Brexit spillover effects

The largest tech hubs undertake to attract foreign entrepreneurs to relocate.

How Major Tech Hubs Are Encouraging International Entrepreneurs to Relocate to More Supportive Start-Up Ecosystems Other Than The UK.

As a result of the Brexit vote, London may well lose its status as the start-up capital of Europe. So now, almost every major European city seems to rank above London in terms of a positive future.

According to a recent TechCrunch survey there’s a general pessimistic feeling about the start-up climate in London. Amsterdam and Tel Aviv are instead perceived as cities that are on the rise.

Also, overall most investors have confidence that the status quo will remain in most other markets, but see Berlin as an area on the rise.

Berlin Calling

As Michal Kaczmarski reported in his article published on fDi Intelligence – a division of the Financial Times Ltd and the online home of fDi Magazine- “a letter from German economic senator Cornelia Yzer inviting London’s tech entrepreneurs to decamp to Berlin” grabbed the media attention and shed a light on how other tech hubs are attracting international entrepreneurs to more promising and supportive start-up ecosystems.

Promising hubs of innovation are Munich and Berlin. The latter is a dynamic economic location and most likely to steal the crown of tech capital in Europe.

The UK government invests in initiatives to encourage European founders to come and start their businesses here and mainly in London through the city’s investment promotion agency (IPA) London & Partners.

France is well positioned to take advantage of its connections with Africa and China.

Ireland is one of the most active locations in the EU when it comes to attracting foreign start-ups. 

Other emerging and pioneering start-up ecosystems running initiatives to lure international entrepreneurs into their tech hubs are: the US, Chile, the western Chinese city of Chengdu, Seoul and the city of Fukuoka in south-western Japan, to name a few.

Or Lisbon?

Portugal has one of the highest start-up survival rates in the whole of Europe (much higher than the UK).

Lisbon has managed to become one of the emerging hotspots in Europe. Moving the WebSummit to Lisbon has been a smart move in the process of becoming an international start-up hub, said Alberto Onetti, chairman and president at Mind the Bridge.

Our latest research (SEP Monitor) focused on the Portuguese start-up ecosystem shows its progress in innovation as a rising tech hub.

Important Outcomes On Entrepreneurship After Brexit

Such initiatives can support job creation and building innovative start-up ecosystems.

Attracting promising start-ups can be instrumental in establishing and accelerating a tech cluster within a designated subsector.

“An ecosystem grows as some start-ups grow and turn into what we call ‘scale-ups’. Attracting companies from outside can definitively speed up the process,” says Mr. Onetti.

As a side effect that could increase exponentially after Brexit, is the growing phenomenon we call “dual companies”, i.e. startups that at a certain point relocate their headquarters to a different country. Typically, they move to start-up ecosystems where is easier to get funded or get acquired. A strong focus is on the US (Silicon Valley) and – at a lesser extent- within Europe (primarily London, but also Berlin and other main hotspots), concludes Onetti.