Did you know?

Did you know Finland and The Netherlands have different cultures when it comes to failure in entrepreneurship? According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the fear of failure when starting a business is more prevalent in Finland than in The Netherlands. 

In Finland (2021), while a significant 62% of people saw good business opportunities (well above the 54.76% global average), the fear of failure was also higher at 44.53% (global average 42.82%). Interestingly, only 42.75% of Finns felt they had the capabilities to start a business, significantly lower than the global average of 57.86%. This suggests a gap between seeing potential and feeling equipped to act on it, potentially contributing to that higher fear of failure. 

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, in both 2022 (33.76%) and 2023 (40.29%), the fear of failure was notably lower than the global average (44.63%). Similar to Finland, a large percentage of Dutch individuals saw good opportunities (61.62% in 2022 and 67.37% in 2023, both above the global average of 56.40%). However, the feeling of having the necessary capabilities for starting a business was also lower than the global average (42.19% in 2022 and 40.29% in 2023, compared to 60.94% globally).

Both nations see opportunities, yet their populations express a lower sense of their own capabilities compared to the global average. However, this translates into a higher fear of failure in Finland, while the Netherlands generally exhibits a lower fear. 

Moreover, in both countries, this feeling of fear is stronger for women, suggesting a gender inequality in how confident men and women feel about starting a business.

For more information, you can visit these sources:

GEM

Still untapped entrepreneurial potential in Finland, the report shows – the fear of failure prevents starting a company 

Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Potential in Finland and Reflecting Its Underlying Causes 

The Dutch entrepreneurship paradox: why does the Dutch scaleup ecosystem succeed less than it could? 

Start Thinking bigger about entrepreneurship in The Netherlands 

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