THE Kuala Lumpur startup ecosystem has been awarded 11th place among over 250 other emerging ecosystems, due to its relatively low costs and robust government support.
The ranking came about from the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 by policy advisory and research organisation Startup Genome, which was unveiled in San Francisco, and gathered data from one million companies across more than 150 cities worldwide. The report had benchmarked KL against more than 250 ecosystems.
KL may have been ranked 11th overall, but it was among the Top 10 in terms of performance, and among the Top 20 in terms of talent.
The report also noted that KL is an ideal location for startups, due to low costs, a high quality of living and talent, fast-tracked visas, and robust government support. This made KL a prime location for entrepreneurs to either start or move their businesses to Malaysia.
Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) CEO Surina Shukri had expressed her delight at the rankings.
“We will not rest on our laurels and will remain steadfast in propelling Malaysia’s startup ecosystem to attain global recognition in the economic epicentres of every continent,” she said.
The report had also provided guidance to public and private leaders on fostering thriving startup ecosystems, particularly on how governments worldwide can support and leverage tech ecosystems to restart stalling economies recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is the time for policymakers, community leaders and foundations to double their support on local startups, which are engines of job creation and economic growth,” said Startup Genome founder and CEO Jean-Francois Gauthier. – July 3, 2020
