Women’s startup activity has the potential grow with access to funding and policy support, according … [+] to Aileen Ionescu-Somers, executive director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.
Ariana Martín is determined to help cities harness their own wind energy through Roseo Eólica Urbana, a startup she co-founded in northern Spain.
Komali Dadlani is working on turning smartphones into science instruments to help teachers and students reach their full potential as co-founder of Lab4U, a developer of web and mobile technologies based in Santiago, Chile.
In Bangalore, India, Dimple Parmar co-founded ZenOnco.io, a startup billed as the world’s first integrative oncology health tech platform.
Meanwhile, Aya Laraki is pioneering sustainable fashion with Cuimer, a Casablanca, Morocco-based startup that transforms discarded fish skins into high-quality marine leather, bringing the fashion industry an environmentally friendly alternative to reptile leathers. “We have the power to shift the narrative and inspire others to adopt solutions that prioritize the planet,” she recently told researchers at the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).
These entrepreneurs are part of a global wave of women starting and building scalable businesses, challenging the common perception that women do not pursue high-growth ventures. Women now make up one-third of high-growth-oriented entrepreneurs, according to research from the GEM’s 2023/2024 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, which highlighted their stories and underlined their growing impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world. The report was sponsored by the Cartier Women’s Initiative, The School of Management Friborg, and The Frank and Eileen Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Women now make up the majority of entrepreneurs bringing innovations to market in Chile, Colombia, Iran, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Venezuela.
“We are in the privileged position of having 25 years of data,” said Aileen Ionescu-Somers, GEM’s executive director. “This year marks the 25th anniversary of GEM, allowing us to analyze how women’s startup activity has evolved over time.”
Women’s startup activity surges
There could be even more women running high-growth ventures in the future. One key finding: Startup rates for women increased from an average of 6.1% to 10.4% across 30 participating countries between 2001-2005 and 2021-2023. In France, the Netherlands and Hungary, women more than doubled their startup rates. One in ten women were starting new businesses as of 2023, compared to one in eight men.
High-income countries generally showed the lowest rates of women’s startup activity and the widest gender gap. “This is likely due to women in these countries having more stable employment options, though this could change as job security declines,” said Ionescu-Somers. In low-income countries where job opportunities are more scarce, more women must create their own livelihoods.
However, the trends vary by country. Countries including Georgia, Morocco, and Poland have seen a decline in women’s startup activity.
Here are some key findings:
Access to capital is crucial. The report found that barriers persist in accessing seed and growth financing for their businesses, with structural bias existing in lack of access to informal funding networks. This impacts their ability to start and scale high-growth businesses.
One factor contributing to this is that women tend to start businesses in different sectors, often those that attract less investment, noted Ionescu-Somers. Nearly half of all women entrepreneurs run businesses in the wholesale/retail sector, a significantly higher concentration than men, the report notes. Women were also much more concentrated in government and social services, with almost one-fifth of woman-led startups in that field. The flip side of this: They were half as likely to start businesses in the information and communication technology sector as men and three times less likely to run a startup in agriculture and mining.
“On a global level and certainly in the developed countries, the more popular choices for direct investment now are clearly the areas where there are STEM activities,” Ionescu-Somers said. “Women tend to choose more socially oriented areas of enterprise. However, education and training play a role, too.”
Policies encouraging more women to enter STEM and information and communications technology (ICT) fields could diversify women’s entrepreneurial opportunities, according to Ionescu-Somers. “Education and training are crucial in opening new pathways for women entrepreneurs,” she said.
To inspire more women, policymakers should highlight successful women entrepreneurs, particularly in high-growth sectors like STEM and ICT, where women are underrepresented, she says. “This will inspire other women entrepreneurs to choose the education that will bring them into those sectors,” she said.
Policy is driving real change. Policymakers’ decisions have had a tangible impact over time, as Ionescu-Somers notes. Saudi Arabia is one example. The country’s policies are emphasizing entrepreneurship as the government looks to shift from a focus on oil.
“Saudi Arabia has seen significant policy shifts that have led to a dramatic increase in women-led startups over the past three years,” says Ionescu-Somers. “That’s been really interesting—just to see how when policy changes, women will step up to the mark. When we look at intentionality to start a business, women are almost on par with men—they’re really enthusiastic to start businesses—but the barriers are sometimes very difficult.”
For instance, during Covid, many women had to shut down their businesses to handle caregiving responsibilities. “As the world recovers, women are gradually returning to entrepreneurship, but rebuilding takes time,” Ionescu-Somers said.
Access to mentors is key. Women who have mentors and networks are more likely to establish and sustain successful businesses, the report found. “Women who have access to mentors and entrepreneurial networks are more likely to establish robust businesses, achieve high growth, and secure funding,” Ionescu-Somers said. “Countries such as Switzerland and the UAE have implemented policies that facilitate networking opportunities for women, helping to bridge the gap in access to resources.”
Cultural norms may play a role in women’s access to resources, the report found. For instance, in the Middle East, women without direct financial resources often seek funding from extended family, the researchers found. “Women tend to do that more than men because they have less access to independent capital on their own,’ she says.
Keeping in mind the unique features of each funding ecosystem, the report recommends strengthening laws that prevent discrimination in lending; support for dedicated funding programs, grants and government-backed loans aimed at women-led businesses; promoting events and networks that facilitate access to high-level industry connections and investors, and forming small, female-led entrepreneurship groups run by accomplished female entrepreneurs.
The report points to anecdotal findings that the numbers will change positively for women entrepreneurs as “women angel investors organize, venture capital firms purposefully seek out women-led companies, and impact investing demonstrates that social ventures can produce good returns on investment in both profit and social good.”
As the report found, what is learned about supporting women in one country can often help female founders in another, as long as there is the will to do so.