Global Entrepreneurship Network, UNCTAD, U.S. State Department Partner to Ease Business Registration

At the Global Entrepreneurship Summit today at Stanford University, three partner organizations announced the expansion of a public-private partnership that is making it easier for startups to register their new businesses all over the world.

Charles H. Rivkin, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Frank Grozel, business facilitation program manager for the UN Conference on Trade and Development and Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development, maintenance, expansion and promotion of the Global Enterprise Registration portal (GER.co).

The portal is helping businesses by encouraging governments to develop simple online procedures, starting with business registration. GER.co has links to all business registration websites in the world, and a rating of the user-friendliness of each. A simple green dot rating lets businesses immediately see whether an online process is clear and complete, which saves them time and money.

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of any economy.  As cities and countries around the world look to stimulate economic growth, those that simplify the process for entrepreneurs to start and scale their enterprises will be the most successful.

GER.co focuses on business registration because 1.8 billion workers – 60 percent of the global workforce – are employed in the informal economy. These individuals do not have access to worker’s protections or bank accounts to grow their businesses, which translates into a huge untapped economic potential.

The signing of the GER.co MOU demonstrates the commitment of the U.S. government, UNCTAD and GEN to promote entrepreneurship globally by making business registration a simple, easy process for even the smallest firms.

For more information, visit https://ger.co.

# # #

About UN Conference on Trade and Development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues.  Its work can be summed up in three words: think, debate, and deliver. It produces analyses that form the basis for recommendations to economic policymakers, aimed at ending global economic inequalities and generating people-centered sustainable development. It is a forum where representatives of all countries can freely engage in dialogue.  It offers direct technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, helping them to build the capacities they need to become equitably integrated into the global economy and improve the well-being of their populations. For more information, visit unctad.org.

About U.S. Department of State

The U.S. Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency. The Department’s mission is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere. The Department collaborates and partners with non-government actors based on risk-sharing and value creation to advance mutual goals. For more information, visit state.gov.

About Global Entrepreneurship Network

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN)  operates a platform of projects and programs in 170 countries aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration through initiatives engaging entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier start and scale ecosystems that create jobs, educate individuals, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. For details on the programs and initiatives that make up GEN, visit genglobal.org and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.