Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week 2026

Millions of people around the world have the ideas, talent, and ambition to build something better for themselves and their communities — but have never seen entrepreneurship as a path available to them. Global Entrepreneurship Week changes that. This campaign meets people where they are and connects them to networks, tools, and supports them to take that first step — showing what’s possible in their own communities.

At a moment when the forces reshaping work, technology, and economies are moving faster than at any point in modern history, the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is looking ahead to Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). The campaign arrives at a moment when communities in every country are considering how to navigate these shifts, who will lead the way, and how to make sure everyone has a path forward.

The stakes are shared. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, 92 million jobs globally are expected to be displaced by 2030. Those same forces reshaping work are creating demand for entirely new kinds of enterprise — and entrepreneurs are how societies answer that call.

The question is not whether new business formation matters — it is whether the millions of people in every country who have the ideas, talent, and ambition to start something, have ever been shown that entrepreneurship is a path available to them. Global Entrepreneurship Week changes that. This campaign, powered by 11,000 partner organisations across 200 countries, meets people where they are and connects them to the networks, tools, and support to take that first step — showing what is possible in their own communities. More than 40,000 workshops, events, and programs are expected to take place beyond traditional startup hubs, in public spaces such as libraries, community centres, and schools — in every country.

Throughout November and during Global Entrepreneurship Week (16-22 November), communities on every continent will add their voices to a global "Entrepreneurs Thrive Here" declaration — a public statement that their community is open to builders and that local ideas are worth pursuing. Such a statement changes how founders see themselves — and how the world sees our communities.

The premier celebration of entrepreneurship, startup culture and innovation in Sri Lanka.  In November 2008 Sri Lanka was among 77 countries that launched GEW under the visionary leadership of Deshabandu Patrick Amerasinghe and the Young Entrepreneurs Sri Lanka (YESL) Organisation. 

Since 2022 the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) has hosted GEW Sri Lanka with distinction and saw Sri Lanka climb within the top 10 in 2023 and 2024, and ranked 4th place in 2025 on the GEN GEW Global Leaderboard.

Since 2008, GEW Sri Lanka has grown into a nationally scaled, globally recognised entrepreneurship movement with expanded participation, stronger institutional support, and higher international rankings. GEW Sri Lanka has been recognised as one of the world’s largest national GEW campaigns, hoping to reach over 100,000 participants in 2026, increasing government and corporate sponsorship, and scaling events nationally across all 25 districts and all 9 provinces. The initiative increasingly focused on inclusion, innovation, and regional empowerment, strengthening Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This growth reflects both deliberate ecosystem development and Sri Lanka’s Entrepreneurial Spirit.

We invite entrepreneurs – startups and founders, entrepreneur support organisations – public and private, and partners from across the community – including financiers – banks and investors, schools, universities, libraries, workforce development agencies – local and international, professional and industry associations, chambers of commerce, arts and culture organisations, civic groups and community organisations to get involved at https://gew.lk  and https://www.gew.co .

 (The author is Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Global Entrepreneurship Network)