How Malta is Becoming a Startup Powerhouse

Malta is the smallest member of the European Union and with a population of around half a million, you might think that its startup industry is extremely limited. Yet, by taking a closer look at it, we can see that there’s a lot of work being done to make it a powerhouse for startups.
 

Success in the iGaming Industry

 
The Malta Gaming Authority is one of the world’s leading regulatory authorities for gambling games. Established in 2001, it was one of the first authorities to regulate the growing online casino industry. This has helped Malta to become a hub for the gambling industry, with many casino operators and game developers deciding to have their bases there.

A good example comes from Nolimit City, which has its headquarters in Malta as well as offices in Sweden and India. With lots of online slot games now available at the top casinos, we can see new releases from Nolimit City including Gluttony, which follows on from their earlier release titled Whacked. A look at the live dealer games reveals several titles from Evolution, who have a base in Malta as well as operating in other countries.
 

How Is Malta Helping Their Startups?

 
This look at how the economy is growing in Malta explains that robust regulation and a pool of talented workers are among the key factors driving the country forward and keeping its unemployment level among the lowest in Europe. With unemployment rates of less than 3%, only Czechia and Poland are currently better in this respect.
 

Malta Enterprise is the country’s agency that promotes startups. They have financial packages designed to help startups take their first steps and then start to grow on a sustainable basis. Earlier this year, they also announced the launch of the country’s Startup Residence Scheme, which gives entrepreneurs access to a three-year residency visa when they make an investment of €25,000 in their new business in Malta.
 
Examples of the most interesting startups in Malta include Binderr, which was founded in 2020 and works with companies across Europe to help them transform their digital corporate services. Their main tasks are to help businesses streamline their workflow and ensure compliance, with €2 million in funding already secured to help the company grow.
 
Since the metaverse is currently a subject attracting a lot of attention, the Metaverse Architects startup in Malta is another company that we should be hearing more about in the near future. This new business aims to bring brands to life in the virtual world by creating NFTs and other metaverse projects. They raised funding in 2022 but the amount wasn’t disclosed.
 
With other startups such as Abe Health and Woowbe also making the news in recent times, there are clear signs that Malta is starting to generate a strong startup culture across various industries. Their strength in regulating iGaming should ensure that this remains one of Malta’s biggest industries, but other areas are developing quickly to turn this into a startup location to be aware of.