San Salvador advances in the global startup index

The Salvadoran capital climbed 10 positions in the StartupBlink ranking this year with respect to 2023, and reached 705th place among the 1,000 in the world with the fastest growing startups.

San Salvador was included for the second consecutive year in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index (GSEI), prepared by the StartupBlink network of entrepreneurs, a research center and startup ecosystem map that studies the progress of these economic and technological business models around the world.

According to the index, the Salvadoran capital in 2023 entered the list of the 1,000 cities with the highest growth of technology companies operating under the startup model. At that time, the country was ranked 715th, while in 2024 it advanced 10 positions and was placed 705th with 0.244 points.

In the top 10 of this ranking are large cities such as San Francisco, in first place, followed by New York, London, Boston, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangalore, Tel Aviv, Paris, New Delhi, Seattle, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago, Singapore, Austin, Shenzhen, Washington and Mumbai.

In the region, destinations such as São Paulo, ranked 23rd; Mexico City, 53rd; Buenos Aires, 74th; and Santiago, 79th.

In fact, the progressive positioning of El Salvador in this index echoes the government’s economic development initiatives that place technology as the second phase of the Economic Plan 2025-2029, announced by President Nayib Bukele.

For startup acceleration expert and co-founder of Impact Hub El Salvador, José Roberto Rodríguez, El Salvador is living a unique moment for the development of the startup ecosystem.

“El Salvador is living its best moment on an international scale. The reputation it has on an international scale is fantastic. We came from an extremely negative reputation to one of a country of innovation that does things differently and we have to take advantage of that time,” he said.

Rodriguez also referred to the boost that the creation of specific regulations such as the Law for the Promotion of Innovation and Technology Manufacturing means for this sector. In this same area, it is worth mentioning the Electronic Signature Law and the Law for the Issuance of Digital Assets.

The strategic steps taken to date have earned the country the second place in Central America in the export of technological services, according to data from the Salvadoran Chamber of Information Technology and Communications.

Source: Diario El Salvador