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  • Writer's pictureRigzom Wangchuk

WEEK 1: SIX FACTS ABOUT FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS

Updated: Nov 10, 2021



1. Globally, only 1 in 3 businesses are owned by women. [1]

This rate varies across and within regions. Latin America & Caribbean have the highest proportion of female entrepreneurs.


2. Female entrepreneurs are more likely to operate in the informal sector and be home-based. [2]

Worldwide, at least a third of women in the non-agricultural labor force are self-employed in the informal sector; in Africa, this figure is 64%. Women-owned businesses tend to be informal, home-based and concentrated in the areas of small-scale entrepreneurship and traditional sectors, which primarily includes retail and service.

Operating from the home allows women to satisfy competing demands for their time as they balance a disproportionate share of housework and childcare responsibilities. But social norms are at play as well. In societies where women are expected to stay in the home, or where traveling outside the home can be dangerous, women have no choice but to operate these types of businesses.


3. Women are more likely to be solo entrepreneurs i.e. operating on their own without co-founders or employees.[3]

According to the GEM Consortium, 36.4% of women globally work as solo entrepreneurs compared to 26.9% of men. Brazil has the highest percentage of women solo entrepreneurs (83%). Persistence of solo entrepreneurship is an indicator of barriers to business growth and expansion.


4. Female-led SMEs consistently report lower average profits and lower productive then male-led SMEs. [4]

Additionally, overtime, women-led enterprises have been more likely to fail and less likely to grow rapidly.


5. Men are more likely to borrow and save to start, operate, and expand businesses than women. [1]

The Findex survey in 2017 shows that men are more likely to borrow and save to start, operate, and expand businesses than women. Globally, men are 3% and 6% more likely to borrow and save for business purposes than women.



6. Women-led SMEs were disproportionately affected and were more likely to close down across all regions during the first year of the pandemic. [4]

A large-scale cross-country Facebook, World Bank, and OECD repeat cross-sectional study reported a 26% business closure rate among both male- and female-owned businesses globally in end-May 2020, and a 70% drop in revenue.This has potential long-term implications for women’s work and economic empowerment.




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