The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is honoring the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration with a new global startup policy award.

According to a press release from the SBA, the Maria Contreras-Sweet Award for Global Impact “recognizes a government official or policy expert who has created a strong ecosystem to support diverse entrepreneurs in his or her country.”

Contreras-Sweet said in a statement: “Entrepreneurship is about creating opportunities for anyone and everyone – regardless of their demography or geography. As policymakers and elected officials, we can lead the way by developing open, transparent, and meaningful policies so that our entrepreneurs can compete on a level playing field and connect and collaborate with one another.”

A member of President Obama’s cabinet, Contreras-Sweet was recently recognized for her work to bring economic growth and prosperity to the world through entrepreneurship and small business development at the Startup Nations Summit in Cork, Ireland during the official closing to Global Entrepreneurship Week.

“I am deeply honored and grateful to GEN for creating this award that recognizes SBA’s groundbreaking work to export the SBA model and infuse the unique American spirit of entrepreneurship around the world. It is among our most important and enduring legacies,” she said in a statement.

During her tenure at SBA, Contreras-Sweet launched an annual ministerial as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, gathering an array of ministers responsible for startup policies for high-level discussions about how to support entrepreneurs.