Why Startups Need an Inclusive Ecosystem to Survive and Thrive?

Abstract

This chapter explains what a startup is and how they add value to the economy by way of generating jobs, creating markets, generating competition, and inspiring individuals to do innovative businesses. At the same time, it is not easy for startups to survive in the wake of both internal and external factors in their environment that can have an impact on their survival and growth. Disruptions in the form of a pandemic or newer technologies can also have an adverse effect on the fledgling entrepreneurs. While most countries around the world have a large number of entrepreneurs and mostly small, they also face survival and growth challenges mainly in the absence of an ecosystem that gives them some immunity and also supports them in multiple ways. Different countries have addressed this issue in their own way such as offering regulatory relaxations, and providing financial support, market mobility, human capital, and education and training. This chapter brings up suggestions on how different stakeholders could play a role in making an inclusive ecosystem for startups to flourish. This chapter also provides a glimpse of what the other chapters in this book offer.