Uganda tops Africa list in the 2016 Mastercard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship

In a new report, the 2016 Mastercard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship (MIWE), released by MasterCard this week, it was reported that 34.8 percent of businesses in Uganda are owned by women, making the East African nation the top performing country in Africa in terms of women entrepreneurship. Uganda also has the highest percentage (90.5%) of female entrepreneurs in the world borrowing and saving money to start a business, which is significantly higher than the 52.4 percent average of other low-to-lower-middle-income countries. The report suggests that women in Uganda are as likely as men to start a business activity, showing the cultural and social acceptance of women as entrepreneurs is a key factor in the country’s high women business ownership representation. What is most inspiring is that the average entrepreneur in the country is a millennial, between 18 and 34 years old, with at least secondary education and operating predominantly in the customer service sector. Although support for entrepreneurs in the country as a whole is poor, organizations such as UWEAL (Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Ltd) have been highly supportive to women owned businesses. The MasterCard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship (MIWE) is aimed at helping governments and other relevant bodies better understand and identify ways of bridging the gender gap among business owners in different economies. The American financial services corporation examined 54 countries around the globe, including Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Uganda.