First of all we have to have a basic understanding of the word start up

Any business which doesn't employ technology, IT is not recognised as a startup e.g. restaurant, coffee shop, boutique. Companies like snapchat, jobberman, iroko TV, uber etc are considered as startups.


Startups, they’re full of dreams and full of risk, but without them, the business economy would dry up. After all, today’s startup is tomorrow’s mega-corporation, providing that it succeeds. For every Uber (the app-based taxi service) which is valued at $51 billion, there are many new businesses that fail after the first round of funding. It takes planning, innovation and luck, and it also helps if you’re in a country that embraces new ventures to begin with.

According to data compiled by Coupofy in a new infographic, the countries with the highest number of startups are the United States (4.8 million), India (2 million), the UK (845,000), Indonesia (771,000), and Brazil (584,000).

Although they all have thriving startup communities, the way in which these have emerged and are operated can be quite different.

United States

It should come as no surprise that the poster child for capitalism is still dominating the startup world. While the cost of living in tech Mecca Silicon Valley is higher than any other hub in any other country, entrepreneurs have access to the most investors, highest amounts of capital, and can hire the best minds to work on the venture. This helps to produce not only the highest number of startups but the highest valued as well. Of the top 10 most valuable private startups backed by venture capital, the US accounts for 7 of the spots and its closest rival India only has one.

India

Despite its historically poor economic standing, India has been able to embrace the internet age to create its own mini Silicon Valley-style hub in Bengaluru. Its entrepreneurs are on average younger than anywhere else in the world and more than half of new businesses are based on eCommerce and online services. One of its current major success stories is FlipKart, an Amazon-style web store that’s valued at $15 billion. The country’s lax regulations, low cost of living and tech-savvy citizens also make it attractive to foreigners looking to launch businesses overseas.

UK

One of the oldest economic powerhouses in the world, the UK like the US is not short on capital or talent, and despite London being one of the most pricey cities in Europe, it still manages to cost less to live than Silicon Valley. They offer entrepreneur visas to those who wish to launch their startup abroad and give investors a 50 percent tax break on investments up to £100,000.

Indonesia

While it’s often overlooked Indonesia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a bustling startup scene in capital city Jakarta, which operates as a hub for most of South-East Asia. It has embraced the co-working concept and is swiftly overcoming hurdles such as education and a cultural belief that the average person should be working for established companies not founding their own.

Brazil

Brazil’s startup hub is based out of Sao Paulo and is one of the cheapest places to live out of the bunch. While investment is low, its status as an emerging economy in the BRICS nations means foreigners are attracted due to promises of growth. It has embraced the “clone” concept (replicating apps and online services found in the US for its own population), but also has a thriving “mom and pop” local trade community as well, which is anything but high-tech. Their only drawback is high tax rates.

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Estonia should probably be on that list too...

Estonia is a very good country in terms of startup. They have free 4g internet covering the whole country. Good and favorable government to policies. But they havnt gotten hubs that are up to the level with the countries above. May 6 years from now Estonia might get to that point and prove to us that they are capable of creating the next Silicon Valley. They've also got competitors like South Korea @drizzit