The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), evaluates innovation performance across 133 economies worldwide. This year, GII 2024 focuses on the potential of social entrepreneurship, a sector increasingly recognized for addressing critical social and environmental issues.
Despite recent economic slowdowns and reduced venture capital, innovation investments, and R&D spending, innovation efforts remain resilient in several fields, including digital and deep science domains such as genome sequencing, computing power, and electric vehicles. Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States hold the top three spots, a position they have maintained consistently, with Singapore and the United Kingdom rounding out the top five. The Index also emphasizes substantial progress among emerging economies: China, India, Brazil, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have shown the most improvement over the last decade, with China leading middle-income nations, approaching the top 10 globally.
Innovation trends in 2023 reveal a decline in global R&D expenditure and venture capital funding, affecting especially regions like Africa and Latin America. Following strong growth in 2020-2022, global R&D saw a reduction in growth rate, while venture capital investments dropped sharply by nearly 40% over 2022-2023. A corresponding decrease in scientific publications and international patent filings signals a challenging environment for innovation investment. However, despite economic headwinds, technological progress and adoption continued across several key sectors.
Particularly notable are advances in genome sequencing, computing power, and electric batteries. Technology adoption also grew, with significant increases in 5G, robotics, and electric vehicles. On the other hand, adoption rates for technologies like safe sanitation and cancer radiotherapy show slower progress. Overall, while innovation has adapted to a more challenging financial climate, the current innovation ecosystem is operating below optimal levels, with high potential in green technologies still unrealized.
GII 2024 ranks countries across income levels and regions, identifying leaders in innovation. Among high-income economies, Switzerland continues to rank first globally, followed by Sweden and the United States. Singapore, South Korea, and China are prominent innovation leaders in East Asia, with China leading in the upper-middle-income group, and India and the Philippines performing strongly in the lower-middle-income bracket. Rwanda and Madagascar lead in the low-income group. Importantly, middle-income economies such as Indonesia, Turkey, and the Philippines have risen significantly, indicating strong momentum in innovation from emerging markets. For instance, China is now the only middle-income economy in the top 30 and shows a steady approach toward the top 10.
Social entrepreneurship, GII 2024’s special theme, highlights the role of innovation in addressing societal issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, and health care gaps. Social enterprises—estimated to number between 10-11 million globally and representing a $2 trillion economic contribution—create innovative solutions with market-based models that address societal challenges. Examples include Bandhu Tech in India, which leverages AI for housing solutions for migrant workers, and Green Bio Energy in Uganda, which produces eco-friendly fuel. These enterprises, which combine commercial goals with positive societal impact, offer promising models for innovation that traditional business frameworks often overlook.
Social entrepreneurs use different models to deliver impact. Customer-focused models aim to reach underserved populations, employee-focused models support marginalized groups through employment, product-focused models design sustainable offerings, and ecosystem-focused models work across sectors to enable systemic change. Social enterprises face unique challenges, such as navigating different legal frameworks and balancing profit with social impact, all while innovating within constrained resources. Often operating on the margins of the traditional innovation ecosystem, social enterprises need tailored support to flourish. GII 2024 recommends policy reforms that include regulatory improvements, education and training, data collection, and network-building to promote innovation-led social change.
The Global Innovation Tracker provides an overview of current trends, spotlighting four key stages in the innovation cycle: (1) science and innovation investment, (2) technological progress, (3) technology adoption, and (4) the socioeconomic impact of innovation. While scientific publications and corporate R&D expenditure grew from 2020 to 2022, they experienced a downturn in 2023, with particularly steep declines in venture capital. International patent filings, a measure of innovative output, declined by 1.8%, the first decline in this indicator since 2009. Environmental progress remains a critical concern, as global temperatures rise and carbon emissions resume growth.
Indicators like labour productivity, poverty reduction, and life expectancy are beginning to improve again, but they have not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The report underscores the need for further financial support to fuel both technological and social innovation.
In terms of science and technology (S&T) clusters, the world’s largest S&T clusters are in East Asia, led by Tokyo-Yokohama, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, and Beijing. Cambridge in the United Kingdom and San Jose-San Francisco in the United States are the most S&T-intensive clusters by population density. While China leads with 26 clusters in the top 100, regions like Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia show growth, though they continue to focus more on scientific output than on patenting activities.
The GII 2024 report concludes with policy recommendations to foster social entrepreneurship and maximize its impact on innovation. Suggested measures include supportive legal environments, targeted education programs, and enhanced data collection. Governments, the private sector, and academia are encouraged to collaborate to enable social enterprises to access funding, reach underserved communities, and integrate into broader innovation ecosystems. The report advocates for social enterprises to engage more deeply in R&D and patenting activities, to embed themselves within existing innovation networks. Ultimately, GII 2024 positions social entrepreneurship as a transformative force capable of addressing global challenges by merging business innovation with social objectives.
Key Points
- GII 2024 ranks innovation across 133 economies, focusing on social entrepreneurship’s potential.
- Innovation investment downturn: R&D spending and venture capital declined in 2023.
- Top innovators: Switzerland, Sweden, the U.S., with China leading middle-income countries.
- Emerging economies: China, India, Turkey, and Brazil show strong upward mobility.
- Social entrepreneurship: Addresses societal issues with market-based models; needs policy support.
- Technology adoption growth: Advances in 5G, robotics, electric vehicles, but challenges in green tech.
- S&T Clusters: East Asia leads; Cambridge and San Jose are the most S&T-intensive.
- Policy recommendations: Supportive legal frameworks, education, financing, data collection to boost social enterprise impact.
GII 2024 emphasizes global innovation trends, noting a decline in funding but sustained progress in technological adoption. Leaders like Switzerland and the U.S. maintain top ranks, with middle-income countries like China and India making substantial strides. Highlighting social entrepreneurship, the report urges policy support and collaboration to harness social enterprises’ potential in solving critical societal challenges.
Read the full report: Global Innovation Index 2024
Graphs and pictures: WIPO
