Whether you’re just getting started or looking to grow your existing business, Toronto provides the ultimate environment for entrepreneurs and tech leaders: an enviable quality of life, a deep talent pool and a competitive business climate. In addition, a wide range of resources are available to support entrepreneurs.
Setting up business in Toronto means being in the heart of a robust economy that is increasingly attractive to global brands such as Netflix, Uber and Microsoft as well as successful homegrown ventures like Wealthsimple, Swyft and Wattpad.
Small business owners can access a diverse cluster of business incubators and accelerators that offer a range of services and strategic partnerships to support sectors from technology and life sciences to food and beverage manufacturing, fashion, design and music. These organizations have helped some of North America’s leading start-ups grow by connecting them with capital, talent and professional development.
In the last decade, the number of accelerators and incubators has greatly increased, with 17 arriving since 2015 alone. The 2021 report A City of Entrepreneurs: Building a City of Innovation, which surveyed 36 of these hubs, reveals a thriving community. Collectively, the surveyed hubs support more than 5,000 ventures in software and creative industries as well as in burgeoning fields like cleantech, green construction and advanced manufacturing.
Toronto is Canada’s leading tech ecosystem, and the third-largest tech hub in North America. It is home to more tech workers than Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C., trailing only New York and Silicon Valley, according to CBRE, a real estate company that tracks tech hiring. The area has the highest concentration of AI startups in the world, including genetic therapy company Deep Genomics and AI chip manufacturer Tenstorrent.
Toronto is one of the most livable and competitive cities in the world as demonstrated by various international rankings and reports. For example:
Toronto is consistently ranked as one of the most diverse cities in the world. More than half of Toronto’s population is made up of residents born outside of Canada, and more than 190 languages are spoken in the city. This intersection of people and talent has made Toronto a preeminent place for startups to develop, prosper and grow.