Taiwan is #3 globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI), trailing only the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
As noted in the GEM 2022/2023 Global Report entitled Adapting to a New Normal (released today), GEM defines the entrepreneurial context of a particular economy in terms of 13 different characteristics, labelled the Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs):
- Entrepreneurial Finance: there are sufficient funds for new startups
- Ease of Access to Entrepreneurial Finance: and those funds are easy to access
- Government Policy — Support and Relevance: policies promote and support startups
- Government Policy — Taxes and Bureaucracy: new businesses are not over-burdened
- Government Entrepreneurial Programs: quality support programs are widely available
- Entrepreneurial Education at School: schools introduce entrepreneurial ideas
- Entrepreneurial Education Post-School: colleges offer courses in how to start a business
- Research and Development Transfers: research is easily transferred into new businesses
- Commercial and Professional infrastructure: quality services are available and affordable
- Ease of Entry — Market Dynamics: markets are free, open and growing
- Ease of Entry — Burdens and Regulations: regulations encourage not restrict entry
- Physical Infrastructure: good-quality, available and affordable
- Social and Cultural Norms: encourage and celebrate entrepreneurship
The NECI results are based on the scores of the Framework Conditions for each of the 51 economies participating in GEM. At least 36 experts, often more, are selected for their expertise by the GEM National Team and approved by GEM to assess statements that make up the scores. As the same questions are asked in all economies, scores can be compared across countries.
Taiwan’s overall score was at 6.2. The last time Taiwan participated - two years earlier - it also came in third with a NECI score of 6.1.
In 2022, Taiwan had 10 of its Framework Conditions scored among the top 10 of the 51 GEM economies, with three conditions ranked first: Government Policy: Taxes and Bureaucracy; Commercial and Professional Infrastructure; and Physical Infrastructure. The biggest improvement since 2020 was for Government Policy: Taxes and Bureaucracy.
In both 2020 and 2022, the only Framework Condition scoring as insufficient was Entrepreneurial Education at School, with the score actually dipping between the two years. However, entrepreneurship courses and programs were only recently added into tertiary education in Taiwan in recent years, and the effects of this will take time.
“Inflation has impacted the global economy and this is certainly the case for Taiwan,” said Xin-Wu Lin, leader of the GEM Taiwan Team. “GDP growth in the economy has slowed to 3%, lower than earlier forecasts. The consumer price index edged up to about 3%, while unemployment remains low at 3.6%. Entrepreneurs in Taiwan have become more cautious due to rising prices. Nevertheless, the level of incubation activities remains quite high, demonstrating that many individuals are proactively looking for opportunities to take the next step in starting a business.”
“The EFCs are derived from more than two decades of GEM research, experience and knowledge,” said Aileen Ionescu-Somers, GEM Executive Director. “The state of the EFCs can encourage and enable, or discourage and constrain, both the new start and any subsequent growth and development. The quality of the EFCs is directly influenced by governmental policy, and therefore GEM’s NECI can be a useful strategic tool for policy decision makers that are seeking to cultivate entrepreneurship, build a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem and empower entrepreneurs.”
Access the full report at https://www.gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report.
About GEM
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a consortium of national country teams, primarily associated with top academic institutions, that carries out survey-based research on entrepreneurship around the world. GEM is the only global research source that collects data on entrepreneurship directly from individual entrepreneurs! GEM’s Adult Population Survey (APS) provides analysis on the characteristics, motivations and ambitions of individuals starting businesses, as well as social attitudes towards entrepreneurship. The National Expert Survey (NES) looks at the national context in which individuals start businesses.
In numbers, GEM is:
- 24 years of data
- 3,600,000+ GEM Adult Population Survey interviews since 1999
- 173,000+ respondents in the 2022 Adult Population Survey
- 2,000+ expert interviews for the 2021 GEM National Expert Survey
- 120+ economies since 1999
- 370+ specialists in entrepreneurship research (GEM National Team members)
- 300+ academic and research institutions
- 200+ funding institutions
- 1,000+ publications in peer reviewed journals
GEM began in 1999 as a joint project between Babson College (USA) and London Business School (UK). The consortium has become the richest resource of information on entrepreneurship, publishing a range of global, national and 'special topic' reports on an annual basis. www.gemconsortium.org.