In the last two decades, female entrepreneurs have taken the world by storm. It is amazing to note that the percentage of a country’s economy controlled by females is not a function of the country’s economic and wealth development.
The latest edition of the MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurship (MIWE) has revealed that most of the countries at the top of its list are not the wealthiest or most developed in the world. This implies that the seemingly underdeveloped and poor nations are beginning to recognize the importance of female entrepreneurs to their economy.
Ghana tops the most recent MIWE list with women controlling 46.4% of the businesses in the country. With 33.8%, Uganda sits at third on the list which was released earlier this month. The index is a measure which helps to identify and understand the factors and conditions conducive to closing the gender gap between business owners and entrepreneurs in any economy. These factors include Access to knowledge, women’s advancement outcomes, supporting entrepreneurial factors, and financial services.
This is only the second edition to be released by MasterCard and this time 57 countries from around the world were studied. African countries included in the study include Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Botswana.
The results show that Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uganda did very well in different ramifications even though overall, Ghana produces the highest number of female entrepreneurs worldwide. It also shows that more women are inclined towards business ownership even though they face certain limitations including but not restricted to finances, education, and required opportunities.