Canarias have recently become a hub for emerging firms in sectors like animation and video games. Moreover, the islands have succeeded in placing their two major cities, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, among the 500 most favourable cities worldwide for establishing and developing startups.
To put this into perspective, there are approximately 500,000 cities worldwide. Official lists or figures are unavailable partly because many countries lack the geographical and geopolitical stability of Western democracies. Nonetheless, most studies and analyses agree on this figure: about 500,000 cities of various types and sizes.
Being among the top 500 cities worldwide for startups means being part of an elite group representing just 0.1% of all cities on the planet. This includes cities typically associated with innovation, such as those in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, or Germany.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Index, produced in collaboration with industry giants like Germany’s Statista and Siemens, the American company Semrush, and the United Nations Development Programme, is an annual list of the 1,000 cities with the best conditions for startup establishment and growth.
This list results from analysing “hundreds of thousands of data points” filtered through an algorithm that considers “several dozen parameter sets.” There are no subjective surveys or interviews; instead, the algorithm relies on objective, quantifiable data measured comparatively across regions, countries, and cities. Parameters include the number of existing startups, potential investors, R&D centres, startup-related conferences and events, the percentage of startup employees, labour legislation quality, the presence of prestigious universities, openness to digital nomads, and rankings in the Corruption Perceptions Index, among many others.
For 2024, the Global Startup Ecosystem Index lists the 1,000 most startup-friendly metropolises, led by San Francisco in California and rounded off by Blackpool in Lancashire, England. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ranks 401st, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife 438th, two commendable positions given the global scale.
These two capitals outperform notable cities such as Doha in Qatar (442nd), Daytona Beach in Florida, USA (463rd), Germany’s Magdeburg (486th) and Augsburg (523rd), Italy’s Palermo (629th) and Verona (731st), Bolivia’s La Paz, and Andorra la Vella, capital of Andorra, known for attracting Spanish influencers seeking lower taxes.
In the 400-450 range, the two Canary Islands cities compete with places like Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, Naples, Italy’s third most populous city, Daedeok in South Korea, and San Sebastián in Spain.
The Canary capitals are not only among the top 500 cities globally for startups, attracting potential investors and new companies, but they are also in Spain’s top ten. The Spanish list is led by Barcelona (38th globally), followed by Madrid (49th), Valencia (171st), Bilbao (303rd), Malaga (350th), Seville (354th), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (401st), San Sebastián (428th), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (438th), and Zaragoza (460th).
Factors favouring these two island cities include their unique Economic and Fiscal Regime – the lowest in Europe, excellent connectivity with Europe and West Africa, the quality of life, a rich businnes ecosystem, talent, and the legal security as members of the European Union, among other factors.
