The Maltese entrepreneurship ecosystem : an exploratory study

Abstract

Malta’s National ICT Strategy 2004-2006 boldly asserts that ‘even Malta can be a silicon valley’ (MITI, 2004: 42). The reference, of course, is the technology-oriented entrepreneurship ecosystem in San Francisco (USA), globally recognised as the ‘Silicon Valley’. Since then, did Malta develop into a similar ecosystem for high-growth, technology-driven ventures? This paper provides some answers through an exploration of Malta’s entrepreneurship landscape and an examination of its state-of-play, strengths and weaknesses. Drawing from Farrugia (2017), this paper presents a qualitative case study exploring whether Malta is indeed home to a similar entrepreneurship ecosystem. The study adopts a deductive approach to test out the theory of entrepreneurship ecosystems in Malta.