THE MODELING OF STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE BASED ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Abstract

The article is devoted to solving the problem of the development of startup ecosystems in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (including Ukrainian entrepreneurship since Ukraine gained independence) by reorienting their economy to a market economy and conducting it based on sustainable development, ethics, and social responsibility. It has been found that in the countries a large number of mechanisms and procedures are not fully adapted to the implementation of entrepreneurial activity based on systematicity, complexity, and interaction; only point elements are present, and the effectiveness of their interaction in the process of entrepreneurial activity is quite low. At the same time, the rapid development of startup ecosystems is observed. The definition of this concept in the article is considered from the point of view of scientists as “a combination of localized cultural views, social networks, investment capital, universities, and active economic policies that create an environment that supports innovative business” and Startup Genome. This allows for the interpreting of a startup ecosystem as “a set of resources (policies, accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces, educational institutions, and funding groups) that are mostly located within a radius of 100 kilometers around a central point in a given region, with a few exceptions based on local realities”. It has been established that at the moment the theoretical concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems is insufficiently developed, which does not allow unambiguously interpreting its composition, as well as determining the impact on the development of startup. It has been revealed that the central driver of start-up ecosystems is most often considered by universities as centers of education and driving forces of innovative growth. It is innovations that are determined as a source of entrepreneurship development. The above was the basis for consideration and a possible solution to the problem of building a model that would describe the development of the startup ecosystem of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe based on the analysis of a set of indicators that characterize the startup ecosystem according to the Dealroom.co methodology, where the most popular and those that Ecosystem value is the most complete description of the development of the startup ecosystem. The European experience in the development of startup ecosystems has been analyzed. The structural components of the startup ecosystem have been reflected, and their role in the functioning of the system and their interrelationships has been defined. The functioning of startup ecosystems in European countries has been described. Possible directions of application of the European experience in the development of startup ecosystems in Ukraine have been studied. At the same time, the government of Ukraine considers the IT industry and military tech (high-tech weapons) as priorities in further development, which is especially relevant during military operations. The study was tested on the Greek startup ecosystem and found that the most significant issues affecting the successful development of startups are issues at the state level, which are related to tax incentives and acceleration of start-up procedures, the availability of financing opportunities, communication between interested parties, entrepreneurial education, previous startup experience, incubator support, and mentoring. A regression-correlation analysis of a set of five indicators (Number of unicorns, Future unicorns, VC funding, Number of exits, Employees, New funds, Number of startups, Number of funding rounds), which have the greatest significance for the Ecosystem value of the country, has been carried out. A model has been built that determines the dependence of Ecosystem value on the action of a set of significant factors: Number of unicorns, Future unicorns, VC funding, Number of exits, and Employees, which allows predicting the development of the startup ecosystem of the countries of the world.