Gender Parity in Entrepreneurship

Women are the backbone of any society and a catalyst for societal change. Entrepreneurship is one way to bring about gender parity, as one of the primary reasons females are unable to grow is the lack of financial freedom. Traditionally, women have faced limited access to education, networking opportunities, and financial resources, resulting in the loss of formal employment opportunities. Women make up 58% of Africa’s self-employed population and contribute around 13% of the continent’s GDP (WEF, 2025) despite Africa’s sluggish growth as compared to other prominent countries. The study undertakes a review of the existing status of women-led entrepreneurship in African countries, a sectoral analysis of female-concentrated sectors (FCS) based on the preexisting literature. It further reviews the availability of the entrepreneurial ecosystems and their movements across the years, using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database. The research has implications for providing policy input for the relevant stakeholders.