Top Global for Cities Entrepreneurial Success

The e-commerce tool, Oberlo.com, which helps entrepreneurs set up their own online businesses, has taken a deep dive into the best cities on the planet for small business entrepreneurs to start and grow a business venture. Inspired by the numerous individuals who have managed to turn the economic and personal challenges of the pandemic into creative and innovative opportunities, Oberlo decided to dig into this topic by investigating the citiesthat offer the most supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems, as well as the frameworks to ensure long-term success.

The result was an index of the cities around the world that are best placed to provide the tools and support entrepreneurs might need to maintain and build an enterprise from the ground up — from bootstrapping and financing, to the logistical details that can make or break a business.

The Study found, overall, that London ranks highest for entrepreneurial success, with New York and San Francisco placing second and third. It takes only half a day to incorporate in Auckland, making it the city with the shortest set-up time in the study. Warsaw has the longest at 37 days. Italian cities have provided the most financial support to businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. Hong Kong has the most fertile ecosystem for logistics businesses, while Beijing has the highest human tech capital score.

Top 10 Cities for Entrepreneurial Success Worldwide

1. London

2. New York

3. San Francisco

4. Sydney

5. Melbourne

6. Los Angeles

7. Singapore

8. Boston

9. Berlin

10. Chicago

The Top Cities for Economic Freedom

1. Singapore

2. Hong Kong

3. Auckland

4. Melbourne

5. Sydney

6. Zurich

7. Lima

8. Copenhagen

9. Dublin

10. Madrid

The Top Cities for Setting up an LLC

1. Auckland

2. Singapore

3. Hong Kong

4. Toronto

5. Montreal

6. Vancouver

7. Melbourne

8. Sydney

9. Copenhagen

10. Amsterdam

Top Cities for Tech Ecosystems

1. London

2. New York

3. San Francisco

4. Singapore

5. Tokyo

6. Los Angeles

7. Amsterdam

8. Toronto

9. Berlin

10. Tel Aviv

Top Cities for Skilled Tech Talent

1. Beijing

2. Melbourne

3. London

4. Seoul

5. Shanghai

6. Sydney

7. Boston

8. New Delhi

9. New York

10. Los Angeles

Top Cities for Manageable Business Taxes

1. Dubai
2. Budapest
3. Sofia
4. Dublin
5. Vilnius
6. Bucharest
7. Hong Kong
8. Singapore
9. Zagreb
10. London

Top Cities for Venture Capital Access

1. London
2. San Francisco
3. New York
4. Beijing
5. Shanghai
6. Tokyo
7. Singapore
8. Paris
9. Toronto
10. Los Angeles

Methodology

After reviewing a list of over 200 global metropolises, Oberlo shortlisted the top 75 global cities based on factors relating to innovation, economic strength and entrepreneurial spirit. This ranking was based on an index that combines different data points and sources from third parties:

• Investigating the basic infrastructure and regulations required to get a small business started:  local taxes, regulatory freedom, and the average timeframe it takes in each city to register a new limited liability company. 
• Checking local support systems available for female founders in each location, as an example of diversity and inclusion, as it’s a relevant and important indicator of equality within the entrepreneurial landscape.
• Looking at the level of Covid-specific economic assistance available to businesses in each city was analyzed.
• Reviewing financing and bootstrapping, such as unemployment benefits, small business loans, local business taxes and venture capital. 
• Oberlo also looked into the specific needs of two of the most popular industries with entrepreneurs – Tech/Digital ventures and Import/Export
• For Tech/Digital ventures: the local tech ecosystem, as well as the resource capital available in each city were evaluated.
• For Import/Export the local logistics ecosystem, as well as the access to global markets and the cost of postage were assessed.

A detailed description of each of these factors within the study, and the sources used, can be found here.