A report from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy evaluated 71 nations in terms of entrepreneurship and performance. According to this report, the best country in which to be an entrepreneur is Denmark. In second place, after Denmark, is Canada.
image by jimg944 on Flickr
What brings these two countries to the forefront when it comes to starting a business?
High-growth business, cultural support, human resources and an excellent technology sector.
The people in both countries place a value on small business operations, they tend to be highly educated and socially stable. All are factors which lead to an increase and respect for small business. In a global economy a country must understand it’s strengths in order to grow businesses and it also must have a healthy entrepreneurial sector, as smart entrepreneurs make the most of factors which have affected them since the recession.
Heading into the future, other countries will also emerge as entrepreneurial competitors. One of these is Africa, as even this month a conference is held in Silicon Valley to promote entrepreneurship and technology among those who do business with a continent that is ready to show what it’s small business owners are capable of.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Italy, a country notoriously known for lack of startups. Not that the Italians don’t have great ideas but their downfall is to focus too much on the idea and not enough on the actual steps needed to get a business off the ground.
And what about the entrepreneurs who are located in dictatorships? In these police run states, many excessively rich businessmen are hand in hand with their local government, while the general population is often exceedingly poor. Politics and business may involve the same cast of characters and running a legal business is next to impossible without making huge payoffs to local law “enforcers”. Though access to the internet has been of some help, any entrepreneur in these countries who wishes to open a small business usually gives up shortly after trying, if they try at all.
After looking at just a few areas around the world, it doesn’t take long to notice that those countries that have always been known for their freedom are also becoming known for their entrepreneurial ability. Freedom of speech and an independent attitude have led to the business growth in Denmark and Canada while other countries lag behind or even drop further into financial destitution during a time of economic instability.
Appreciation of the opportunities our countries have to offer and the intelligent use of our natural resources can only add to continued growth and entrepreneurship. With the rest of the world looking on, perhaps we can teach other countries how to take advantage of their own resources and learn to grow on their own.
