Standard Chartered and Dun & Bradstreet Release Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 22 March 2025

• Dun & Bradstreet and Standard Chartered Bank introduced the inaugural Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index (WEOI)
• The growth indicates that women business owners expected better opportunities in Q4 2024

Standard Chartered Bank and Dun & Bradstreet, the business decisioning data and analytics global leader, launched the first edition of the Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index (WEOI). The overall index for Q4 2024 was 68.93, a 97 basis point rise over 67.90 in Q3 2024, indicating that women entrepreneurs are looking forward to improved prospects during the last quarter of 2024.

The WEOI was initiated under SC WIN, Standard Chartered Bank's Women's International Network programme, which facilitates women-owned businesses with funding, cash management, assigned managers, and a network to support their growth process.

This path-breaking index is derived from a survey of more than 200 women entrepreneurs across industries and cities, providing insights into the future, opportunities, and challenges of women entrepreneurs. It is centered on five parameters that affect their confidence: business performance, finance access, skill building, digital adoption, and government policy support, and personal and professional networks.

The high business confidence among female entrepreneurs can be explained by the expected increase in domestic orders, indicating a greater demand for their services and products in local markets. Women entrepreneurs in Tier 1 cities were more optimistic than women entrepreneurs in Tier 2 cities, especially with regards to digital uptake and self-assurance about their skills

Health service entrepreneurs and intermediate and basic goods producers had lower optimism levels, whereas consumer goods producers seemed most optimistic about Q4 2024.

During Q4 2024, 64 percent of the female business owners who were interviewed indicated they would be interested in digitalizing their business operations, including their finances, to make processes more efficient and streamlined. In a bid to increase their customer base, women business owners had a high affinity for investing in technology tools, with 70 percent intent to invest more in customer acquisition digital tools and processes during Q4 2024.

In terms of growth in business, women leaders placed great significance on leadership and management skills, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit. There is a growing need for government-sponsored skill-building programs and initiatives, as two in every five women feel optimistic about the utility of these facilities.

71 percent of women entrepreneurs had not anticipated finding access to finance straightforward. Aditya Mandloi, Managing Director and Head of Wealth and Retail Banking for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, said of the report launch for WEOI Q4 2024

 "Women entrepreneurs are an ever-powerful force within India's business environment, yet structural barriers still obstruct their growth. SC WIN demonstrates Standard Chartered's intent to overcome these barriers through empowering women with the right tools and opportunities to ensure success. The Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index adds strength to this intent through data-driven insights that influence policies and initiatives for effective change."

Avinash Gupta, CEO & Managing Director at Dun & Bradstreet India said, "Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index is an essential tool for policymakers, financial institutions and other stakeholders to formulate strategies promoting the development of women entrepreneurs. The Index puts the key drivers of growth under the spotlight as a barometer of where the women entrepreneurs feel their business is headed to."