Fostering innovation ecosystem in Mongolia

Abstract

“Mongolia is landlocked but not mindlocked.” The wise words of economist and columnist Jargal De Facto have immensely reflected the current situation of technological innovation and entrepreneurship development in Mongolia. Mongolia is the 135th largest economy in the world with a GDP of 14.233 billion dollars. As for the nation with a unique history and a nomadic lifestyle, Mongolia has traditionally been reliant on the two major sectors for all its state existence which are agriculture and animal husbandry. Shortly after the declaration of democracy, several abundant natural resource deposits were found in the southern part of Mongolia known as the “Gobi Area”, thus mining immediately became one of the top priority sectors for the Mongolian economy. At present, heavy industry including the mining sector is the major sector that contributes to GDP accounts for 38.2%, secondly service sector, retail trade 15%, and followed by agriculture 12.06%. However, more than half percent of the entire population is a vibrant youth aged around 18-35 years having a different and brighter vision to diversify Mongolia’s economy. To reduce heavy dependence on the volatile mineral market and empower to nurture an effective innovation ecosystem to sustain employment opportunities, competitiveness, and generate innovation-oriented startups. This paper attempted to describe the current overview of the Mongolian Innovation Ecosystem by reviewing relevant policy documents, laws and regulations, articles, reports, and interviewing relevant officials of the ecosystem component.