Report: Digital Entrepreneurship Will Re-write Africa’s Path to Gender Economic Parity

Digital entrepreneurship holds the potential to reshape Africa's trajectory toward gender economic parity, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, titled ‘Financing Women’s Digital Entrepreneurship: A Pathway to Closing Africa’s Economic Gender Gap,’ highlights a concerning trend: women's economic participation in Africa has declined, pushing the estimated time to achieve economic parity from 120 years to around 170 years.

The BCG report draws on its Africa Women’s Voices Survey 2025, which polled approximately 3,000 individuals across six major African economies: South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt. It also incorporates data from the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2025 and insights into Africa's startup funding landscape. The analysis indicates that Africa's post-COVID economic recovery has been slow and uneven, with GDP per capita growing at only 1.2 percent annually, less than half the global average. With 70 percent of women in vulnerable, informal employment, they have disproportionately suffered from this economic regression.

Beyond the economic data, the survey reveals a troubling shift in attitudes. Since 2023, perceptions of gender equality have worsened across the region, affecting both men and women. Worryingly, women are now less likely to support equal pay, financial autonomy, and equal access to education, suggesting a deepening of internalized discrimination.

Zineb Sqalli, Managing Director and Partner at BCG and Global Lead for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, expressed concern over these findings. "What makes this data particularly concerning is that the regression is not limited to structural barriers," Sqalli stated. "When we see women, themselves becoming less likely to advocate for their own economic rights, it signals how deeply these setbacks are being felt at a social level. The window for intervention is narrowing."

Despite these challenges, the BCG survey found that 66 percent of women across the surveyed countries aspire to own their own business, with this figure exceeding 80 percent in Nigeria and Kenya. Furthermore, one in five women surveyed already operates an online business, and two-thirds are considering starting one, demonstrating a strong ambition in digital entrepreneurship that outpaces men.

“

What makes this data particularly concerning is that the regression is not limited to structural barriers. When we see women, themselves becoming less likely to advocate for their own economic rights, it signals how deeply these setbacks are being felt at a social level. The window for intervention is narrowing.