ED Now

ED Now recently caught up with Hezron Osano, an IEDC member based in Nairobi, Kenya.

At IEDC’s 2022 Leadership Summit, Right to Start CEO Victor Hwang spoke about how to encourage entrepreneurship and increase startup growth in cities across the United States. He presented startling facts about U.S. startups, barriers entrepreneurs face, and actions to end the “startup slump”. Hwang pointed out several aspects of startups and entrepreneurship that policymakers often miss. For one, startups and young businesses are not just clustered in the tech sector, but can be found in nearly every business area. These businesses account for a large portion of U.S. net job growth and are major contributors to real GDP and wage growth. Hwang also emphasized that the number of U.S. startups has dropped significantly in ...

IEDC’s recent webinar in the Take Action Against Racism in Economic Development series emphasized the value immigrant entrepreneurs bring to the United States and detailed the unique struggles they face. The panelists highlighted that immigrants are risk-takers and uniquely brave which often translates into entrepreneurship. Immigrants are twice as likely to start a business than native-born Americans. One in five Fortune 500 companies are either immigrant-owned or have at least one immigrant cofounder, and immigrant-owned businesses generate more than $700 billion a year. But while immigrant entrepreneurship is valuable to the U.S. economy, the current legislature is lacking in support for immigrants who want to become ...