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5^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit

The 5th edition of GES, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco, was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 19-21 November, drawing upon the theme of Harnessing the Power of Technology for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

President Barack Obama and His Majesty Mohammed VI
5^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit provides an opportunity to celebrate entrepreneurs from around the world and a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas.
5^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit

Global leaders gathered to make the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2014 a call to action for global investors to finance new businesses and projects, with particular emphasis on financing enterprises founded by women.
5^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is central to supporting entrepreneurs and their ability to unlock the economic potential of entire nations and lift people out of poverty.
5^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit

This year's Global Entrepreneurship Summit welcomed an audience of over 3000 participants, speakers, government officials, students and VIPs.

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The 'marketplace' (the space where entrepreneurs connected physically and virtually to each other) worked very well. There were hundreds of interactions and meetings.

Moises D. Santana, professor, entrepreneur, and author
You cannot think different when you cannot challenge orthodoxy. You cannot think different where you cannot speak your mind.

Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States of America
There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur.
The resources at our disposal have never been more abundant.

Nasseam ELKARRA, Entrepreneur, San Francisco
Women have qualities like passion and drive that angel capital investors are looking for.

Lisa BALTER SAACKS, VP, GUST
Morocco is a land of opportunity.

Lamia Boutaleb, CEO, Capital Trust
Africa is coming, Africa is strong. Let's integrate and support each other.

Barbara Rwodzi, Founder and CEO, BarRue Knitwear
Be ambitious and confident but do it with the right intentions.

Shazia Salem, Founder, ieatfoods
12% of women run their own businesses compared to 31% of men, and that's the largest gender gap in the world.

SalahEddine Bentalba, IT Consultant, Atos
It's always the right time to start a company because there are always things to improve. Anything is possible.

Nasseam Elkarra, Entrepreneur, San Francisco

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GES Marrakech 2014 Speakers

Joe BIDENVice President of the United States of America,
Salaheddine MEZOUARMinister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Morocco
Penny PRITZKERSecretary of Commerce, United States Department of Commerce, USA
Mohamed BOUSSAIDMinister of Economy and Finance, Morocco
H.E. Mamoun BOUHDOUDMinister Delegate to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and the Digital Economy, Morocco
Moulay HAFID ALAMIMinistry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Digital Economy, Morocco
Aziz AKHANNOUCHMinister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Morocco
Mbarka BOUAIDADelegate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morocco
Nizar BARAKAPresident, Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), Morocco
Miriem BENSALAH-CHAQROUNPresident, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM), Morocco
President Pedro PIRES Former President, Republic of Cape Verde,
Hamdi ULUKAYAFounder, President and CEO, Chobani Inc.; PAGE Ambassador, USA
Othman BENJELLOUNChairman and CEO, BMCE BANK Chairman of the Advisory Board, RMA WATANYA Insurance Co. Chairman, FinanceCom Holding Chairman, GPBM –The Moroccan Banking Association, Morocco
Alexa VON TOBELFounder and CEO, LearnVest; PAGE Ambassador, USA
Mohamed EL-KETTANIChairman and Chief Executive Officer, Attijariwafa bank Group, Morocco
Daphne KOLLERFounder, Coursera; PAGE Ambassador, USA
Anas SEFRIOUICEO, Addoha Group, Morocco
Samir ABDELKARIMFounder and Blogger, StartupBRICS.com, France
Hamza ABOULFETH,
Adnane ADDIOUIChair, Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship & Country Leader Enactus, Morocco
Lanre AKINOLAEditor of This is Africa, Financial Times, UK/Nigeria
Akon Recording Artist, Songwriter, Record Producer, USA/Senegal
Willy Conrad ASSEKOCEO, Les Transports Citadins (LTC), Gabon
Abood AL SAWAFIVice Chancellor, A’Sharqiyah University, Oman
Hicham AMADIChairman & CEO, 2WLS and President, Association of Moroccan ICT Companies, Morocco
Richard ATTIASFounder & Executive Chairman, Richard Attias & Associates, Morocco
Jeff MARTINCo-Founder and CEO, Tribal Planet, USA
Kinvara BALFOURCreative Director, Producer, Writer, Entrepreneur, UK
Bob DIAMONDCEO, Atlas Mara, USA
Stephane BACQUAERTManaging Director, Wendel, France
Akram BENMBAREKEntrepreneur, Morocco
Kola KARIMCEO, Shoreline Energy, Nigeria
Naif AL-MUTAWACreator, THE 99, United States
Chinwe EFFIONGPresident, Junior Achievement Africa, Ghana
Tas ANVARIPOURCEO, Africa 50 Fund - Africa Development Bank, Tunisia
Koffi Fabrice DJOSSOUAfrica Liaison, ZACR (South African Central Registry), South Africa
Élé ASUJournalist and TV Presenter, Canal +, France
Khalid ABDULLA-JANAHIGroup Chief Executive, Dar Al Mal Al Islami Trust (DMI Trust) and Chairman, Faisal Private Bureau, Switzerland
Mohammed EL MOURIDRegional Coordinator for North Africa, INCARDA, Tunisia
Ethel COFIEFounder, Women in Tech, Ghana
Ron BRUDERFounder and Chairman, Education for Employment (EFE), USA
Tarik YOUSEFCEO, Silatech, Qatar
Barclay Paul OKARICEO and Founder, Impact Africa Industries, Kenya
Abdulhasan AL-DAIRIChairman of Bahrain SMEs Society, Bahrain
Catherina BALLOUTOperations Manager/Levant & GCC Lead at the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab,
Kingsley BANGWELLFounder, Youngstars Foundation, Nigeria
Karim BERNOUSSIChief Executive Officer, Intelcia Group, Morocco
Iman BIBARSRegional Director, Ashoka Arab World, Egypt
Hicham BOUZEKRICo-Founder and President, Morocco Microelectronics Cluster, Morocco
Candida BRUSHProfessor, Babson College, United States
Jaime MALETChairman, AmChamSpain, Spain
Ajay CHATURVEDIFounder, HarVa; Young Global Leader, India
Yassir CHAKIBFounder, Etoile Capital, France
Ibrahima CHEIKH DIONGFounder and CEO, Africa Consulting and Trading, Senegal
Issam CHLEUHFounder & CEO, Africa Impact Group, United States
Omar CHRISTIDISFounder and CEO, ArabNet, Lebanon
Amine CHOUAIEBCEO and Founder, Chifco, Tunisia
Youssef CHRAIBI,
Maria CONTRERAS-SWEETAdministrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, USA
Isabel DOS SANTOSBusinesswoman and Entrepreneur, Angola
Tebogo DITSHEGOPresident and CEO, Ditshego Media, South Africa
CAMILE SAID EDDINEFounder & CEO MOOR'S surfboards, Hong Kong/Morocco
Dr. Ndubuisi EKEKWEChairman, FASMICRO Group, Nigeria
Walid EL ALAOUI MRANIFounder and CEO of Azur Systems, Morocco
Mourad ELAJOUTIFounder, Green Schools and Waste Collectors Program, Morocco
Mohamed Touhami EL OUAZZANIGeneral Manager, Morocco and Francophone Africa, VISA, Morocco
Marilyn DIAMONDHonorary Consul General for Morocco in Chicago, USA
Nawal EL MOUTAWAKELOlympic Hurdles Champion, Morocco
Guido GHEDINManaging Partner, Young Digitals, Italie
Sam GOLDMANCo-Founder, d.light, Canada
Asmaa GUEDIRAConnector, OuiShare, Morocco/France
Anas GUENNOUNDirector, The Abraaj Group, Morocco
Chonchol GUPTAFounder & CEO, Rebirth Financial, Inc., USA
Roy HADDADDirector, WPP MENA; Chairman, WT MEA, Lebanon
Habib HADDADFounding CEO, Wamda, UAE
Mark HALPERINManaging Editor, Bloomberg Politics and Host, Bloomberg TV’s “With All Due Respect” , USA
David HAMODPresident and CEO, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, USA
Cathy HANCEO, 42 Technologies, USA
Harry HAREExecutive Producer, DEMO Africa , Kenya
Rahaf HARFOUSHFounder, Red Threat, France
Kerry HEALEYPresident, Babson College, USA
Mazen HELMYFounder, The District, Egypt
Moratuoa HLONGWAFounder, Image Evolution Chartered Accountants, Lesotho
Jean-Michel HUETPartner, BearingPoint , France
Dana HYDECEO, Millennium Challenge Corporation, USA
Andrew G. INGLISChief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kosmos Energy, USA
Rafa JIMENEZFounder, Ahorro Libre, Mexico
Jessyca JOYEKURUNFounder, Expand Human Resources, Mauritius
Eric KAKOUCo-Founder and CEO, Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners, Cote D'Ivoire
Dennis KARPESFounder, Dance4Life; Co-Founder, Naga Foundation, Netherlands
Dan KEELEREditor, Wall Street Journal - Frontiers, USA
Christine KELLYJournalist, Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), France
Karen KERRIGANPresident & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, USA
Othman LARAKICo-Founder, MixerLabs and Founder, Color Genomics, Morocco
Will MACNAMARADirector, Infusive, USA
John MACOMBERSenior Lecturer in Finance, Gloria A. Dauten Real Estate Fellow, Harvard Business School, USA
Henri MALOSSEPresident, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Belgium
Verone MANKOUFounder and CEO, VMK, Republic of Congo
Tarafa MAROUANE Chairman & CEO of SOMED (Société Maroc Emirats Arabes Unis de Développement), Morocco
Abdoulaye MBAYE, Senegal
PANAGIOTIS G. MIHALOSSecretary General for International Economic Relations, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Greece
Nick MOONFounding Director, Kickstart International, Kenya
Rhett MORRISDirector, Endeavor Insight, USA
Tarek MOUGANIEFounder, Affinity, Ghana
Marcel MUTSINDASHYAKAFounder and CEO, UMUSEKE IT, Rwanda
Joel MWALEFounder, Gigavia.com, Kenya
Bertin NAHUMPresident and Founder, Medtech, France
Nadim NAJJAR Managing Director, Thomson Reuters, UAE
Mima NEDELCOVYCH President and CEO, Initiative for Global Development (IGD), USA
Christian NGANFounder and CEO, Madlyn Cazalis Group, Cameroon
Thione NIANG Founder, GIVE1PROJECT and Founder and CEO, TN Consulting Group, Senegal
Hans NICHOLS Correspondent, Bloomberg Television, Germany
Kivanc ONAN Regional Director, Turkey, Middle East & North Africa, PayPal, Turkey
Jonathan ORTMANSPresident, Global Entrepreneurship Week - Kauffman Foundation, USA
Yaw OWUSU Managing Director, Ghana Cyber City, Ghana
Farah PANDITHSenior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Special Representative to Muslim Communities (2009-2014), USA
Uche PEDROFounder, BellaNaija, Nigeria
Anxo PéREZ Founder, 8belts.com, Spain
Allon RAIZFounder and CEO, Raizcorps, South Africa
Rahier RAHMAN Founder and CEO, Pangea, USA
SAOUSSANE RIFAI Executive Partner, IDEVOM, Morocco
Milton Duncan RINEHART Assistant Professor of Management, Al Akhawayn University, Morocco
Stéphanie RIVOAL President, Action Against Hunger, France
Amy ROSENCEO and President, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, USA
Arad ROSTAMPOURCEO and Founder, Zen Health, USA
Fokke DE JONGFounder and CEO, Suitsupply, Netherlands
Claude ROCHETProfessor, Aix Marseille University, France
Soraya SALTISenior Vice President, MENA, Junior Achievement Worldwide, Jordan
Chafik SABIRY President and Director, HP CDG IT Services Maroc, Morocco
Zainab SALBI Founder and Former CEO, Women for Women International, USA
Bruno Sánchez-Andrade NUñOChief Scientist, Mapbox, USA
Abdelhameed Ahmed SHARARAFounder, RiseUp Summit, Egypt
Fathallah SIJILMASSI Secretary General, Union for the Mediterranean, Morocco
Shanker A. SINGHAMManaging Director of the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project, Babson Global, UK/USA
Carlos ST. JAMESManaging Director, Santiago & Sinclair LLC, USA
Karim SYChief Catalyst, Jokkolabs, Senegal
Amine TAZI-RIFFIDirector, McKinsey & Company, Switzerland
Yosr TAZIProducer and TV Presenter, Entreprendre, France
Andrew TORCHIAEconomics Editor,
Howard A. TULLMANCEO, 1871, USA
Alfonso VEGARAPresident, Fundación Metrópoli, Spain
Evans WADONGOFounder, SDFA-Africa and Co-Founder, GreenWize Energy Ltd, Kenya
Charlie Batchanzi WANDJI Founder, 1task1job, Cameroon
Benjamin WEGG-PROSSERManaging Partner, Global Counsel, UK
Fahim ZAKARIAPresident, HUB Africa; Managing Partner, BDO, Morocco
Patrick ZHONG Senior Managing Director, Fosun Group, China
Zoltan ACSProfessorial Research Fellow, The London School of Economics and University Professor, George Mason University, USA

GES 2014 brought together over 3000 entrepreneurs, together with heads of state, high level government officials, global entrepreneurs, small medium enterprises (SMEs), corporate leaders, and young entrepreneurs. There was also be an "Innovation Village" where entrepreneurs and innovators from Africa and around the world were able to promote their projects and share new ideas on myriad topics including ICT, water management, and alternative energy

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GES Marrakech 2014 Speakers

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