Governor Perdue Kicks off Entrepreneur Summit in Perry

Biennial Summit Brings Community Leaders Together to Share Best Practices

PERRY, Ga. – Today Governor Sonny Perdue helped kick off the biennial Entrepreneur Summit in Perry, emphasizing the importance of Georgia’s entrepreneurs to the state’s economy.

“Georgia’s entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of Georgia’s economy, making up more than 95 percent of the state’s businesses,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.  “One of my highest priorities as Governor has been to support entrepreneurs and their businesses to keep Georgia growing.”

The Entrepreneur Summit is hosted for two days in cooperation with the Governor’s Entrepreneur & Small Business Coordinating Network (GESBCN) at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry.   Governor Perdue created GESBCN by Executive Order in 2003 to support Georgia’s entrepreneurs and small businesses through leadership education, resource awareness and long-term entrepreneur and small business support programs.

“We are seeking out new and existing high-potential small businesses with a focus on Georgia’s strategic industries and working to assist them in accelerating their growth by providing expertise in connecting to the right resources and expanding into new markets,” said Heidi Green, Deputy Commissioner for Global Commerce with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) in her address to the audience.

Since 2006, GDEcD’s Regional Small Business and Innovation team has assisted more than 2,000 companies and helped create $65 million in investment.

Events for the entrepreneur summit include breakout sessions, panel discussions and workshops on a number of topics valuable to the audience, including sessions on technology, microloans and youth entrepreneurship.

The summit will also share best practices regarding the successful Entrepreneur Friendly program, which has helped more than 80 Georgia communities become more responsive to the needs of their entrepreneurs and small business owners.  The program is hosted by GDEcD.

Approximately 200 participants from around the state are expected to attend the two-day summit, including leaders from chambers of commerce, economic developers, local elected officials and resource providers for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

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