European Report on Women's Entrepreneurship
A new report on Women's Entrepreneurship in Europe titled the WEbarometer has recently been launched.
The report written by Prof. Tom Cooney of the College of Business is based on a survey of 618 women entrepreneurs across 29 countries, and it details their attitudes to their business environment and to business supports. The report highlights that women entrepreneurs have a very poor attitude towards existing enterprise ecosystems in their home countries and identifies many issues relating to gender-bias within enterprise support initiatives. The report also finds that access to finance remains the biggest challenge for women entrepreneurs seeking to start and grow their business.
This report is the first annual WEbarometer which each year will explore the business sentiments of women who are either in the process of starting or have already started a business. Because the WEbarometer is uniquely-positioned as a pan-European survey of women entrepreneurs, these reports will provide a database of critical information that can be utilised by policymakers, enterprise support agencies, businesswomen’s networks and other relevant stakeholders to promote and enhance the environment for women entrepreneurs across Europe.
The European Commission has provided funding to support the promotion of women's entrepreneurship in Europe through the online platform WEgate, which aims to help women entrepreneurs to start and build up their business through knowledge sharing. WEgate also enables women entrepreneurs to find the best networking opportunities, experienced mentorship, and a space for growth. Prof Cooney launched the report when he spoke at the WEgate Summit, an online conference attended by over 400 delegates. A copy of the report can be accessed here.