An entrepreneurial ecosystem is the place-based network of people, organisations, institutions and conditions that interact to shape whether and how businesses are created and grow. Founders sit at its centre, but it also includes the firms, finance, talent, customers, rules and relationships that help or hinder them.
What makes an entrepreneurial ecosystem?
The OECD describes an entrepreneurial ecosystem as potential and existing entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial organisations, institutions and processes that interact to create conditions for new businesses to form and grow. The definition is relational: a collection of startups or support organisations alone is not an ecosystem. What matters is how the parts connect and affect entrepreneurship.
Stam and van de Ven describe ecosystems as interdependent actors and factors that enable or constrain entrepreneurship within a territory. In practice, the relevant territory might be a city, region or country. Its economic relationships may cross administrative boundaries, so a useful map should name the place being examined without assuming that all important connections stop at its border.
Who belongs in the ecosystem?
A participant belongs on the map if they take part in, contribute to or shape entrepreneurship in the chosen place. Their role and influence will vary by location; no single actor list describes every ecosystem equally well.
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- Entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs: founders, people pursuing self-employment through a venture, and those considering starting a business.
- Businesses and their people: startups, established companies and scale-ups, along with employees and experienced entrepreneurs. They may provide talent, customers, knowledge spillovers, mentorship or later investment.
- Capital providers: venture capital firms, business angels, banks and other financial organisations that fund or otherwise support businesses.
- Knowledge and talent institutions: universities, research institutions, education providers and organisations that develop or connect knowledge and skilled people.
- Public institutions and rule-setters: government agencies and the formal rules and regulations that shape business activity.
- Connectors and support providers: mentors, advisers, professional services, networks and organisations that support entrepreneurship.
- Markets and customers: customers create demand and help determine whether a business can find a market. Frameworks may treat markets as an enabling condition rather than as a member organisation.
- Culture and social relationships: informal norms, trust, role models and networks influence whether people share information, resources and opportunities.
How do actors differ from conditions and outcomes?
It helps to separate three things that interact but answer different questions. Actors are people and organisations, such as founders, firms, investors and universities. Inputs are the resources and conditions shaping their activity, such as finance, talent, infrastructure, knowledge, regulation and access to markets. Outputs are the entrepreneurial results being examined, such as business creation and growth.
For example, a university is an actor; the knowledge and talent it helps make available are ecosystem inputs; and businesses created or expanded in the territory are potential outputs. Keeping the categories distinct prevents a list of participants from being mistaken for a full explanation of how entrepreneurship is enabled or constrained.
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Why do ecosystem frameworks use different categories?
There is no single checklist that every ecosystem framework uses. Each is a lens, shaped by whether its purpose is to explain how entrepreneurship works, map interdependence or measure conditions for comparison.
| Framework | What it groups | Emphasis | Geographic and practical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| OECD explanatory definition | Actors, organisations, institutions and entrepreneurial processes | How these parts interact to create conditions for business creation and growth | Provides a way to describe an ecosystem; the definition does not prescribe one universal local checklist. Source: OECD. |
| Stam and van de Ven systems approach | Interdependent actors and factors | How elements enable or constrain entrepreneurship, with measurement adapted to context | Applies within a particular territory; the authors note that the concept is loosely defined and context-sensitive to measure. Source: Stam and van de Ven. |
| OECD Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostics | Ten ecosystem input elements, with entrepreneurship outputs considered separately | Organises inputs for diagnostic measurement | The diagnostic framework is intended to help examine an ecosystem; its pilot indexes derive from approximately 40 indicators. That figure describes this measurement framework, not a universal count of ecosystem components. Sources: OECD framework chapter and OECD report. |
The ten inputs in the OECD diagnostic are institutions, culture, networks, infrastructure, markets, finance, knowledge, talent, leadership and intermediate services. These categories complement, rather than replace, a map of the people and organisations involved.
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How can you map an ecosystem usefully?
- Set the boundary. Name the city, region or country you are examining, and note that some relationships may extend beyond it.
- Identify participants by function. Map entrepreneurs, businesses, finance providers, knowledge institutions, public agencies and support organisations according to what they contribute or shape.
- Map enabling conditions. Consider culture, formal rules, networks, infrastructure, markets, finance, knowledge, talent, leadership and intermediate services rather than counting organisations alone.
- Trace relationships. Ask how people and organisations connect, and how resources, knowledge, customers and opportunities move between them.
- Separate conditions from results. Record ecosystem inputs independently from business creation and growth, so the map does not confuse the setting with the outcomes it may help produce.
What can an ecosystem diagnostic tell you?
A diagnostic can help identify apparent strengths, weaknesses and areas that may warrant policy attention. It cannot, by itself, establish which intervention will work or why a particular result occurred. The OECD presents its pilot indexes as a starting point for diagnosis; targeted stakeholder dialogue and deeper analysis are still needed to understand local interactions and decide what action, if any, is appropriate.
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