Search giant Google has announced the launch of an umbrella programme called Google for Entrepreneurs, drawing together its programmes and partnerships supporting startups and entrepreneurs across the globe.
“Startups and entrepreneurs have the power to build technologies and creative solutions that transform the world and move us forward,” Mary Grove, Google’s head of global entrepreneurship outreach, said in a statement.
According to Grove, there are approximately 400 million entrepreneurs across 54 countries, and 69 million early-stage entrepreneurs offering new products and services, showing innovations are happening everywhere.
“As Google turns 14 this month, we’re celebrating this creative spirit and officially launching Google for Entrepreneurs,” she said.
The programme will focus on partnerships with strong organisations that serve entrepreneurs in local communities, Google-led programmes bringing Google’s teams and tools directly to entrepreneurs and placing relevant Google tools in the hands of startups as they get off the ground ready to scale.
“We’re already on a roll, with current projects ranging from support for the annual journey of entrepreneurship through India by train, to partnering with a number of accelerator and incubator programs around the world, like iHub in Kenya and Le Camping in France,” Grove continued.
She said that this week Google will roll out its newest partnership, teaming up with Women 2.0 to bring their Founder Friday events to more cities.
“These events bring together current and aspiring female entrepreneurs once a month to connect with mentors and one another to build community. We’re partnering to launch Founder Fridays in Detroit, New Orleans, Sao Paulo and Moscow over the next year,” she said.
Google will also host the inaugural annual event, Google for Entrepreneurs Week, which will coincide with Google’s fourteenth birthday. The event is expected to bring together more than 3,000 entrepreneurs and ‘Googlers’ from around the world.
“We kicked off over the weekend with a Startup Weekend event hosted at the Google Ventures Startup Lab in Mountain View, Calif., where Bay Area entrepreneurs came together to create their own startups in 54 hours, “ Grove explained.
Over the course of the next week, Googlers in 28 cities across 13 countries will host events in their communities to bring their passion and expertise to local entrepreneurs.
Google will team with a number of partners to make this happen, including the Idea Village in New Orleans, Communitech in Waterloo, Tetuan Valley in Wroclaw, the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg and the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce in Iowa.
