Global Entrepreneurship Summit to focus on women

New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) With a focus on women entrepreneurs, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) will be jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump at Hyderabad on November 28, it was announced here on Tuesday.

The three-day summit -- with the theme "Women first, prosperity for all" -- would this year focus on the tremendous potential women bring to entrepreneurship, the Niti Aayog said in a statement.

A high-level delegation of the US government, led by Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, met officials at the Niti Aayog here to plan the summit, which is an annual gathering of emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from around the world.

The summit "will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level", the statement said.

"Women represent tremendous promise for economic growth and prosperity -- but in both developing and developed countries, they also face tremendous barriers to building businesses," it added.

The summit is expected to be attended by over 1,600 delegates, including entrepreneurs and investors and CEOs of major knowledge-based industries from across the world.

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said it is a unique opportunity for Indian startups and innovators to interact and network with the finest entrepreneurs of the world.

"We need to harness technology to solve some of the most pressing problems in healthcare delivery, education, energy, safe drinking water and agriculture, among others, for the benefit of communities at large.

"Innovation and entrepreneurship will play a decisive role towards this end. I am sure this will be a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to interact with the best," he said.

Jennifer Arangio, Senior Director at the National Security Council at the White House, said the event would highlight the Trump administration's commitment to the principle that "when women are economically empowered, communities and countries thrive".

"Hosting GES in India is a signature of the broad and enduring partnership between our two countries. We thank our co-host, the Indian government, for their support, energy and hospitality, and look forward to a high-impact summit that brings together ground-breaking US entrepreneurs and investors with their counterparts from around the world," she said.

Niti Aayog and the US Embassy are planning a series of "Road to GES" events in collaboration with different agencies to generate enthusiasm and attract the attention of different stakeholders, the statement said.