Introducing the Global Startup Ecosystem Index

The Global Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink has been updated annually since 2017 and is the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem ranking of:

The Global Startup Ecosystem Index is built using hundreds of thousands of data points processed by an algorithm which takes into account several dozen sets of parameters, as explained in the Methodology section. In addition to the supplementation of data from various global data partners, our Ecosystem Index is integrated with the interactive and crowdsourced StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Map. This map, updated since 2013, provides a strong sample of the stakeholders in each startup ecosystem. Our platform now provides interactive startup ecosystem dashboards for all ranked cities and countries.

Screenshots of Map

Dashboards

The Index is used annually by hundreds of thousands startup founders, startup ecosystem developers, corporations, and other stakeholders to support critical decisions on policy making, strategy, relocation, and investment. StartupBlink is using the Index and its vast underlying data sets in various analyses and policy advising projects related to startup ecosystem development for dozens of governments and international organizations.

There are multiple sources of data used to build the index. Firstly, the global map is crowdsourced with hundreds of thousands of startup related entities. StartupBlink also works closely with numerous global data partners, such as Crunchbase, SEMrush, Statista, and Meetup to supplement data from these unique sources. In addition, we work with approximately 100 Ecosystem partners, most of which are government agencies, and receive data about their ecosystems. You can join them at no cost here. Finally, substantial data is received from the deployment of white-labeled global Startup Industry Maps, using StartupBlink technology, such as The Global Fintech Map and the COVID-19 Resilience Innovation Map. There are also dozens of specific location ecosystem portals (Example here for the city of Bogota), helping us to collect additional data.

Interactive ranking tables on all ecosystems, including the 1000 top ranked cities worldwide, are available in the section below the StartupBlink Global Map.

Screenshot of Tables

This Report's structure remains the same as last year. Initially, we present the methodology, key insights, and supply analysis at the regional level where power shifts between regions are revealed. We then introduce the startup ecosystem of each of the 100 ranked countries and analyze the rankings of their cities. This section is followed by alternative rankings of startup ecosystems by industries and subscores, as well as additional analysis on topics such as Ecosystem Variety and rankings by industries, like Ecommerce & Retail or Fintech. We conclude with a few startup ecosystem case studies of our partnered cities.

This year's report continues our tradition of introducing new analyses that we believe you, our readers, will be excited about.

First, our regional analysis section, which analyzes power shifts among and within geographies, has been extended with insights on how startup funding is distributed between regions, revealing some very interesting dynamics.

Second, while the Index only includes the world's 100 best performing countries, this year we added a section called Contender Ecosystems where we shed the light on countries that haven't made it to the top 100 list, but where we observe a good level of startup activity, such that we believe that these countries are candidates for entering the Index in the next year or two if they continue investing in and successfully improving the results of their ecosystems.

Third, we added an alternative ranking of countries by their absolute power. For reasons that are explained in the Methodology section, our country scores (but not city scores) take into account population size, ensuring that performance is assessed based on achieved results in relation to human capital. The alternative country ranking by absolute power does not take population size into account, and ranks the world's 20 top countries based on their results without correcting for population size. Obviously, you'd expect that large countries have a big advantage compared to small ones. Read our analysis to reveal which smaller countries belong to the world's top even without adjusting for their population size.

The results of the Index will always remain free for the general public. Raw and processed data of hundreds of ecosystems in excel format, customized analysis of specific ecosystems by demand, and enhanced access to filters and dashboards on the StartupBlink map are available for Pro users. We would like to thank our Pro members for supporting independent innovation research.

The views presented in this report belong to StartupBlink and are not necessarily shared by any of our partners or advisors. This report is opinionated by design, based on our consulting experience and hundreds of conversations with ecosystem stakeholders. Some of those opinions may be proven wrong.

We would like to thank our talented data contributors from around the world who help us improve the accuracy of the Index. If you are interested in joining them, please apply here.

StartupBlink is hosting a free and open to the public Quarterly Ecosystem Summit where we discuss topics related to startup ecosystem development and host pitching for multiple ecosystems. We also produce a Startup Ecosystem Development Podcast that we hope is useful for those interested in the topic.

Our work is constantly improved by feedback from you, our readers. If you have any feedback, feel free to contact us via this form or email us at [e-mail]

Ziv Baida, PhD, Report Editor

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