Iceland review - 2013, Page 108

106 ICELAND REVIEW
Reykjavík: The Startup City
Invest
In Iceland
Situated on the beautiful Faxaflói Bay, sur-
rounded by mountains, and within an hour’s
drive of dozens of natural wonders includ-
ing lava fields, hot springs, waterfalls and geysers,
Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík is not only inspiring
for its proximity to pristine nature, but also for its
world-renowned approach to sustainability and the
vibrant creativity and industry that flourishes here.
With a well-educated and highly-skilled workforce,
affordable green energy and tremendous investment
and business accelerator opportunities, Reykjavík
is quickly gaining a reputation as a Startup City, an
incubator for burgeoning and globally-facing entre-
preneurial ventures.
Reykjavík’s lively cultural scene exists side by
side with its thriving startup community and the
city’s downtown area serves as an energetic hub for
businesses, restaurants, bars, museums, cultural
centers and government offices. The city nurtures
its growing entrepreneurial culture by providing a
cost-competitive environment, world class technical
infrastructure, relatively low corporate taxes (20 per-
cent), and investment and development assistance.
Startup companies enjoy being located in a city
which is the seat of government and has an interna-
tional presence, while also having short commuting
times and offering a chance to become a big fish in
a small pond before heading out to a larger market.
Startups are further supported by mentorship
and seed stage investment organizations, such as
Innovation Iceland and Startup Reykjavík. The Klak
Innovation Center is one of several active entrepre-
neurial education groups and business accelerators,
and entrepreneurs from around the world gather for
annual Startup Iceland and SeedForum Investment
conferences.
The city’s Head of Economic Development Óli Örn
Eiríksson can call to mind dozens of entrepreneurial
success stories which have grown out of Reykjavík,
not least deCODE, a world leader in genetic research
which was purchased by the American biopharma-
ceutical company Amgen in 2012, Lazytown which
was acquired by Turner Broadcasting for USD 21
million. Or CLARA, a software company which was
developed by students at the University of Iceland
and bought by Jive Technologies for USD 9 million
this year.
Óli Örn also points to innovative companies such
as Advania, verne Global and GreenQloud, which
utilize the ample geothermal and hydro power
sources available just outside of Reykjavík in order
to provide cost-effective and renewably powered
data storage solutions for their customers around
the world. Plans to expand the data storage indus-
try are already in place: the city has partnered with
Reykjavík Energy to develop the Reykjavík Data
Center Park at Esjumelar, five miles outside the capi-
tal. The hope is that this site will one day be home to