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.
News
- The European Union has presented its plans for EU Inc, a new set of corporate rules to make it easier for businesses to start, grow and operate across the EU. A central register and fully digital process will allow founders to incorporate within 48 hours for less than €100 ($115). The plan also removes the need for intermediaries for share transfers and provides employee stock option schemes. Businesses will be able to choose which EU member state they incorporate in. While the plan has been widely welcomed (Politico, Tech EU, Science|Business), a joint statement from EU-INC, Allied for Startups, and the European Startup Network warned that the plan fails to achieve the goal of creating one true standard across Europe (European Commission)
- Rwanda has launched Innovate Rwanda, a national digital platform to centralize the country's innovation ecosystem. The platform connects startups, investors, incubators and institutions to improve access to funding and partnerships (We Are Tech)
- Interview with Esther Kunda, director general of innovation and emerging technologies, Ministry of ICT and Innovation (TechCabal)
- Barbados has moved Future Barbados, its national innovation agency, from the Prime Minister's Office to the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology as part of a significant expansion of its budget and mission (Barbados Today)
Research and publications
- Ambitious Australia
This Australian government strategic examination of research and development sets out how to maximize the value of public investment in research to help address national priorities and foster new industries. - Fostering high-impact entrepreneurship in regional clusters
This ADB brief, authored by Erkko Autio and others, makes the case that high-potential entrepreneurship that creates outsized innovation impact tends to emerge in hotspots, and policy should therefore focus on building deep ecosystems rather than maximizing startup numbers. - A compact to advance entrepreneurship in America
This National Governors Association compact sets out how U.S. governors can make entrepreneurship a priority in their states and territories.
Comment and analysis
- Startups need foundational digital trade policy made permanent (Engine)
- Designing Africa's innovation ecosystem for women: A blueprint for inclusive startup ecosystems across Africa (UNDP Timbuktoo)
- Deeptech Week: The time to unite startups and industry (Paul-Francois Fournier, executive director for innovation, Bpifrance - in French)
- I wrote a book I needed to read twenty years ago (Paul O'Brien, author, Startup Economist)
Ecosystem insights
- Anna Ekeledo on a decade building Africa's tech hub network at AfriLabs (TechCabal)
- Innovate UK: 'We want to make it simpler and easier for companies to work with us' (Sifted)
- How Bangladesh's global talent returned to build startups at home (The Business Standard)
- Steady foundations for Botswana's fintech ecosystem in 2026 (The Fintech Times)
- The era of super entrepreneurs: How to enable individuals to have organizational-level abilities (E36kr Europe)
- How would an ecosystem-led investment platform fund perform? (Technical.ly)
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The opinions expressed in the articles above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.