Global Entrepreneurship in the G20

However, some focus is being given on the latter issue. The “Financial Support for Young Entrepreneurs” program allows companies sponsoring youth involved in entrepreneurial activity to receive a tax credit bond, which would authorize the company to deduct the payment from their income tax.

This provides more incentive for companies to give young start-ups a boost in the Argentinian market. Even with this incentive though, 80 per cent of those polled in a survey during the Argentine Chapter of 2010 World Entrepreneurship Forum believe that further incentives are needed to promote entrepreneurship in Argentina.

Although Argentina was the internet centre of Latin America during the 1990’s, and many ventures gained backers from the Silicon Valley, the long-term investments are still missing that could help drive the country towards opportunity-based entrepreneurship.

Saudi Arabia – 22 for Ease of Doing Business

Saudi Arabia, a country that many North Americans consider austere and restrictive, is actively (and successfully) driving towards that opportunity-based entrepreneurship.

“There is a new breed of entrepreneurs that is gradually reshaping the economic landscape,” David Hamod, president and CEO of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, wrote in the 2010 edition of US –Arab Tradeline.

“These talented men and women are ‘pushing the envelope’ in their respective communities and challenging longstanding assumptions about value creation and risk aversion in the Arab world.”

Although these entrepreneurs have created the SMEs that contribute to over 90 per cent of businesses in the countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, they only contribute to 30 per cent of the GDP, a figure that Saudi Arabian officials are trying to change.

Abdulkareem Abu Al Nasr, CEO of the National Commercial Bank, said that economic diversity needs a “thriving, innovative entrepreneurial culture” built on supportive infrastructure in order to further the growth of SMEs in Saudi Arabia.

“When I look at the culture in KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) I can see that this is a culture that embraces innovation, diversity and critical thinking,” he said during his keynote seminar at the University in 2011.

“There is a support system here with all the pieces coming together to support the people to develop their business ideas and help them to the next level.”

Like KAUST, the King Saud University is focused on entrepreneurship and innovation and is home to the Riyadh Technology Incubation Center and the Entrepreneurship Centre, which organized the Kingdom’s first international conference on entrepreneurship in 2009.

The Kingdom also has the 100 Saudi Fast Growth Companies – a program meant to reward the fastest growing SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The 2009 and 2010 Fast Growth Companies created more than 35,000 jobs since they were established. In addition, these companies serve as incubators for other entrepreneurial activity – employees from these fast growth companies have launched 41 new enterprises in two years.

Despite this growth in innovation, the Saudi Arabian culture still has some entrepreneurial issues to contend with. There is still cumbersome government regulation and red tape, as well as a culture that is not conducive to the failure required for large-scale entrepreneurial success, nevertheless, Saudi Arabia still has its blocks in place for future growth.

“Saudi Arabia has been the home of business leaders for a very long time,” Hamod wrote.

“The Prophet Muhammad and many of his early supporters were traders and merchants. Equally impressive, Khadija, his wife, was a highly successful businesswoman long before she met the Prophet. But the Kingdom’s business environment has not always favored start-ups. Fifteen years ago, the entrepreneurial environment there was akin to Saudi Arabia’s vast Empty Quarter. Today, that start-up ‘desert’ is in full bloom.”

The differences between the various G20 countries are bountiful.