India second best place to invest, next to UAE, yet there is 'lacks support' for IT services

By Sreevas Sahasranamam, Aileen Ionescu-Somers*
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the best place in the world to start a new business, according to the latest annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey. The Arab nation is number one for the third year in a row thanks to a big push by the government into cutting-edge technology in its efforts to diversify away from oil.
Four out of the top five countries in the GEM rankings are in the Middle East or Asia, with India second, Saudi Arabia third and Qatar fifth – the only exception being Lithuania in fourth place. This is characteristic of a clear eastward shift in the quality of entrepreneurship ecosystems in the past five years, closely mirroring a similar shift in the world’s economic centre of gravity.
The UAE has made particularly steady progress, progressing from fifth on the list in 2019 to the lead ranking. Saudi Arabia has risen from 17th to third, while India is up from sixth to second, having shaken off a pandemic dip in between.
Western economies have slipped during the same period. So why has this been happening and what will matter most in future?

How the survey works

Entrepreneurship is a major driver of global economic growth. It is greatly affected by a country’s regulations, education system, financial institutions and overall culture. By evaluating these variables, you can get a good understanding of the entrepreneurial climate.
GEM captures this each year through a national expert survey that goes out to a range of entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders, including business leaders, government officials and academics. This year, 49 countries participated in the survey including most countries in the G20 (with exceptions like Australia that didn’t participate in the most recent survey). From this, GEM produces a rating of 13 different entrepreneurial conditions to create the annual index.

The shift to the east

The explanations for the rise of eastern countries include greater government promotion of business creation, more emphasis on entrepreneurship education and changes in how business activity is viewed culturally.
In the UAE, for instance, there have been initiatives such as Projects of the 50, which includes priority visas for entrepreneurs and top students, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, digital currencies and coding. It also includes pushing national adoption of leading technologies.
The government used Expo 2020 as a campaign to promote the Emirates as an attractive destination for business, as well as changing certain rules to make it easier for foreign investors. Notably, this included allowing for 100% foreign ownership of companies in 2021. The Ghadan 21 business accelerator programme has also been spending AED50 billion (£11 billion) in Abu Dhabi since 2019.
The Saudis are also focused on diversifying away from oil, and entrepreneurship is one of the top priorities in Saudi Arabia Vision 2030. This has seen the national enterprise development agency, Monsha’at, doing things like promoting university startups and fast-growing ventures.
The country has been trying to make it easier for entrepreneurs to access finance through initiatives such as the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Saudi Venture Capital Company, while there has been targeted support for female entrepreneurs.
To attract foreign talent, the Saudi government also approved a new residency scheme in 2019 and an instant labour visa in 2023.
In India, there has been a lot of emphasis on innovation in the country’s New Education Policy, which was introduced in 2020 to raise educational standards across the board. Many school students have also been inspired by a nationwide initiative called the Atal Tinkering Lab, which inculcates curiosity and design mindset through science projects, while the popular TV show Shark Tank (called Dragons’ Den in some countries) has fired up dinner-table discussions about things like “equity” and “product-market fit”.

East v west

The weaker performance of western economies has been very noticeable over the past five years. In 2019, four out of the top ten countries were Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway and the US. All had lost ground by 2023, with Norway and the US no longer even in the top 15, while Switzerland and Netherlands dropped from being the top two countries to ninth and seventh place respectively.

GEM ranking over the years

The weakening of business conditions in these economies is potentially explained by the surge in inflation and higher interest rates that they have endured since the pandemic. Incidentally, the UK was ranked 21st overall five years ago and is currently 22nd.
Western economies are still ahead in one important respect, however. When you look at countries like Switzerland, France, Norway and Germany, over 30% of their entrepreneurs are in business services.
The situation is quite different among the leading eastern nations in the GEM rankings, where most entrepreneurial activity focuses on consumer services like retail, hotels, restaurants and personal services. These represent 80% of businesses in Saudi and over 70% in India, while in the UAE the most recent figure is over 60% in 2022.
In Saudi and India, business services such as IT and professional services are less than 10% of entrepreneurial activity overall, while in UAE the 2022 figure was less than 20%.
These low numbers matter because companies providing business services tend to have higher margins, greater potential for scaling and greater barriers to entry. So both in the global east and also in low-income countries, there needs to be more impetus and support for encouraging business services.
It’s also worth pointing out that entrepreneurship education needs more attention in most countries. In 31 out of 49 economies, it was rated as the weakest of the conditions assessed in the survey. Without addressing this, many potential new businesses may never come to fruition simply because a generation of schoolchildren grew up unaware that starting a business was an important option for their futures.
Skills imparted through entrepreneurship education such as creativity, innovation, experimentation, a growth mindset, and overcoming the fear of failure will be fundamental requirements in a world where disruptive technologies are evolving at a breakneck pace.
---
*Respectively: Professor, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow; Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Université de Lausanne. Source: The Conversation

Comments

Adani coalmine delayed? Australian senate fails to pass crucial "reform" amendment for project's financial closure

Adanis' Mundra power plant, controversial in Australia By A Representative In what is being described as a new “new hurdle”, the proposed Adani coalmine in the Queensland state of in Australia failed to get the crucial Australian Parliamentary nod, essential for financial closure for one of the biggest coalmining projects in the world. The government lost the Senate vote 35-33, meaning the legislation won't pass until the Senate returns in mid-June.

Aurangzeb’s last will recorded by his Maulvi: Allah shouldn't make anyone emperor

By Mohan Guruswamy Aurangzeb’s grave is a simple slab open to the sky lying along the roadside at Khuldabad near Aurangabad. I once stopped by to marvel at the tomb of an Emperor of India whose empire was as large as Ashoka the Great's. It was only post 1857 when Victoria's domain exceeded this. The epitaph reads: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast." (The rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave) The modest tomb of Aurangzeb is perhaps the least recognised legacies of the Mughal Emperor who ruled the land for fifty eventful years. He was not a builder having expended his long tenure in war and conquest. Towards the end of his reign and life, he realised the futility of it all. He wrote: "Allah should not make anyone an emperor. The most unfortunate person is he who becomes one." Aurangzeb’s last will was re...

Beyond his riding skill, Karl Umrigar was admired for his radiance, sportsmanship, and affability

By Harsh Thakor* Karl Umrigar's name remains etched in the annals of Indian horse racing, a testament to a talent tragically cut short. An accident on the racetrack at the tender age of nineteen robbed India of a rider on the cusp of greatness. Had he survived, there's little doubt he would have ascended to international stature, possibly becoming the greatest Indian jockey ever. Even 46 years after his death, his name shines brightly, reminiscent of an inextinguishable star. His cousin, Pesi Shroff, himself blossomed into one of the most celebrated jockeys in Indian horse racing.

Haven't done a good deed, inner soul is cursing me as sinner: Aurangzeb's last 'will'

Counterview Desk The Tomb of Aurangzeb, the last of the strong Mughal emperors, located in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has this epitaph inscribed on it: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e maa ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast" (the rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave).

Trust, we (from People to PM and President) did not take a Holy Dip in some Holy Shit!

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava I could see two deeply interlinked aspects between human and water in #MahaKumbh2025. Firstly, the HOPE that a ‘holy dip’ in the River Ganga (colloquially referred as dubki and spiritually as ‘Snan’) will cleanse oneself (especially the sins); and secondly, the TRUST that the water is pure to perform the cleansing alias living the hope. Well, I consider hope to be self-dependent while, trust is a multi-party dependent situation. The focus here is on the trust and I shall write later on hope.

Hyderabad seminar rekindles memories of the spark lit 50 years ago by students

By Harsh Thakor* History is something we constantly remember and reflect upon, but certain moments and events bring it back to our memory in a special way. For the Telugu people, and Telangana in particular, the memorial seminar held on February 20–21 was a significant occasion to recall the glorious events, transformations, leaders, and heroes of past struggles. Thousands of students rewrote the history of people's movements in Andhra Pradesh, carrying revolutionary zeal and the spirit of self-sacrifice to levels comparable to the Russian and Chinese Revolutions.

State Human Rights Commission directs authorities to uphold environmental rights in Vadodara's Vishwamitri River Project

By A Representative The Gujarat State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) has ordered state and Vadodara municipal authorities to strictly comply with environmental and human rights safeguards during the Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project, stressing that the river’s degradation disproportionately affects marginalized communities and violates citizens’ rights to a healthy environment. The Commission mandated an immediate halt to ecologically destructive practices, rehabilitation of affected communities, transparent adherence to National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders, and public consultations with experts and residents. The order follows the Concerned Citizens of Vadodara coalition—environmentalists, ecologists, and urban planners—submitting a detailed letter to authorities, amplifying calls for accountability. The group warned that current plans to “re-section” and “desilt” the river contradict the NGT’s 2021 Vishwamitri River Action Plan, which prioritizes floodpla...

Vadodara citizens urge authorities to adhere to environmental mandates in Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project

By A Representative A coalition of environmental activists, ecologists, and urban planners in Vadodara has issued an urgent appeal to state and municipal authorities, demanding strict compliance with court-mandated guidelines for the upcoming Vishwamitri River rejuvenation project. Scheduled to commence in March 2025, the initiative aims to mitigate flooding and restore the river, but citizens warn that current plans risk violating National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and jeopardizing the river’s fragile ecosystem, home to endangered species like crocodiles and Indian Softshell Turtles.

Buddhist communities in Michigan protest for Mahabodhi Temple’s return to Buddhist control

By A Representative Buddhist communities in Michigan have staged protests demanding the return of the Mahabodhi Vihara in Gaya, Bihar, India, to full Buddhist control. The Mahabodhi Temple, regarded as the holiest pilgrimage site in Buddhism, is currently managed under the Bodhgaya Temple Act of 1949, which grants a majority of control to non-Buddhists.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das* India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on. A soft attitude always creates strong relationships. A relationship should not depend only on spoken words. They should rely on understanding the unspoken feeling too. So w...

Search This Blog