The Female Entrepreneurship Index – measures the development of high potential female entrepreneurship worldwide.
Defined as “innovative, market expanding, and export oriented,” this gender specific Index utilizes unique framework, methodology, and global approach in order to capture the multi-dimensional aspects of entrepreneurial development.
Now in its third year, the index was launched at the 2013 annual meeting of the Dell Women Entrepreneurs Network (DWEN) and covered by Forbes Magazine.
Like the Global Entrepreneurship Index, the FEI framework pairs together individual-level and institutional-level variables into pillars. These contain three main sub-indices that measure the quality of:
- the entrepreneurial environment;
- the entrepreneurial eco-system;
- women’s entrepreneurial aspirations.
The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index is the most comprehensive diagnostic tool for high potential female entrepreneurship
The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index contains 77 countries, expanding upon the 30 countries in its predecessor – the Gender GEDI.
The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) announced the results of the 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index revealing that female business owners are on average more educated and more growth oriented than the previous year.
2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index Research Shows More Support Needed to Enable Female Entrepreneurship Development Worldwide
The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom named top three places for female entrepreneurs
According to report globally:
- Percentage of female entrepreneurs who are highly educated has increased 9%.
- The percentage of business gazelles (those who intend to grow their businesses by 50% and employ 10 people within 5 years) among female entrepreneurs has increased 7%.
- Percentage of female businesses that are in the tech sector has decreased 19%.
- Among female businesses innovativeness has decreased 13%.
The United States ranks first in the world again at 82.9, eight points ahead of 2nd-ranked Australia (74.8).
This year, the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands climbed into the top five, displacing Sweden, France, and Germany. All six of these European countries have strong ecosystems for female entrepreneurs, so even small changes can result in year-to-year rank shifts.
Chile outperforms the rest of Latin America and ranks 15 – among the top nations in the world for female entrepreneurship.
Many Latin American countries saw large declines over last year; Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Panama all dropped by at least 5 ranks.
India has been ranked at 70.
The FEI names the following countries in its top ten for female entrepreneurs:
Rank Country Score
1 United States 82.9
2 Australia 74.8
3 United Kingdom 70.6
4 Denmark 69.7
5 Netherlands 69.3
6 France 68.8
7 Iceland 68.0
8 Sweden 66.7
9 Finland 66.4
10 Norway 66.3
