Nigeria and Ghana in joint first with Angola in women enterprises
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria, Angola, and Ghana are joint first in women’s global entrepreneurial activity rate in 2021, and women’s entrepreneurial activity rate in both Nigeria and Angola exceeded men’s, even as men keep on marginalising women in opportunities.
Nigeria ranked second globally in the number of “women professional and technical workers” (59.1 per cent), Angola second in hiring intentions with 16.4 per cent of adults planning to employ six or more people in the next five years.
The ranking comes from the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs which for the third year running rated Botswana (38.5 per cent), Uganda (38.4 per cent) and Ghana (37.2 per cent) as countries with the most women business owners globally.
“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,” said Ebehijie Momoh, Mastercard Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa.
“In these economies women are able to leverage on opportunities in their respective environments to be business owners, leaders and professional or technical workers.”
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Low African government support for SMEs
Government support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is very low in most African countries, yet women are braving the odds, owning and growing businesses, and are also employers of labour.
In “Government SME support” globally, Nigeria ranked 62nd and Angola 53rd. Nigeria ranked 61st in “general access to finance”, Angola 63rd – both near the bottom of the list.
Ghana scored slightly better on these metrics at 44th for “government SME support” globally, 37th for “access to finance”, and 6th (69.7 per cent) for “entrepreneurial attitudes and perceptions”.
African women entrepreneurs resilient
The research shows women entrepreneurs in Africa are resilient and adaptable, according to Nairametrics reporting.
This is commendable for African female entrepreneurs as the global ranking shows they outperform men in high-income and developed economies such as Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.
Mastercard has made a global commitment to connect 25 million women entrepreneurs to the digital economy by 2025.
It will act as a catalyst for growth and innovation, lift communities around successful women, and facilitate a global recovery more equitable and sustainable for everyone.