Johannesburg to Host Africa’s First-ever Global Entrepreneurship Congress

The Global Entrepreneurship Network announced last week that South Africa has earned the right to host the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in 2017. The bid was awarded to Johannesburg as part of the opening ceremony at GEC 2015 in Milan, Italy.

Accepting the award on behalf of Johannesburg South Africa, Lindiwe Zulu, South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development said, “I am confident that this award will help sustain the momentum of an entrepreneurial revolution that was given impetus by President Jacob Zuma when he announced the establishment of the new Ministry of Small Business Development. GEC 2017 will ensure that small business development remains firmly on the national agenda and the radar screen of all stakeholders” said Minister Zulu.

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) is an inter-disciplinary gathering of start-up champions from more than 150 countries and attracts over 4000 delegates. These delegates represent distinct components of their entrepreneurial ecosystems and are focused on how best to help entrepreneurs start and scale new companies.

“This is indeed an honour and also an opportunity to entrench the City of Johannesburg’s objective to encourage entrepreneurship in order to stimulate economic growth and create jobs, while also emphasising Joburg’s credentials as a leading business events destination, capable of hosting such important global meetings,” says Ruby Mathang, City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Economic Development.


“A large four-day conference like this, which is expected to attract some 4000 international delegates has significant economic benefits for the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors – approximately R45 million for Johannesburg alone”, he added.

The Congress has previously been held in the United States, UAE, China, UK, Brazil, Russia and Italy. South Africa is now proud to be the first African country to host the event.