IGC hosts "Mind the gap: Scaling women-owned enterprises"

Women entrepreneurs are central to economic growth, job creation, and resilience in developing countries. Yet women-led firms remain disproportionately small, informal, and credit-constrained despite evidence of viable business models and strong returns.

Narratives often focus on women being recipients of development programmes. This event emphasised a bigger question: what would the global economy look like if women-led businesses had the capital to grow, expand, and create jobs?

Drawing on some of our work on gender equality, the International Growth Centre hosted an expert panel on breaking down barriers to success. This included perspectives on what governments, donors, and investors can do to build inclusive firm ecosystems, and how entrepreneurship and SME policy can better reflect women’s growth pathways. 

Our special thanks go to:  

Diva Dhar - Deputy Director, Women’s Economic Empowerment, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Sandra Sequeira - Professor of Development Economics at the School of Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Rania Nasir - Head of Firms initiative, International Growth Centre

Dr Aderinsola Adio-Adepoju - Founder, I-Train Africa

Dana Kupova - Head of Financial Inclusion, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Claire Innes - Deputy Director, Growth Directorate, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

ENDS

Contact:

Theo Gott: [email protected]