GEM – Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum is the Swedish partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the largest global research venture on entrepreneurial activity. Since 2010, Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum has published an annual Swedish report based on survey and interview data. The Swedish national report is funded by Triton Advisers Sweden and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. –
Entrepreneurship in Sweden – National GEM Report 2024
This year’s report shows that Swedish entrepreneurship is doing well and reaches another record in 2023. Currently, 9.2 percent of Swedes are involved in early-stage entrepreneurship (TEA). The report also shows trends that raise some concerns about the future: Although more Swedes than ever are starting businesses, there are not more who are running an established business. Nor are more businesses planning on increasing its workforce, entrepreneurship is also primarily a second job. Additionally, the desire to grow and internationalize is declining. This is shown in this year’s national report within the world’s largest entrepreneurship survey, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, GEM.
This year’s report notes that new entrepreneurship is increasing over time – but it is still clearly below the average for comparable countries. Although new entrepreneurial ventures are increasing, many end their business activities before reaching an established phase. Moreover, over the past five years, Swedish entrepreneurship has primarily been a second job – i.e., another employment has accompanied the entrepreneurship.
“It is positive that particularly women are behind the increased in entrepreneurship, and the ratio of female entrepreneurs to male has steadily increased each year. However, it is progressing slowly; if the development continues at the same pace, it will take until the year 2100 before the ratio reaches one,” says Per Thulin, researcher at Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum and KTH and the report’s editor.
This year’s GEM report also shows that the proportion of the population who believe they have the knowledge required to start a business has fallen in Sweden and is now 47.2 percent, a trend that has been declining since 2020 and risks leading to reduced entrepreneurship in the future.
“Sweden needs entrepreneurs who build tomorrow’s growing companies, and challenge existing structures. To get there, we need to review the regulations that surround entrepreneurship, and reduce costs and risks associated with becoming an employer. Another important piece of the puzzle is the supply of skills for the future workforce where broader educational paths can give more people the opportunity to participate and build new value-creating companies around digitalization and AI technology,” says Anders Broström, Managing Director of Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum and professor at Gothenburg University.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: General Information
Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum is the Swedish partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the largest global research venture on entrepreneurial activity.
Since 2010, Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum has published an annual Swedish report based on survey and interview data, all reports can be found by visiting the Swedish site or pressing the button below. The global project was started in 1999 and has grown from including 10 countries to approximately 50.