State Department Holds Technology Boot Camp For West African Entrepreneurs

Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Washington, DC

July 9, 2012

On July 10, the Department will welcome over 100 young West African technology entrepreneurs from eight nations to a Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Startup Boot Camp in Dakar, Senegal. The GIST initiative forges links at the individual and institutional levels among technology entrepreneurs, angel investors, and the marketplace to improve quality of life through economic prosperity.

GIST boot camps provide individualized mentorship for the participants and entrepreneurship “how to” training through presentations and panel discussions. The boot camp will culminate in a Startup Pitch Competition with the winner joining the October GIST Entrepreneurship Delegation that will bring top GIST technology entrepreneurs from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to meet with entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

In Africa, GIST is powered by LIONS@FRICA, a Department of State public-private partnership that shares the GIST mission to create economic opportunity through innovation and entrepreneurship. More information can be found at http://www.gistinitiative.org and http://www.meetthelions.org.

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