Ranked fifth by IDB
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), ranks Uruguay as the fifth-best among 20 counties providing «the best business environments for women» in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
An index devised by the MIF rates the conditions in the five areas that have «the greatest influence on entrepreneurial spirit» among women: the risks involved in running a business, such as those associated with security and corruption; the business environment: costs and regulatory requirements for the creation of companies; women’s access to financing tools; the capacity and competences of women; and the availability of social services, including family support programmes.
Chile has the highest rating in business prospects for companies run by women, followed by Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Next in the ranking is Uruguay, followed by Costa Rica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Brazil.
The MIF study highlights the fact that 40% of Uruguay’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were owned by women in 2012, and that capacity building programmes and social services «are among the best in the region».
«The main network, Uruguay’s Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (OMEU by its Spanish acronym), provides a number of opportunities for women to make acquaintances and business contacts. Tertiary education is free, with women’s share in university student enrolment amounting to 64.1% in 2010, being among the highest five in the region», according to the study.
MIF’s General Manager Nancy Lee has described Latin American women as having «the greatest entrepreneurial spirit in the world». Nevertheless, she pointed out that women still have «an inequitable share in SME ownership».
Another remarkable aspect of the Latin American and Caribbean region is the «relatively high» availability of business education and training opportunities for women. According to the MIF report, «women account for over 50% of students graduating from tertiary education programmes, and access to business networks is available in more than half of those countries included in the analysis».
