Chargé d'Affaires Michael Scanlan's Remarks at the First International Entrepreneurship Forum in Minsk

November 16, 2011

Michael Scanlan addresses Forum participants

Dear Forum participants and organizers,

I am honored to be here to celebrate the week of entrepreneurship in Belarus.  By joining the Global Entrepreneurship Week initiative, Belarus joins the global community in embracing entrepreneurship as the business model for the 21st century.

Entrepreneurship means embracing innovation, allowing the free flow of information and creating new approaches to business.  It also means embracing personal change and organizational change.  Environments that foster these qualities can harness the energy and potential of individuals to drive economic growth.

The American experience with entrepreneurship is that ingenuity, creativity, and innovation flow from the bottom-up.  That is why it is so important for governments to promote an open environment that gives entrepreneurs the freedom to adapt to the changing conditions of the constantly evolving market.  Without open environments, the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zukerberg of this world will find their creativity stifled by unwieldy, top-down approaches.

Every year thousands and thousands of new innovators, including enthusiastic young people across the globe, come up with resourceful ideas.  Unfortunately, very often these ideas do not reach the market as they are stifled by environments afraid to embrace change, let alone promote it.

While Technology centers, science parks, business incubators, and venture funds can play a crucial role in promoting innovation, it is also about individual empowerment and changing mindsets.  For those reasons, Universities tend to be the focal points for the next generation of business leaders who will be the engines of economic growth.  It is important to stress once again that innovative ideas be they inventions, new business approaches, or services cannot be imposed through a top-down approach; they emerge organically when the right conditions allow talented individuals to pursue their creative instincts. 

In the United States, the President declared the month of November to be National Entrepreneurship Month ……yes, month not week…underscoring just how important we believe entrepreneurship is for our prosperity in the 21st century.  President Barack Obama said: “By pooling our talents and investing in the creativity and imagination of our people, we can move forward with the spirit of hope and ambition that has defined our past and will drive our Nation in the years to come.” 
The government of the United States is committed to facilitating entrepreneurship in the United States and throughout the world; we believe that it is not about dividing a fixed amount of prosperity into smaller and smaller pieces, but that the pie of prosperity can grow larger for all.

The U.S. government, through  USAID's  programming in Belarus, is committed to sharing entrepreneurial technologies and skills with the owners of small and medium size business and the critical start up business community, including women, youth, and people with disabilities, whose talents and potential can also contribute to the prosperity of society.  As an example, the Belarus Entrepreneur Support and Training program, launched in 2010 in partnership with the International Finance Corporation and the Business Communication Center Bel.Biz, champions an open business environment in Belarus and provides training and information on  entrepreneurship.   If you are curious go on the internet to http://www.bel.biz/

The U.S. government is pleased to co-sponsor the Global Entrepreneurship Week initiative. Today’s Forum, I am confident, will foster a good discussion on the challenges and opportunities Belarusians have in harnessing the dynamic powers of entrepreneurship in Belarus.  I also hope this will be a starting point for a wider discussion in Belarusian society on this important 21st century business topic.  Thank you.