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These are the 20 most ambitious entrepreneurial cities in the world

Many of us aspire for success, but does where we live have anything to do with our business ambitions? A new study by Dojo has revealed which cities in the world are the most ambitious when it comes to opening their own business.

Card machine provider Dojo has created a worldwide index of the most business ambitious cities, using  a number of data sources including:

📈 – New businesses registered
⚖️ – Cost of a business start-up as a % of GNI per capita
💰 – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita
🎓 – Percent of the population with access to education
🖥  – Google search volumes for starting a new business queries

The most ambitious entrepreneurial cities in the world ranked

Dojo discovered the most business ambitious cities in the world – with London coming out on top.

RankingCityCountryCity PopulationAmbition Score
1LondonUnited Kingdom9,425,622481
2SydneyAustralia4,991,654402
3Cape TownSouth Africa4,709,990384
4New YorkUnited States8,601,186379
5ParisFrance11,078,546366
6SingaporeSingapore5,991,801366
7OttawaCanada1,407,928354
8RomeItaly4,278,350342
9Kuala LumpurMalaysia8,210,745338
10MoscowRussia12,593,252337
11MadridSpain6,668,865334
12New DelhiIndia31,181,376331
13KievUkraine3,000,604331
14RiyadhSaudi Arabia7,387,817328
15JakartaIndonesia10,915,364327
16LisbonPortugal2,971,587318
17AnkaraTurkey5,215,747315
18BerlinGermany3,566,791314
19BangkokThailand10,722,815286
20BudapestHungary1,771,865282

London is the most ambitious city in the world for those looking to open a business 

red bus crossing london bridge

London took the crown as the most ambitious city in the world for those looking to start a business. With over 664,974 new businesses registered in the city and over 4,400 Google searches for “how to start a new business” – it’s no surprise that the UK capital came out top, scoring 481 out of 500 in the index. 

With a population of over 9.4 million, the UK capital is a melting pot of cultures, creativity and access to infrastructure – a winning formula for ambitious entrepreneurs. 

Sydney is the second most business ambitious city in the world 

sydney harbour

Sydney came second with an index score of 402 out of 500. New businesses have been thriving in Sydney, with 235,654 new businesses registered there – proving that ambitions show no sign of slowing in ‘The Emerald City’. 

Over the past 12 months, there was also a 52% increase in searches for “how to start a new business” amongst Sydney’s occupants and a 100% increase in those searching for “how to fund a new business”.

Cape Town is the third top city for ambitious entrepreneurs 

cape town south africa

South Africa’s port city of Cape Town came third, scoring 384 out of 500. With a population of 4.7 million, the city is home to many of Africa’s most innovative designers and artists – creativity flourishes amongst the natural beauty of the city.

That, paired with incredibly low costs for those looking to open up a new business could be why 376,727 new businesses opened up in the city in 2018.

Annual competitions in the city such as the FNB Enablis Business Plan initiative also provides over R10 million (£501.3K) to start-ups every year. A lot of support is given to SMEs in the city as they employ around 70%-80% of the working population in Cape Town.

New York is the fourth most ambitious city in the world!

wide angle photo of Brooklyn Bridge under cloudy sky

New York ranks fourth with an ambitious index score of 379 out of 500. As one of the world’s largest financial centers and leading world trends, it is no surprise that in 2018 over 487,577 new businesses opened up in the city. 

With a 50% increase in Google searches for “how to start a new business” in the past year, it shows business acumen amongst the New York population of 8.6 million is high – especially for those in IT, finance, and entertainment. 

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