Venture Café Global Institute (VCGI) is a global learning and innovation community powered by an environment where curious minds and novel technology can tackle the world’s biggest challenges and build a better world for all. Our café’s gather over 100,000 visionaries and lifelong learners each year to build strong, inclusive, equitable innovation ecosystems in cities throughout the world. We provide the network, the topical programming, the storytelling opportunities, the learning environments and the supporting resources, to create something great locally and that has impact globally.
Venture Café’s inclusive platform, featuring the Thursday Gathering, empowers individuals and organizations across the world to learn, connect and share solutions for lasting impact. We welcome innovators of every expertise, experience level and identity to our events and our physical and digital spaces as both participants and presenters. We intentionally collaborate with a wide range of moderators, educators and thinkers to lead our programs because the more diverserse the group of people engaged in innovation efforts, the bigger and more meaningful the local impact will be.
Venture Café began as a simple idea within the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Massachusetts. A longtime global leader in building innovation campuses and shared workspaces, CIC began evolving from its concept of physical spaces to one of greater meaningful community in 2009. This new iteration grew into a global movement known for its entrepreneurial resources and inclusivity. Today, Venture Café Global Institute – now its own enterprise – expands to new cities on its own as well as alongside other CIC ventures.
VCGI has a global network – and that means you do too! Through our collaborations in cities from Tokyo to Warsaw to Boston, we’ll connect you with change-makers and resources to help you expand innovation both locally and globally. Together, let’s ignite creativity and catalyze action to solve humankind’s challenges while meaningfully supporting entrepreneurs and innovators, many of whom have traditionally been underserved. Check out the benefits of worldwide collaboration!