The UAE and Bahrain have ranked among the 100 top destinations for startups around the world, according to a new study by StartupBlink. The research firm’s annual Startup Ecosystem Rankings Report calculates a score for each country based on tens of thousands of data points gathered from more than 50,000 members working as venture capitalists, founders, and employees of small firms.

In this year’s rankings, the UAE came in at 43rd, while Bahrain jumped 20 places to 75th, ranked first and second respectively in the GCC. Riyadh also jumped 213 points to rank 281 globally. The report praised Bahrain’s “collaborative startup community” and “framework of legal and support systems for startups and entrepreneurs”. Initiatives including StartUp Bahrain, Tamkeen and Bahrain FinTech Bay were also highlighted — as well as favorable tax conditions and recent record investment highs.

The research also mentioned several Bahrain-based startups such as Rain, the first licensed cryptocurrency platform, and Skiplino — a cloud-based queue management system that allows companies to intelligently manage social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source Credit: Al Khaleej Today