India Ranks Poorly In Global Study On Women’s Entrepreneurship

A recently published study by Mastercard reveals that India ranks among the lowest in the world when it comes to women’s entrepreneurship. The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) 2021 explores how targeted support for women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses can unlock sustainable growth in all economies. So, concerted governmental, investment and policy support is needed for the growth of women entrepreneurs.

Keeping these markers in mind, the study reveals that India is one of the worst-ranked in the world when it comes to women in business. According to MIWE 2021, India fell from its ranking of 56 in 2019 to 57 in 2021 (the ranking improved to 54 in 2020) among 65 nations, while the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Switzerland bagged the top five ranks in 2021.

The study states that women entrepreneurs in India rely mostly on self-financing through personal savings or loans, inherited assets and physical property that can be mortgaged. There are also many socio-cultural barriers, apart from the infrastructural ones, that Indian women face when they venture out into the world of entrepreneurship.

These limitations, despite many governmental policies and other initiatives, have led to India ranking lower than other Asian and African developing economies like Uganda, Nigeria, Vietnam and the Philippines. The MIWE 2021 also shows that due to the pandemic, entrepreneurial activity among both women and men declined between 2020 and 2021, and the steepest falls registered were in Chile and India.