Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania are in top 20, Ukraine ranks 49th — Startup Ecosystem Report 2023

StartupBlink has prepared this year’s iteration of its Startup Ecosystem Report. The report explores the world’s top 100 countries and 1,000 cities, ranked by startup ecosystem strength. Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania managed to get in top 20 and Ukraine got 49th place in the ranking. AIN.Capital shares the key points.

Inflation rising globally, followed by rapid increase of interest rates and It sector layoffs, had a severe impact on startup ecosystems. However, some CEE countries even managed to climb the ecosystem strength ladder up a few points.

Here are the CEE countries that made it to the ranking and their respective places in the top 50.

• Finland — 13. Finland also managed to get to 7th place in the European ranking, with its capital Helsinki in the 9th place in Europe. In 2022, Finland’s ecosystem managed to secure about $1.418 billion in funding across 166 deals. The list of notable startups consists of unicorns RELEX Solutions, ŌURA, and Aiven.

• Estonia — 14. Estonia got to 8th place in Europe, with Tallinn climbing to 14th place among European cities in 2023. During 2022, Estonia companies raised $1.517 billion across 147 deals. The most prominent Estonian companies included in the report are Veriff, Bolt, and Estateguru.

• Lithuania — 17. In 2023 ranking, Lithuania retained its 17th place in Global ranking. The country has 3 cities in Top 1000, with Vilnius climbing to 73rd place globally. In 2022, Lithuania secured $313 million thanks to 42 deals. New unicorns Vinted and Nord Security are among the most noted startups.

• Austria — 25. Austria stayed in 25th place for a second year, with the city of Vienna getting to 70th spot. During 2022, Austrian companies managed to complete 121 deals, raising $1.164 billion. Unicorns Bitpanda and GoStudent are the most regarded.

• Poland — 33. Poland maintained its position at 33rd place globally. Ten polish cities are included in the Top 1000 city ranking, with Warsaw at 99th place. In 2022, Poland managed to get $511 million in funding spread across 166 deals. Such companies like DocPlanner, PackHelp, and Neptune.ai were the most successful in the country.

• Czechia — 35. In 2023, the Czech Republic dropped three points to 35th place. It has three cities in the Top 1000, with Prague in 83rd place. 2022 brought $447 million and 65 deals to Czechia. Rohlik, a unicorn company, as well as Kontent.ai and Keboola are the most noted in the country.

• Bulgaria — 38. Declining for the 3rd year in a row, Bulgaria lost 2 spots globally. Only two Bulgarian cities are in the Top 1000. In 2022, Bulgarian companies raised $81 million across 29 deals. Its most recognised companies in 2023 are Transmetrics, Rush, and Costimize.

• Latvia — 39. Latvia jumped 4 spots and re-entered the global top 40 at 39th in 2023. Riga, the only Latvian ecosystem in the top 1,000, jumped 24 spots to rank 173rd globally. In 2023, Latvia secured $32 million after 34 deals. Companies like Mintos, 4finance, and Sonarworks are among the most notable in 2023.

• Romania — 42. In 2023, Romania experienced a decline of 3 spots to 42nd worldwide. Romania has 7 cities in the top 1,000. Romania managed to secure $98 million across 48 transactions. Country’s most noted companies are Veridion, Licenseware, and Kinderpedia.

• Croatia — 44. Croatia improved by one spot to rank 44th globally. It has five ranked cities among the global top 1,000. In 2022, Croatian companies saw a surge of raised funding, with $718 million secured across 19 deals. The country also managed to get two unicorns mentioned in the report, Infobip and Rimac Automobili.

• Slovenia — 48. Slovenia is on quite a negative momentum this year. In total, it has lost 13 spots in the ranking since 2020. The top ranked ecosystem, Ljublajana, decreased 12 spots to 202nd globally. In 2022 Slovenia got $56 million in just 10 deals. Slovenia’s most recognised companies are Viberate, Blocksquare, and GoOpti.

• Ukraine — 49. With an improvement of one spot to 49th globally, Ukraine’s startup ecosystem demonstrates resilience. I the global top 1,000, Ukraine has 5 cities, and an addition of one, with Ternopil rejoining the ranking. Kyiv is at 77th spot. In 2022, the country managed to complete 33 deals and raise $87 million. The most recognised Ukrainian companies in 2023 are Grammarly, People.ai, and Ajax Systems.

“Ukraine is a country of creative and talented people, of ideas that come to reality within days, and where the newest technologies are born today. The IT sector has always been one of the key priorities for the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Now it’s one of the key priorities for the entire country. Today our country is already the best test ground for all the newest technologies,”

Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, comments.

• Hungary — 50. In 2023, Hungary rejoined the top 50 ranking. Budapest, the highest ranking and only dominant startup ecosystem in Hungary, climbed 33 spots to 134th globally. In 2022, the county secured $176 million across 31 transaction. SEON, Bitrise, and Barion are the most noted companies.