The Philippines is the only middle-income country in the top 10 of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs in 2018.
The Results of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (Miwe) showed that the Philippines ranked ninth out of 57 countries, with a score of 68 points in the index.
The country, however, is the second Southeast Asian nation in the top 10, since Singapore ranked fifth overall, with a score of 69.2 points.
“The Index results suggest that women entrepreneurs appear to thrive better in wealthy and more developed economies, such as New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, the United States and Singapore, where the component scores for women’s advancement, women’s knowledge assets and financial access, and supporting entrepreneurial conditions are higher,” the report stated.
“There are some exceptions to the trend, with lower-middle income markets Philippines and Vietnam surprising with higher-than-expected Miwe scores of 68 and 65.5, and rankings of nineth and 18th, respectively,” it added.
However, the Philippines’s overall ranking and score was slightly lower than its performance in the Miwe in 2017.
Data showed the country’s ranking slipped by two notches, from last year’s seventh place, while its score slipped by 1 percent, from 68.5.
The decline was mainly due to the two-notch retreat of the Philippines in the Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions and in Knowledge Assets & Financial Access component of the Miwe.
The Philippines slipped three notches in the Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions component of the Miwe to 36th in 2018, from 33rd in 2017, while it slipped two notches in the Knowledge Assets & Financial Access component to 12th in 2018 from 10th in 2017.
“Entrepreneurship is seen as a ticket to opportunity for women, as shown in markets like Philippines [68, nineth], Botswana [66.5, 14th], Thailand [65.8, 15th], Poland [65.4, 19th] and Costa Rica [65, 20th],” Mastercard said.
“Although supporting conditions for entrepreneurs in these markets are not as conducive, they have a strong representation of female business leaders, professionals and technical workers, a vibrant local entrepreneurship landscape, and high regard for the status of successful entrepreneurs,” it added.
Overall, the Index indicates that budding and established women entrepreneurs around the world continue to progress despite gender-related cultural biases that can create significant roadblocks hindering them from advancing their businesses.
The Index tracks the progress and achievement of women entrepreneurs and business owners across 57 markets spanning five geographic regions—Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa and North America.
“Women entrepreneurs have made remarkable strides as business owners around the world, even as they work to achieve their full potential. We believe that, by drawing attention to their efforts, we can further support and empower women in their drive to run successful businesses and lead richer, more fulfilling lives,” said Martina Hund-Mejean, CFO, Mastercard.
The Index indicates developed markets with strong enabling conditions are not immune to cultural bias against female entrepreneurship. In New Zealand, results revealed that the society is less receptive toward female entrepreneurs. Despite these circumstances, women business owners in New Zealand have risen above the challenge, pulling their market to the top—and for the second year running.