Global Entrepreneurship Week began Monday in the Wilmington area. 

Locally, the event celebrates entrepreneurship in the Wilmington region by highlighting the area’s top entrepreneurs and its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is celebrated worldwide with participants in more than 200 countries.

This year’s GEW theme is “Entrepreneurship is for everyone.” Local events will be hosted in-person and online by the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and by the small business centers at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) and Brunswick Community College. Last year, more than 2,000 attendees participated in local GEW events, according to CIE officials.

On Monday, CFCC’s Small Business Center presented an online course titled “Selling on Etsy for Your Small Business” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event focused on creative small business sales on the growing online marketplace. 

Tuesday is Entrepreneur Day. Events organized by CIE will focus on connecting students at the high school and college levels with entrepreneurs across the region. On Tuesday and Wednesday, NC IDEA also will host Ecosystem Summit 2024: Investing in Ourselves in the Charlotte area. The event features speakers and panelists from across North Carolina, including a few presenters from the Wilmington area. 

CIE hosts its weekly 1 Million Cups event from 9-10 a.m. on Wednesday, and CFCC’s Small Business Center hosts an online course titled “How to Register with SAM.gov” from 3-5 p.m. The course covers the process of registering with the System for Award Management – a key step in pursuing federal contracts and grants.

On Thursday, CIE presents Mentor Madness, a speed mentoring program that aims to connect startup and scaleup entrepreneurs with advisers. Entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to meet with three to four mentors during the event from 8:30-10:30 a.m.

On the final day of GEW, the Small Business Center at CFCC hosts another online course that focuses on creating a “winning business plan” for small business owners. The program runs from 11 a.m.-noon on Friday.

Click here for a full list of events and details.