Why Africa has more women entrepreneurs than any other continent

Women in Africa are often described as forming the backbone of their societies, and it's no wonder.

The continent has more female entrepreneurs than any other globally, and along with that, more and more households are women-driven.

Finding innovative ways to make money is often bred out of necessity, comments Matt Putman, CEO of fintech company iKhokha.

A key factor underpinning this, specifically in South Africa, is the lack of formal employment that's available.

According to the latest numbers from Stats SA, women have a higher official unemployment rate than men, increasing to 35.8% in the second quarter of 2024 from 27.5% ten years ago.

Stats SA: Women continue to bear brunt of joblessness

At iKhokha, which provides business funding among its services, they're seeing women start business across a wide range of sectors, Putman reports.

He says some of the more obvious ones are health and beauty, hospitality and retail.

"They are doing really great things for our economy... Basically, 26% of women on the continent are entrepreneurs... compared to Europe for instance, where it's less than 6%."

"The other interesting statistic is that four out of ten children are growing up in a single parent home and generally those are driven by women who're both raising kids, supporting kids independently and bringing home the money on a daily basis to look after their families. I think that has really spiked this female entrepreneurship drive."

"In the township economy also community is very important and we've seen women grow up with strong female role models... and that then inspires them to start their own businesses."

Matt Putman, CEO - iKhokha

Scroll up to listen to the interview, and click here to read the latest GEM Women's Entrepreneurship Report