Vietnam ranks 63rd for digital environments and support system for entrepreneurs

The index was recently released as part of the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 Update.

A total of 80% of developing Asian economies can be found near the bottom of the global ranking of digital environments and support systems for entrepreneurs.

Singapore boasts the world’s best digital environment and support system for entrepreneurs, with the United States in second, while Sweden takes third place among 113 economies on the list.

However, 17 of the 21 developing Asian economies included in the list are ranked toward the bottom, thereby underscoring the need for many of them to nurture digital entrepreneurship.

Digitalisation offers a significant growth opportunities for businesses in Asia and the Pacific. It’s a driver of innovation, which tends to be key for economies striving to achieve high-income status, whilst it can also contribute to making economies more resilient, as seen when digital technology helped many firms to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can promote inclusive growth by lowering the cost of starting a business.

“Digital entrepreneurship helped economies stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can become a major engine of growth and innovation in the post-pandemic world,” said Albert Park, chief economist of the ADB.

“For this to happen, there needs to be a supportive environment enabled by conducive policies and incentives. While the environment for Asia’s digital entrepreneurs made substantial strides in the past couple of years, there’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Park concluded.

The index seeks to measure the overall quality of the environment for digital entrepreneurs by looking at the level of digitalisation in eight areas, including culture, institutions, market conditions, infrastructure, human capital, knowledge, finance, and networking.

Furthermore, when investing in digital infrastructure such as broadband networks, governments need to promote political stability, reliable legal systems, open and competitive markets, and strong property rights. ADB analysis highlights that strong rule of law has a positive effect on enterprise innovation, while less corruption in a society directly correlates with an increase in the entry of new entrepreneurs in the market.

For Asia and the Pacific as a whole, an insufficiently supportive culture is among the most significant weak spots when it comes to nurturing digital entrepreneurship. One example is a general lack of public appreciation for the vital role that entrepreneurs play as part of economic progress. One way to change this is to strive to improve the public perception of entrepreneurship through education.

ADB is therefore fully committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia-Pacific region, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. First established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, 49 of which are from the region.