Like any great World Cup, there was not just one winner.
Every day brought another winning moment.
GW students, faculty, staff, and alumni participated throughout the Congress—welcoming our international community, joining sessions, sharing ideas, and helping connect the worlds of education, entrepreneurship, research, business, and public policy.
Joseph A. Miranda, KCHS, KMCO played an important role in the Congress and joined faculty, staff, and students in showcasing the depth of engagement across the School.
The GW community also celebrated special moments of recognition. George Jabbour, Professor of Finance at GWSB, and Herman Aguinis Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Management at GWSB, received Global Excellence Awards, alongside Emily Cho, President and CMO of Hanjin Co., Ltd., and Steve Glaude, President & CEO of The Coalition.
🏆 A World Congress Filled With Champions
The Best Paper Awards recognized two outstanding teams of researchers.
Sharon A. Simmons, Ph.D., Saundra Thompson McFarland, J.D., and Maurice Mangum, Ph.D. were honored for Attorney Perspectives of Black Entrepreneurs in Commercial Real Estate.
Christian Kruse, Vivekanandhan Viswanathan, Fabian Behrendt, and Christian Meisel were recognized for Theoretical Perspectives on Humane Entrepreneurship: Explaining Its Emergence, Outcomes, and Policy Implications.
The Best Workshop Awards went to Casey Hayes-Deats for Young Entrepreneur School: Art & Entrepreneurial Leadership and Evette Banfield for ELEVATE: Executive Leadership Education Venture Advancing Talented Entrepreneurs.
The Global Impact Award for Entrepreneurship Centers celebrated Don’t Lose Hope Global (DLH-GL) by Dr. Martin Ekoumou.
The Undergraduate Education Excellence Award was presented to the Bachelor in Entrepreneurship (LDE) Program Tecnológico de Monterrey, México, by Jan Rehak.
Our Entrepreneurship Educator Excellence Awards honored Dr. Juliana Binhote of Florida State University and Dr. Hermine Poghosyan.
One of the most meaningful moments of the World Congress was welcoming the newest members of the ICSB Fellows Class of 2026:
Jeffrey Alves • Alex DeNoble • Heidi Neck • Rita Grant • Ambassador Martín García Moritán • Rubén Ascúa
The ICSB Fellows designation is the organization’s highest lifetime honor, recognizing individuals whose contributions have helped shape entrepreneurship and small business research, education, policy, and practice.
The Next Generation Lifts the Cup
The ICSB Academy Cup brought the true spirit of the MSMEs World Cup to our next generation of entrepreneurs. Congratulations to Phoenix Project – Team One, led by Jungho Suh at the George Washington University School of Business, and its champions:
Arianna Zamboni • Carlo Castrignano • Giorgio De Palma • Judy Kinyua • Buse Arici • Joslyn Williams
The final whistle may have blown in Washington—but the spirit of the MSMEs World Cup continues.