Businesswomen grow economies: Singapore is next
September 25, 2020
September 25, 2020
Joint research recently conducted by Accenture and WEConnect International, and supported by The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Singapore, emphasizes the benefits of growing the number of women-owned businesses to strengthen and accelerate the economic growth and productivity of Singapore.
We found that women-owned businesses are underrepresented in Singapore, making up just 27% of all businesses, and 13% of sales. Other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Switzerland, have similar representation, while the number of women-owned businesses in New Zealand and the United States is higher.
Getting to equal would be breaking new ground among nations, something that Singapore has accomplished in many other economic arenas. It would be of great value to the economy and it would present the way forward for other countries with similar ambitions.
Reaching an equal number of women-owned businesses and men-owned businesses in Singapore could add S$95 billion to the economy, about 20% of GDP.
To encourage the growth in number of women-owned businesses, and for Singapore to capture this substantial economic gain, actions are needed to remove barriers for women and provide them with the support they want to be able to succeed. There are four areas where this can be addressed:
A powerful ecosystem for growth can be created to overcome these barriers for women-owned businesses. Large businesses, financial institutions, governments and non-governmental organizations can all play a critical role to help include women-owned businesses in the business community and to provide them with the support needed to succeed.