Botswana tops the list of countries to have the highest number of female entrepreneurs for the third year running.
The 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) has ranked Botswana in pole position with 38.5%, followed by Uganda at 38.4% and Ghana with 37.2% as the countries with the most women business owners in the world.
The benchmark indicator is calculated as a percentage of the total number of business owners, Business Insider Africa reports. The index focuses on the socio-economic contribution of female entrepreneurs across the globe, and offers an insight into the factors fuelling and indeed hindering their progression.
The findings show that in the majority of African nations, women’s advancement is impeded by insufficient funding, fewer opportunities for higher-level education and less support for entrepreneurial conditions.
However, Botswana is within the top 15 global economies in regard to advancement outcomes for women, surpassing developed economies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.
Furthermore, Botswana ranks in 13th place in the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs’ ‘women’s labour force participation rates’.
Despite the challenges stemming from the Covid crisis and subsequent economic downturn, the findings show that female entrepreneurs in Africa are adaptable and resilient, especially in low and middle-income economies.
Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa at MasterCard, Ebehijie Momoh praised the African countries for their entrepreneurial efforts.
He said 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 are able to leverage on opportunities in their respective environments to be business owners, leaders and professional or technical workers.”