Women in Latin American have recently started to discover more business opportunities.. Their native countries are gaining exponentially from this leap in businesses, however they are not currently reaping the full benefits from this venture. Women’s Entrepreneurial Venture Scope examined and ranked 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean according to both positive and negative influences women entrepreneurs face. Being the first comprehensive assessment of the environment for all female entrepreneurs in this region, this study aims to help public and private sectors empower women business owners in this part of the world.
In the past two decades the number of women in Latin America and the Caribbean’s workforce has significantly risen, allowing various countries’ economies to expand. The study’s results are based on a combination of scores in the following categories: business operating risks, entrepreneurial business environment, access to finance, capacity and skills and the presence of social services.
The study showed that Chile had the best overall score and that they, along with Peru and Colombia, have the best environments for female entrepreneurs. They also found that the countries with better environments are more competitive, which was to be expected. Many countries in the region scored well for educational opportunities and business skills training for women, but offered fewer opportunities in non-traditional fields.
Access to formal financial products such as checking and savings accounts and loans is poor for the majority of women in many countries in the region- a sizeable portion remain unserved. For example, less than 1/3 of all women saved money in a financial institution in the last year or made monthly deposits or withdrawals.
This study proved that their has been improvement for women in Latin American countries, but there is still far to go. Hopefully, as these types of studies continue, businesses will begin to see the importance of supporting women as they start their own businesses.
