The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is part of the United Nations, has named Switzerland as the most innovative country on Earth for the 14th time in a row in its most recent Global Innovation Index. It took first place in scientific, technological, and creative services. Switzerland was also in the top 5 for all of the other study criteria except for infrastructure, for which it achieved seventh place.
Sweden and the USA claimed second and third place. They were followed by Singapore, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. In terms of the total number of indicators in first place, Singapore leads the world (14 out of 78), in front of the USA (9) and China (8). Switzerland came in fourth place with three leading positions: university-industry R&D collaboration, intellectual property payments and receipts, and PCT patents.
The 31 top economies are all attributed to the group of countries with a high income with one exception: China in 11th place is in the group of countries with upper middle income. The total global venture capital provided decreased by 36 percent in 2022 versus the prior year and in 2023 by a further 39 percent. Research and development spending increased by 3 percent in 2023.
The subject of social entrepreneurship was chosen as the focus of this year’s Global Innovation Index. According to the study, this provides “a transformative approach to addressing some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges by merging the innovative capacity of business with the altruistic goals of the social sector.” It was determined that Switzerland ranks ninth for the proportion of social enterprises among early-stage startups, making it the highest-placed European country.
WeRobotics is listed as an example of a valuable social enterprise. The not-for-profit company with headquarters in Geneva helps communities with civil drones, data, and artificial intelligence technologies. In 2023, it operated a total of 41 independent Flying Labs across the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. ce/mm
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