Global Entrepreneurship Week brings free services to Louisiana businesses

David T. Baker
The Louisiana Weekly

New Orleans, LA – Global Entrepreneurship Week takes place this year from November 14 – 20 in over 120 countries across the globe. During the week, a variety of business building activities are set to take place including workshops, networking sessions and competitions all aimed at connecting entrepreneurs.

In the U.S., The Kauffman Foundation is hosting a Connect 2 Success day as part of the week of activities offering free business consulting services in four cities including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Tuesday, November 15.

The services are being conducted by the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP). The UEP is the small business development initiative developed by the Kauffman Foundation to provide business coaching and assistance to established small businesses and bourgeoning entrepreneurs. In Louisiana, consulting is being conducted by UEP Gulf Coast, a program specifically designed to assist in revitalizing the Gulf Coast economy in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“We hope to expose budding entrepreneurs and innovators of the future to our one-to-one personalized coaching services,” said Lena Rodriguez, Chief Marketing and Development Officer for UEP.

This year marks the third year that UEP has offered complimentary services as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Other U.S. cities receiving complimentary UEP coaching services are Kansas City and Detroit.

According to the program’s executive director and CEO Darryl Williams, the purpose of the program is to “create an ecosystem of support for [small] businesses.” That support includes personal coaching, strategic planning, business plan development and assisting businesses find access to capital.

Now called “Connect 2 Success,” the free day of service began as Entrepreneurship and Hip Hop event in 2008. Global Entrepreneurship Week also began in 2008, and was launched by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Since its inception, GEW has grown to 115 countries with nearly 24,000 partner organizations planning more than 37,000 activities that directly engage more than seven million people. In 2010, the GEW took place in 104 countries and engaged with over seven million participants.

All complimentary UEP services will take place in their offices. Businesses and entrepreneurs interested in receiving the complimentary services during Global Entrepreneurship Week must pre-register at www.kauffman.org/connect2success. For more information on UEP Gulf Coast, visit www.uepgckauffman.org.