Mastercard has revealed the fifth-annual Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) exploring the progress of women entrepreneurs in 65 economies around the world, representing 82.4% of the global female labor force. Across the entrepreneurial landscape, women are one of the global economy’s most valuable assets. However, whilst they make up half of the world’s population, women own only a fifth of its exporting companies and 80% of women-owned businesses with credit needs are either unserved or underserved. Furthermore, the contribution of women to the wider economy is significantly underrepresented in reports and indices on startups and economic conditions.
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Although work remains across the Middle East and North Africa in encouraging and supporting women entrepreneurs, some progress has been recorded. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria and Lebanon are among the economies that have received a higher ranking in the latest report (MIWE 2021) compared to MIWE 2020. Out of the 65 economies studied, only a dozen around the world recorded an increase in the indicator “Women’s Entrepreneurial Activity Rate” – with Algeria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia among these.
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Despite the challenging environment, women have proven to be resilient entrepreneurs, surpassing men in terms of entrepreneurial activity in 10 economies including Saudi Arabia, overall showing that the entrepreneurial spirit sees opportunity every day to reimagine, refresh and reinvent – a defining factor for women’s success in business since long before the latest crisis. Continuing to create the right social, political and financial understanding and conditions for this entrepreneurial spirit to realize its success is of singular importance for future economic growth.
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Slight improvement in Egypt’s Entrepreneurial Framework: Egypt recorded a slight increase in indicators such as ‘Women’s Entrepreneurial Activity Rate’ and ‘SME Operational Financing’, as well as ‘Entrepreneurial Framework’ and ‘Higher Education Entrepreneurial Training’. However, there remains a large gender gap in labor force participation in Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia despite there being more women enrolled in tertiary education than men.
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Government policies that intentionally support women’s entrepreneurship can also meaningfully contribute to a swifter, more balanced recovery. As part of Mastercard’s commitment to creating a world where women entrepreneurs are equally represented and supported, the company made a global commitment to connect 25 million women entrepreneurs to the digital economy by 2025. Not only will empowering women’s entrepreneurship act as a catalyst for growth and innovation, but it will raise up the communities around successful women and fuel a global recovery that is more equitable and sustainable for everyone.