A new report from Shopify has emphasised anew the huge impact Australian entrepreneurs are making on the country’s economy as it put Australia in sixth place in the global rankings and first within the Asia-Pacific region in terms of impact entrepreneurs have on their overall economy
The Shopify Entrepreneurship Index, a new global study in partnership with Deloitte, uses data on the millions of entrepreneurs in Shopify’s ecosystem and public data from the IMF, OECD, and the World Bank.
The report highlights the fact that, within the Shopify ecosystem, Aussie entrepreneurs collectively generated over AUD$42.1 billion in business activity in 2022 and contributed AUD$17.7 billion in the country’s GDP.
“Entrepreneurs are the fuel that drives economies forward,” Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, said. “They create jobs. They anchor communities. They make an impact that goes far beyond their own business.
“Previously, there wasn’t enough public data showcasing the superpowers and impact of entrepreneurship, and thats why we created the Shopify Entrepreneurship Index,” Finkelstein added. “Our goal is to give decision-makers the insights they need to reduce barriers and make entrepreneurship even more accessible to everyone.”
Shopify say that Australian entrepreneurs for ‘punching well above their weight’, managing to rank third in the world in terms of direct impact on GDP, behind only the US and UK, and for having directly created over 69,000 jobs as well as having supported over 151,000 jobs in total.
The report cites Australia’s success as being in part down to conditions that favour entrepreneurship. Businesses in Australia benefit from the country’s well-developed physical and digital infrastructure and highly-skilled workforce. The 2023 United Nations Conference on Trade & Development Technology & Innovation Report ranked Australia first globally for the skills needed to use, adopt and adapt frontier technologies.
“Australia has a digitally savvy population, and retailers have caught onto this by doing really innovative things with technology,” Shaun Broughton, Managing Director for APAC & Japan at Shopify, said. “We see this in the adoption of cutting-edge tools like AI, and virtual reality to enhance the customer experience. Australian entrepreneurs are already at the forefront of using technology to drive growth, so it’s exciting to see the impact they’re having on the country’s economic impact as a whole.”
The research cited the numerous government initiatives that encourage entrepreneurship, with programs to upgrade digital tools, cybersecurity, and energy efficiency, including those announced at the recent May Budget. It also identified some key opportunities for growth for Australia, one of them being regional and rural entrepreneurship. Currently, 71 per cent of Australian entrepreneurs run their businesses from inside a major city, which is considered exceptionally high, considering its geographical size.
“Australia is punching above its weight on many fronts, but there’s still significant untapped potential,” Broughton said. “As the majority of our business activities are concentrated in major cities, it fosters a dynamic atmosphere and creates job opportunities. However, the rise of eCommerce means businesses in regional Australia can now reach the same metro, or even global audience, as their big city peers, while spending much less on property than their counterparts.”
The report also cited exports as an untapped opportunity for Australian entrepreneurs. Australian entrepreneurs exported AUD$2.8 billion worth of goods in 2022, which represents a small decline of -0.8 per cent. Currently, Australian entrepreneurs are selling to an average of ten international markets, reaching 92 million international shoppers, which accounts for 30 per cent of online store visitors. Australia saw the most significant decline in growth, at 32nd globally. But the silver lining is that a more competitive investment in export strategies would have pushed Australia into the top five countries for entrepreneurship.
