The UK has become Europe’s most entrepreneurial economy and has climbed five places to fourth globally, according to an Imperial College Business School report.
The study, called the GEI, was carried out by researchers from Imperial College Business School in association with collaborators at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University of Pécs and George Mason University. The GEI uses 14 index pillars such as start-up skills, networking and cultural support to benchmark countries’ entrepreneurial ecosystems. The research team analysed survey data from nearly half a million adults in different countries, combined with data describing the country’s “entrepreneurial framework conditions” – i.e. how well each country supports entrepreneurial activity.
The researchers found that the UK is Europe’s leading entrepreneurial economy and exhibits a strong all-around entrepreneurial profile. The UK’s greatest strength in entrepreneurship is its entrepreneurs’ ability to provide unique products or services that are not currently offered by other businesses in the same market. In this regard, UK businesses ranked second in the world behind the US and Denmark, which ranked first in the Index. The UK also exhibited strengths in recognising opportunities to start a business and the prevalence of highly educated and skilled entrepreneurs. The UK’s relative weaknesses were found in its perception of start-up skills, internationally oriented business ventures, and risk capital.
Click here to read more findings from the report.