Acknowledgements
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report is the result of a tremendous collective effort from both our dedicated project team and a broad network of external collaborators. Many partners have committed substantial resources to bring this initiative to life. We are especially grateful to the numerous advisors, founders, investors, and industry leaders who generously shared their expertise, networks, and time in support of our mission — to advance their local ecosystems and the global startup landscape. Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network extend our heartfelt thanks to all who played a role in making this report a reality.
Startup Genome Authors
- JF Gauthier, Founder & CEO
- Marc Penzel, Founder & President
- Stephan Kuester, Managing Partner
- Dr. Christopher Haley, Head of Research
- Parshant Sharma, Director of Data Science
- Pranav Arya, Sr. Director, Ecosystem Strategy
- Kelly Wolfgang, Sr. Content Manager
- Ananya Sharma, HR and Operations Lead
Project Team
Startup Genome
- JF Gauthier, Founder & CEO
- Marc Penzel, Founder & President
- Stephan Kuester, Managing Partner
- Dr. Christopher Haley, Head of Research
- Parshant Sharma, Director of Data Science
- Kelly Wolfgang, Sr. Content Manager
- Anna Chadwell, Key Account Manager
- Neha Thapliyal, Customer Success Lead
- Shreesh Dubey, Senior Operations Manager
- Neha Nawathe, Operations Manager
- Ananya Sharma, Operations and HR Lead
- Aman Bansal, Data Scientist
- Naajid Sarosh, Data Engineer
- Samantha Evans, Managing Director, MENA
- Marina Krizman, Director of Business Development
- Naira Ferreira Bonifácio, Director at Startup Genome LATAM
- Franzis Walther, Head of Operations
- Pranav Arya, Sr. Director, Ecosystem Strategy
- Houssein El Sayed, Program Director UAE
- Fernando Nahat Jardim, Business Development Manager
- Shekhar Parihar, Process Lead, Lead Generation & CRM Support
- Piyush Singh, Data Scientist
- Parth Arora, Senior Business Analyst
- Aarushi Mendiratta, Senior Business Analyst
- Joanne Fedeyko, Head of Mentorship
- Hiro Nishiguchi, President, Startup Genome Japan
- Ravi Narayan, President, Startup Genome India
- Chuzen Kin, Director, East Asia
- Sanjeev Vadhera, CFO
- Nancy Agrawal, Finance Manager
- Ana Lucia Osorio, Executive Assistant to the CEO
- Shiva Kant Pandey, Data Science Intern
- Chidera Ozoekwe, Communication Intern
- Sara Inglês, Designer
- afteryou, Website Development
Global Entrepreneurship Network
- Jonathan Ortmans, President
- Mark Marich, Executive Vice President
- Matt Smith, Vice President
- Kathryn Forrest, Director for Communications
- Tom Hancock, Manager for Research
Image Credits
- All images taken from Pexels and Magnific.
References
- To request a list of references, please contact Startup Genome’s Senior Content Manager, Kelly Wolfgang, at [email protected]
Key Author Bios
Startup Genome
A seasoned Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, JF is the world-leading voice in innovation ecosystem development, having advised more than 100 governments in 60 countries. He has founded five businesses and led others across two continents and three sectors (Tech, Life Sciences, and Cleantech). He is an angel investor and previously worked in corporate innovation, advising several of the world's largest tech companies.
Marc Penzel is a high-growth entrepreneur, GTM leader, and recognized expert in innovation ecosystem development. He has advised government leaders, Fortune 500 executives, and research organizations across all continents, helping shape innovation policies and drive growth.
Marc’s expertise has earned him accolades such as the GEN Research Champion Award and appointments like Expert in Entrepreneurship, IT, and the Future of Economic Progress at the World Economic Forum, where he is also a regular guest writer. He is a sought-after speaker at global tech and policy conferences and has been recognized with the prestigious U.S. visa for individuals with extraordinary ability. Previously, Marc worked for Silicon Valley tech startups, as well as KPMG, PwC, and Bayer’s strategy consulting unit.
Stephan works with clients in government and private industry consortia all around the world, advising on the creation and acceleration of tech and innovation clusters. Prior to his role at Startup Genome, Stephan headed the International Consulting practice at U.K. ecosystem agency Tech Nation (fka Tech City UK) in London and served as Managing Director of digitalswitzerland in Zurich.
Previous to his work in the digital ecosystems space, Stephan worked as an executive director for professional services firms Arthur Andersen and EY (Ernst & Young). Stephan holds an MSc in Economics and studied at the University of Bonn, Germany and the London School of Economics.
Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN)
Jonathan Ortmans [LinkedIn]
Jonathan Ortmans is the founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), a Washington, D.C.-based organization operating programs and chapters in 200 nations to support entrepreneurs and foster healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems. Raised in the United Kingdom, Ortmans trained as an economist, worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, and served as the CEO of a health care and trade policy think tank. His career has also included two successful startup exits.
Ortmans built GEN through its cornerstone initiative, Global Entrepreneurship Week where he assembled a broad multi-disciplinary coalition of partners and communities in 200 countries that now serve as the backbone of GEN operations around the world, including entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, and entrepreneurial support organizations. Ortmans oversees GEN’s grantmaking and has developed GEN operations in entrepreneurship research and public policy, ecosystem building, and all of its programs directly supporting entrepreneurs and investors.
Ortmans also chairs the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) now in its 15th year and serves on the boards of dozens of GEN affiliates and entrepreneurial support organizations around the world.