Women in Scotland have reached a "landmark moment" in business, with the number of female entrepreneurs matching the number of men for the first time.
Women making up roughly half of that number was described by one of the report's authors as "momentous". But Prof Sahasranamam added that overall the climate for creating business opportunities could be better. “I think the highs are when you do find yourself in the right environment of people that don’t underestimate your ambition and want you to become an investable woman. When you do something innovative and create a business that can scale internationally, there’s no stopping you," she said.
She added: "You either give up and just don’t try or you’re going make it happen so that the women coming after me or alongside me, we make it easier for those coming next”.She said: “I was frustrated that what I had created wasn’t scalable. By starting a tech business I could achieve that impact I wanted to have with children and families at scale.The GEM report also stated that one in five new business-owners were non-white. At over 24%, this was the highest level ever recorded.
“Understanding these and other issues related to entrepreneurial attitudes, perceptions and activity in the country is important for policy and practice as entrepreneurship has important implications for the economy and many societal dynamics.”