46 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / August 2019START IT UP ECOSYSTEM
by ABY SAM THOMAS
ENTERPRISE
ISLAND
An exploration of the
business ecosystem in MaltaF
irst things first: sure, Malta may not be the first
country one would think of when considering
a location to start or grow a business in
Europe- but there is an argument to be made
that this factor by itself is a good enough
reason to consider this Mediterranean island nation
as a place to invest in when following through on
one’s entrepreneurial dreams. For those of us in the
UAE, a look at the Maltese government’s initiatives in
enabling a pro-business environment within its borders
may cause some feelings of déjà vu- much like our
nation, Malta may well be a small country, but that
has certainly not stopped it from dreaming big when
it comes to driving its economy ahead. The country’s
past serves it well in this regard: Malta has been knownfor being a hub for trading and commerce throughout
its history, and while it may well be one of the smallest
economies within the European Union (EU) today, it is
also regarded as being one of its most resilient, with
the country recording an annual GDP growth of around
6% in the last couple of years. While it may be primarily
regarded as a resplendent tourism destination by
most of us, it’s also worth noting that the country has
been characterized as “an advanced economy” by the
International Monetary Fund, “a high-income country”
by the World Bank, and “an innovation-driven economy”
by the World Economic Forum- all of these factors just
bolster the notion of progressiveness that Malta seeks
to not just project, but also actively work on realizing it
in its business landscape. >>>