Edinburgh ranked 27th out of 75 global cities for entrepreneurial success

Edinburgh has ranked 27th in a list of the best cities in the world for entrepreneurial success.
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Oberlo.com, an e-commerce tool that helps entrepreneurs set up their own online business, has created an index showing the cities best placed to provide the tools potentially required to maintain and build an enterprise from the ground up – from bootstrapping and financing, to the logistical details that can make or break a business.

It said: “Despite the enormous challenges of the pandemic, we’ve seen first-hand how aspiring business-owners have managed to turn their economic setbacks into creative and innovative opportunities.

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“Success, of course, occurs when preparation meets opportunity, so we decided to delve into the topic further by investigating the cities which offer the most supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems, as well as the frameworks to ensure long-term success.”

Edinburgh was awarded an overall score of 73.8, with London topping the index, followed by New York and San Francisco. Picture: Jon Savage.Edinburgh was awarded an overall score of 73.8, with London topping the index, followed by New York and San Francisco. Picture: Jon Savage.
Edinburgh was awarded an overall score of 73.8, with London topping the index, followed by New York and San Francisco. Picture: Jon Savage.
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Oberlo.com narrowed down an original list of 200 cities to 75, based on factors relating to innovation, economic strength and entrepreneurial spirit.

Edinburgh came 27th with an overall score of 73.8, with London topping the index overall with a score of 100, followed by New York (92.3) and San Francisco (88.5).

The index took into account 13 categories, including investigating the basic infrastructure and regulations required to get a small business started: local taxes, regulatory freedom, and the average timeframe it takes in each city to register a new limited liability company.

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Also on the list was checking local support systems available for female founders; looking at the level of Covid-specific economic assistance available to businesses; and reviewing financing and bootstrapping, such as unemployment benefits, small business loans, local business taxes and venture capital.

Oberlo also looked into the specific needs of two of the most popular industries with entrepreneurs. For tech/digital ventures, the local tech ecosystem and the resource capital available in each city were evaluated; while for import/export, the local logistics ecosystem plus the access to global markets and the cost of postage were assessed.

Edinburgh scored above 90 on categories such as support systems available for female founders (92.7), Covid support (93.7), its logistics ecosystem (96.4), access to global markets (94.1), small business loans (96.3), and business taxes (93.2).

The Scottish capital was recently ranked third in the top UK tech hotspots.

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