《TAIPEI TIMES》Taiwan up to 20th in global start-up ecosystem rankings

National Development Council Minister Yeh Chun-hsien, second row, third right, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin, second row, fourth right, and a Taiwanese start-up delegation pose for a photograph at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland on May 5. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs

BEST-EVER RESULT: Overall, Taiwan is a highly attractive place to build, connect with top-tier technical talent and scale ventures, the report said

Staff writer, with CNA Taiwan has jumped to 20th in a global start-up ecosystem rankings index for this year, up five notches from last year, the National Development Council （NDC） said yesterday.

The ranking came in this year’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index, which was compiled by StartupBlink, an Israel-based global start-up ecosystem mapping and research center. It covered more than 1,500 cities and 100 countries worldwide.

The NDC in a statement said that the ranking was Taiwan’s best-ever result, reflecting the joint efforts of the government, industry and start-up community.

Taiwan has promoted a number of initiatives, such as the Startup Island Taiwan program, and the Employment Gold Card program to attract international talent, a report presenting the index’s rankings showed.

“Overall, Taiwan is a highly attractive place to build, connect with top-tier technical talent and scale ventures, particularly in hardware-driven innovation,” the report said.

However, it cautioned that “the ecosystem faces a key challenge: Generating a new generation of globally leading start-ups. Many companies still operate behind the scenes, supplying infrastructure rather than stepping forward as global leaders.”

Taiwan performed especially well in the Hardware & IoT [Internet of Things] subindex, ranking seventh, which the NDC said reflected the nation’s strong base in semiconductors and related industries, and a 10 AI Initiatives Promotion Plan that supports the start-up ecosystem with talent and resources.

Among the more than 1,500 cities surveyed, the Taipei Tech Corridor ranked 39th, up 15 spots from a year earlier, while the Tainan-Kaohsiung Area jumped 257 positions to rank 194th.

The NDC said that Taiwan’s start-up ecosystem has shown strong growth momentum and international competitiveness, highlighting the nation’s position as a global hub for technology and innovation.

Initiatives such as overseas start-up hubs are aimed at helping Taiwan continue to thrive in highly competitive global markets and further increase its influence within Asia as a start-up hub, it said.

First launched in 2017, StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index ranks start-up ecosystems in cities worldwide based on factors such as start-up quality and quantity, investment flows and supporting infrastructure.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES