Guatemala City, by Veylin Herrera -AGN-. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2019-2020, Guatemala ranked fourth in the number of women aged 18 to 64 in emerging economies.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association’s 50-nation study, 22.4% of Guatemalan women in this age group participate in entrepreneurship.
In addition, this report points out that Latin America has the highest number of women starting their businesses.
In that sense, the country ranking establishes the percentage of women who engage in the sector as follows:
- 33.6% in Ecuador
- 32.4% in Chile
- 23.1% in Brazil
- 22.4% in Guatemala
- 20.9% in Colombia
These results position Guatemalan women and the country as pioneers in promoting the female economy.
National Efforts
The Ministry of Economy -Mineco- implements several programs as part of the work carried out by Guatemalan authorities to promote entrepreneurship.
In this regard, the Ministry runs the Entrepreneur’s Route program, which promotes a learning process to support small entrepreneurs, starting with idea development.
It also supports entrepreneurs to start their businesses formally. This allows them to sell their products in both national and international markets.
The efforts of the Secretariat of Social Works of the President’s Wife -SOSEP- are evident through the various productive units in the country.
The secretariat’s programs seek to strengthen women’s knowledge in different areas such as crafts, cooking, and other areas to start businesses to obtain an income and provide for their families.
All of this is driven by the Government of Guatemala, which reaffirms its commitment to continue opening spaces that enable women’s economic empowerment.
