Overview
- Mexico’s entrepreneurs’ association Asem reports that 25% of women‑led businesses close for lack of capital, with funding relying mainly on own resources (50%), family or friends (20%), banks (17%) and non‑bank lenders (8%).
- The World Bank notes women‑led firms in Latin America have recovered more slowly than male‑led peers, linked to limited financing and weaker support networks.
- In Peru, roughly 500,000 neighborhood stores operate nationwide and about 70% are run by women, underscoring their role in local jobs, supply and community ties, with some gaining training and equipment through programs like Coca‑Cola Perú and Arca Continental Lindley.
- Experts and advocates emphasize three near‑term resilience pillars for women entrepreneurs—digitalization, tighter financial management and collaborative networks—echoing UN Women findings that 62% credit peer support with post‑pandemic survival.
- European data shared in Barcelona show only about 18% of new Catalan projects in 2024–2025 have a woman CEO, reinforcing calls for tailored credit products, gender‑focused accelerators, seed funds and support for formalization and digital inclusion into 2026.