Innovation is the key to success in the current competitive world wherein there are several hundreds and thousands of businesses in every industry. Only the innovative ones are here to last and leave an impression in the global startup ecosystem.
The Global Innovation Index (GII) provides an insight into the multi-dimensional facets growth that is driven by innovation. It provides numerous detailed metrics for 120 economies and is one of the leading references to measure the innovative performance of various markets.
Detailing on the top 10 innovative economies in the world, of the top 10 countries, Europe dominates the market with just a few places for the others. And, in Europe, the Netherlands ranks fourth in the ranking thereby leading other European markets such as Germany, the UK, and the Nordics among others.
Switzerland
Switzerland tops the innovative index for the ninth consecutive time. The notable factors that have contributed to the success of the Swiss startup ecosystem in GII are attributed to the excellent innovation outcomes such as IP receipts, patent applications, and high-tech manufacturing processes. The country is a world leader in terms of environmental performance and intellectual property. Some popular Swiss startups Roivant Sciences, Dfinity, and Ethereum among others.
Sweden
Ranked second in terms of innovation, Sweden has a developed infrastructure, efficient knowledge diffusion methods, and an innovative business sector. The country is known for important improvements in terms of innovation and maintains a leading position in patent applications filed by WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Sweden is home to successful brands such as NA-KD, Klarna, Hedvig, etc.
United States
The United States has secured the third rank globally and the top non-European country ranked for its innovation. The country maintains its status as the global leader in terms of investment markets, R&D-intensive global companies, high-quality scientific universities, and publications. Notably, the U.S. has the greatest number of science and technology clusters in comparison to the other global countries with 26 of them in the top 100. The popular tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Uber, etc. are based in the United States.
Netherlands
The Netherlands with the fourth rank in terms of innovation performs pretty well across all industries, especially the regulatory quality and IP payments. Notably, the Netherlands is a successful tech startup ecosystem with 12 unicorns across industries for now. And, this has been possible due to many factors such as immense levels of innovation, support from the government, expat community, and more. The notably Dutch unicorns such as Adyen, Booking.com, Coolblue, TomTom, etc.
United Kingdom
Despite the implementation of Brexit that continues to have its effect over the British economy and politics, the United Kingdom seems to exhibit an innovative performance with the many superior quality universities and scientific publications. And, the United Kingdom continues to produce innovative startups including Revolut, TransferWise, etc.
Finland
Ranking sixth, Finland has improved in terms of innovation as compared to the last year. It is the global leader when it comes to patent families, ease of resolving insolvency, and rule of law. The economy of Finland is based on electronics, engineering, and metal products. The leading Finnish tech startups include ICEYE, Zadaa, Happeo, etc.
Denmark
Apart from Finland, another country in the Nordics to have gained enough success is Denmark. It has ranked seven in terms of innovation, thanks to the information and communication technology and supporting infrastructure and government online services in the country. Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen bustles with business activities and is home to big names in the tech startup sector such as Templafy, Too Good To Go, Peakon, and Lunar Way among others.
Singapore
Singapore, which ranks eighth in the innovation index has carved a niche for itself in the medtech industry besides the rest. It seems to have a medical innovation landscape in plan and seems to eye at how medical innovation will transform the delivery of healthcare services across the world. Singapore continues to lead the whole of Asia in this aspect. Lazada, Garena, and Grab are some successful Singaporean startups.
Germany
Germany’s success is mainly due to the automotive and mechanical engineering companies in the country. Even the medtech industry and optical devices sector are getting popular in Germany. The capital city of Germany, Berlin has a few unicorns already with additional ones joining the status soon. The leading and innovative German tech startups include Semalytix, Ottonova, Movinga, Inveox, and more.
Israel
For the first time, Israel has found its way into the top 10 rankings of the innovation index. It has been possible with its status of being a global leader in app creation, its knowledge and technology outputs, and business sophistication. There is an innovative business sector in the country with some common names being Fabric, Gett, Fiverr, and more.
Stock photo from Standret/Shutterstock
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