The 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) has, for the third consecutive year, ranked Botswana (38.5%), Uganda (38.4%), and Ghana (37.2%) as the countries with the most women business owners globally.
The Index’s benchmark indicator is calculated as a percentage of total business owners. This is the fifth edition of the MIWE, which puts the spotlight on the significant socio-economic contribution of women entrepreneurs around the world, including Africa, and provides insights into the factors driving and inhibiting their advancement.
In many African countries, women’s advancement is hampered by less supportive entrepreneurial conditions, a lack of funding, fewer opportunities for higher-level education, as well as structural barriers.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and economic downturn, Mastercard’s research indicates that women entrepreneurs in Africa are resilient and adaptable, particularly those in low and middle-income economies, often surpassing men in terms of entrepreneurial activity.
According to the report, Nigeria, alongside Angola and Ghana, ranked first globally in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Rate in the MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) 2021.
Nigeria also ranked second globally for the number of ‘women professional and technical workers’ at 59.1 percent, while Angola ranked second globally in hiring intentions with 16.4 percent of adults planning to employ six or more people in the next.
Botswana, however, scores in the top 15 economies globally in terms of advancement outcomes for women, particularly as far as performance by income is concerned, outperforming high-income and developed economies such as Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia. Botswana also scores highly in MIWE 2021’s ‘Women’s labour force participation rates’, ranking 13th globally.
Ebehijie Momoh, Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa at MasterCard congratulated the African countries for their entrepreneurial and SME activities efforts.
He added that “women in Botswana, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Angola stand out as excellent examples of women’s determination to provide for themselves and their families, despite facing financial, regulatory and technical challenges. In these economies, women can leverage on opportunities in their respective environments to be business owners, leaders, and professional or technical workers.”