Efforts to build startup and scale-up ecosystems have been taking a decidedly urban turn. We are seeing an increasing number of city governments with specialized offices to improve the environment for startup businesses, as well as a growing number of initiatives inspired by “startup nation” movements but focused on the local level, such as “Buenos Aires Emprende” and “Mobile World Capital – Barcelona”.
This is why each year, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress is designed to help participants see how collaborative communities around the world can help entrepreneurs in their efforts to launch and scale. That will be accomplished at the upcoming 2015 GEC through the GEC Cities Challenge, now accepting applications. The entrepreneurial ecosystems of the three winning cities from the Challenge will be featured at the 2015 GEC in Milan to showcase how entrepreneurship is effectively supported at the urban level.
Many say the best location to establish an entrepreneurial venture is where one can find talent. Others think that the best city to set up a new business is where the customers are. Some believe that the best location is where entrepreneurs can find investors who can help the startup grow. A more recent argument says that in today’s world, location does not really matter for things like reaching markets or investors, so the best location is where the entrepreneur simply enjoys living.
In fact, reliable data on the metro-level geography of startups outside the United States is scarce. The latest effort in this regard has been a new ranking of 150 startup cities across the globe by SeedTable. For the most part, we have been relying on first-hand insights and qualitative data.
Nevertheless, we need more information from cities in finding what policies and programs have been working, and how to effectively map entrepreneurial ecosystems beyond their tech startups. The Challenge is a step in that direction.
The GEC Cities Challenge is looking to recognize cities that have successfully attracted entrepreneurs that are playing important roles in creating jobs, building economic resilience, and introducing innovative solutions that improve the competitiveness of their country.
In attracting applications from beyond big hubs like London and Silicon Valley, the GEC Cities Challenge hopes to raise awareness for the work that smaller cities have done in promoting entrepreneurship at a local and urban level. In fact, the jury is especially interested in hidden treasures among second tier cities that are rapidly boosting entrepreneurship, attracting talent, and leveraging “public” assets.
About the GEC Cities Challenge
The final deadline for submitting nominations is December 30, 2014, by which time all nomination requirements must be submitted online via the istart.org platform.
Following the submission deadline, the jury will evaluate the nominated cities to choose up to three winning cities based on the following criteria:
- Entrepreneurial solutions emerging in various aspects of city life.
- Extent to which actual entrepreneurs are leading the ecosystem.
- Metrics available to show the city’s healthy entrepreneurship pulse.
- Impact of entrepreneurship on the city’s social and economic situation.
- Potential for sustaining entrepreneurial momentum.
- Clear identification of the city’s success factors as an entrepreneurial place.
The jury’s decision will be announced by January 30, 2015.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can more than one city per country apply? Yes. Cities should just apply separately by creating different application logins on istart http://gec2015cities.istart.org/
Who can nominate a city? Everyone is eligible to nominate cities for the GEC Cities Challenge.
Does it matter who from the city applies? Should it be a government official? No, it does not matter.
What the competition winner will get? The city will have a special feature on the GEC program such as speaker from the city or an expo booth.
Image Source: Jeff Sheldon