Previously held in Toronto, Canada in 2009 and Seoul, South Korea in 2010, the G20 Summit will be held in Cannes, France on November 3 & 4, 2011. France will chair the meeting this year, during which several events are usually organized like the B20 (the Business Summit drawing together employers’ organizations and the CEOs of major companies in G20 nations), the social G20, the agricultural G20 and the G20 YES (“Young Entrepreneurs Summit”).I had the honor of being chosen to be a member of the official delegation of young French entrepreneurs who will participate in the G20 YES, held from October 31 to November 2, under the patronage of the President of the French Republic, the Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Industry.  This delegation will be made up of 60 entrepreneurs under 45 years old representing 15 different sectors of industry.  They were selected from a pool of 730 candidates by a panel of prestigious entrepreneurs and journalists.  True leaders of the French entrepreneurial ecosystem, the 60 entrepreneurs chosen embody positive entrepreneurial values and are vectors of hope for younger individuals.

The G20 YES is organized in France by Journées de l’Entrepreneur (JDE), an association created in 2007 that brings together the main players of the entrepreneurial world (AFIC, CDC, E&Y, 100 000 Entrepreneurs, APCE, Medef, CCIP, Hec Entrepreneur, Movjee, CGPME, Institut Telecom, ESCP Europe, OSEO, etc.).

While the G20 Summit focuses on global economic stability, the objectives of the G20 YES consist of valuing the entrepreneur, highlighting its role in innovation, job growth and creation, inspiring current and future generations of entrepreneurs, and promoting dialog between governments and entrepreneurs.  The G20 YES will also enable the leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the top 20 economies in the world to share their experiences and emphasize good entrepreneurial initiative stimulation and support practices.

Over the course of these three days, 4 main topics will be covered: the role of entrepreneurs in the economy of the 21st century, financing growth, promoting the entrepreneurial culture to encourage initiatives and the shaping of fertile entrepreneur ecosystems.  The development of an annual entrepreneurship barometer to measure entrepreneurs’ perception of their environment and to analyze a series of economic indicators is also anticipated.

For my part, I will have the privilege of working with other entrepreneurs on the topics that I hold near and dear to my heart: stimulating innovation, internationalization and support for rapidly growing companies.

In addition to this honor which highlights Talend’s success, I think that participating in the G20 YES is an excellent opportunity to bring forward some of our ideas in an unbiased environment and share our experiences with other business leaders who are dealing with similar development issues.

Without revealing any details of the event in Cannes this November, I expect it to be a source of proposals, particularly in the sector concerning government and entrepreneur relationships and the development of institutional support for innovation.  In addition to the numerous issues related to the role of institutions, our goal is to strengthen collaboration between entrepreneurs and share and distribute good management and financing practices.

I will keep you posted on the progress of our work.  Stay tuned!

Bertrand