European entrepreneurs have different motivations to their counterparts in the US and Middle East, a new survey suggests.
A new report published by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit shows that 46% of European entrepreneurs set up on their own to be their own boss while for those in the US, money is the key driver.
Only 29% of European entrepreneurs said that the ability to make large sums of money was the most important benefit of enterprise.
Gerard Aquilina, vice chairman of Barclays Wealth commented: “The public perception of entrepreneurs has often been closely associated with money, but the findings of this study paint a very different picture. Independence and the ability to innovate are deemed far more important than creating large sums of money.”
Motivations were different again for entrepreneurs in the Middle East and Africa – which was identified as the most improved region for enterprise – where the ability to adapt to red tape and government regulation was seen as the biggest benefit of being an entrepreneur.
Some 41% of entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region said that the ability to create new products and services was their strongest motivation.
The report also revealed that the Middle East and Africa is the fastest improving region for entrepreneurship over the last 10 years, followed by the Asia Pacific. North America and Europe were ranked third and fourth respectively.
© Crimson Business Ltd., 2008