By Martin Pasquier – a life adventurer that I am know honored to know
Innovation is Everywhere, an exploration of startups in emerging markets
By 2020, 3bn new people will be online, mostly from emerging markets. In the same time, countries from South America, the Middle-East, Asia and Africa are recording amazing growth rates in both economics and demographics. And, just as in the US, Europe and China, entrepreneurship and startups are on the rise there too, providing jobs for young population, new businesses, and a reason for talent and money to move there.
Becoming a startup hub, regionally or globally, doesn’t happen overnight, and we roam the world to understand how different countries in the emerging world are fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. What are the best practices that make talent come to a country rather than an other one? How can tax incentives and visa policy help startups to grow? How to create a successful tech ecosystem putting in conversation tech giants, gov agencies, entrepreneurs and universities? What should be the place of government and where should it stop?
By exploring and analysing each country’s strategy and tactics, we want to identify the ways a startup culture can grow in different conditions. We also identify in these emerging markets what the top startups are, who the connectors of the local tech scenes are and what are the pros and cons of setting a startup there. Today, cities, countries and regions all compete for talent, and it’s important to know what will be the next Silicon Valleys.
In 2013-2014, we have reported on 8 countries, and starting in August 2014, we’ll be covering 20 countries in all continents thanks a small team of fixers (in Nigeria, Lebanon, Portugal, Chile and Singapore), and add new products from our exploration. We act as a media, with most of what we see being published in articles accessible to anyone, and we provide custom research and services for companies and investors interested in fast-growing markets.
You can follow us on www.innovationiseverywhere.com