Data shows world at 52% entrepreneurial capacity, powers policy discussions during Global Entrepreneurship Week
November 20, 2014 – The 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), released today by the Global Entrepreneurship Network in partnership with the GEDI Institute, shows that entrepreneurship is generally on the rise around the world but that there is much room for growth. The Philippines has ranked 95th place out of 130 countries with overall score index of 27.7. Lack of risk capital and slow absorption of
new technology have been cited as main bottlenecks for the growth of entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Philippines, while product innovation has been recognized as the key factor driving entrepreneurial activities.
“Imagine if there will be more capital available to our local startups with faster Internet and better infrastructure, the market for new technologies such as mobile apps and other applications will expand as business opportunities increase” Said Henry Ong, Director of Young Entrepreneur Society (YES), official host of Global Entrepreneurship Week in the Philippines. “It is, however, encouraging to note that product innovation came out as the strongest link in the country. This brings possible increased productivity in the future and hopefully attracts capital not only domestically but also internationally” He added.
The GEI, measuring the entrepreneurial ecosystems in 130 countries—from Albania to Zambia—measures global entrepreneurial capacity at 52%. It is being launched at policy summits and roundtable discussions around the world as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
“There is a rapidly growing demand from startup communities and policymakers alike to help new firms start and scale,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network. “This Index identifies each country’s unique challenges and serves as a compass for prescribing the most effective interventions.”
The report provides a detailed look at the entrepreneurial ecosystem of nations by combining individual data such as opportunity recognition and risk perception with institutional components like the depth of capital markets, globalization and spending on research and development.
The United States tops the list of countries, followed by (in order): Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Taiwan, Switzerland and Singapore.
The Index has found that entrepreneurship tends to be higher in richer countries and that different regions face very different challenges and priorities in growing their ecosystems. These are important findings for policymakers as it suggests that there is no one optimal policy approach that will work everywhere.
“While effective entrepreneurs, those able to seize new opportunities, contribute to sustainable growth all over the world,” said Zoltan Acs, the founder and president of the GEDI Institute, the results of our work, compiled in the GEI, reflect that how countries go about providing an environment in which their citizens’ are able to innovate and iterate new products, services and processes varies from region to region and country to country. GEI is specifically designed to serve countries across the globe as a guide for mapping out their own approaches to strengthening their national systems of entrepreneurship.”
National-level entrepreneurship is defined as the dynamic, institutionally embedded interaction between entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial abilities, and entrepreneurial aspirations by individuals, which drives the allocation of resources through the creation and operation of new ventures.
A policy-driven event featuring discussion about the Index and its findings are being held in many countries throughout Global Entrepreneurship Week in cities such as: Athens, Greece; Cairo, Egypt; Frankfurt, Germany; Gaborone, Botswana; Jakarta, Indonesia; London, England; Lusaka, Zambia; Nicosia, Cyprus; Prague, Czech Republic; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Sofia, Bulgaria; and more.
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About Global Entrepreneurship Network
Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is a year-round platform of programs and initiatives created by the communities that celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week each November. Aimed at creating one global entrepreneurial ecosystem, GEN helps people in 150 countries unleash their ideas and turn them into promising new ventures—creating jobs, unearthing innovations for society and strengthening economic stability around the world. For details on the programs and initiatives that make up GEN, visit weareGEN.co.
About The GEDI Institute
The GEDI Institute is a non-profit organization that advances research on links between entrepreneurship, economic development and prosperity. The Institute was founded by world-leading entrepreneurship scholars from the George Mason University, University of Pécs and Imperial College London. The flagship project of the Institute is the Global Entrepreneurship Index, a breakthrough advance in measuring the quality and dynamics of entrepreneurship ecosystems at a national and regional level. The GEI methodology has been validated in rigorous academic peer reviews and has been widely reported in media, including in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes.
