We are pleased to announce that in accordance with the “Countries Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem 2020” by global innovation mapping and research company StartupBlink, Cape Town has moved up 11 places to now be ranked at 146 globally and first in South Africa.
Published for the third time this year, the StartupBlink’s 2020 Global Startup Ecosystem Rankings report analyses startup ecosystems in 1,000 cities and 100 countries, as part of their quest to uncover the trends of innovation. It uses an algorithm built over the past five years to develop what StartupBlink bills as the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem ranking.
The StartupBlink’s algorithm is supplemented with information from global data partners such as CrunchBase, Semrush, UNAIDS, Meetup, and was also joined by more than 40 governments, municipalities, and economic development organisations.
Interestingly, as part of this year’s report, StartupBlink also launched their first ever Coronavirus Innovation Map, together with the health innovation exchange by UNAIDS and the Moscow Agency of Innovations. Cape Town is ranked 79th globally.
This map features hundreds of initiatives and solutions from 80 cities and 32 countries aiming to solve problems caused by the COVID-19 virus as well as to help people cope and adapt to life amid the global pandemic.
Cities were also ranked in the StartupBlink map according to their coronavirus-related innovations. The innovations were broken down into categories such as treatment, diagnostics, lifestyle adaptation, prevention, and grants.
Cape Town being the only city in South Africa and one of the few in Africa to feature on the StartupBlink’s COVID-19 Innovation Rankings shows that the Western Cape province is taking a leading role in creating innovative solutions related to the coronavirus.
The Western Cape government, City of Cape Town together with Wesgro, the official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape have been hard at work helping businesses adapt to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic - from launching virtual missions and the COVID19 Support Finder, to lobbying for various sectors, and unpacking regulations to help with business continuity.
They also launched Marketplace on the 6th of May - a single platform for corporates to quickly and easily find a wide range of suppliers and manufacturers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), as well as the Maskathon Challenge, which is an initiative aimed at donating 1 million masks to those in need.
Tim Harris, Wesgro CEO concluded, “We are thrilled that Cape Town has moved up 11 places in the StarupBlink rankings, re-affirming that the Mother City is a place of innovation and the future. Never before has innovation been so important, and will continue to be as we face a new COVID-19 world. We’re proud to be leading the way for innovation in our country, and look forward to carving the path for other innovative cities in South Africa to join us on the list next year.”