Uganda, Botswana, and Ghana have been ranked as the world’s three leading economies in
Africa with the most women business owners.
This is according to the 2020 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), which
highlights the socio-economic contribution of women entrepreneurs around the world, and provides
insights on factors driving and inhibiting their advancement.
The Index’s benchmark indicator is calculated as a percentage of total business owners, and all African three
countries have grown their percentages since last year. Of the three, Uganda led with 39.6%, Botswana at 38.5%, and Ghana at 36.5%.
Data on Ghana shows that when broken into sectors, a large proportion of women-owned businesses
operated in highly impacted areas (85.1 %) compared to men (50. 5 %).
Drawn from publicly available data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the MIWE includes a global ranking of the
advancement of women in business in pre-pandemic conditions across 58 economies representing
almost 80% of the global female labor force. Eight countries from Africa were ranked. These included
Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Nigeria.
“Our findings beckon us to consider the cost of untapped potential in women as contributors, not just in
business and society, but on the national and global scale, as we chart the path of post Covid-19
recovery across Africa,” said Ifeoma Dozie, Director of Marketing and Communications for Mastercard in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
The report also noted the effect of the pandemic on women entrepreneurs around the world; where a
survey showed that 87% of them said their businesses have been adversely affected.
Despite the challenges, opportunities exist for women entrepreneurs in online shopping and digital
commence. “This is especially important as more women-owned businesses will likely be impacted by
the pandemic, making the support through incentives, necessary tools, mentorship, and digital inclusion
platforms even more urgent,” Ifeoma Dozie added.