Region's women doing the business with rural firms

WOMEN are creating businesses, developing jobs and shaping industries across every sector.

- Nicole EL Maalouf

From high-growth startups to community firms, their contributions are not just meaningful but important to the country's financial resilience and prosperity.

There are real positives across the region too, and we should celebrate them. In the North East, 81% of female entrepreneurs tell researchers that they feel supported as they started their entrepreneurial journeys. An impressive, albeit challenging, 69% feel that they have work-life balance between their professional and personal responsibilities.

This is especially important because when asked about their motivation for becoming entrepreneurs in the first place, women were more likely to aim for flexibility and better work-life balance, with 51% citing these as main reasons to go out on their own.

Despite these positives, there are key areas where women entrepreneurs face more challenges in comparison to their male counterparts.

Struggles involved profitability (77%), work-life balance (72%), environmental sustainability (65%), cost minimisation (71%), financial management (74%), tax understanding (75%) and technology adoption (69%).