SA ranked on VC funding
South Africa ranks 37th out of 144 countries terms of the availability of gaining access to venture capital, according to the latest report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The international body published its Global Information Technology Report 2013 earlier this week (10 April), and revealed perhaps surprisingly that Qatar ranked first, ahead of Hong Kong, Israel, Singapore and Sweden globally.
The report detailed the following question: In your country, how easy is it for entrepreneurs with innovative but risky projects to find venture capital? [1 = very difficult; 7 = very easy].
The US ranked 10th, and the UK, 16th, while in Africa Liberia topped the list in 25th spot, followed by Rwanda in 27th. Morocco and Egypt were both behind South Africa, but in the top 40.
The Global Information Technology Report 2013 features the latest results of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), offering an overview of the current state of ICT readiness in the world.
Venture capital availability rankings Top 50 (Click to enlarge)
Starting a business
In terms of the time required to start a business in South Africa, the country ranked 81st out of 142 countries at 19 calendar days. New Zealand was first, with only one day required; followed by Australia, Georgia, Macedonia, and Honk Kong. Rwanda closed out the top five countries.
Senegal, Liberia, and Egypt all ranked highly in Africa.
WEF’s measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary in practice to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.
For the number of procedures required to start a business, SA ranked 30th, with Canada and New Zealand joint first on the list.
Stiff competition
In terms of the intensity of local competition, SA rated 51st, with Holland first, Japan second, and Taiwan third.
When measured against what extent businesses absorb new technology, SA ranked 38th, below only Senegal (36th) in Africa, while the sub-Saharan country ranked 41st in terms of how it obtained technology.
When asked: To what extent do businesses in your country use ICTs for communicating and carrying out transactions with other businesses? SA ranked 36th at 5.6 (7 = extensively) – top in Africa, with the likes of Finland, Switzerland, Austria, the UK, and Malta making up the top ranked countries.
SA overall Network readiness diagram
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