Overview
- Mexico’s Asem reports that 25% of women‑led businesses shut due to lack of capital, with early funding drawn mostly from personal resources (50%), family or friends (20%), banks (17%) and non‑bank lenders (8%).
- The World Bank says women‑led firms in Latin America are recovering more slowly than male‑led peers, tying the lag to weaker access to credit and support networks.
- In Peru, about 500,000 bodegas operate nationwide and roughly 70% are run by women; Coca‑Cola Perú and Arca Continental Lindley reported a 2023 economic contribution of S/7,420 million, serving 331,000 traditional‑channel clients that include many of these shops.
- Women remain underrepresented in higher‑value activities, with only about 16% of women‑led firms in tech or science in Mexico, and just 18% of new 2024–2025 projects in Catalonia led by female CEOs.
- Informality and slow digital adoption continue to limit scale—four in ten Mexican women entrepreneurs report not using digital tools—spurring calls for gender‑focused credit, seed funds, accelerators, digital training and state programs such as those promoted in Aguascalientes.