Welcome to ‘The Startup State’ - a weekly bulletin from the GEN Policy and Research team highlighting key entrepreneurship news, reports, commentary and features from around the world.
GEN community news
- The Global Entrepreneurship Network and Alibaba.com have joined forces to open applications for CoCreate Pitch, the world's leading product-driven startup competition. Learn more | Apply now | View the digital media toolkit and create co-branded promotional graphics
News
- Kenya's President Ruto used International Youth Day to announce plans to launch a $75m youth enterprise investment bank. The new financial institution is poised to become a cornerstone in the government's strategy to address the pervasive issues of youth unemployment and limited access to capital (Serrari Group)
- Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev marked the country's annual Entrepreneurs' Day and its independence day by outlining 51 presidential initiatives to boost entrepreneurship. Measures include tax simplifications, accelerated business registration, a new investment code, and state co-investment into 5,000 hectares of tourist facilities (Yahoo Finance)
- Zambia's Ministry of Technology and Science has launched an online entrepreneurship training program aimed at equipping young Zambians with the skills and mindset to create jobs and contribute to the country's socio-economic transformation (Tech Africa News)
- Goa is the latest Indian state to launch a startup policy. It aims to create 1,000 startups, generate 10,000 jobs, and position the state among Asia's top 25 startup destinations by 2028 (TICE)
- Lagos, Nigeria is planning a $20m innovation fund, representing 1.5% of the state's annual capital budget. The draft Lagos Innovation Bill sets out plans to fund innovation hubs and tech parks, provide risk capital to businesses, and finance research (TechCabal)
- UNCTAD has launched a new database on investment facilitation that maps 400 treaties since 2010. The tool offers a clear and comparative overview of global and country-specific investment policy trends (UNCTAD)
Comment and analysis
- Cleantech ecosystems: How to develop cleantech policy that works for your country (Julie Martin, senior consultant, Cleantech Group)
- Ecosystem orchestration: Ethiopia's startup future still depends on what happens after policy (Mikiyas Mulugeta G. Yohannes, contributor, Modern Ghana)
- Honor loans: How to reform a system to protect entrepreneurial momentum (Yves Mboda, entrepreneur and author - in French)
- Bogota, Colombia: Latin America's next startup ascent (Paul O'Brien, author, Startup Economist)
- Canada's AI edge is slipping - here's how to regain it (JF Gauthier, founder & CEO, Startup Genome and Dan Herman, strategic advisor, NorthGuide)
- Crowdfunded companies are 'ghosting' their investors - and getting away with it (Andrew A. Schwartz, DeMuth chair of business law, University of Colorado Boulder)
- Fueling the future of social entrepreneurship (Asa Skogstrom Feldt, managing director, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship)
- Entrepreneurship education: A strategic investment for NZ (Darsel Keane, director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland Business School)
- For defense startups, red tape is a burden - and also a moat (Andrew Woodman, London bureau chief, PitchBook)
Features
- Tax breaks and fast tracks: Egypt lures fleeing startups to free zones (Launch Base Africa)
- Silicon Valley's AI deals are creating zombie startups: 'You hollowed out the organization' (CNBC)
- Silicon Valley is sucking up Singapore's tech talent (Rest of World)
- Shark Tank Nepal sparks new wave of entrepreneurship (Kathmandu Post)
- Can Africa hook into growing 'local capital startups' trend? (African Business)
GEN Atlas insights
The GEN Atlas is the world’s largest entrepreneurship policy compendium, featuring over 400 case studies from 70 countries. Using these case studies, we publish Country Deep Dives examining the policies underpinning countries’ entrepreneurial success, Policy Deep Dives comparing different countries’ approaches to common policy challenges, and Atlas Spotlights highlighting the best examples of policies under a broad theme.
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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.