Top five African countries with the highest percentage of women business owners

One sure way to alleviate poverty in Africa is entrepreneurship. This is because it has the ability to drive an economy’s growth and foster development and financial inclusion.

However, African women attempting to start their own businesses are usually at a disadvantage due to cultural and gender biases and other factors such as limited access to education and finance.

Fortunately, some African countries are beating the odds to produce a good number of female entrepreneurs. They have shown that the rise of women in entrepreneurship is not necessarily associated with the pace of their country’s wealth and economic development, as evidenced in the 2019 Mastercard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship (MIWE).

This is the third Index profiling the progress and achievements of women entrepreneurs/business owners across 58 societies around the world.

The global Index tracks the progress and achievements of women entrepreneurs and business owners at three levels: (1) Women’s Advancement Outcomes, (2) Knowledge Assets & Financial Access, and (3) Supporting Entrepreneurial Factors.

Based on the Index, here are the top five countries from Africa with the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs: