Chile and Guatemala most entrepreneurial Latin American countries

Chile has been named the globe’s most entrepreneurial nation, according to a new benchmark, ahead of major economies such as India and the United States. 

The Global Entrepreneur Monitor is a benchmark of over 100 countries on a range of factors that influence the degree of ‘entrepreneurialism’. These include macro factors such as availability of start-up funding, education and an innovation ecosystem, but also individual facets including courage and self-motivation of people to start an own business.

Latin America’s Chile, a country with a population of just 18 million, has come out on top as the world’s most entrepreneurial nation. The country scores high on innovation, with more than 80% of new entrepreneurs confident that their product or service is new to at least some customers and that few or no businesses offer the same product. 

Entrepreneurial intentions are equally high compared to other countries, with 49% of 18-64 year olds saying they intend to start a business in the next three years. “The narrow country that stretches along the Pacific Coast of South America is all about innovation and entrepreneurial intentions when it comes to start-up businesses,” state the researchers. 

India ranks second, thanks to a high score on innovation and a solid ecosystem for innovation. However, its people are less natural born entrepreneurs – interestingly, half of the Indians surveyed (50%) admitted fear of failure would prevent them from starting business. 

Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico, ranks third globally, ahead of among others top 10 placed Canada, Luxembourg, United States, Ireland and Austria. Guatemala is particularly known for its successful startup scene in technology and telecom – in a World Economic Forum report the country ranks first in mobile network coverage.

Not surprisingly, the US takes the crown with the most financial support for new businesses and entrepreneurs, providing top notch financial resources such as equity, credit, subsidies and grants.