Which countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have the most supportive environments for women seeking to start and grow their businesses? On Thursday, July 25, the MIF is excited to be launching the Women’s Entrepreneurial Venture Scope (WEVentureScope) - the first comprehensive assessment of the environment for female entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean created in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit. This is the first benchmarking study that assesses the factors affecting women entrepreneurs operating micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region.
Why have we decided to develop this new report and tool?
Across the globe, the share of women who become entrepreneurs is significantly below that of men, but data suggest that Latin American women are strongly motivated to start businesses. In fact, the latest research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor suggests that 71% of all early–stage women entrepreneurs in Latin America become entrepreneurs to pursue an opportunity, not because they have no other work options and need a source of income. Despite women’s strong entrepreneurial spirit, more men than women are starting businesses in the region, and many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are not reaping the full benefit of women entrepreneurs’ potential. The vast majority of women who do start businesses are unable to grow beyond microenterprises or move out of the informal economy.
Yet, despite some progress in recent years, very limited comparative data exist that allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the enabling environments for women’s entrepreneurship development worldwide. For this reason the MIF partnered with the EIU to better understand the business environment and the factors that drive women’s business success.
We think the Index will provide a useful and much-needed public information source that will help create more tailored interventions, better policy environments, and more supportive ecosystems for women entrepreneurs. Although other studies have analyzed the impediments faced by women in the workplace, no study has extended its reach to assess the factors affecting women entrepreneurs. The WEVentureScope calls attention to this need, providing a platform for dialogue about the most relevant factors that influence the start-up and growth of women’s businesses.
The Index also uncovered the needs for more and better data collection. The EIU created eight new datasets for this index, where data did exist before in areas such as MSME technical support, supplier diversity initiatives, and regulatory environments. Also included are new datasets like the World Bank’s Global Findex Database and the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law, which provide women-specific data.
This initial scoping, focusing on 20 countries, is a first step in improving opportunities for female entrepreneurs in the region and towards a better understanding of the business environment and the factors that drive women’s business success. Stay tuned for the results this Thursday!
