16 Feb 2023
Switzerland came in at #8 in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI). This is among the findings in the GEM 2022/2023 Global Report entitled Adapting to a New Normal, released today in collaboration with The School of Management Fribourg.
In pre-pandemic 2019, Switzerland topped the then new league table of entrepreneurial framework overall scores with a score of 6.1. The pandemic period resulted in some deterioration in that score to 5.4 (10th) in 2020, and to 5.5 in 2021 (ninth). 2022 marked something of a recovery in Switzerland’s overall score: to 5.8. Improvements in the entrepreneurial environment scores of other economies, however, meant that Switzerland only ranked eighth of the 51 GEM economies in 2022.
As noted in the GEM 2022/2023 Global Report entitled Adapting to a New Normal (released today), GEM defines the entrepreneurial context of a particular economy in terms of 13 different characteristics, labelled the Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs):
- Entrepreneurial Finance: there are sufficient funds for new startups
- Ease of Access to Entrepreneurial Finance: and those funds are easy to access
- Government Policy — Support and Relevance: policies promote and support startups
- Government Policy — Taxes and Bureaucracy: new businesses are not over-burdened
- Government Entrepreneurial Programs: quality support programs are widely available
- Entrepreneurial Education at School: schools introduce entrepreneurial ideas
- Entrepreneurial Education Post-School: colleges offer courses in how to start a business
- Research and Development Transfers: research is easily transferred into new businesses
- Commercial and Professional infrastructure: quality services are available and affordable
- Ease of Entry — Market Dynamics: markets are free, open and growing
- Ease of Entry — Burdens and Regulations: regulations encourage not restrict entry
- Physical Infrastructure: good-quality, available and affordable
- Social and Cultural Norms: encourage and celebrate entrepreneurship
The NECI results are based on the scores of the Framework Conditions for each of the 51 economies participating in GEM. At least 36 experts, often more, are selected for their expertise by the GEM National Team and approved by GEM to assess statements that make up the scores. As the same questions are asked in all economies, scores can be compared across countries.
In the 2021–2022 period, Switzerland increased its scores in nine Framework Conditions, with Entrepreneurial Education Post-School accounting for the largest increase. However, despite a creditable COVID recovery score of 6.5, well sufficient and 10th of 51 economies, Switzerland continues to have its overall score dragged down by poor scores for Entrepreneurial Education at School and for Ease of Entry: Market Dynamics. In the latter Framework Condition, Switzerland ranked 45th of 51 economies, in stark contrast to the 10 Framework Conditions for which it ranked 10th or better.
“In an economy in which six Framework Conditions scored 6 or more, scoring 3.8 for Ease of Entry: Market Dynamics and 3.6 for Entrepreneurial Education at School is both problematic and inconsistent,” said Rico Baldegger, Director and Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR), Switzerland and head of the GEM Switzerland Team.
“The EFCs are derived from more than two decades of GEM research, experience and knowledge,” said Aileen Ionescu-Somers, GEM Executive Director. “The state of the EFCs can encourage and enable, or discourage and constrain, both the new start and any subsequent growth and development. The quality of the EFCs is directly influenced by governmental policy, and therefore GEM’s NECI can be a useful strategic tool for policy decision makers that are seeking to cultivate entrepreneurship, build a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem and empower entrepreneurs.”
About GEM
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a consortium of national country teams, primarily associated with top academic institutions, that carries out survey-based research on entrepreneurship around the world. GEM is the only global research source that collects data on entrepreneurship directly from individual entrepreneurs! GEM’s Adult Population Survey (APS) provides analysis on the characteristics, motivations and ambitions of individuals starting businesses, as well as social attitudes towards entrepreneurship. The National Expert Survey (NES) looks at the national context in which individuals start businesses.
In numbers, GEM is:
- 24 years of data
- 3,600,000+ GEM Adult Population Survey interviews since 1999
- 173,000+ respondents in the 2022 Adult Population Survey
- 2,000+ expert interviews for the 2021 GEM National Expert Survey
- 120+ economies since 1999
- 370+ specialists in entrepreneurship research (GEM National Team members)
- 300+ academic and research institutions
- 200+ funding institutions
- 1,000+ publications in peer reviewed journals
GEM began in 1999 as a joint project between Babson College (USA) and London Business School (UK). The consortium has become the richest resource of information on entrepreneurship, publishing a range of global, national and 'special topic' reports on an annual basis. www.gemconsortium.org.
