By Scott Wright
PEOPLE from the most deprived backgrounds in Scotland are just as likely to start a business as those from wealthy circumstances, new research has found.
The finding comes in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Scotland 2020 report, which estimates around 250,000 people in Scotland were involved in setting up or running a new business in the last three and a half years – despite the challenges of the pandemic.
The report, published today, found that Scotland had similar rates of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) to other nations within the UK.
According to the report, similar levels of TEA were reported by the most-deprived and least-deprived quintiles in Scotland at around 9% – contrary to a wider trend across the UK. The most-deprived 20% were just as likely to start a business as the wealthiest in Scotland in 2020, the report found.
The study found that Scotland had similar rates of TEA to other nations within the UK, reporting that while activity here has been steady in the face of the pandemic, there has been a significant decline from 2019 rates in England.
The report also underlines the growth of early-stage entrepreneurship in Scotland. Around 60,000 young people, or 13% of 18 to 24 year olds in Scotland, were found to be early-stage entrepreneurs last year – the highest rate among the home nations of the UK – compared with 3.5% in the 2007/09 period.
In that earlier period, activity levels among young people in Scotland was the lowest in the UK.
Around 5.3% of adult women in Scotland were found to have tried to set up a new business or be running a young business in 2020, compared with 9.3% of men. The rate of adult women starting businesses in Scotland has changed little over the last decade and makes the gender gap in Scotland the highest among the home nations, the report said.
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