Welcome to ‘The Startup State’ - a weekly bulletin from the GEN Policy and Research team highlighting key entrepreneurship announcements, reports, commentary and features from around the world.
In memorium
The GEN team is deeply saddened by the death of Pascal Edoh Agbove, managing director of GEN Togo (Local coverage - in French)
News
- Kenya and Rwanda are preparing a framework that would allow digital payments companies licensed in one country to operate in the other without seeking fresh regulatory approval, in a move that could ease cross-border expansion for fintechs in East Africa (TechCabal)
- Jamaica has launched an online learning platform to transform businesses through entrepreneurship education. 'Biz Wiz', run by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, is designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their business journey (Jamaica Information Service)
- Ukraine has launched a world-first program giving startups access to real war data for AI training. The initiative is open to Ukrainian companies and international partners (tech.eu)
- New South Wales, Australia, is putting USD $14m into a program to fund commercialization. The fund will back startups aligned with the state's strategic priorities with loans that have to be repaid in instalments once EBITDA tops USD $350k (Startup Daily)
Research and publications
- Innovation rising: Lifting central and eastern europe's jobs and growth potential
This World Bank report looks at how innovation can drive growth in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland and Romania. - Mapping the Kenyan entrepreneurship network: Unlocking productivity and securing the future economy through high-growth companies
This Endeavor ecosystem mapping study is based on 100 interviews and data on over 730 companies and their founders. - Invest local: The state of intra-state venture investing
This Rise of the Rest annual report finds that local venture capital plays a critical role in developing regional startup ecosystems, with many investors continuing to fund companies close to home.
Comment and analysis
- Founders can't scale what governments won't: Policy infrastructure entrepreneurship needs (Paul O'Brien, author, Startup Economist)
- Startup ecosystems don't run themselves - and the people who connect them are disappearing (Ayanna Smith, founder, Journey Together)
- Denmark's wealth tax plan would be a disaster for startups (Cecilie Jacobson, founder & CEO, Wawa Fertility and Madeleine Bjornestad Roed, founder & CEO, Stack By Me)
- Sovereignty, safety, and scale: Takeaways from the India AI Impact Summit (Cameron F Kerry and Elham Tabassi, Brookings)
- From the same author: What national AI plans get wrong and how to fix them
- Opening remarks at the Commonwealth Investment Network Summit (Hon. Shirley Botchwey, secretary general, The Commonwealth)
- Investors eye Ukraine's silicon steppe (Anatoly Motkin, president, StrategEast Center for a New Economy)
- Community mapping: Insights from Ready Stanthorpe (Chad Renando, Chair, GEN Australia)
Ecosystem insights
- Nigeria's rise as Africa's unicorn factory (African Business)
- International investors pour into Morocco one year after $1.9bn fund launch (Launch Base Africa)
- EU promises 48-hour 'Delaware' regime won't lead to boom in bad bosses (Politico)
- From scientific excellence to global startups: The Swiss tech ecosystem (tech.eu)
- Startups in DRC are building Africa's overlooked digital frontier (TechCabal - in French)
GEN updates
- The GEN Atlas - the world's largest compendium of entrepreneurship policy case studies - has published its 500th entry and now covers 100 countries. GEN research manager Tom Hancock reflects on the milestone (GEN)
- Applications are now open for the Entrepreneurship World Cup, one of the world's largest and most diverse startup pitch competitions. Founders are invited to apply for the opportunity to compete on a global stage for a share of $1m in cash prizes, mentorship, investment opportunities, and support to scale their ventures internationally (GEN)
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The opinions expressed in the articles above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.