The Innovation Investment Index from money.co.uk analyses the amount of financial support provided to startup businesses in 18 of the world’s most powerful economies. With 413 new business grants offering up around £111,000 (C$194,014), Canada is the best-funded nation for startup businesses.
The index determines which nations are doing the most to drive innovation, through the analysis of a range of factors, which include startup business funding, overall number of businesses and the ratio of startups in the country.
The index was developed based on the number of start-up companies, percentage of businesses that are start-ups, number of businesses per head of population, volume of government grants, total grant money available and GDP.
Each country can score a maximum of 10 points for each, giving us an innovation score out of 60. Scoring 45.5 out of 60 points, Canada tops the Innovation Investment Index, making it the nation with the most support to keep its businesses flourishing into 2021.
Table 1: The Innovation Investment Index
Source: Money.co.uk
More than half of Canada’s businesses are start-ups (52.6%) using the 413 government-backed start-up grants available. It’s clear that their government is committed to supporting innovation.
Per head, Denmark has the most registered businesses (0.17), way ahead of Canada’s 0.04%, but just 3.64% of them are classed as start-ups, so more could be done to drive innovation.
The USA has the highest start-up grant value overall, at £1.2m ($1.64m), followed by Denmark with £901k and Belgium with £631k.
Belgium tops the list of nations with the most valuable grants for new businesses. In Belgium entrepreneurs can apply for two different grants, split across a total value of £631,208.
Table 2: The nations with the most valuable business grants
Source: Money.co.uk
Commenting on the results of the Innovation Investment Index, money.co.uk‘s personal finance expert, Salman Haqqi explains why small businesses will continue to play a vital role on the world stage. and he further said “Innovation is key to the success of any business, particularly those who are in the start-up or scale-up phase. Small businesses play a significant role within the supply chains of even the largest and most powerful economies. In order for innovation to have a positive impact on the economy, measures must be put in place, which includes increased spending on grants that allow for research and development, as well as investing in education.”
“On a more individual level, small businesses themselves can drive innovation by investing in their employees and encouraging R&D to take place.” Haqqi added.
