GES reflects rapid growth of US-India strategic partnership: US State Department

Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 reflects South Asia's strong entrepreneurial-ship achievements and future as well as the rapid growth of the United States-India Strategic Partnership, says U.S. State Department has said.

The three-day summit, which is being hosted for the first time in South East Asia, began in Hyderabad on Monday.

The inaugural session was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.

With the theme of 'Women First, Prosperity for All," the three-day summit is witnessing majority of women participants, with over ten countries being led by all-female delegation.

US Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, in a statement, said, "GES 2017 participants will empower innovators and entrepreneurs particularly women to utilize new skills and resources to achieve success through plenaries, workshops and a pitch competition."

Today, while addressing the plenary session on 'We Can Do It! Innovations in Workforce Development and Skills Training' at the 8th edition of the (GES) in Hyderabad, Ivanka highlighted the importance of technology for the growth of women entrepreneurs.

"Technology is a great driver of entrepreneurship because a lot of women are leaving and saying this doesn't work for me. It is emboldening them to go out on their own. It is reducing barriers to starting new businesses, and creating flexibility around schedule," Ivanka Trump said.

She also lauded the efforts made by women and women entrepreneurs to manage both their personal and professional lives, concluding that the way ahead required a fundamental change.

Also present at the session were state cabinet minister for IT E&C KT Rama Rao; ICICI Bank, Managing Director and CEO, Chanda Kochhar; Cherie Blaire and Karen Quintos.