On May 10, the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship will convene accomplished entrepreneurs, successful investors, insightful scholars, and influential business leaders from developing countries around the world. They will come to MIT to exchange ideas and information on the impact of innovative entrepreneurship in emerging economies.
Panels for the "2014 Legatum Conference: Elements of Entrepreneurship" will focus on agribusiness in Africa, technology ventures in Latin America, energy production in Asia, and the growth of entrepreneurial ventures in the Arabian Gulf region. Panelists will include Habib Haddad, who is founder and CEO of Wamda, an organization that supports entrepreneurs in the Middle East; and Christine Kenna, a principal at IGNIA, a venture capital firm in Mexico. Serial entrepreneur and investor Santiago Pinto will join other accomplished entrepreneurs, such as Sara Menker of Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data analytics company, and David Reich of Assured Labor, which helps low-income workers find jobs across Latin America. Franklin Chang Diaz PhD '77 — a physicist, astronaut, and entrepreneur — will join the panel to discuss technology ventures.
These panelists have launched or funded ventures in more than 15 countries. They have overcome policy hurdles, poor infrastructure, lack of talent, and funding issues while facing numerous other obstacles.
Keynote speakers Jeff Hoffman, founder of Priceline.com, uBid.com and ColorJar, and Julie Meyer, founder of Ariadne Capital and Entrepreneur Country, will present their views on global entrepreneurship.
Additional speakers include David Auerbach, an MIT Sloan graduate and one of the co-founders of Sanergy who will join other remarkable entrepreneurs to talk about advancing agri-business in Africa, and Enrique Bay, whose business is in early stage development, will delve into the obstacles and opportunities he is finding in Mexico since graduating from MIT.
The event is open to the MIT community and the public. For more information and registration, visit the Legatum Conference site.
