Connecting Global Innovators
The Global Innovation Forum is a nonprofit startup that connects entrepreneur, small business, corporate, development, and university communities with policymakers to explore the opportunities and challenges of engaging in the global marketplace.
Our Objectives
Elevate the global opportunity
that exists for a diverse set of startup, business and nonprofit stakeholders. GIF improves understanding of the new role that startups, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes are playing in the global marketplace, finding new customers, partners and tools to sustain and grow their operations.
Articulate the policy challenges
that startups, nonprofits and small businesses face, often without the assistance of high-profile lobbyists or lawyers. GIF helps entrepreneurs and innovators articulate the regulatory, customs, market access and related challenges they face to government officials and the public.
Improve the public policy landscape
on critical global issues surrounding trade, innovation and regulation of the digital economy. GIF offers a unique platform for business, startup, nonprofit and university stakeholders to improve governments’ understanding of how policies may affect their ability to participate in global markets.
Enable more effective participation in global markets
through programming, guidance and partnerships with organizations including the U.S. International Trade Administration. GIF elevates the public and private tools that exist to enable entrepreneurs to participate more effectively in global trade.
“The Global Innovation Forum is a valuable partner to the International Trade Administration in helping to connect a range of private sector stakeholders to the Startup Global pilot initiative and improve startups’ understanding of how to participate effectively in global markets.”
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker
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News
New Report Explores Women Entrepreneurs’ Use of Digitally-Enabled Networks
Ottawa, ON -- Today, NFTC’s Global Innovation Forum (GIF) released a new report on how women are leveraging digitally-enabled networks to manage uncertainty and how governments can support women’s entrepreneurship through COVID-19 economic recovery efforts. The...
GIF Launches New Report at APEC Forums on SMEs and Women’s Economic Empowerment
The Global Innovation Forum released a new report on supporting women's entrepreneurship to support Chile's host year of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) via events in September and October. On September 5, 2019 the Global Innovation Forum officially...
The new threat of Internet Tariffs
Governments are adopting or considering adopting new policies that will charge tariffs at the border on large portions of the Internet, including video calls, cloud computing, streaming video and music, e-Books, mobile phone apps, and social media. These policies...
Supporting Women through Global E-Commerce in ASEAN
Women entrepreneurs and small businesses are powerful engines of growth for the ASEAN region. GIF interviewed 10 women running businesses across all of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- who are going global through e-commerce.
Our partners
The Global Innovation Forum works with select partners to collaborate on programming, research and thought leadership, integrate our respective networks, and build a community of globally-engaged, policy-aware entrepreneurs, innovators and officials.
