Shopify’s ecommerce entrepreneurs in Singapore drive nearly S$2 billion in economic activity

Ecommerce is fast becoming a key driver of Singapore’s economic growth, contributing nearly $2 billion to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and over $1 billion in exports in 2022. This was revealed in the beta launch of the Shopify Entrepreneurship Index, a pulse check report that measures the economic impact of entrepreneurs in a given country’s economy.

Results from 40 countries ranked globally revealed that Singapore’s export contributions were the highest among ASEAN markets, which include Indonesia and Vietnam. In addition, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country among the top 20 of the world’s most entrepreneurial countries, a ranking that is calculated on a variety of factors, including GDP impact, business activity impact, jobs supported, and exports generated by millions of entrepreneurs on Shopify.

The Shopify Entrepreneurship Index is a new study in partnership with Deloitte using data on the millions of merchants in Shopify’s ecosystem and public data from the IMF, OECD and World Bank. To create the ranking, the GDP impact, business activity, jobs supported, and exports generated by entrepreneurs are compared with the national values of each country.

Countries were also rated on the impact entrepreneurs in Shopify’s ecosystem have on job creation. The Shopify Entrepreneurship Index highlights that Singaporean entrepreneurs on Shopify have supported over 64,000 jobs, up 14.1% from 2021. Globally, the number of jobs supported by the country’s entrepreneurs totalled 5.2 million.

“With high internet penetration and a highly aware population of digital consumers, Singapore has reached a new growth era of ecommerce. Despite global economic uncertainty, it’s encouraging to see that the spirit of entrepreneurship, which the nation was built on, continues to thrive in Singapore,” said Bharati Balakrishnan, Country Head & Director of Shopify Southeast Asia and India.

“Backed by progressive government initiatives to develop ecommerce capabilities, such as the expansion of 5G networks by 2025, Singaporean entrepreneurs in Shopify’s ecosystem are contributing positively to their communities and the economy. These factors place the city-state in a strong position to achieve its targets of becoming a regional and global ecommerce hub,” she said.

Entrepreneurship a driving force in Singapore 

Singapore’s success has, in part, been enabled by several government initiatives and grants to support the ambitions of entrepreneurs, such as the Enterprise Development Grant to grow and transform Singapore-owned businesses and the Operation & Technology Roadmap to innovate and digitalise business.

Recognised as one of the best places to launch a business, Singapore’s entrepreneur-friendly policies, such as its online business registration system, allow entrepreneurs to set up a company in just a few hours. Shopify entrepreneur Jenny Kwang, founder of J&CO Jewellery, began crafting and selling jewellery as a hobby in 2014; today, the company ships up to 10,000 orders worldwide each month. Singaporean entrepreneurs in Shopify’s ecosystem now lead in Southeast Asia, contributing to double-digit growth of GDP impact, jobs supported, and exports across the board.

“Entrepreneurs and small businesses are significant contributors to the local economy. Through a more democratised and participatory approach to ecommerce, it’s clear that Shopify entrepreneurs in the region are using digital platforms not only to scale but bring significant benefits such as job creation and export value,” said Balakrishnan.

This is the beta version of the Index. In the future, Shopify will share more data aimed to inspire smart policies and give leaders the insights they need to harness the power of entrepreneurship.

Further insight from the data shows:

• Globally the USA ranks first, followed by Lithuania and Romania.
• Regionally, the Asia Pacific region dominates the Index with four countries in the top 10 — Australia, China, Hong Kong and Japan — and ten countries in the top 40.
• Combined, Shopify entrepreneurs around the world supported 5.2 million jobs (+8.3% from 2021), generated $27.7 billion USD of exports (+7%), contributed $229.3 billion USD to GDP (+8.8%) and created $490.5 billion USD in economic activity (+8.6%).
• Vietnam saw the second-highest number of jobs supported (471,474) behind the US.
• Australia led the ranking for Asia Pacific, ranked 6th globally, just behind the US and UK, and has the third-highest GDP impact from entrepreneurs at $17.7 billion AUD.
• Hong Kong significantly punched above its weight, ranking 9th, and merchant impact on GDP grew 17.8%.

Japan is Asia’s success story, ranked 10th in the Index with the impact of Shopify entrepreneurs up across every metric: exports increased 29%, business activity and jobs supported are up 24%, and GDP impact is up 23%.