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I've done a bit of international work around startups and government policy, as well as lots of checking out various "startup"/entrepreneurial endeavours around MENA,US and EU. Safety nets, be that a psychological one ( the US with the American dream ) or a welfare angle (sweden, Norway etc) but what seems to be truest or at least in my observation is the psychology of the country in terms of its approach to supporting startups of all flavours matters more. This means,broadly, it being considered an acceptable and successful route of learning business and is not a hyper risky endeavour. In stable global north countries, it was, historically, considered a radical act to not join a big national or even multinational company. Hell, the terminology of the description tells you the sense of import that we held for the the large beasts of industry. This all radically shifted with the advent of software, games, websites, SaaS, PaaS etc etc. It was perceived, over the last 40 years, no longer risky to be in computers, but very wise, and a smart move. With this rise of the geeks, then came adjacent entrepreneurial activity, fancy coffee shops, better food, etc Now,this has probably played out one way or the other on every country. What I have seen, is that entrepreneurs are more present and more numerous than ever, but there are numerous obstacles in their way. Import limits, sending money internationally, basic banking, travel restrictions, gender limitations, sexuality limitations, freedom of the press, dictatorial governance with a lot of religion as the policy. These are the limiting factors to growth. Investors will always invest, we can derisk it somewhat with tax breaks, but money makes money. Ultimately what's designs a great startup ecosystem is excellent people making excellent things with or without government assistance and working together, as a cohesive unit to celebrate and champion making cool shit for money. Be it coffee, be it BBQ, be it software, be it yoga. Independent businesses require a state that trusts its people, and the people trust the state. Germany is an odd example, but from my experience with German entrepreneurs is the risk tolerance of Germany investors is very very low. So it's get customers then get money. However, that said, Germany has produced a few good businesses so perhaps there's a method! It can never be one size fits all when it comes to creating the perfect environment, much like gardening, you've got to work with the strengths of the plot, the soil, the weather etc. However, if we all think we should replicate the valley on our respective locations then we're truly missing the strengths and values of our communities. |