Press Release
EntreLaunch Founder a finalist in the 2017 Startup Nations Award for Local Policy Leadership
October 15, 2017 – EntreLaunch is pleased to announce that our Founder, Rebecca Palmer, is one of four finalists for the Startup Nations Award for Local Policy Leadership. The award recognizes public sector achievement at the local level in championing innovative policies or programs that advance new and young firm formation.
The award is one of three Startup Nations Awards that will be presented at the Startup Nations Summit in Tallinn, Estonia on Tuesday, November 21. The winner will be the third recipient of the award, which was previously received by Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp, Belgium, and María José Vengoechea, executive president of the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce in Colombia.
The other two Startup Nations Awards are Groundbreaking Policy Thinking and National Policy Leadership.
The Selection Committee evaluated nominations based on the following criteria:
- Clarity in the identification of the bottleneck(s) affecting the local ecosystem
- Level of innovativeness of the specific policy lever(s) or program idea(s)
- Level of personal commitment to shifting local government thinking on entrepreneurship
- Extent to which the local effort helped set the example for national level action
- Availability of metrics or evidence to show the impact of the policymaker’s efforts
- Extent to which it is possible to replicate efforts, adapting to other policy areas or other ecosystems
This year, the four finalists for the Local Policy Leadership Award hail from four different countries, and have contributed to their community as a startup champion through a variety of initiatives ranging from ecosystem coordination and collaboration, to promoting entrepreneurship education and innovative skills building in local communities.
Rebecca has focused on access to skills by providing entrepreneurial education, workshops and events to youth aged 10-24, many of which in collaboration with the local government authorities, particularly in the Simcoe County. Ms. Palmer works with ecosystem actors including Startup Barrie, the City of Barrie, Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre and Georgian College’s Entrepreneurial Advisory Board. She is also currently working on developing a new microloan program that provide access to capital to youth under the age of 19, and as such continues to test programs that could be then scaled by public sector agencies.
To assist Rebecca with her travel to the awards ceremony and to test funding program software, please give her a High Five at our test site EntreFund.Me.
The High Five Fund will be developed to allow the general public, investors, friends and family contribute to fundraising efforts by teen entrepreneurs to pilot, validate and launch their startup ideas.
For more information, contact:
Rebecca Palmer
Chief Facilitator and Founder, EntreLaunch Inc. and EntreLaunch Foundation
705-791-2320
Rebecca@entrelaunch.org
