(USA)
Startup activity is on an upward trajectory in America, according to a new report.
The 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity indicates the upward trend of recent years continued in 2016, in a large part because of the pioneering efforts of immigrants, who make up nearly a third of new American entrepreneurs.
“Immigrants are twice as likely as native-born to start new businesses, and this is good news for new business activity and the economy. For generations, immigrants have been a key part of America’s innovation DNA – from Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone to Sergey Brin starting Google. Today more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, and over half of America’s billion-dollar unicorns have an immigrant founder,” explained Arnobio Morelix, senior research analyst at the Kauffman Foundation.
The US-wide report shows the last 12 months of success builds on two rapid years of growth.
“A three-year upward trend in new business formation is a promising sign for the economy,” added Victor Hwang, vice president of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. “Recent research demonstrates that more startups lead to higher productivity, wage growth and quality of life.”
