International research centre StartupBlink has released its annual list of countries with the best startup ecosystems in the world.
According to the latest data, Cyprus has moved up 9 places in the overall ranking to become the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the European Union in 2024. At the same time, Limassol has been recognised as the best city for startups in Southern Europe.
This impressive achievement is due to active government support, favourable tax policies, the creation of an investment-attractive climate and the influx of highly skilled professionals into the technology sector. Startups in Cyprus are actively developing in areas such as fintech, iGaming, cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technological fields.
It is worth mentioning that when compiling the ranking, experts took into account data from more than 100 countries and 1,000 cities around the world. As a result, Cyprus' performance was very impressive:
- 6th in the world for the number of start-ups valued up to €1 billion;
- 9th in the world for number of investors per capita;
- 39th in the world in financial technology (FinTech) and 25th in online gaming (iGaming);
- the total number of start-ups has increased 5-fold since 2020;
- Cyprus was the only country with a population of less than 2 million to have four cities ranked in the Global Startup Index;
- Limassol was recognised as the best city for startups in Southern Europe.
The startup ecosystem in Cyprus is growing rapidly. This recognition confirms our commitment to strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship. Through strong government support, targeted funding programmes, investment incentives and talent attraction initiatives, we are creating an enabling environment for startups to develop products, attract private investment, scale internationally and succeed," said Theodoros Loukaides, CEO of the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).
We would like to remind you that StartupBlink annually ranks startup ecosystems based on an extensive database that includes more than a thousand cities, 70 thousand startups, two thousand co-working spaces and 800 accelerators around the world. The research centre takes into account parameters such as the number and quality of innovative companies, innovation infrastructure facilities and the volume of investment.