26 February 2018, Washington DC, USA – Representatives from the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB), and ICSB partners met with Marcos Jorge de Lima, Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and Services and his delegation from Brazil.

The meeting was focused on discussing the development of entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises. The Minister, Marcos Jorge de Lima, discussed the importance of promoting entrepreneurship activity across all sectors within Brazil and the impactful role of SMEs. After a warm welcome from the Dean of GWU Business School, Dr. Vivek Choudhury, Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy, Executive Director of ICSB and Professor at GWSB, advocated on behalf of ICSB and its mission to promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs through the intersection of policy and education initiatives. Dr. Winslow Sargeant, former Chief Counsel of the SBA Office of Advocacy and ICSB SVP of Development and Advocacy, spoke about the role the Small Business Administration plays in financially supporting small businesses. Dr. George Solomon, the Editor of ICSB’s Journal for Small Business Management, discussed the International Survey of Entrepreneurship Education and its impact on developing a national strategy to teach entrepreneurship across all universities.