Boston Consulting Group has raised concerns over widening economic inequality affecting women in Africa, revealing that women’s economic participation on the continent has dropped below 2022 levels, a development that could delay Africa’s journey to economic gender parity to about 170 years.
The report, titled Financing Women’s Digital Entrepreneurship: A Pathway to Closing Africa’s Economic Gender Gap, drew insights from BCG’s Africa Women’s Voices Survey 2025 conducted across Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco and Egypt. According to the findings, Africa’s post COVID economic recovery has remained slow, with women disproportionately affected due to their concentration in vulnerable and informal employment.
The report also noted worsening attitudes toward gender equality, with many women becoming less supportive of equal pay, financial independence and equal access to education amid rising concerns over gender based violence and economic exclusion.
Despite the challenges, the report identified digital entrepreneurship as a major pathway for women’s economic inclusion across the continent. It revealed that 66 per cent of women surveyed expressed interest in owning businesses, with figures exceeding 80 per cent in Nigeria and Kenya. One in five women already operates an online business, while digital platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Jumia reportedly have between 40 and 50 per cent female sellers in several African markets.
The study, however, highlighted a major financing gap facing women led businesses, revealing that female founded startups attracted less than one per cent of Africa’s venture capital funding in 2024 despite outperforming male led ventures in revenue generation and long term growth.
BCG called for reforms in Africa’s investment ecosystem, including smaller funding packages, blended financing models and stronger support from Development Finance Institutions and governments. The report also stressed the need to improve internet affordability and digital access, noting that 45 per cent of women surveyed lacked regular internet access largely due to cost barriers.