The 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report reveals that women entrepreneurs are more ambitious and have been more successful than their male counterparts.
Yep, just like that, no sugar coating. They also take a different approach to entrepreneurship in terms of leadership, financing and objectives. The survey sheds light on their expectations, and reinforces our determination to provide more closely-targeted support in developing their businesses,” said BNP Paribas Wealth Management Co-CEO Sofia Merlo.
The 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report, based on a survey conducted by the Scorpio Partnership consultancy, analyses the behaviour of some 2,600 High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth entrepreneurs across 18 countries in Asia, North America and Europe, with aggregate wealth of over $17 billion dollars. While the first edition of the report, published in 2014, concentrated on identifying these successful entrepreneurs, the second focuses on their approach to business, their ambitions, their motivation and their investments worldwide over the past year. Let’s dig into the goodies for us girls.
Countries most conducive to entrepreneurship
- The United States(1), China(2) and Germany(3) have been voted top locations by entrepreneurs for setting up a business
- In terms of profit growth, entrepreneurs based in China, India and Turkey had the best year
China hosts the largest percentage of entrepreneurs posting higher profits last year (68.8%), also placing above-average importance on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Germany is a highly attractive country for the first generation entrepreneurs, with 63.4% of business founders being the first in their family to start a business. Entrepreneurs are also very active in Belgium, with each entrepreneur starting on average 6.7 businesses, versus a global average of 5.7 companies per entrepreneur.
The emergence of the ‘Millennipreneur’
This new generation of entrepreneurs are under 35 years old. Also known as ‘Millennials’ and ‘Generation Y-ers’, their approach to business differs from that of their elders in terms of their ambitions, results and leadership style. Among the successful business owning millennials studied in this research, some 78% come from families with a history of running their own businesses. As a group, each has already established on average 7.7 companies, compared with an average of 3.5 among the 50-and-over Baby Boomers. Nevertheless, the business sectors in which they are prospering do not diverge very far from the previous generation.
Top 3 wealth creation sectors identified:
- Retail (12.5%)
- Professional services (8.5%)
- Technology (7.3%)
Top 3 sectors seen as ‘industries of the future’:
- Financial Services (8.4%)
- Social Media (8.2%)
- E-Commerce (8.2%)
These kinds of small numbers show there really aren’t any “industries of the future”–in fact, the study may have missed the boat in that most of its future-biz ideas are technology-mediated. Perhaps the business of the future, especially for women, is technology.
Women Entrepreneurs
Women have been more successful than their male counterparts over the past year, it reports.
89% of women entrepreneurs surveyed expecting growing or stable profits in the next 12 months. Female millennipreneurs are aiming even higher with close to 75% expecting business profits to increase in the next 12 months and expect close to a 35% gross profit margin for 2015.
- Top 3 wealth creation sectors identified:
- Retail (16.5%)
- Professional services (11.2%)
- Fashion (6.0%)
- Top 3 sectors if they were to switch businesses:
- E-Commerce (9.3%)
- Travel, Hospitality and Leisure (8.6%)
- Social Media (6.3%)
(Lots of diversification here, since none of these top 3 is over 10%.)
- Top 3 criteria for success:
- Making a profit on their initial investment (35.2%) (That’s a high bar–women are looking for quick profits, but you can see more about that when you look at their funding sources and the capital they put at risk.)
- Passing the business on to the next generation (12.3%)
- Making a social impact (11.2%)
Poland, Spain and China have the highest rates of activity by successful women entrepreneurs.
Swiss, German and Belgian women entrepreneurs are the most likely to be first generation entrepreneurs with no history of business ownership in their family. The main preferred sources of finance used by women starting a business – reported as: personal savings (43%), bank loans (21%) and personal loans from friends or family (17%) – reveal that women are more likely to rely on self-financing rather than a bank loan for their starting capital.
Keep crushing it, ladies. And think about getting some outsider cash to scale. (Tips in our Venture Capital section.)
