Jobbatical has released new research revealing a surprising聽new home for聽聽global talent聽when it comes to聽global tech and innovation hubs.
The platform, which聽connects tech professionals with jobs around the world, has released the Global Talent Mobility research聽– showing that the聽infamous Silicon Valley is not the number one destination for tech start-up founders.
The research, completed in partnership聽with University of Cambridge and Launchfield, identified factors driving mobility decisions in global talent, determining the defining factors of tech and innovation hubs around the world.
It also聽mapped perceptions of global tech locations held by tech professionals and聽start-up founders.
The聽research arrives as the UK tech sector goes from strength to strength, with research from London & Partners revealing that British tech firms have received 拢5bn worth of聽VC funding since June 2016 – more than France (拢1.55bn), Germany (拢2.15bn) and Sweden (拢644m) combined.
Findings include London being singled out as the most attractive city for starting a business. Among the top 31 cities named, 11 were European, more than North America (7 cities), Asia (6), MENA (3), Africa (2) and Australasia (1).
London was also named the second most 鈥榠mportant tech and innovation hub鈥� in the world, second behind only Singapore.
Europe leads North America and Asia as a popular destination for tech workers, with 48 per cent of respondents saying they would choose to be based there. That number sat at 24 per cent for North America and 19 per cent for Asia.
Contrary to popular perceptions, Silicon Valley is behind other destinations as an attractive location for entrepreneurs.
When asked where founders would consider starting a new company, San Francisco didn鈥檛 crack the top five, coming in behind London, Singapore, Tallinn, Dubai, Berlin, New York, and Barcelona.
鈥淎 welcoming and diverse culture is helping Europe to become a major crossroads for global tech,鈥� said Jobbatical founder and CEO Karoli Hindriks.
鈥淔rom Lisbon to London, there has never been a stronger, more developed group of tech and innovation hubs within the continent.
鈥淭here is more work to be done to meet the needs of European tech, but the destinations identified in our research are getting a leg up on attracting global talent thanks to a culture of openness and innovation.鈥�
Jobbatical鈥檚 Global Talent Mobility research also ranked concerns for technology entrepreneurs and start-up founders faced when looking to move to a different country.
Ease of doing business, entrepreneurial spirit and availability of global networks were the top three criteria for making a city a good place to start companies.
Earlier this year, Jobbatical announced it was working with the Estonian Ministry of the Interior to design the world鈥檚 first Digital Nomad Visa, which will help streamline the process for global talent to work in the country.
Hindriks believes that the growth of Europe鈥檚 tech sector is based first and foremost on access to talent.
鈥淭here is little in place by way of policy to support modern ways of working,鈥� said Hindriks.
鈥淚n order for Europe, including the UK, to continue to develop its tech industry, issues around access must be solved.
鈥淎 review of the visa process, in particular, is a crucial first step, with ideas like Estonia鈥檚 Digital Nomad Visa a welcome step in the right direction for the way governments can support tech companies and tech workers.鈥�