WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — UNCW and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will present Global Entrepreneurship Week Wilmington, Nov. 12-20, featuring a variety of speakers and events that celebrate and empower entrepreneurs. GEW Wilmington is part of a larger global effort with 200 countries and 10 million people participating.
“GEW Wilmington puts our entrepreneurial ecosystem and university on an international map,” said Heather McWhorter, CIE director. “Our hope is to inspire our next generation of entrepreneurs, many of them UNCW past, current or future students, and to break down the barriers for everyone to succeed through entrepreneurship.”
Sponsored by NC IDEA, GEW Wilmington partners also include UNCW’s Cameron School of Business, Centro Hispano, UNCW’s Office of Research and Innovation, Cape Fear Community College and Brunswick Community College.
Open to all students, staff, faculty and community members, the weeklong celebration includes events ranging from the statewide Ecosystem Summit organized by NC IDEA in Winston-Salem to regional events that occur in Wilmington, New Hanover County, on campus at UNCW, in Bolivia, and online.
Some key events hosted at UNCW include:
- Impacto Latino Business Expo, Nov. 12, 2-4 p.m., Warwick CenterInaugural event to bring together local Latinx-owned businesses, business professionals, entrepreneurs and UNCW students.
- Idea Pitch Challenge, Nov. 15, 6-8 p.m., Cameron Hall, Room 123 UNCW student entrepreneurs will pitch business ideas to judges for cash.
- UNCW Entrepreneur Day, Nov. 16, all day, UNCW and New Hanover County high schools Connecting thousands of students to successful entrepreneurs in one day.
- 1 Million Cups Wilmington, Nov. 16, 9 a.m., CIE Hear from entrepreneurs about their startups and provide connections and suggestions that can help.
- Mentor Madness, Nov. 17, 8-10:30 a.m., CIE A fast-paced, caffeinated speed-mentoring program to connect startup and scaleup entrepreneurs with expert advisors.
- First Inventor’s Lunch and National Academy of Inventors Induction, Nov. 18, Noon-1:30 p.m., CIE By invitation only
A complete list of events and registration details can be found on the CIE website.