As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week activities, the U.S. Mission to Poland organized a three-city, weeklong speaker program on business development, entrepreneurship and innovation featuring Dr. Sharon Freeman, an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and founder and CEO of GEMS of Wisdom consulting firm. Dr. Freeman spoke on the importance of entrepreneurship as an agent of economic growth, opportunity and innovation to a diverse audience of students, young entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics. During her interactive presentations she shared lessons from her experience as a businesswoman and small and medium enterprises (SME) consultant and encouraged future entrepreneurs to take calculated risks in order to realize their business ideas and dreams.
Starting in Krakow, Dr. Freeman delivered presentations on the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the United States at the Pedagogic University and the Economic University in addition to two media interviews promoting business development in Poland and cooperation with the United States. In Lodz, she interacted with representatives from the IT sector, local business community and university students from Lodz University’s School of Management on how to create a positive business climate. Finishing in Warsaw, Dr. Freeman held meetings and presentations with university students from Warsaw School of Economics and Kozminski University, start-up entrepreneurs and women business leaders about entrepreneurship in the U.S. and how to create social change through business.
The impact of this program was both immediate and long term as participants gained knowledge about the business climate in the United States and inspiration on how to grow their own businesses now and in the future. Follow-on activities are being discussed following this program with the goal of further strengthening business development and trade between Poland and the United States.
