GIST Community | GIST Network

Innovators

By combining its online platform with on-the-ground partners, GIST creates education and training opportunities for young innovators in more than 130 countries around the world by providing access to U.S. experts and through in-country entrepreneurship networks and support systems.

Ecosystem Builders

Ecosystem Builders aim to bolster networking and entrepreneurial skills to build durable, long-term, supportive networks. The ultimate goal is to stimulate local entrepreneurial activity and ensure participants can grow their skills and scale their businesses together – both in their home country and through the GIST Network’s global connections.

Investors

GIST partners with in-country stakeholders in entrepreneurial ecosystems to bolster local financial support for startups. GIST is able to bring American investment experts to different regions around the world and provides an opportunity for in-country investors to learn how to create and sustain investor networks for entrepreneurs.

Partners

Since 2011, GIST has partnered with the private sector to reach over 27 million innovation community members globally and has provided training for over 15,000 startups who have gone on to generate over $250 million in revenue. This is done through competitions, startup trainings, and interactive online programs, implemented by AAAS and VentureWell. If you would like to explore partnership opportunities please contact Hillary LeBail.

General Pitch Competition

GIST runs a variety of Pitch Competitions that do not fall into the same category as Tech-I or Catalyst. These are usually associated with specific conferences or themes.

Business Incubation

The U.S. Department of State’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology, or GIST, Initiative launched this new program in the fall of 2019 for entrepreneurs in emerging economies.

The GIST Network is a public-private partnership created by the U.S. Department of State to give science and technology entrepreneurs access to needed resources and advice.

In order to create sustainable investment networks, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative has created the Investor Mobilization Training program (GIST Investors).

GIST Startup Trainings

GIST Startup Trainings empower young science and technology innovators and entrepreneurs through on-the-ground training and mentoring delivered by top U.S. mentors and in-country partners.

GIST Tech-I Pitch Competition

The GIST Tech-I Competition is an annual competition for science and technology entrepreneurs from emerging economies worldwide.

GIST Catalyst Pitch Competition

Applications open 2 August for the 2021 GIST Virtual Pitch Competition!

The GIST Innovates program is a multi-component training program to provide innovators with the training, mentoring, and resources they need to bring their ideas out of the university lab and into the market.

Resources

GIST TechConnect

GIST TechConnects provides entrepreneurs around the world with direct access to leading U.S. experts from business and academia, but without the travel and other related costs.

GIST Innovation Hubs

Innovation Hubs, or IHubs, are designed to build strong and vibrant networks of young science and technology entrepreneurs around the world.

GIST Masterclass Series

Through partnerships with U.S. Embassies and in-country startup incubators, the GIST Masterclass Series brings U.S. experts in entrepreneurship to a specific country for face-to-face interactions with stakeholders.

News

5 Bad Reasons to Start a For-Profit Social Enterprise

Should a new social good organization choose a for-profit model or a nonprofit one? This is a question we face each year at my organization, Echoing Green, when we evaluate thousands of business plans from social entrepreneurs seeking start-up capital and support.

Can Relationship Counseling Save Your Startup?

Businesses fail.

Among startup businesses, about half survive the first five years. Businesses can fail due to poor business models, lack of capital, outdated technology, or a variety of other reasons.

Can Tunisia become a hub for entrepreneurs?

Tunisia has struggled to meet popular demand for economic freedom since its protest movement ousted former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at the beginning of 2011, during the Arab Spring.

Case Studies on Intellectual Property (IP Advantage)

Would you like to see how other business handle IP issues?

The case studies in the IP Advantage database offer insights into how IP works in the real world, and how its successful exploitation can contribute to development.

The Green March: An Eternal Day in Moroccans Memories

moroccoworldnews.com - Marrakech – Every Nov. 6, Moroccans celebrate the anniversary of the Green March, the largest, longest, and most peaceful march anywhere in the world.

The Millionth Tech-I Competition Vote goes to Tendekayi Katsiga

Since the launch of GIST Tech-I in 2011, over one million people from around the world have voted on videos of semi-finalists. To celebrate this amazing achievement, we are taking this opportunity to highlight the 2015 Tech-I semi-finalist who received the one millionth vote.

The Next Big Thing You Missed: New Apps Instantly Convert Spreadsheets Into Something Actually Readable

Dave Story is building a mobile app that can instantly transform an Excel spreadsheet into something you can actually read. It’s called Project Elastic, and he unveiled the thing this fall at a conference run by his company, Tableau.

The Next Big Thing You Missed: Tech Superstars Build ‘Startup Factories’

The startup world is driven by a familiar formula: you get an idea, you build a product based on your idea, you start a business to sell your product, your business succeeds—or, more likely, it fails—and you start all over again, looking for a new idea.

The Only Way to Save Google Glass Is to Kill It

Did you know that Google Glass still exists? Yes, the gadget that launched a thousand think pieces hasn’t disappeared, though the absence of hand-wringing about, say, Glass’ privacy implications suggests a worse fate than bad publicity.

Tony Elumelu Foundation Selects Inaugural 1,000 African Entrepreneurs to Participate in the $100M Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme

Lagos, Nigeria - The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is pleased to announce the selection of the first 1000 African entrepreneurs for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).

Wharton Announces Largest Student-Run Platform for Impact Investing

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced today a new partnership to provide students with world-class experiential training in impact investment through an online crowdfunding platform, and to greatly expand the student-run Wharton Social Venture Fund (WSVF)

Zambian Entrepreneur to speak at Harvard Business School

Zambian Entrepreneur, Mawano Kambeu, who is the Managing Director of Dot Com Zambia, will be a speaker at the 17th Annual Africa Business Conference, to be held at the Harvard Business School Campus in Boston, USA from Friday 27th February to Sunday 1st March 2015.