New start-ups aged 5-years old or younger have been estimated to account for around 20% of employment and create almost half of new jobs in OECD countries. Meanwhile, scale-ups typically contribute as much as half of all new jobs created by SMEs. Governments offer a range of supports to encourage the development of start-ups and scale-ups, from entrepreneurship education and training to entrepreneurial finance and advice, incubation and acceleration, and mentoring for entrepreneurs. This work examines the design and implementation of these programmes, including who to target and which policy approaches are the most effective.

The OECD undertakes assessments of start-up and scale-up policy in specific countries, and produces thematic reports, capacity building seminars and expert workshops on key issues and policy areas. The work includes topics such as business incubation and acceleration, business advice and mentoring, public procurement for innovation, and cluster and sector support.