AllWorld Network and IFC showcase top entrepreneurs at Summit@Harvard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 100 AllWorld fast growth entrepreneurs and business leaders from the MENA region, Pakistan and Turkey participated in the three-day AllWorld Summit@Harvard.  Their inspiring success stories and strategic insights will now be available to SMEs in developing markets around the world, thanks to AllWorld Network and the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

As a group, entrepreneurs attending the Summit grew an astonishing 60 percent annually over the past three years and created thousands of jobs while the world's economy stagnated. In 2012-2013, they expect sales and employment to rise significantly and two-thirds expect to found another company

Taking advantage of the unique gathering, AllWorld Network and the IFC formed a unique partnership to address several specific goals: to provide fast-growing SMEs visibility on a global scale and to inspire them to THINK BIG; to expose strategies used by entrepreneurs who grow successful businesses despite severe political and economic challenges in their markets, and to introduce the SME Toolkit Platform (www.smetoolkit.org) as a key tool for educating and inspiring SMEs around the world.

Leanne Viviers, SME Toolkit Program Manager, IFC said, "The collaboration between AllWorld and IFC's SME Toolkit aims to inspire and enable SMEs in developing countries. We are putting together our resources and network to reach out and convey to them that with the right mindset and proper management skills they too can overcome serious challenges in their markets and prosper as businesses."

"Our partnership with the IFC means that thousands of SMEs will be able see the incredible success stories of AllWorld winners and gain valuable insights on how to grow a business," Deirdre Coyle, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of AllWorld. "The IFC's SME Toolkit is a vital tool for entrepreneurs throughout the emerging world, and we look forward to supporting their work."

During the three-day summit, interviews with leading entrepreneurs from different sectors and regions were videotaped in order to showcase SME role models. These videos will be disseminated in 34 countries as part of the IFC's SME Toolkit.  Abid Butt, founder of e2e, one of the fastest growing companies in Pakistan was eager to share the story of his company which began with $20k of his own capital and a business plan that took two years to create. Five years later, his transportation company is generating over $75million in revenues.

In 2007, Monis Rahman founded Rozee PK on a shoestring in a small room in his house with four people. Today, Rozee PK is the largest online job search engine in Pakistan, posting more than 25,000 jobs daily. "I want the world to know our story," Rahman exclaimed during his interview, noting that his company experienced 8,500 percent growth in five years despite the fact that it was one of the most challenging times in Pakistan's history.

Throughout the summit, participating entrepreneurs had an opportunity to test out the SME Toolkit. A valuable resource, the Toolkit  offers entrepreneurs free, online, and 24-hour access to expert advice, interactive tools and educational resources to help implement sound business management  practices, access finance and to enter new markets. Online forums facilitate direct interaction between SMEs. The Toolkit has been launched globally in 18 languages and is available in more than 34 markets. Over 5 million visitors access the site annually, 80 percent of whom are from emerging markets.

AllWorld Network looks forward to growing its partnership with the IFC beyond the reach of the Summit@Harvard. Co-founded by Deirdre Coyle, Jr., Anne Habiby and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, AllWorld's mission is to find and scale all the growth entrepreneurs of the emerging world by 2015.

For members of the media interested in receiving more information about AllWorld Network, please contact Deirdre Coyle at 617.504.4547 or [email protected]. 

About the IFC:
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

About AllWorld Network
After more than 15 years of promoting entrepreneurship in the developed and developing worlds, AllWorld Network was established in 2008 by Deirdre Coyle Jr., Anne Habiby and Michael Porter, Harvard Business School Professor and global competitiveness expert.  Along with Inc. magazine, the founders created the U.S. Inner City 100 in 1998 and Inner City Ventures (a $400 million PE firm).   Habiby, Coyle and Porter adapted their model to emerging markets creating AllWorld. AllWorld systematically identifies and ranks fast-growing private companies to create the Arabia 500, Africa 500, Asia 500, Eurasia 500, and Latin America 500.  In emerging economies, public companies are known, but promising private companies are not.  An AllWorld ranking puts these companies on the world map - attracting new investors, customers, growth partners and talent. For more information, visit www.allworldlive.com.

SOURCE AllWorld Network

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