Youth, women biggest winners of GES 2015

Delegates listen to US President Barack Obama during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi. (Photo: Andrew Kilonzi/Standard)

Nairobi, Kenya: It all began in Cairo in 2009 during a speech by US President Barack Obama in which he indicated that entrepreneurship would be on the forefront of his country’s engagement agenda with other countries.

In 2010, the U.S. hosted the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington, D.C. and it was subsequently hosted by Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Morocco.

This year’s summit is sixth in line and Kenya got the privilege of hosting it. It is even more of a privilege because this year’s summit seems to have placed a lot of focus on women and the youth, an area of entrepreneurship in Kenya that seems to have been crying out for attention, especially in the last decade.

So suddenly, youth and women have their chance. The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is opened by President Obama and Kenya’s own President Uhuru Kenyatta. Their remarks at the opening seem to hint at throwing the limelight in the direction of youth and women.

“We should create an enabling environment that allows our young people to resolve perennial problems that we face,” remarked President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“If half of your team is not playing, you have a problem. In too many countries, half of the team is women and youth,” President Obama said.

Incidentally, they made their remarks the day after the Youth and Women Day, at the Summit (GES Y+W) which brought together 150 established youth and women entrepreneurs.

Following the speeches by the Heads of State was a panel discussion on gaining access to capital for entrepreneurs.