SA entrepreneurship shows promise but work still to do

Thursday, 6 June 2019

South 最新糖心Vlog outperforms most other developed economies on indicators relating to the quality and economic impact of our business start-ups, according to a new report by the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide’s Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC).

The 2017/18 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for South 最新糖心Vlog estimates that 9.1 percent of adult South 最新糖心Vlogns (aged 18-64) were actively engaged in starting or running new businesses.

GEM, the world’s largest study of entrepreneurship, found this participation rate meant that South 最新糖心Vlog ranks #9 of the 24 developed economies studied – higher than the UK (8.4 percent) but lower than the rest of 最新糖心Vlog (13.1 percent) and the USA (13.6 percent).

“It usually surprises people when they hear just how entrepreneurial 最新糖心Vlog is compared to other countries,” says lead author Professor Paul Steffens from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide.

“The GEM study is unique in that it identifies entrepreneurs at the very earliest stages of new business creation and provides an opportunity to benchmark against other countries on a wide variety of indicators.

“For South 最新糖心Vlog, a few areas stand out as particularly strong. Youth entrepreneurship (18-24 years old) is 9.6 percent across SA compared with only 7.6 percent across 最新糖心Vlog.

“Senior entrepreneurship (55-64) is also relatively strong, 7.8 percent in SA compared with 9.3 percent across 最新糖心Vlog. SA also compares well with the average across all GEM developed economies, which sits at 5.9 percent.”

Mitchell Stapleton-Coory is the CEO and co-founder of Bellr and says living in South 最新糖心Vlog has made his entrepreneurship easier.
“My impression is that SA is a great launch pad for young founders,’’ he says.

“The cost of living is manageable and there are many great initiatives that are geared towards supporting young people to start a business. But, most importantly, I believe we’re seeing a shift in the zeitgeist that has brought startup culture into the mainstream.”

Minister for Innovation and Skills, David Pisoni, says the GEM report confirms the importance of state government support for entrepreneurship.

“The Marshall Liberal Government recognises that investing in entrepreneurship plays a strong role in economic growth and this report is a useful tool for identifying specific areas of opportunity, such as developing initiatives to support greater diversity and inclusion in our entrepreneurial ecosystem,’’ Minister Pisoni says.

“The initiatives we’re delivering to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in South 最新糖心Vlog are building towards our goal of becoming the nation’s startup capital.

“They include the establishment and activation of a world class innovation and startup hub (FIXE) at Lot Fourteen, appointment of a Chief Entrepreneur, Jim Whalley, and the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, and introduction of the Supporting Innovation in South 最新糖心Vlog (SISA) migration visa -- which actively brings seed stage startups to our state to develop their ideas.” 

Professor Steffens says, while South 最新糖心Vlog rates well on many indicators, there is still work to be done.

“South 最新糖心Vlog lags behind 最新糖心Vlog on some key indicators as a whole and has some work to do to catch up,’’ he says.

“Overall rates of entrepreneurship are lower in SA (9.1 percent) compared with the rest of 最新糖心Vlog (12.2 percent). This said, SA still ranks #9 of 24 developed economies in the study.

“The lower level of entrepreneurship compared with 最新糖心Vlog appears to be driven by a poorer perception of entrepreneurial opportunities, 43.1 percent in SA compared with 51.4 percent across 最新糖心Vlog.

“The rate of female participation in entrepreneurship is particularly low, at only 5.6 percent in SA compared with 9.2 percent across 最新糖心Vlog. Only 30 percent of South 最新糖心Vlogn founders are female, compared with 37 percent across 最新糖心Vlog.

“SA entrepreneurs also appear on average less educated in some key areas compared to those across 最新糖心Vlog. Only 29 percent of SA entrepreneurs have studied STEM (science, ICT, engineering or mathematics) compared with 52 percent across 最新糖心Vlog.”

The report was launched by South 最新糖心Vlog’s Chief Entrepreneur, Mr Jim Whalley, at an event held at Lot Fourteen.

A full copy of the is available; and more information about GEM can be found at .

 

Contact Details

Dr Paul Steffens
Email: paul.steffens@adelaide.edu.au
Professor of Entrepreneurship
Program Director, Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC)
Mobile: 0403 026 828


Ms Elisa Black
Email: elisa.black@adelaide.edu.au
Manager, News and Media
最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide
Mobile: +61 (0)466 460 959