Top Takeaways from the DII Global April 2024 Update:

• New Zealand benefitted from improvements in its Heritage, Fraser and DHL Global Connectedness indicators, which pushed it from 11th to 10th in the DII Global Balanced scenario.
• Thanks to improvements in venture capital funding and its number of startups, El Salvador saw massive improvements in its Emerging Innovation rank, jumping 45 ranks. It also rose in the DII Global Balanced (+28) and in Government Quality (+19)
• Argentina also saw considerable improvements thanks to revisions in its S&P Country Credit Risk Rating outlook moving from ‘Negative’ to ‘Stable.’ Stronger venture capital investment momentum fueled rises in the DII Global (+25), Emerging Innovation (+23), and Government Quality scenarios (+17).
• Norway fell from 4th in the DII Balanced to 6th, 3rd to 6th in Government Quality and 4th to 7th in Emerging Innovation.
• New Zealand benefitted from improvements in its Heritage, Fraser and DHL Global Connectedness indicators, which pushed it from 11th to 10th in the DII Global Balanced scenario.
• Thanks to improvements in Hertiage’s and Fraser’s Economic Freedom Indexes, Denmark was able to move from 5th to 4th in the DII Balanced and from 4th to 3rd in Government Quality.
• Sweden saw gains across all DII scenarios, moving from 6th to 5th in the DII Balanced, from 7th to 6th in Emerging Innovation and 6th to 5th in Government Quality. This was due to improvements across nearly all annual metrics including DHL Connectedness Rank, Freedom House Global Freedom Scores, as well as Heritage and Fraser Economic Freedom Indices.
• Despite seeing slight improvements in Fraser’s Economic Freedom Index and DHL Global Connectedness Rank, Finland’s Heritage Economic Freedom Index score declined causing it to fall out of the DII Global Top 10 to 11th
• With healthy venture capital investment momentum and improvements to its Heritage Economic Freedom Index score, Belize was able to improve 28 ranks in the DII Balanced, 26 ranks in Emerging Innovation, and 9 ranks in Government Quality.
• Despite seeing declines in Heritage’s Economic Freedom Index and DHL’s Global Connectedness scores, strong VC investment growth and a slight improvement in Fraser’s Economic Index helped push Colombia from 98th to 71st in the DII Balanced scenario.
• Moldova climbed 24 ranks (from 88th to 64th) in the DII Global, 18 ranks in Emerging Innovation and 33 ranks in Government Quality, primarily due to strong venture capital investment momentum.
• Turkey fell from 79th to 102nd in the DII Global rankings due to declining performance across nearly all economic indicators as well as considerable weakness in local currency to bitcoin performance.
• Similar to Turkey, but with even worse local currency to bitcoin performance, Lebanon slipped from 158th to 176th in the DII Balanced, from 139th to 170th in Emerging Innovation, and from 67th to 183rd in Government Quality.
• Weighed down by declines in Fraser’s Economic Freedom Index and DHL Global Connectedness ranks, China fell from 51st in the DII Global to 53rd.
• Russia continues to steadily decline across all scenarios due to continuing poor performance across all economic and economic freedom indicators. It fell to 210th in the DII Balanced and to 212th in Government Quality.

“In Javier Milei’s first 100 days in office, one thing is clear – his approach to transforming Argentina’s economy is very different than what was seen in the past. President Milei has attracted global attention and restored faith as evidenced by Argentina’s recent credit upgrade,” said BizWorld Chief Economic Advisor Dr. Wallace Walrod. “Argentina's economy had previously been in a state of almost chronic distress for decades, characterized by hyperinflation, budget deficits, and repeated defaults on debt. When President Milei, an economist himself, took office, the economy was at a low point. Milei has already instituted key policy improvements that have led to economic stabilization, falling inflation, rising exports, and growing foreign reserves. In fact, Argentina reached a primary budget surplus in January and February 2024 for the first time since 2011. Argentina's economy holds immense potential for growth, prosperity, and economic renewal with Milei’s new ideas paving the way."

The DII Global will release monthly updates to continually reflect the latest developments in global innovation and entrepreneurship available here.

About BizWorld

BizWorld.org is a global non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA, whose mission is to enable youth from all backgrounds to unlock the power of entrepreneurship to create career opportunities, inspire self-reliance, and build confidence that drives economic prosperity globally. Founded over 25 years ago by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, BizWorld.org programs teach students real-world 21st century skills and leadership that encourage them to become responsible leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. More than 850,000 students in more than 100 countries have participated in BizWorld programs. https://www.bizworld.org/