France got an early and elegant start on Global Entrepreneurship Week last night with the hosting of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year ceremony at the Theatre Mogador in Paris. The event marked the opening of the French “Les Journees de l’Entrepreneur.” Hundreds of people crowded the theatre to see which of the impressive group of entrepreneurs would win the various prizes, including the ones for the green and international entrepreneurs of the year. The overall winner for France will compete in the global event in Monaco next June.

Herve Novelli, Secretary of State for Commerce, Crafts, Small and Medium Enterprises and Tourism, handed the prize to the winning French entrepreneur of the year and also gave a speech about recent French policies to promote entrepreneurship, including the new statute, “l’auto Entrepreneur” which facilitates the process for setting up a business. Since the l’auto-entrepreneur was launched in January, around 200,000 new businesses have registered. The l’auto-entrepreneur system has reduced the amount of paperwork required, but more importantly, lower the income tax and social charges for start-ups.

Next Monday, November 16, the official kick off event, La Fete de l’Entrepreneur; will take place at ESCP Europe. Valerie Pecresse, French Minister of Higher Education and Research will be present along with Herve Novelli. The event run from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will include a jazz concert, cocktail reception, networking and much more.

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Denmark was the first to cross the finish line for the Global Cleantech Open Ideas Competition, with it’s national competition choosing a winner on November 2. Seventy judges weighed in on the decision — a lot for the small country. The winning idea came from five young entrepreneurs: Tine Thygesen, Henrik Gedde Moos, Torsten Kolind, Rene Jeppesen and Kasper Hulthin.
View their inspiring videos to get a peak at what the Ideas Competition will offer.
This team will compete against groups from at least Brazil, New Zealand, Israel, China and United States at the Cleantech Open Gala, taking place in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
The Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech open ideas competition, combing the world for the best cleantechnology ideas.
Since 2000, Denmark’s Venture Cup has helped new and innovative entrepreneurs showcase their ideas. The Venture Cup Web site also features Venture Cup TV, which allows visitors to view profiles of clean technology entrepreneurs. Venture Cup TV will follow the competition, and will track Denmark’s representative at the Global CTO Ideas Competition.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, will accompany Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the VII National Conference in Moscow as part of Russia’s Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 effort.

The conference, titled “The Role of Microfinance in Overcoming the Financial and Economic Crisis,” will take place Nov. 17-19 at the Borodino Hotel. Princess Maxima will give a speech during the opening session regarding the United Nations’ approach and recommendations concerning better access to finance.
In light of the latest announcement, the registration deadline for the conference has been extended until Nov. 11. The registration form can be found here.
Princess Maxima and Dr. Yunus both bring a high level of expertise to the conference. Her Royal Highness is special advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for Inclusive Finance for Development; Dr. Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create and foster economic and social development around the world. He is also on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation.

Global Entrepreneurship Week in Wageningen, Netherlands will have some special guests from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year, Wageningen University and Wisconsin organize a study abroad program, in which the students work together to study life sciences and sustainability.

The program brought the Dutch students to the Madison campus this fall, and GEW will mark the Americans’ chance to study in the Netherlands. The highlight of the Week will be a dance party in Wageningen Friday, Nov. 20, where the students will join together for a party on a sustainable dance floor that is powered by the suave steps of its users.
The week in Wageningen focues on sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in developing countries. Through the Week, Wageningen start-ups and research will be featured, and more importantly developed. This will include two week-long activities:
- An Entrepreneurial Bootcamp in which 25 Ph.D. students from Wageningen and Wisconsin will team up to learn and develop basic start-up skills. The teams will then work out a business case supported by theoretical lectures presented during the Week on important entrepreneurial issues.

- An Entrepreneurial Forum will transform the halls of campus building into an interactive demonstration site for sustainable Wageningen technologies that have been, will be, or can be developed into commercial products. It will be a place where researchers, students and entrepreneurs can meet and learn from one another.
Additional events include lectures from professors Rudy Rabbinge and Gatze Lettinga on sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in developing countries, as well as a Young Entrepreneurs Business Cafe — a monthly networking event for entrepreneurs, students, researchers and others. This session will be sponsored by investment companies, allowing the students a special opportunity to network.