Canadian startups identified as more high-growth than in other countries, which could bring increased economic activity
Starting a small business is difficult no matter the economic environment, and the global recession has certainly not helped. However, Canada may be better off than other countries when it comes to growth from entrepreneurship, suggested the latest report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.
The report found that the number of people starting a small business has in fact declined across the world in response to the recession, and that more than half of entrepreneurs surveyed said it was more difficult to start a new business in 2009 than it was in 2008.
"Throughout the world, would-be entrepreneurs reported greater difficulty in obtaining financial backing for their start-up activities, especially from informal investors - families, friends, and strangers," Bill Bygrave, professor at Babson College and one of the founders of GEM, told the BBC.
However, there was a bright spot for Canadian small business owners. Identified as an innovation-driven country (as opposed to a factor- or efficiency-driven country), Canada boasts one of the highest rates of high-growth entrepreneurs, those who create a disproportionately large share of new jobs. The percentage of high-growth startups in Canada compared to other early-stage startups is just under 1.5 percent, said the report.
Consequently, Canada's entrepreneurs may be the key to boosting the nation's unemployment rate, which in December stood at 8.5 percent - a stabilization from earlier in the year, but still unchanged from November's rate.
