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.
News
- ASEAN nations have taken a major step towards the world's first regional agreement on digital economy governance. The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), due to be concluded and signed in 2026, aims to bolster a digital economy that could reach $2 trillion by 2030 (World Economic Forum)
- Türkiye is seeking to position itself as a worldwide center for tech entrepreneurs by expanding several existing programs. It aims to increase the number of startups earning the Techno-Entrepreneurship Badge from 1,000 today to 12,000 in 2028, while its 'Turcorn' program for unicorns will expand from 40 startups to 160. It also plans increases in the number of Tech Visas and projects within technology development zones (Hurriyet Daily News)
- South Korea is to open a Startup & Venture Campus in Silicon Valley in January 2026. The campus will serve as an integrated headquarters for Korean startups and venture firms entering the U.S. market (KoreaTechDesk)
- The European Innovation Council has launched EIT Community Hubs in Serbia and Greece. The new hubs, complementing 16 others launched in 2024 across Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, form part of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme and seek to tackle Europe's regional innovation divide (EIT (Serbia) | EIT (Greece))
Research and publications
- The global index of female entrepreneurship systems
This Asian Development Bank report aims to pinpoint the elements that facilitate the success of promising high-potential female entrepreneurs. - Taming the beast versus nurturing the beast: Rethinking entrepreneurship policy
This research paper by Manjunath Agalagurki, Kothandaram Kumar, Vinay Reddy Venumuddala and Aman Bhuwania undertakes a reflexive policy analysis of entrepreneurship policy to rethink how it is conceived and implemented.
Comment and analysis
- Government funding: The unsung hero of innovation and progress (Justin Riggi, policy intern, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation)
- The entrepreneurial ecosystem is inclusive on paper, but less equitable in practice (Holly Fang, president, Singapore Fintech Association)
- Albania is showing the perils of outsourcing democracy to algorithms (Adele Jaspere, contributor, Tech Policy Press)
- Dutch founders sound the alarm on capital, bureaucracy, and speed (Mauro Mereu, IO Plus)
- Why investors are pushing female entrepreneurship in Japan (Oishani Mitra, content manager, Global Corporate Venturing)
- Startup Nation: The end of innocence (Yamina Moukah, founder and CEO, YAM Partners - in French)
- It only took 20 years, but the Strategic Management Society now believes the Lean Startup is a strategy (Steve Blank, adjunct professor, Stanford University)
- Can Ethiopia's economic liberalisation lead to a jobs boom? (Harry Clynch, finance reporter, African Business)
- The hidden architecture of startup cities: How real ecosystem outperforms hype (Paul O'Brien, author, Startup Economist)
- Tunisia's growth shows Francophone Africa can do more with less (Lina Kacyem, investment principal, Launch Africa - in French)
Features
- Anne Le Henanff, minister for digital affairs: "Entrepreneurs, stay!" (Maddyness - in French)
- The power of entrepreneurial women (Estee Lauder Companies launches BEAUTY&YOU India, supporting Indian beauty companies)
- How failed tech expansions are creating Africa's next generation of founders (Launch Base Africa)
- Soft landing in Silicon Valley: How the European Startup Embassy helps CEE founders go global (tech.eu)
- AI dominates GITEX: Can Africa seize the opportunity? (African Business)
- How entrepreneurship is rising in India's small cities (CNBC)
GEN community news
- Global Entrepreneurship Week is almost here! This year's theme is "Together We Build" - shining a spotlight on the collective power of community, collaboration, and shared ambition. Explore the ideas bank | Promotional toolkit | Add your event to the GEW calendar
Get updates delivered directly to your inbox
Subscribe by selecting 'The Startup State' under communications permission in the form below.
The opinions expressed in the articles above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.