Europe’s most entrepreneurial economy’s title goes to none other than the UK. With close competition from all over the world, the UK has also topped 4th place on the Global Entrepreneurship Index, GEI. The US came in first place and Canada in second, with Australia taking 3rd place. In the year 2012, UK was only on the 14th position and within 8 years it has skipped up 10 positions. This is the highest position the UK has ranked in its entire history of the index as a whole. This shows that, UK is doing fairly great when it comes to entrepreneurship. This is due to the increase in entrepreneurial activity within the country. Not only so, but UK has greatly improved its entrepreneurial skills and abilities.
Many leading entrepreneurs and even scientists from all over the world have moved to UK for its credibility in this matter and this has acted as a greater step towards the increase in entrepreneurial skills. The GEI measure shows how well UK’s entrepreneurial businesses are in terms of their innovation, risk taking capabilities and oriented towards internationalisation. The pillars this index uses in order to reach a standard are benchmarked values which show the skills for a start-up, networking capabilities in the country, financial resources and how well the country provides support to its people to carry out entrepreneurial activity.
The UK is the leading entrepreneurial economy in Europe, and this is because of the strong entrepreneurial profile it possesses. UK businesses rank second in the world for being able to provide innovative products, services and solutions to the market. The entrepreneurs in the UK are able to easily recognise new opportunities which open up for them and do not hesitate in starting a business. The businesses are usually internationally oriented. More and more people are continually recognising this positive factor of the UK – the chance to open and run a successful business is highly great. This proves that investing in the UK is a less risky investment with greater returns. For this reason, people from all over the world are willing to start up a business there.
Leading entrepreneurs and even scientists are recognising this opportunity and are trying to make a difference. Over the years, the number of businesses has increased in the UK but along with this, so has their rate of survival. The survival rates of businesses that are either professional, technical or scientific is the greatest – 95% of businesses that operate in these industries in the UK are still surviving. This is great news for scientists – a good business idea can easily lead them to being successful entrepreneurs, as proven by the survival rate. Various successful entrepreneurs from around the world are also considering the opportunity of investing in the UK, to make the most of their investment. They are putting forward their entrepreneurial skills and acting as game changers for the entire UK economy. The Secretary of State for Business in the UK, Dr Vince Cable claims that, “From building cutting-edge robots to designing satellites, British entrepreneurs succeed through combining innovation with strong business acumen. That is why despite tough economic times, we have jumped 10 places in just two years to be the number one enterprising nation in Europe. Our industrial strategy will continue this legacy by providing an environment where businesses can innovate and have confidence to invest in new ideas for long-term growth.”