SMEs ministry says tech startups rise as total ventures fall

The SMEs ministry said Thursday that technology-based startups rose 14.2 percent in the first half of 2026, even as the total number of new ventures fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier.

New business registrations totaled 565,640 for the January-to-June period. The decline was driven primarily by contractions in wholesale and retail trade, which dropped 10.7 percent, and the transportation and warehousing sector, which decreased 5.8 percent. Personal services also saw a reduction of 3.8 percent.

Conversely, the information and communications industry surged 59.4 percent, leading gains alongside professional, scientific and technical services, which grew 6.9 percent, and education services, which rose 4.4 percent. This shift pushed the share of technology-based startups to 21.8 percent of all new businesses, a 3.0 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Monthly figures indicated growth only in January, up 18.7 percent, and March, up 2.8 percent, while registrations fell year-on-year from April through June.

Entrepreneurship declined across all age groups except for those aged 60 and older, who recorded a 2.4 percent increase. Startups among those under 30 fell 3.9 percent, followed by decreases of 3.2 percent for people in their 40s, 2.3 percent for those in their 30s, and 0.8 percent for individuals in their 50s.