- Argentina - Portal público de noticias de la República Argentina.
According to a Global Entrepreneurship study, Argentina is ranked among the 10 most entrepreneurial countries in the world. One out of 8 Argentine people is engaged in developing new companies and innovative endeauvors.
Argentina is endowed with a universe of human resources having a great ability to create new companies and develop innovative endeavours. Similarly, there appear other factors positioning the country as an ideal scenario to carry out an entrepreneurial venture such as the population´s average educational level, the availability and variety of natural resources, outstanding scientific-technological endeavors, manifold untapped production niches, and a regional market (MERCOSUR) with a growing integration.
According to a study conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Argentina has come to be ranked among the ten most entrepreneurial countries in the world, among 42 countries surveyed in 2007. The rate of emerging and new companies in Argentina reached 14.4% in 2007, whereas this figure had amounted to 10.2% the previous year.
The GEM is a joint project sponsored by US Babson College and the London School of Economics. In Argentina, the country survey was conducted by the IEA (Argentine Business Institute), under the supervision of Silvia de Torres Carbonell, who holds a teaching position at the IAE´s Center for Entrepreneurship.
Study Data
The total rate for Argentine entrepreneurial endeavors in its first stages ( involving emerging and new companies) accounted for 14.4%, thus recording a significant increase vis-á-vis the 10.24% figure recorded in 2006. Therefore, the downward trend, which had amounted to a 19.37% figure in 2003, 12.8% in 2004 and 9.5% in 2005, was finally reversed.
This rate once again places Argentina among the ten most entrepreneurial countries listed in the GEM 2007. This figure stands above the 12.3 % general average figure recorded for surveyed countries, and below the Latin American percentage amounting to 17.3%.
According to GEM results, it is estimated that one out of eight Argentine people-aged between 18 and 64- is currently involved in some type of endeavour promoting the creation of further companies.
The rate of entrepeneurs deciding to undertake this type of venture in Argentina upon the basis of a real need is high, if compared to the 15.66% figure recorded in the US and the 5.43% reached in Ireland, though this figure is relatively low vis-á-vis Latin American percentages such as 42% in Brazil and 41% in Colombia.
Furthermore, if we are to consider there exist almost 11 female entrepreneurs for every 100 women, Argentina stands ranked among countries unveiling the highest degree of female entrepreneurs. Men are 1.5 times more entrepreneurial than women. And this activity, both for men and for women expands as the education level goes up.
Entrepreneurism plays a vital role in countries´ socio-economic development by boosting productivity, creating jobs and building social and economic capital. The individuals leading these undertakings perceive opportunities and take risks when confronting the uncertainty that arises when making the decision to open new markets, design products, and develop innovative processes.
