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Earlier this year, the Financial Times published a second ranking of the best support schemes for new businesses across Europe, with research partners Statista and colleagues from Start-up Media Brand winning Sifted.
It was primarily based on the evaluation of incubator and accelerator schemes by the graduates who participated in them, recommendations from investors and entrepreneurs, and the financial performance of the most successful startups they supported.
Interactive Rankings: Major Startup Hubs in Europe
Click here to view the 2025 rankings of top business incubator and accelerator programs based on alumni feedback and customize the table according to your priorities
Our latest rankings featured 150 hubs in 25 countries. It was accompanied by special report profiling schemes in Germany, including Germany, Spain, France and the UK. It works to show how the hub is responding to changes in the political and economic environment and to take advantage of the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.
However, in this fast moving area, the latest information is essential, so we are now starting work with the third edition of the Startup Hub Rankings.
If you are a representative of a startup incubator or accelerator program, please register the program details and tell us how it worked. Click this link on the online registration form and it will only take a few minutes to complete. The registration period will run until August 15th.
They then receive specific research links that they can share with their alumni, allowing them to evaluate the program. Please expect to contact you about the Alumni Survey immediately after registration. The deadline for ratings for graduates is September 21st.
Or, if you are an investor, advisor, venture capitalist, or business angel, let us know about the incubators and accelerators you know, and how much you recommend them. You can do this by clicking on this link and then clicking on the link to a short online survey. Your answer is not due to you.
As part of a special report on FT Newspaper and online at FT.com, we will be releasing the third annual ranking of Top Top Startup Hubs in March 2026.
Some of the factors that can be incorporated into the ranking process include:
Mentoring and training provided
Infrastructure, office, lab, software, etc.
Legal support
Business Development Advice
Networking opportunities
Funding opportunities
For more information about this research project, please visit the Statista information page at https://www.statista.com/page/start-up-hubs.
Alternatively, if you would like to contact us to ask any specific questions, please email Startup-hubs-eu@statista.com. A Statista colleague will answer.
Sifted is an important friend of the emerging European communities. Backed by the Financial Times, we aim to become gate openers, connectors and trustworthy intermediaries, making our ecosystem a more fair and successful place.
Combining unique data with quality reporting and analysis, it provides insights to founders, investors and startup operators that you won’t find anywhere else. We know Startup Europe because we are Startup Europe.
Click here to see more details and become a member.
