UAE and Saudi Arabia Ranked 1st and 3rd in Entrepreneurship Report

The UAE has been named the best country in the world for fostering entrepreneurship by the 2023–2024 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report. Following close behind, Saudi Arabia was considered to be the country with the third best entrepreneurial environment.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report is a highly-regarded review of countries’ entrepreneurial opportunities, efforts, and overall climate. The report considers social, cultural, political and economic factors that impact entrepreneurs, and is respected by entities such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and various United Nations organisations.

A few factors that allowed the UAE to secure its ranking as the country with the best environment for entrepreneurship included its physical infrastructure and the incorporation of entrepreneurial education into schools, with an emphasis on teaching critical thinking, problem solving, opportunity recognition, and risk assessment. The UAE’s National Entrepreneurship Context Index score was 7.7, the highest score in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report’s history.

This report stated that Saudi Arabia’s ability to secure third place on this list was due to its broader efforts to diversify its economy as well as its initiatives to encourage female entrepreneurs; for every ten men who started a business in 2023, there were eight women who did the same. Proportionally, Saudi Arabia has the highest number of adults who know an entrepreneur, believe starting a business is a feasible endeavour, and recognise good business opportunities. While these factors boosted Saudi Arabia’s National Entrepreneurship Context Index score from 2019’s 5.0 to 2023’s 6.3, the fear Saudi entrepreneurs feel towards failure remains an area for growth.