The Danish government has taken many steps to make Denmark an attractive place for investment and new business ventures.  It has forged private-public partnerships for research, communications and information technologies to help build a solid infrastructure and encourage growth in the private sector.

General

• 14,000 and 18,000 new businesses are set up in Denmark each year
• This is on a level with the best performing entrepreneurial countries.
• start-ups make up approximately 10% of the total number of enterprises in Denmark.
• The Danish start-up rate is higher than other European countries, such as Sweden and Finland
• Only around 5% of Danish entrepreneurs achieve a particularly high growth rate in turnover or employment within the first few years. In the leading countries, this figure is three times as high.
• TV shows as “Denmark’s best idea” promote entrepreneurship and idea generation

Education

• Many schools promote entrepreneurship
• Both business schools and technical schools
• Also shorter courses promote entrepreneurship

Culture

• Entrepreneurship has evolved in Denmark the last ten years
• During the level of new startups was low

Finance

• The number of Venture capitalists has increased since 1998.
• Today there are about 50 venture capital companies on the market
• The Danish venture capital market has experienced continuous growth since 1998
• The sectors of Life Sciences and ITC are the two major recipients of venture capital
• The majority of investments are allocated to projects in the Greater Copenhagen region
• Governmental initiatives will boost early stage capital for pre-project and seed capital to entrepreneurs.

GEM Stats

• TEA Index 5.31 (Global Average 9.74, European Average 5.4)
• TEA Ranking 21st out of 32 ( European 8th out of 17)
• High level of Opportunity Entrepreneurship v. Necessity (only Iceland and Belgium have higher ratios – Denmark ratio is 13.6)

Danish Global Competitiveness

• Danes focus on knowledge to compete with the rest of the world, know that they will never be the low cost provider
• Key Industries include: Life Science (BioTech and MedTech), Information and Communications Technology, Renewable Energy and high Tech Manufacturing and Engineering

“Flexicurity”

• Idea concerning the “flexible” Danish labor market that has lead to current low levels of unemployment, gives a great deal of latitude to business compared to other European countries
• Danes pay high personal taxes,  but are provided with generous unemployment
• Roughly 1 out of 5 Danes will lose their jobs in a given year, but most find new jobs quickly

Intrapreneurship v. Entrepreneurship

• Intrapreneurship entails business creation within larger business or as spin-off business units
• In 2004 48% of new ventures in Denmark were part intrapreneurial, only Hong Kong has a higher rate (51%)
• Dri9ven by significant freedoms that Danes enjoy in the workplace
• Allows workers to be involved in new ventures without bearing significant tax burden and help drive economic growth even though traditional entrepreneurial levels are low

Danish Venture Capital and Incubators

• Danes have good access to Angel and Start-up capital, but later funding is hard to come by.  This trend is beginning to lessen, as more VC firms focus on fewer companies
• Key Incubators and VC: NOVI Innovation, Symbion Management, SEED Capital
• Support organizations include: International Danish Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA), Invest in Denmark, Ministry of Finance and the various trade commissions

Important Resources