10 Best Countries for Women Entrepreneurs: Where Does Indonesia Rank?

According to the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, 80% of women-owned businesses globally needing credit are underserved.

This is because some countries still practice gender discrimination in financial services. For example, women seeking bank loans may need their husband's consent.

However, several countries strongly support women's independence and entrepreneurship.

The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs measures a country's support for women's entrepreneurship through three main indicators.

First, the advancement of women. This is assessed based on the proportion of women entrepreneurs, the proportion of women in professional jobs, and women's labor force participation rate in each country.

Second, access to knowledge and financial services. This is assessed based on women's education levels, gender inclusivity in financial service policies, and government support programs for MSMEs.

Finally, the enabling environment for entrepreneurship. This is assessed based on socio-cultural conditions, regulations, and business infrastructure support for women in each country.

Based on these indicators, Mastercard assigns a score to each country ranging from 1 to 100. A score of 1 indicates very poor conditions for women's entrepreneurship, while a score of 100 indicates excellent conditions.

Here are the 10 countries with the highest scores in the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs:

1. United States: 69.9
2. New Zealand: 69.8
3. Canada: 68.6
4. Australia: 67.2
5. Switzerland: 66.7
6. Taiwan: 66.3
7. Germany: 66.2
8. Israel: 65.3
9. United Kingdom: 64.9
10. Sweden: 64.9

The United States, New Zealand, and Canada are considered the most supportive countries for women's entrepreneurship in 2021.

Generally, the top-ranked countries are considered to have high levels of women's education, easily accessible and gender-equitable financial services, and strong support programs for women-owned MSMEs.

Meanwhile, Indonesia scored 60.5 and ranked 25th out of 65 surveyed countries. This is an improvement from the previous year. In 2020, Indonesia was ranked 30th.

(Also read: Does Indonesian Law Guarantee Gender Equality? This is the World Bank's Assessment)