In many parts of the world, a quiet but powerful transformation is underway. Across South Asia, Africa, and Latin America, women are launching and leading businesses that are changing not only their local communities but also the broader economic landscape. These enterprises are not just symbols of progress toward gender equality. They are engines of innovation, job creation, and long-term growth in economies that need it most.

Why Women Entrepreneurs Matter Economically

New businesses drive productivity, create jobs, and introduce fresh ideas into the market. Increasingly, those new businesses in emerging economies are founded by women. They appear in sectors as varied as education, microfinance, agriculture technology, and digital services. Research from Kapilashrami (2023) suggests that closing the gender gap in access to capital and support for women founders could add as much as $5.8 trillion to global GDP.

The economic benefits reach far beyond company profits. Women business owners tend to reinvest a larger share of their income back into their families and communities — up to 90 percent, compared to roughly one-third by men (In focus, 2022). This reinvestment fuels improvements in education, healthcare, and local quality of life. From an economist’s perspective, supporting female entrepreneurs is not just a fairness issue. It is a smart economic investment with compounding returns.

Challenges That Hold Back Potential

Despite their growing influence, women in developing economies face significant hurdles. Limited access to capital, persistent gender bias, and exclusion from key business networks all work against them. According to the World Bank, 70 percent of women-owned small and medium enterprises in these countries have unmet financing needs (Blended Finance Sector, 2019).

When such a large share of talented potential entrepreneurs is held back by structural barriers, the entire economy suffers. Economists describe this as a misallocation of talent. The Quarterly Journal of Economics estimates that removing gender-based barriers in labor and capital markets could raise productivity in developing countries by at least 25 percent (Global Gender Gap, 2019).

The Digital Advantage

Digital technology is helping to level the playing field. Rising mobile phone use in emerging markets has opened new opportunities for women to launch and grow businesses. Digital banking, e-commerce, remote work tools, and online learning platforms allow women to bypass some traditional barriers such as limited access to physical marketplaces or cultural restrictions on public work.

Kenya’s mobile money service M-Pesa is a prime example. It has given thousands of women access to secure financial services, enabling them to save, invest, and manage business transactions more effectively (GSMA, 2023). Digital platforms also reduce the costs of starting a business and expand market reach, allowing women to serve customers far beyond their immediate communities.

Shifts in Policy and Investment

Governments, development organizations, and private investors are increasingly recognizing the economic upside of supporting women entrepreneurs. In 2023, Standard Chartered announced a $50 million fund to back female-owned businesses in Asia and Africa (AI for Advancing, n.d.). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) continues to channel money into gender-lens investment funds that specifically support women founders in developing markets.

These efforts are backed by hard numbers. Boston Consulting Group research shows that startups founded or co-founded by women generate more revenue over a five-year period than those founded by men, despite receiving less than half the funding (Krentz et al., 2018). For investors, that is a clear case of untapped value.

Building an Inclusive Future

The growth of women-led startups in emerging economies is more than a trend. It is part of a structural shift toward more inclusive development. As these businesses expand, they create jobs for other women, foster economic independence within households, and increase local resilience to global shocks. A more diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem also encourages innovation by bringing different perspectives and problem-solving approaches to the table.

To fully unlock this potential, governments can take targeted steps such as offering tax incentives for women-owned businesses, simplifying licensing requirements, and expanding access to entrepreneurship training. Removing barriers is not only a matter of fairness. It is a pathway to stronger, more resilient economies.

Conclusion

Women entrepreneurs in developing economies are proving that inclusion and growth go hand in hand. Their businesses are building wealth, strengthening communities, and showing measurable returns for investors and societies alike. The challenge now is to accelerate the removal of structural barriers and ensure that women have equal access to the capital and resources needed to succeed. If that happens, the economic impact will be felt far beyond national borders.