Zurich is increasingly a ‘foreign’ start-up hotbed
With three-quarters of up-and-coming and innovative companies from outside Switzerland, the city on the banks of the Limmat shines in the Heatmap Europe Report
Zurich ranks among the most attractive places in Europe in which to found a start-up. This is one of the findings of the Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2021, which is published by the Trento, Italy-based European Startup Initiative.
According to the report, 9 per cent of all start-up founders in a total of 22 countries are of the opinion that Zurich offers the best environment for emerging and innovative companies. This represents an increase of four percentage points over the previous year.
With a score of 20 per cent in the regional breakdown, the city on the banks of the Limmat is particularly popular in Western Europe and is in third place ahead of Munich (17 per cent), but behind Berlin (45 per cent) and London.
A total of 1,295 entrepreneurs were interviewed for the report.
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According to the report, Zurich is on a par with Paris
With its eighth place in the overall European assessment, Zurich is virtually on a par with Paris. The French capital was named as the most attractive location for start-ups by 10 per cent of respondents, although only in 18 countries.
Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2021
Geneva ranked 20th and Lausanne 33rd; however, the cities were considered the best location for start-ups by 2 percent of the entrepreneurs surveyed.
With a score of 1 percent, Basel was ranked 46th.
From 2018 to 2020, an average of EUR 450 million
Zurich also recorded the third highest level of growth in start-up investments. In the period from 2018 to 2020, it achieved a three-year average of €450 million, representing an increase of 444 per cent.
In addition, Zurich bucked the trend between 2018 and 2020, recording a two-fold increase in start-up investment, albeit at a rather small level of €7 million. Across Europe, investments of this type have declined.
Zurich can also boast the highest share of foreign founders, with 76 per cent of start-ups in the city founded by entrepreneurs born outside Switzerland.
In London, the equivalent figure is 72 per cent, while Berlin and Barcelona recorded values of 67 per cent and 65 per cent respectively. The European average is just 27%.
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