Achieving global glory

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), a platform created by the US in 2010 to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and fuel innovation around the world, ended on a positive note on Thursday. In its eighth iteration now, the summit, which began its journey as Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington, DC at the instance of the then US President Barack Obama, travelled to Turkey, UAE, Malaysia, etc before landing in India this year. It was a stroke of good luck that Hyderabad got the opportunity to host the global audience, which is a first for South Asia.

As if that's not enough, Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the US President Donald Trump, led a 350-member strong US delegation to the summit. Her presence took the three-day summit to a new level and pushed it into global limelight. In the process, Brand Hyderabad made it to international media front pages.

Jointly organised by the US and Indian governments, the event provided a big platform for some innovative startups. The biggest take-away from the summit, however, is its core theme. For the first time, GES focused on women entrepreneurs with 'Women First, Prosperity for All' being the central theme. True to this, organisers roped in 52 percent women delegates, thereby relegating men to the back-seat. On that count, the summit has come as a blessing in disguise for women entrepreneurship.

But we must remember that entrepreneurship as a concept is gender-agnostic though it's true that females face more challenges in their quest to succeed as entrepreneurs. The other thing we need to keep in mind is that the path of entrepreneurship is no bed of roses. Global studies indicate that over 70 per cent of startups fail. The failure rate is as much as 90 per cent in some sectors and certain geographies. That means people - old and young alike - should be careful while taking the entrepreneur plunge and should also be ready to cope up with failure. While success brings fame, a failure can be painful. However, entrepreneurs won't learn practical lessons per se as conclaves like GES invariably showcase success and rags-to-riches stories.

The US came out with the summit, as what it said in 2010, to promote entrepreneurship and innovation around the world. But that doesn't mean it won't benefit in any way. Through the conclave, it looks to connect with the bright brains in the world so that its innovations' pot keeps boiling back home. Innovation is the bread and butter that fuel American economy’s growth.

That's reason why the superpower seeks to attract talent from other countries through its Visa programmes. Moreover, there will not be any threat whatsoever to its supremacy as global superpower as long as it can keep a tab on the brightest minds. But for the time being, Hyderabad achieved global glory, thanks to the summit and that's what matters most. It also marks a turning point for Indian entrepreneurs to spread their wings beyond the seven seas having made new friends.