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.

Ranking	City	Country	City Population	Ambition Score
1	London	United Kingdom	9,425,622	481
2	Sydney	Australia	4,991,654	402
3	Cape Town	South Africa	4,709,990	384
4	New York	United States	8,601,186	379
5	Paris	France	11,078,546	366
6	Singapore	Singapore	5,991,801	366
7	Ottawa	Canada	1,407,928	354
8	Rome	Italy	4,278,350	342
9	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	8,210,745	338
10	Moscow	Russia	12,593,252	337
11	Madrid	Spain	6,668,865	334
12	New Delhi	India	31,181,376	331
13	Kiev	Ukraine	3,000,604	331
14	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	7,387,817	328
15	Jakarta	Indonesia	10,915,364	327
16	Lisbon	Portugal	2,971,587	318
17	Ankara	Turkey	5,215,747	315
18	Berlin	Germany	3,566,791	314
19	Bangkok	Thailand	10,722,815	286
20	Budapest	Hungary	1,771,865	282

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

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 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 

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!

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.