From High Potential to High Growth: Dell 2016 Index Ranks Top 25 Global Cities for Women Entrepreneurs
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The Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities) is the only
global gender-specific index that looks at a city’s ability to attract
and foster growth of women-owned firms -
New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, London, Stockholm and Singapore
are the top five cities for high potential women entrepreneurs -
Extensive data and analysis says that when impediments to female
entrepreneurship are removed, there is a dramatic uplift in a city’s
economic prospects -
Dell’s Index provides a diagnostic tool to advise leaders and
policy-makers on how to improve conditions to enable businesses
founded by women to thrive -
Dell has partnered with 1776 to launch “Union,” an international
startup platform
TWEET THIS: Dell announces 2016 #WECities Index, ranking top 25
cities for women entrepreneurs #DWEN www.dell.com/women
PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today at the White House’s Global
Entrepreneurship Summit, Dell announced findings of the 2016 Women
Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities), revealing the top 25 global
cities fostering high potential women entrepreneurs (HPWE). WE Cities is
the only global gender-specific index that looks at a city’s ability to
attract and foster growth in firms founded by women entrepreneurs.
Cities, instead of countries, were identified in order to show the
impact of local policies and programs in addition to national laws and
customs.
Findings from WE Cities will be used as a springboard for conversation
and change at the seventh annual Dell
Women’s Entrepreneur Network Summit (DWEN)—a global gathering of 200
of the top female entrepreneurs, business leaders, media and Dell
partners that is set to take place in Cape Town, South Africa, June
27-28, 2016. The theme for this year’s summit is “Innovate for a
Future-Ready World.”
“Innovation and job creation by women entrepreneurs is critical for a
thriving global economy, yet our research shows some cities and
countries are doing far more than others to encourage and support this
important subset of the startup community,” said Karen Quintos, senior
vice president and chief marketing officer at Dell. “Our index provides
insights to move the conversation with policymakers and city leaders
from awareness to action and, in turn, to empower women entrepreneurs to
have the greatest economic impact on the world.”
“Women entrepreneurs are our Country’s best bet for economic growth,”
said Elizabeth Gore, entrepreneur-in-residence for Dell. “It’s time for
women to be politically engaged to ensure the right ecosystems are in
place for them to scale. If politicians and entrepreneurs partner,
dynamic policies can be put in place to close the circle and enhance the
process from idea to enterprise. WE Cities can be used as a diagnostic
tool to help ensure lawmakers are listening to their needs.”
Top 25 WE Cities Ranking & Methodology
Building on the past four years of Dell’s research on HPWE, five
important categories of city characteristics were identified: capital,
technology, talent, culture and markets. These pillars were
organized into two groups – operating environment and enabling
environment. The overall rating has 70 indicators, and, of these, 44
have a gender-based component. Individual indicators were weighted based
on four criteria: relevance, quality of underlying data, uniqueness in
the index and gender component.
Overall Ranking |
1. NEW YORK |
2. BAY AREA |
3. LONDON |
4. STOCKHOLM |
5. SINGAPORE |
6. TORONTO |
7. WASHINGTON, DC |
8. SYDNEY |
9. PARIS |
10. SEATTLE |
11. MUNICH |
12. AUSTIN |
13. BEIJING |
14. HONG KONG |
15. TAIPEI |
16. SHANGHAI |
17. TOKYO |
18. MEXICO CITY |
19. SAO PAULO |
20. SEOUL |
21. MILAN |
22. DELHI |
23. JOHANNESBURG |
24. JAKARTA |
25. ISTANBUL |
Index Highlights
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New York City ranks No. 1 overall among the 25 cities for its ability
to attract and support HPWE with a top-ranked Operating Environment and
an Enabling Environment ranked No. 5. While New York City ranks
No. 1 for Markets and Capital, it is No. 2 in Culture and
No. 4 in Talent. It tops the list for its performance in Policy
Enabling Market Access and is No. 2 for the Frequency & Value
of Funding to businesses with women entrepreneurs. -
The Bay Area (consisting of the San Francisco and San Jose metro
areas) ranks No. 2 overall, ranking No. 2 for Operating Environment and
No. 6 for Enabling Environment. It ranks No. 1 for Talent and
No. 2 for Capital & Markets, with a No. 1 rank for Access
to Markets and the Frequency & Value of Funding to
businesses founded and led by women. -
London ranks No. 3 overall, performing second for Access to Markets,
third for the Operating Environment and Capital. -
Stockholm and Singapore round out the top five in the overall ranking.
Stockholm is No. 1 for the Enabling Environment foundational
pillar ranking No. 1 for Technology and No. 9 for Culture. -
Singapore performs in the top third of the 25 cities ranked for Talent,
Culture and Technology.
About WE Cities
Dell partnered with IHS—a
leading source of insight and analytics that shape today’s business
landscape—to launch first-of-its-kind, global research that will measure
a city’s ability to attract and support high-potential women
entrepreneurs. The 25 cities in the ranking were chosen from the list of
50 global cities in the Dell Future-Ready
Economies (FRE) Model in order to make comparisons between the two
indices, with geographic diversity utilized as key criteria in city
selection.
Research for WE Cities began during the 2016
DWEN Future Ready Research Symposium chaired by Dr. David Ricketts
from the Technology and
Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. The research symposium brought
together 40 global thought leaders, women entrepreneurs, academics and
media to develop insights for the model. Key
takeaways from the conversations at the Symposium included:
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Access to capital is still the No. 1 challenge that women
entrepreneurs face, although the numbers are showing a slight
improvement -
Creating robust ecosystems with incubators, accelerators and mentors
makes a world of difference for entrepreneurs—it’s all about the
network -
Cultural norms and their policy implications put serious binds on
female entrepreneurs
1776 and Dell Announce Startup Federation
To help entrepreneurs in cities and economies that may not provide
adequate resources for scaling businesses, Dell has partnered with 1776
to launch an international startup platform, Union, aimed at enabling
the next billion entrepreneurs by supporting, connecting and removing
barriers for entrepreneurs regardless of their location.
Accessible through the Startup Federation—a worldwide network of startup
campuses and mega-hubs—or virtually for entrepreneurs in remote areas,
Union will provide entrepreneurs anywhere in the world the ability to
reach the people, resources and education they need to take their ideas
from seed to scale. Designed by 1776’s team of engineers and aided by
insights from incubators, accelerators, experts and hubs around the
world, the platform enables entrepreneurs to:
- Find content & courses in business-building
- Tap elite mentors in their industries for advice
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Consult experts in skills like marketing, sales, engineering and human
resources - Connect with potential investors, customers and business partners
“Dell’s WE Cities research proves that millions of entrepreneurs are
hampered by conditions in their local economies and policies,” said
Donna Harris, co-founder and co-CEO of 1776. “Entrepreneurs should be
free to live wherever they want and have access to the same incredible
resources. Our Union platform brings that idea to reality.”
About the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network
As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell is committed to
help power the success of entrepreneurs by developing technology
solutions that enable human potential. Through the Dell Women’s
Entrepreneur Network, Dell supports and nurtures a community of female
entrepreneurs by providing access to technology, networks and capital.
Learn more here.
About Dell Inc.
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and
services that give them the power to do more. For more information,
visit www.dell.com.
Contacts
Dell
Charlotte Deal, +1 512-728-4704
charlotte_deal@dellteam.com
or
PPR
Worldwide
Megan McCourt, +1 212-210-5884
megan.mccourt@pprww.com