build a brand that resonates with a local market and compete effectively is critical to scaling your business. Panelists will discuss their experiences in building their businesses in spaces with high barriers to entry but potential for great rewards.

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Lunch & Networking

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Breakout Sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

Design Thinking #4: (Workshop) TBC

Bit by Bit: Securing the Cashless Society: (Breakout) World-class, secure transactions are essential to success in the digital payment systems industry. Panelists will discuss what innovative technologies are available and describe the efforts being made to assure consumers that these technologies are safe and secure.

Knowing the Future: How Artificial Intelligence will shape Tomorrow: (Breakout) What innovations are being made in AI? Do these technologies represent opportunities, or are they a threat? How should companies, society, and governments work to ease concerns? How can entrepreneurs take advantage of AI opportunities? Panelists will discuss these cutting-edge issues.

Reimagining the Future of Health: (Master Class) Panelists will offer insights into global health challenges and forecast tomorrow’s commercial health opportunities in robotics, deep learning, 3D implants, and others. How will technology enable advancements in this critical sector?

Making Sense of Garbage - Innovative Technologies to Recycle Waste: (Master Class) From industrial to municipal, solid to food waste, this unglamorous but oh--so-essential industry is incorporating innovative technologies to address this growing concern. Entrepreneurs will highlight their innovations, and investors will describe what they look for when deciding to invest in startups that are seeking a greater share of the nearly $1T (yes, that’s trillion!) global marketplace.

Pitch to the Rich: Key Messages to Deliver to Investors: (Master Class)

How to Fail Better: (Master Class) Failure is part of any entrepreneurs’ journey. However, the role of failure and how one reacts to it varies. Participants learn how to capitalize on their failures, particularly in attracting funding, employing smart marketing, and building a customer base.

The Business of Winning at Sports Entrepreneurship: (Master Class) In 2015, venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in sports tech startups. From data analytics to advances in material technology, the future for sports entrepreneurship has never looked brighter. Hear from leaders in this field to learn how they are succeeding in this exciting sector.

The Reality of the Future: How Technologies are Shaping Experiences: (Master Class) Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other technologies are grabbing headlines. Are they only usable within the gaming industry? When will high quality AR and VR content and equipment be available to the masses? Are they just a passing fad?

1:45 PM – 2:15 PM Networking & GIST Catalyst Pitch Competition

2:30 PM – 3:45 PM Breakout Sessions, Master Classes, and Workshops

E-Commerce as a Critical Tool in Scaling Entrepreneurship: (Breakout) The rise of e-commerce presents unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs, both as a channel for selling their products, and as a way to create the underlying infrastructure to enable e-commerce (payment platforms, logistics, websites). Panelists will discuss the role of e-commerce in building businesses.

Developing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: (Breakout) What are the key elements of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem? Panelists will discuss the roles entrepreneurs, society, and governments play in creating and sustaining these healthy ecosystems.

The Female Influencer: Advancing Women’s Opportunities in the Media Industry: (Master Class) Women are chronically underrepresented in the media industry, and investments in female entrepreneurs in the media industry are equally scarce. Entrepreneurship is increasing the presence of women in this vitally important field, from freelancers, to print, to digital and social media channels. Seed funding, education, and mentorship are creating opportunities for other women in media to succeed. Learn more about the innovations enabling women’s voices to be heard.

Success! Keeping and Nurturing Women in STEM: (Master Class) Panelists will discuss their efforts to promote greater representation of women in STEM and to keep them in the STEM pipeline. Women who have successfully created STEM-focused entrepreneurial ventures will discuss what has enabled their rise to the top.

Teamwork Works: How to Build and Maintain a Strong Team: (Master Class)

The Language of Entrepreneurship: (Master Class) Investors and Entrepreneurs will discuss the language of entrepreneurship, which is essential to selling ideas and securing funding.

The “Enterprise” of Space: (Master Class) Advances in and applications of space technology are driving economic growth around the world. This panel will showcase the pivotal role of small to medium private enterprises in the space arena and underscore the potential of entrepreneurship to drive innovation and opportunity.

The Missing Middle: Increasing Your Presence: (Master Class) Once a company is growing, the people, operations, and systems that previously brought success can become obsolete. In particular, entrepreneurs often struggle to find the right people – investors, mentors, team members – to expand their businesses. This session will discuss how to cultivate operations at every stage of development.

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Closing Plenary Session

When Women Win, We All Win: Promoting Inclusive Environments for Women Entrepreneurs: (Breakout) Women entrepreneurs face barriers that disproportionately affect their ability to start and grow businesses. This session will bring together actors that support, promote, and fund women entrepreneurs. Participants will share how they have been able to provide women with “seats at the table.”

Design Thinking Results Briefings TBC

Pitch Competition Awards Ceremony

Gaming Awards Ceremony TBC

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Closing Reception