10 Surprising Startup Hubs Around the World

by ZOË HENRY ZOË HENRY IS A STAFF REPORTER AT INC. AND A GRADUATE OF BROWN UNIVERSITY. SHE LIVES IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. @ZOELAHENRY REPORTER, INC.@ZOELAHENRY

It takes a village.

A strong startup ecosystem requires tech talent, a wealth of resources (especially when the national economy stagnates), and a few success stories to show the way. Here are some surprising places where those requirements are coming together.

Stockholm, Sweden

Thanks to schools like the Royal Institute of Technology, tech talent now makes up 20% of the workforce.
Biggest Swedish success stories: Spotify, Skype, SoundCloud

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The city has affordable tech talent, one of the best engineering schools in Latin America, and rising levels of VC funding.
Biggest success stories: Mercadolibre, Zupcat    

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi has high mobile and Internet penetration and a robust mobile banking system that's key for digital startups.
Biggest success story: M-Farm, a startup that gives  farmers  crop prices via text 

São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo ranks as the No. 12 startup ecosystem worldwide, which is why Silicon Valley VC firms, including Redpoint Ventures, are investing locally.
Biggest success stories: EasyTaxi, Dafiti

Bangalore, India

Bangalore has a huge, mobile-savvy population and attracted $2.3 billion in VC money last year.
Biggest success stories: Flipkart, FreshMenu    

Columbus, Ohio

Venture capital is on the rise: In the first half of 2015, the city's startups attracted $32.8 million, up from $16.3 in 2011.
Biggest success story: Fast-growing health care startups like CoverMyMeds

Reykjavik, Iceland

The city of just 200,000 is home to VC firms like Bru Venture Capital, and incubators  including Innovation Iceland and Startup Reykjavik. 
Biggest success stories: Audur Capital, Modio

Montréal, Quebec

The city boasts favorable tax policies, comparatively low rents, and a strong video gaming industry. Bilingual resources abound, including Prêt à Entreprendre and Startup Canada.
Biggest success story: PasswordBox 

Alpharetta, Georgia

It's a hub for payments startups that benefit from resources like the Alpharetta Technology Commission, and a robust fiber-optic network.
Biggest success story: Priority Payment Systems

Lagos, Nigeria

Internet penetration is on the rise, opening up opportunity for e-commerce ventures. Lagos hosts the annual African DEMO conference, and the Wennovation Hub incubator. 
Biggest success stories:  Hotels.ng,

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