5 Countries to Replace Silicon Valley as Startup Hub

COVID-19 has upended the world and our global society at a pace and in a manner that are both unprecedented. In this era of uncertainty, start-ups play an ever more important role by bringing to market innovative solutions for tackling the challenges and mitigating the negative impacts caused by the pandemic. These days, however, such solutions do not originate solely in Silicon Valley or London; they are coming from other regions of the globe with strong start-up ecosystems and unique values and cultures. Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Kenya and Israel have become innovation hotspots and ask how they are attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups, with a specific look at how each government has developed policies to support the ecosystem within their nation. Singapore came top in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report. Thanks to these concerted government-driven efforts, and a growing private financing ecosystem, investment in Singapore has risen steeply from $2.39 billion in 2017 to $8 billion in 2019, according to Enterprise Singapore. Within the same period, start-ups in deep tech industries such as advanced manufacturing, urban solutions and healthcare have started to gain momentum. The Innovation Authority of Israel has broadened its mandate to further foster Israel’s innovation ecosystem. This body is responsible for developing innovation infrastructure, provides grants and financial support for innovative technologies and connects the Israeli economy with the outside, as well as promoting and encouraging programmes, policies and laws, all to maintain Israel’s status as the ‘start-up nation’. South Korea’s economy is primarily driven by large conglomerates like Samsung and LG, called chaebols, which have acknowledged the importance of start-ups as a driver of their continued economic success. TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Start-ups), a state-led incubation programme, discovers and nurtures promising start-ups by selectively matching them with government funding. As the government takes no equity and provides these funds without any strings attached, start-ups can aim high without having to worry about potential failure. The start-up scene in Africa has been increasingly dynamic over recent years. Total investment in start-ups on the continent passed the $2 billion mark in 2019. A growing population coupled with increasing adoption of mobile devices has enabled numerous digital start-ups to thrive – and Kenya lies at the heart of Africa’s start-up success story. According to the Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020, São Paulo is the only city in Latin America in the world’s top-30 global start-up ecosystems, a clear sign that the city is leading the region’s start-up scene. The Brazilian Government is trying out various policies to grow the country’s start-up ecosystem.