The cost of launching a startup or starting a business in every country around the world

Even though the cost of launching a startup continues to go down because founders no longer need to spend millions of dollars on expensive software as part of the upfront/CAPEX cost, founders still face many other challenges.

The hardest part about running a startup or any business is not only about finding customers, it’s also about getting one started. Startup founders and new business owners have to shell out for approvals, licenses, permits, and much more. These processes are not just time-consuming but can also be quite expensive depending on where in the world you’re opening your business.

With the cost of living continues to increase here in the United States, many startup founders and entrepreneurs are thinking of relocating to places like South America, East Asia, and other countries where the cost of living and starting a business is lower. But have you ever thought about how much it costs to start a business in any of these countries?

Today, we want to share with you the great work the team at BusinessFinancing.co.uk has done. After many months of research, they have collated the costs involved in starting a new business in 190 countries and then mapped the results.

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Below are the major highlights of their findings:

• The United Arab Emirates is the most expensive country to establish a business, with start-up costs of $7,443.51.
• There are no fees to start a business in Rwanda for the first two years, and in Slovenia the only ‘cost’ is a capital requirement of €7,500 with no fees.
• Starting a new business is least affordable in Congo, where $1,232 in fees equates to 2,554% of the average monthly income.
• In Kazakhstan it takes just 2% of the average monthly income ($12 against $531) to start a business.

Below is the map of the affordability for each country.

Low wages and substantial fees make it a challenge to start a business in much of Africa. The average monthly pay in Congo is just shy of $50, putting the $1,232.08 in start-up fees out of reach for most independent entrepreneurs. A similar – though not quite so drastic – disparity exists in the Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali, as well as further afield in Haiti, Yemen, and Syria. Suriname in South America has slightly higher wages, but higher fees put Surinamese start-ups in a similar position.

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