GEC+Puerto Rico conference to gather investors, policymakers
The program will focus on technologies that drive new industries and initiatives aimed at integrating underrepresented communities into the economy.
Isabel Casillas-Guzmán, head of the Small Business Administration, will be among the policymakers, founders, investors and entrepreneurship ecosystem builders taking the stage at GEC+Puerto Rico from July 15-18 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center
Co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority (PRCDA), the event will gather founders and “startup champions” under the theme “Vision 2035: An Entrepreneurial Future for Latin America + the Caribbean.”
Organizers said the event will “explore an ambitious road map for a more vibrant and thriving economy, and the actions that attendees can take now to get ahead.” They added that it “will dive into frontier technologies driving new industries,” and propose “forward-thinking initiatives, bringing historically underrepresented communities into the entrepreneurial economy.”
Casillas-Guzmán, who has dedicated her career to advancing entrepreneurship, will deliver opening remarks and participate in discussions on cross-border policy concerning support mechanisms for entrepreneurship across Latino communities in the United States and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
“I’m honored to join business leaders from the global entrepreneurial ecosystem at GEC+Puerto Rico to engage in dialogue about how we can foster more startups, innovation and collaboration between the United States and nations across the Western Hemisphere, where we currently trade about $2.4 trillion annually,” said Casillas-Guzmán.
“With a historic small business boom in the United States and the highest startup rates by Latino founders in over a decade, now is the time to leverage our great diversity to expand pathways to trade and advance our economies across the Western Hemisphere,” she added.
GEC+ comes to the island with a 10-year track record of convening founders, policymakers, investors and support organizations from economies of all sizes. These stakeholders come together “to bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare,” the news release reads.
Previous Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) and GEC+ events were held in Melbourne, Australia, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Click here for the full list of speakers.
