Women Entrepreneurship Week becomes international movement

With organizations in eight countries committed to holding Women Entrepreneurship Week events this year, the third annual celebration has become an international movement. Universities and organizations in the following countries plan to hold at least one WEW event sometime during the week of Oct. 17-22, 2016: Australia, Austria, China, Greece, India, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

A dozen universities in New Jersey, in addition to Montclair State, also plan to hold a Women Entrepreneurship Week event this year.

In Greece, Women Entrepreneurship Week appealed to Marianthi Nika, COO and Co-founder of Effect, who will be organizing a WEW event in her home country.

“We want to organize such a unique event in Greece with the ambition to connect female entrepreneurs with each other, inspire and show them that gender plays no role when you try to change the world,” said Nika. “Through this action, we hope to act as role models for similar initiatives and make our own contribution towards parity in the entrepreneurship field.”

In China, a partnership of four universities will hold a WEW event. The effort was organized by Yanli Zhang, an associate professor in the Management department at Montclair State’s Feliciano School of Business.

“China is going through a big push for innovation and entrepreneurship right now, and women in China have an important role to play given they hold up ‘half the sky,’ ” she said.

Zhang said the four universities — Nanjing University (Nanjing), Zhejiang University (Hangzhou), Xiamen University (Xiamen), Zhongshan University (Guangdong) — wanted to encourage women entrepreneurs and cater to their special needs. The quartet teamed up to offer a full-day custom class for women entrepreneurs from across China on Oct. 22, “so that they can have more learning and exchange opportunities from international partners,” said Zhang.

The overseas organizations planning to hold a WEW event this year include:

Australia—Holmesglen Institute
Austria – University of Graz
China—Co-organizers: Nanjing University (Nanjing), Zhejiang University (Hangzhou), Xiamen University (Xiamen), Zhongshan University (Guangdong)
Greece—Effect in Athens
India—Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi
Thailand—Thammasat Business School, Thammassat University in Bangkok
Vietnam—HUTECH University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City

We encourage other universities and organizations to get involved! Contact sharon.waters@montclair.edu for more info about how to host a WEW event. There is no charge to be involved with Women Entrepreneurship Week.