With barely few hours to go for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES-2017) to open, a festive atmosphere pervades the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), the venue playing host to the three-day event.
People of different nationalities, from across the world, have been trickling in since morning, bring along warmth, vibrance and enthusiasm to the colourfully decked up convention centre and neighbourhood.
Within minutes of their arrival, many of the participants got into networking, the foundations of which were laid over the mobile app GES ‘17 developed for the Summit. Networking apart, there is more for the participants to keep themselves engaged be it at the ‘India: Global Innovation Hub’ audio visual section, the Womenpreneurs giving out details of the speakers or the stall put up by Coffee Board or those showcasing innovative solutions and products.
A preeminent gathering of entrepreneurs and investors, being hosted jointly by the U.S. and Indian governments in the City of Pearls, the Summit is set to receive 1,200 entreprenuers and 300 investors. More than 50 discussion sessions are planned and are to be addressed over the three days ending November 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President’s daughter, advisor and entrepreneur herself Ivanka Trump and Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao will be participating in the inaugural session.
Making the process and experience smooth for the participants are the arrangements put in place by Telangana government, including a large but less intrusive security cover, transportation and hospitality.
Besides the State government, Centre’s NITI Aayog is playing a key role in the organising of the summit from the Indian side. The U.S. delegation led by Ms.Trump, who landed in Hyderabad in the early hours of Tuesday, is said to be largest contingent ever to the GES. This is the eighth edition of the Summit that since 2010 has travelled from Washington, Istanbul, Dubai, Marrakech, Nairobi, Kuala Lumpur and Silicon Valley.
Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharamanan and Suresh Prabhu are among those who will be participating in the Summit, which also has a long list of speakers who have made a mark in their respective professions. The event, with ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’ is the first GES in which women are the majority — 52.5 per cent — of the participants. More than 10 countries will be represented by a female delegation, including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
