The State of Global Entrepreneurship

If you want to understand what’s happening with entrepreneurs around the world, the annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report is a good place to start.  This annual assessment (now in its 27^th year) typically surveys entrepreneurs from as many as 53 different countries, assessing how local people start and grow businesses, and how these new ventures drive (or fail to drive) local and national prosperity.

The latest 2025-2026 GEM report is out and, as usual, it’s full of interesting ideas and insights.  The global report, and the various country-level reports, typically track startup patterns and also ask entrepreneurs to offer insights on their business journeys.  This year’s report contains some interesting insights:

• Across the globe, startup levels are topping previous records.  But, fewer of these firms are going on to further growth and success.  As the authors note, “The evidence in this report confirms that, for many economies, survival and growth — not startup formation alone — are now the defining challenges of entrepreneurship.”
• Few nations and regions support robust and effective ecosystems.  Only a few economies are deemed to provide strong support in all key program areas.  Provision of business finance and entrepreneurship education in the schools are areas where the biggest ecosystem gaps exist.
• A potential AI gap may be emerging.  In 19 of 48 surveyed countries, a plurality of entrepreneurs does not see AI as an important business tool.  Closing this gap should be a future priority.