Closing gender gaps in the MENA financial sector: towards women-led business development – Event Report

The gender gaps in the MENA financial sector are stark, with less than 5% of businesses being women-led, compared to a global average of 23-26%. The losses incurred due to the lack of female economic participation in the region are staggering, amounting to $575 billion annually. Results show that globally, women entrepreneurs are less likely to receive external equity and Venture Capital (VC) funding, even after conditioning on ability and motivation. At the funding stage, women entrepreneurs in male-dominated sectors are 26% less likely to use external equity and 48% less likely to access VC funding.

April 2024