Standard Chartered, Dun & Bradstreet Release Latest WEOI

By: WE staff | Monday, 22 September 2025

• Standard Chartered Bank and Dun & Bradstreet jointly brought out the second edition of the Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index for April–June 2025
• The overall index increased to 72.86 from 68.93 in the October–December 2024 quarter
• The hike shows a robust and optimistic business environment for women entrepreneurs in India

Standard Chartered Bank, in association with Dun & Bradstreet, has published the second edition of the Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index (WEOI) for April–June 2025 quarter.

The overall index increased to 72.86, a rise of 392 basis points from 68.93 in the October–December 2024 quarter, indicating a favorable business environment for women entrepreneurs in India.

The report was launched at a women entrepreneur event by Rhea Kapoor, celebrity entrepreneur; Neha Singh, Co-Founder & MD of Tracxn Technologies; and Pooja Arambhan Tiwari, Chairperson of FICCI FLO Mumbai, in partnership with senior members from Standard Chartered Bank and Dun & Bradstreet.

The event, titled "From Potential to Power: Building Skill Confidence in Women Entrepreneurs," addressed skill building, inclusive practices, and leadership opportunities.

Released under Standard Chartered's Women's International Network (SC WIN) initiative, the WEOI is founded on a survey of over 200 women entrepreneurs from industries and cities.

Measuring confidence in five areas - business performance, access to finance, skill development, digital adoption, and support from government policies and networks - it reveals insights into the shifting landscape for businesses led by women.

Some of the April–June 2025 report's key findings are, Of India's 170,000 startups, about 76,000 are women-led and together create over 1.7 million jobs.

Women entrepreneurs in Tier 2 cities were more optimistic about digital adoption compared to entrepreneurs in Tier 1 cities, even with less confidence in business performance overall.

Health Services sector entrepreneurs achieved the highest optimism score at 77.46, most confident about business performance and channels of support, although financial confidence is still a weak spot.

Women business owners in the Consumer Goods and Capital Goods industries posted decreases in digital and financial confidence, with scores below the index overall, highlighting issues such as a lack of digital literacy and availability of formal financial products.

Government financial support optimism rose, with 44 percent of women-owned firms anticipating improved access to loans, grants, and subsidies, up from 35 percent in the last quarter.