The DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada) and the SETsquared Partnership (the UK) have contributed expertise to the World Rankings Report
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Tuesday, January 31 – The World Rankings Report 2021-2022 of business incubators and accelerators was officially released by UBI Global during the World Incubation Summit 2023 Part 1 – as the result of the World Benchmark Study, now in its sixth iteration – representing public, private, university and corporate organizations from startup ecosystems around the world.
Incubators and accelerators are ranked using program impact and performance scores based on 21 key performance indicators (KPIs). The Study’s KPIs are based on seven subcategory scores, which feed into three main categories for evaluation: value for the ecosystem, value for client startups, and value for the program.
“The incubators and accelerators highlighted in the World Benchmark Study have met post-pandemic challenges with creative solutions to deliver a world-class portfolio of services,” said Ali Amin, Co-Founder of UBI Global. “Organizations continue to set the bar higher and continuously exceed the expectations of their respective ecosystems.”
Announced this year, the DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada) and the SETsquared Partnership (the UK) joined UBI Global as official research partners to partake in the ranking and recognition process for the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022.
Both partners have achieved the #1 world ranking multiple times, and are now supporting the 2021-22 Study through the provision of research efforts and advisory services during the assessment and selection process. The DMZ and SETsquared are not eligible for ranking or recognition, given their new roles as partners in the Study.
“We’re proud to be partnering with UBI Global on an award that’s near and dear to our hearts at the DMZ,” said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director of the DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures. “As a longstanding winner of UBI Global’s incubator ranking, it’s an honor to be working alongside UBI Global to recognize incubators and accelerators that are driving impact on a global scale.”
“The incubator and accelerator space globally has skyrocketed, fostering a solid support network for startups worldwide,” said Marty Reid, Interim Executive Director of SETsquared. “Highlighting the global network of incubators and accelerators — and its tremendous impact — is essential to creating a strong and competitive startup ecosystem worldwide.”
The World Rankings Report 2021-2022 of business incubators and accelerators is available to download now at worldbenchmarkstudy.com.
About UBI Global
UBI Global is an innovation intelligence company and interactive learning community founded in 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden, to identify where innovation hubs are located worldwide and to learn and share what makes them successful.
The company conducts the World Benchmark Study biennially among business incubators and accelerators who submit their data, which ultimately assists organizations with assessment and best practices, and provides global recognition of success. UBI Global engages its interactive learning community of 1,000+ business incubators and accelerators with international events, competitions, awards, and a suite of education materials, original research, and more.
About the DMZ
The DMZ is a world-leading startup incubator based at Toronto Metropolitan University that equips the next generation of tech entrepreneurs with the tools needed to build, launch, and scale highly impactful startups. The DMZ’s customized approach provides connections to customers, coaching, capital, and a community, all of which help innovators reach the next milestone in their entrepreneurial journey – whatever that might be. Through its award-winning programming, the DMZ has helped more than 750 startups raise $1.95 billion in capital and create 4,850+ jobs. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada with globally-accessible programming, the DMZ has a widely-recognized international presence with offices in Vietnam, India, and the U.S., and partnerships across North America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
About SETsquared
SETsquared is a unique enterprise partnership and a dynamic collaboration between the six leading research-led UK universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton, and Surrey. Ranked as the Global No. 1 Business Incubator, we provide a wide range of highly acclaimed support programs to help turn ideas into thriving businesses.
The UBI Global research team has released the World Rankings Report 2021-2022 of business incubators and accelerators as the result of the World Benchmark Study for 2021-2022. For the sixth edition of the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022, 1895 programs were assessed to be part of the Study and 356 applications were received, leading to the ultimate 109 programs that were ultimately benchmarked. This resulted in Top Lists among four categories based on the sample size.
>> Top University Business Incubator – Top 10
>> Top Public-Private Business Incubator – Top 5
>> Top University Business Accelerator – Top 3
>> Top Public-Private Business Accelerator – Top 5
This list reflects a highlight of the groups of high-achieving programs, providing recognition to the group as a whole. Among global peers, these programs are all top performers.
Each Top List has one program in its group that has achieved #1 status as the result of extraordinary impact and performance among top peers. We want to provide the industry with the opportunity to celebrate innovation excellence and highlight a bright focal point to which other programs can aspire.
The number one program for each top list will be announced at the World Incubation Summit Part 2 this May 14-17 hosted by imec and imec.istart in Ghent, Belgium.
Developed as a result of the World Benchmark Study, UBI Global offers definitive program rankings from 2013 onwards. These editions of the rankings are still relevant today as they show the evolution of the innovation community around the world. To unlock the previous rankings resulting from the World Benchmark Study from 2013 to 2021, please see our website here.
In addition to recognizing the top performers, we also recognized the top challengers in each region. Top Challengers are programs with performance and impact scores resulting from the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 making it stand out among peers in its region. This edition of the Rankings and Recognitions will highlight programs in the following Top Challenger categories.
>> Top Challenger – Africa
>> Top Challengers – Asia Pacific
>> Top Challengers – Europe
>> Top Challengers – Latin America
>> Top Challenger – MENA
>> Top Challengers – North America
Released during the WIS23 Part 1, the new Global Innovation Studios Benchmark Tool is set to be a game-changer for business incubators and accelerators around the world. Developed with the UBI Global research framework, the Benchmark Tool is a powerful way to understand your programs’ performance and impact and highlight strategic areas to improve. Users of the GIS Benchmark Tool can take this knowledge a step further and compare themselves to the top-performing programs from around the world and get as granular as they like. To schedule a demo, contact [email protected].
Released January 24 at the World Incubation Summit 2023 Part 1 Online, live from Ghent, Belgium
Definition: A world top university accelerator derives its business objectives primarily from one or more universities, which achieve outstanding impact and performance relative to its global peers. These programs outperform their global peers with regard to the value they provide to their innovation ecosystems and client startups, as well as the attractiveness of the programs themselves.
World Top University Business Accelerators in alphabetical order for 2021-2022 are:
Aalto University Startup Center Business Generator
imec
Red de Incubadoras de la Universidad del Valle de México
For information on the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 and the Report release, please see the website: World Benchmark Study 2021 – 2022
To sign up for the World Incubation Summit 2023 Part 2 where the World #1 organizations will be announced, see the website here: World Incubation Summit 2023
Released January 24 at the World Incubation Summit 2023 Part 1 Online, live from Ghent, Belgium
Definition: A world top university incubator derives its business objectives primarily from one or more universities, which achieve outstanding impact and performance relative to its global peers. These programs outperform their global peers with regard to the value they provide to their innovation ecosystems and client startups, as well as the attractiveness of the programs themselves.
World Top 5 University Business Incubators in alphabetical order for 2021-2022 are:
ITU Çekirdek
McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship
prendho
Red Nacional de Incubadoras de Empresas de la UNITEC
University of Toronto Entrepreneurship
Rounding out the World Top 10 University Business Incubators, listed in alphabetical order, are:
Centech
IncubaUdeC
IPN Incubadora
UtrechtInc
YTU Yıldız Technopark Entrepreneurship and Incubation Center (YTU Startup House)
For information on the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 and the Report release, please see the website: World Benchmark Study 2021 – 2022
To sign up for the World Incubation Summit 2023 Part 2 where the World #1 organizations will be announced, see the website here: World Incubation Summit 2023
Can you believe it has been 10 years since UBI Global began with a Swedish student who had a dream of mapping, benchmarking, and recognizing the performance and impact of university-led business incubators around the world? That one-time student, Ali Amin, became the Founder and CEO of what is now UBI Global, and this year marks the release of the sixth edition of what has become the gold-standard study of business incubators and accelerators worldwide.
The pandemic has changed the global innovation industry, much like it has changed the world of business in general. After studying the shifts made by business incubators and accelerators through the Triumph of Innovation impact study in 2021, the UBI Global research team felt ready to conduct this version of the World Benchmark Study for 2021-2022.
There were a few changes to the methodology and the survey along with a shift to the time period that meant a smaller data pool, but thanks to our loyal members sharing their time, knowledge, and data, we are delighted to be able to announce another World Benchmark Study and World Rankings for 2021-2022 are complete and ready for release.
Over the years, the World Benchmark Study has evolved to include many new benchmark categories that reflect the evolution of the global innovation community. What began as a fact-finding mission has grown to become the gold-standard study of business incubation and acceleration on a global scale. Consistently updated to reflect the latest research in the field, at its core, the underlying research framework has remained unchanged – the absolute impact and relative performance of a program are the two determining factors of success.
When it comes to benchmark categories vs. ranking categories the determining factor is the level of focus. While the benchmark categories offer a granular view of the programs, ranking categories are a top-level view. We provide all participating programs with a scorecard infographic that offers an overview of their overall impact and performance relative to their peers.
Ranking categories and the respective top lists reflect differences in setup, funding, and focus between different groups of incubators and accelerators. Benchmark categories and ranking categories are two related outputs of the same data, with benchmark categories finely tuned according to the program’s self-definition
As the benchmark has grown and expanded, it became clear that there was a need to compare like-for-like programs. The ranking system has evolved, moving from a focus on individual programs to a top-list system that spotlights performance and impact. This categorization sets the bar for the rest of the global innovation ecosystem in a fair and concise way.
For the sixth edition of the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022, 1895 programs were assessed to be part of the Study and 356 applications were received, leading to the ultimate 109 programs that were ultimately benchmarked. This resulted in Top Lists among four categories based on the sample size. Each ranking category has a Top List according to the size of the category:
>> Top University Business Incubator – Top 10
>> Top Public-Private Business Incubator – Top 5
>> Top University Business Accelerator – Top 3
>> Top Public-Private Business Accelerator – Top 5
This list reflects a highlight of the groups of high-achieving programs, providing recognition to the group as a whole. Among global peers, these programs are all top performers! The Top Lists and Top Challengers will be announced during the World Incubation Summit Part 1 – Rankings & Recognitions online event on January 24, 2023. Everyone is welcome to sign up to attend free of charge via live stream. Use the link below to register to attend.
Each Top List has one program in its group that has achieved #1 status as the result of extraordinary impact and performance among top peers. We want to provide the industry with the opportunity to celebrate innovation excellence and highlight a bright focal point to which other programs can aspire.
The number one program for each top list will be announced at the World Incubation Summit Part 2 this May 14-17 hosted by imec and imec.istart in Ghent, Belgium.
Developed as a result of the World Benchmark Study, UBI Global offers definitive program rankings from 2013 onwards. These editions of the rankings are still relevant today as they show the evolution of the innovation community around the world. To unlock the previous rankings resulting from the World Benchmark Study from 2013 to 2018, please see our website here.
In addition to recognizing the top performers, we also highlight and recognize the top challengers in each region. Top Challengers are programs with performance and impact scores resulting from the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 making it stand out among peers in its region. This edition of the Rankings and Recognitions will highlight programs in the following Top Challenger categories.
>> Top Challenger – Africa (1)
>> Top Challengers – Asia Pacific (5)
>> Top Challengers – Europe (5)
>> Top Challengers – Latin America (3)
>> Top Challenger – MENA (1)
>> Top Challengers – North America (3)
UBI Global, as a company known for its research and benchmarking, has been an active member of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative’s association with the United Nations to provide rankings, ratings, and assessments interface as a guide to the academic sector and beyond. This work made us understand the importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance to investors and, therefore, our community.
For this reason, and to provide a baseline understanding of ESG to our community and stakeholders, the research team included a set of ESG assessment questions in the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 for the first time. While this lens of the study does not result in a ranking, it will certainly enable us to highlight impact-makers and early adopters of ESG initiatives around the world and share this information to further our community’s knowledge and strategic planning.
Released during the WIS23 Part 1, the new Global Innovation Studios Benchmark Tool is set to be a game-changer for business incubators and accelerators around the world. Developed with the UBI Global research framework, the Benchmark Tool is a powerful way to understand your programs’ performance and impact and highlight strategic areas to improve. Users of the GIS Benchmark Tool can take this knowledge a step further and compare themselves to the top-performing programs from around the world and get as granular as they like. To schedule a demo, contact [email protected].
If your program gets “the call” that signifies achieving Top List or Top Challenger status, we congratulate you and look forward to announcing your name during the online WIS23 Part 1! Even if you don’t hear from us about your ranking, joining us online for WIS23 Part 1 – Rankings & Recognitions is a great opportunity to learn and grow – through benchmarking, through events such as the World Incubation Summit, and through our community by participating on the Global Innovation Studios portal.
Be there to witness this exciting event by joining the online WIS23 Part 1 Rankings & Recognitions. Visit the World Incubation Summit 2023 website to register and for more information on Parts 1 and 2 of WIS23!