Startup Genome was pleased to facilitate the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Committee workshop on catalyzing the growth of inclusive and sustainable startup ecosystems.

As APEC 2021 host, New Zealand set an agenda focused on policies to manage the economic and health effects of COVID-19 and to help communities recover.

This report summarizes the workshop held on 29 September 2021 organized by officials from New Zealand’s Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), facilitated in partnership with Startup Genome and joined by participants from APEC economies.

APEC operates by consensus with 21 member economies, and primarily supports sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. They champion free and open trade and investment, promoting and accelerating regional economic integration, encouraging economic and technical cooperation, enhancing human security, and facilitating a favorable and sustainable business environment.

This project sought to bring together international experts on startup ecosystems, public sector policy makers, investors, and intermediaries to consider how innovation can be nurtured to kick-start inclusive and sustainable growth that can be enjoyed throughout the region.

The APEC Economic Committee workshop consisted of participants from 16 APEC economies and a mixture of public and private sector organizations. It considered the overall impact of start-up ecosystems, identified key policies to promote inclusive and sustainable ecosystem growth, and the specific contribution made by cleantech startups.

The workshop was opened by The Honorable Dr Megan Woods, New Zealand Minister of Research, Science and Innovation and the conversations were guided by leading experts in the field, including Startup Genome CEO, JF Gauthier; Jess Robertson, Manager of the Innovation Policy team at MBIE, New Zealand; Todd Allmendinger from Cleantech Group; Aubrey Te Kanawa from Kōkiri, New Zealand’s Māori business accelerator and more. Participants from Canada, Russia, Singapore, the United States as well as the Startup Genome team led the discussions and facilitated breakout rooms for participants to connect and discuss on a deeper level the key workshop topics.

The workshop identified a number of potential policy levers which could help startup ecosystems achieve greater and more positive impact, including:

• Reliable data on startup ecosystems

• Public-private partnership

• Encouraging local collaboration to address global challenges

• Demand-side policy

• Coordination within governments

• Continued international discussions on supporting startup ecosystems

To read through the full report and findings kindly see the link below. To connect directly with our team to find out more about the workshop and findings from the report, contact Adam Bregu at adam@startupgenome.com.

The Startup Genome team would like to thank everyone involved for this engaging and important workshop to accelerate and develop sustainable startup ecosystems.