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Jozi on top-50 list for women entrepreneurs

Cape Town - Johannesburg ranks 28th out of 50 cities on the latest annual Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities).

The index looks at a city’s ability to attract and foster growth of women-owned firms and how global cities are fostering high-potential women entrepreneurs (HPWEs).

Johannesburg has, however, taken a slide from its position at 23rd in the 2016 study. According to Dell, this reflects the tougher market conditions.

"Nonetheless, the City of Gold continues to represent African cities as a hub where business is open to everyone, regardless of their gender or creed," the index report states.

The index shows the impact of local policies, programmes and characteristics in addition to national laws and customs on HPWEs.  

The only other African city to make the list is Nairobi in 33rd place.

New York came out tops. Yet, its total score out of 100 was 62.9, leaving considerable room for improvement, according to the report.

The San Francisco Bay Area came out second, followed by London, Boston, Stockholm, Washington DC, Singapore, Toronto, Seattle, Sydney, Paris and Chicago.

READ: G20: Trump pledges $50m to help women entrepreneurs

According to Dell, data and analysis show that when impediments to female entrepreneurship are removed, there is a dramatic uplift in a city’s economic prospects.

“Globally, women’s entrepreneurship rates are growing more than 10% each year. In fact, women are as likely or more likely than men to start businesses in many markets. However, financial, cultural and political barriers can limit the success of these businesses,” said Karen Quintos, chief customer officer at Dell.

“By arming city leaders and policymakers with data-driven research and clear calls to action, we can collectively improve the landscape for high-potential women entrepreneurs, which in turn dramatically lifts a city’s economic prospects – as what is good for women is good for the economy."

According to Elizabeth Gore, entrepreneur-in-residence at Dell, it is in the world’s best interest that women entrepreneurs everywhere thrive.
"The WE Cities can be used as a diagnostic tool to help ensure that lawmakers are enabling women entrepreneurs to succeed. Each of the cities on this list can learn from one another and encourage political change to attract and support women entrepreneurs," said Gore.

"The resulting change will be felt at not just a city level, but at a humanity level as we develop an ecosystem where all entrepreneurs can thrive regardless of gender.”

Here is the full list:

1.     New York
2.    Bay Area
3.    London
4.    Boston
5.    Stockholm
6.    Los Angeles
7.    Washington, DC
8.    Singapore
9.    Toronto
10.    Seattle
11.    Sydney
12.    Paris
13.    Chicago
14.    Minneapolis
15.    Austin
16.    Hong Kong
17.    Melbourne
18.    Atlanta
19.    Amsterdam
20.    Portland (OR)
21.    Berlin
22.    Taipei
23.    Pittsburg
24.    Tel Aviv
25.    Copenhagen
26.    Vancouver
27.    Houston
28.    Johannesburg
29.    Barcelona
30.    Seoul
31.    Munich
32.    Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
33.    Nairobi
34.    Dublin
35.    Warsaw
36.    Belfast
37.    Milan
38.    Beijing
39.    Tokyo
40.    Bangalore
41.    Kuala Lumpur
42.    Sao Paulo
43.    Dubai
44.    Shanghai
45.    Mexico City
46.    Lima
47.    Guadalajara
48.    Istanbul
49.    Delhi
50.    Jakarta

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