BizWorld Updates Monthly Draper Innovation Index Global
Nations Compete to Land in Top Ten of Best Places Globally
to Launch a Startup

Argentina, Paraguay, and Honduras Climb the DII Global
El Salvador and Ecuador Fall
Australia and Singapore Continue to Battle for 7th Place
Germany Breaks into Top 10, New Zealand Falls Out
Anguilla, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia See Largest Declines
Thailand, Brazil, Mexico Rise
Austria Slips to 20th, Japan, France, and Iceland Inch Up

Oakland, California – BizWorld announces its April 2025 update to the Draper Innovation Index Global (DII Global), which evaluates each nation’s ability to develop, support, and retain entrepreneurs, innovators, startups, and investors. First published in 2021, the DII Global provides the most well-rounded and up-to-date look at entrepreneurial environments across the globe.

“Since we began the DII Global, Latin American countries have implemented some of the world’s most innovative economic policies,” said BizWorld Founder Tim Draper. “In fact, as seen in this month’s rankings, these economic experiments are paying off. Two countries, Paraguay and Honduras, rose across all three DII scenarios this month. The Próspera Zone for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE) in Honduras is case in point. Próspera is the world’s fastest growing startup city.
Just last month, Honduras and The World Bank announced a $145 million project to increase tax transparency, attract investment, and promote sustainable development. Honduras is on an upswing, and this and other initiatives underway such as a partnership with Coinbase should lead to future jumps in our rankings.”

Top Takeaways from the DII Global April 2025 Update

• Thanks to a significant rise in recent venture capital AI investments, Argentina rose from 117^th to 114^th.
• Paraguay rose across all three DII Global scenarios due to growing AI venture capital investment and solid currency performance.
• Honduras also rose across all three scenarios due to a stable Democracy Index and S&P 500 Outlook as well as recent economic growth and startup activity driven by Próspera.
• Both El Salvador (144^th)and Ecuador (128^th) fell by four places due to a decline in their Democracy Index scores.
• Australia overtook Singapore (8^th) for 7^th place due to an improving Q1 2025 World Uncertainly Index score, versus a decline in Singapore’s score.
• Germany broke into the DII Global Top Ten despite weaker AI/Machine Learning-related investment on the strength of its Democracy Index reading and comparatively stronger currency to bitcoin performance.
• As Germany rose, weaker currency performance, New Zealand’s weak currency performance caused it to slip from 10^th to 11^th.
• Netherlands was also pushed lower, from 11^th to 12^th, as growth in AI/Machine Learning investments failed to meaningfully offset a rising World Uncertainty Index.  
• Anguilla fell from 115^th place to 133^rd due to poor currency performance.
• Kyrgyzstan saw the largest monthly decline; it fell by 16 places due to a declining Democracy Index score and weaker currency performance. Georgia fell by 15 places for the same reasons.
• Improving from 105^th to 93^rd in the DII Global and from 85^th to 71^st in Emerging Innovation, Thailand saw a sizeable improvement in AI/Machine Learning venture capital investments.
• Comparatively stronger currency performance combined with a slight increase in AI venture capital investments helped push Brazil up from 92^nd to 83^rd in the DII Global.
• Mexico also saw its DII Global rank improve by 9 places, from 106^th to 97^th, thanks to a signficiant improvement in its Democracy Index.
• Iceland saw a small recovery from its recent declines in the DII Global, inching up to19^th, due to currency performance and improvements in AI/Machine Learning venture capital investments.
• Austria fell from 17^th place to 20^th despite a considerable increase in AI/Machine Learning investments.
• Japan rose from 18^th place to 17^th due to a meaningful improvement in its Democracy Index score and stronger currency performance relative to bitcoin.
• France also rose by one place – from 19^th place to 18^th – due to an improvement in its World Uncertainty index score.

“Paraguay’s improved ranking in this month’s DII Global index reflect its strong economic growth in recent years,” said BizWorld Chief Economic Advisor Dr. Wallace Walrod. “According to the World Bank, its economy grew by 5 percent in 2023 and by 4.2 percent in 2024. Looking forward, Paraguay has many of the characteristics necessary to continue this progress and continue its climb up the DII Global ranks: economic stability, low taxes, prudent fiscal policies, free markets, relatively low levels of government regulation, and efforts to attract foreign investment.”

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/