Supporting Global I & E

We have a global footprint. Throughout the last decade, we have partnered with the United States Department of State (DOS), the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). We have conducted over 45 international programs with teams from Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Georgia, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria,Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and Sudan.

Each summer over 75 startup teams from numerous universities in South Korea travel to Washington, DC for Lean Startup training conducted by our OIE team. Funded by the South Korean government, the KIC Tech Frontier Program helps transform early-stage Korean technology startups into businesses suitable for the U.S. market.

We were honored to to have our training and mentor programming featured as the grand prize for the World Bank Youth Summit’s 2022 Pitch Competition, hosted globally online with 40,000+ streaming participants as well as in-person at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC. Our own Jim Chung served as a judge and Director of Lean Startup, Bob Smith, provided mentorship and pitch coaching before the competition finals. The World Bank Youth Summit was held in partnership with the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, and saw 1,000+ applications from 100+ countries get narrowed down to only 6 finalists. All six finalists were awarded participation in a GW Lean Startup Boot Camp, with the top winner receiving dedicated long-term mentorship from us as a grand prize.

We hosted a cross-cultural workshop on Lean Startup with the Embassy of Argentina. Working in partnership with the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Argentine National Agency for the Promotion of Research, Technological Development & Innovation, our own Bob Smith presented on innovation ecosystem building to 200+ attendees, who joined both in-person and virtually from Argentina. Minister Adrián Nador, on behalf of Ambassador Jorge Argüello, highlighted Argentina’s entrepreneurial community, and Pablo Sívori, Under Secretary for Trade and Investment Promotion, gave closing remarks and highlighted the role played by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in assisting entrepreneurs with their international trajectory.

Through the U.S. government’s University Capacity Building Program (UCBP), we welcomed a delegation of officials from the Republic of Georgia to discuss how to build regional innovation ecosystems. Administered by American Councils for International Education, UCBP is an initiative to foster entrepreneurial culture at Georgia’s higher education institutions. The tailored selection of high-level Georgian officials aims to advance international innovation policy, and UCBP helps participants seek practical tips from U.S. experts in the areas of technology transfer, venture creation, and funding for university-based innovation.