The United Nations has defined the inclusion of gender equality as a sustainable development priority to improve the global economy. Moreover, the European Comission adopted its Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, setting a framework on how to advance gender identity, race and disability equity. Following that trend, in Spain entrepreneurship is becoming a better professional option for women.
In the last ten years, the gender gap has narrowed by 36%. Recently, the Global Enterpreneurship Monitor (GEM) World Report showed that Spain is one of the top countries in Europe in terms of gender parity, with 9 women for every 10 men entrepreneurs, a figure much higher than the European average (6 out of 10). The projects of women entrepreneurs include the education sector, health, education, innovation and technology, agriculture and the social sectors.
Currently, there are and continue to appear new initiatives, both public and private, to promote women and encourage the creation of businesses led by women. For example, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce offers the Women’s Business Support Program (PAEM) for the promotion and support of women’s business activity; the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed Women (ANMEYA) aims to inform, train and represent these women entrepreneurs to promote the full professional integration of self-employed and entrepreneurial women; and the Madrid City Council carries out the Entrepreneurs Award, to contribute to the recognition of original, creative and innovative projects undertaken by women to promote and encourage female entrepreneurship.
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Moreover, Spain’s recovery and resilience plan have four cross-cutting axes that will form the backbone of the transformation towards a more sustainable and inclusive Spain by 2027, one of which is gender equality (the other three being the green transition, the digital transition and territorial and social cohesion). The objective is to reduce the digital and gender divide through the promotion of self-employment, talent management, and strategic entrepreneurship, as well as through the use of reliable technologies. As a result of female empowerment, it is estimated that Spain’s GDP will increase by 15%.
So far, we can find a number of inspiring women, creators of disruptive projects, who are using technology as a driving force:
MARIETA VIEDMA
Pioneer in the creation of an app, Lingokids, to teach English to children through play, where the child also will develop skills like creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. So far, the app has more than 30 million users, and they also offer their personalised services to kindergartens.
CRISTINA ALEIXENDRI MUÑOZ
Awarded the EIT Woman 2020 Prize and creator of bond4blue, a company committed to reducing polluting emissions and saving fuel on ships, through a system of rigid, collapsible and autonomous sails.
ANDREA BARBERM
Ranked number 30 in the list of the 100 most influential economic leaders in Spain by the Choiseul Institute. Andrea created RatedPower, a pioneering company in the automation of photovoltaic
plants.
AINHOA CID DEL VALLE
Co-founder of Karten Space, a startup that uses remote sensing, deep learning and artificial intelligence techniques to turn satellite imagery into value-added business outcomes to support industrial companies in their management and decision-making processes. Currently, the company is developing their own constellation of nanosatellites.
ANA MEDINA
Creator and CEO of Genengine, a startup dedicated to digitise and optimise processes that enable health services to cost-effectively implement more personalised and accurate medicine.
CRISTINA ABRISKETA
Founder of Araua RegTech, a disruptive company that is revolutionising the world of Compliance and Cybersecurity. Her Digital Identification system has been awarded, this year, with the third
prize of the INCIBE incubation programme.
CRISTINA SÁENZ
CEO of Orchestra Sci, a company that has created membranes for CO2 separation that are economically competitive, modular and environmentally friendly, avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, saving on emission rights and disposing of CO2 as a product for processing or marketing.
ESTELA PACHECO
Co-founder and CEO of Sonicat Systems, a technology-based company that offers advanced solutions for the food processing industry based on high-power ultrasound technology.
ESTÍBALIZ BARAÑANO
Leader of ASIMOB, a company that provides AI-based solutions and services for road safety, through automatic management of safety conditions, including traffic signal status, early detection of road degradation, monitoring of road works zones, alarms due to the presence of water, snow or ice and other factors affecting driving conditions.
This brief description of the projects initiated by women entrpreneurs in Spain demonstrates how female initiatives break social and innovative schemes. When we consider the millions of women entrepreneurs, not only in Spain but across the globe,we can see how reducing the gender gap is the smartest way to boost the global economy. Spain is investing in these initiatives, so it is relevant to take them into account if you are looking to start your own business and need funding.
For example, nowadays grants come in different sizes and formats to address different problems and needs. For example, at the local council level, there are grants that aim to empower socially excluded women by offering vocational education, thus promoting personal and social transformation. An example of this is the project called “Mujeres de Añaza Emprendedoras” (Enterprising Women of Añaza), offered by the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Moreover, also at a local level, we can find grants that promote employment for women in a unemployment situation that encourage entrepeneurship. In this case,it is companies who are eligible to apply. However, these grants only cover expenses related to the employment of unemployed women. An example of this type of recurrent aid is found in the town council of Premia de Mar.
Furthermore,if a woman wants to start a business but does not know where to start, there are also local grants available that aim to advise and train unemployed or employed women in how to start a business. At the same time, there are subsidies for women who are already entrepreneurs and are looking for a coworking space. These grants provide financial support for the rent of the space, thus promoting the potential development of joint projects that may result from sharing the same work space with other women in similar sectors.
Finally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINECO), through the ENISA Digital Entrepreneurs funding line, will allocate up to € 51 million until the end of 2023 to boost female digital entrepreneurship. The provision of information and advice to women entrepreneurs is key to the promotion and empowerment of entrepreneurship.
In Spain there is still a long way to go to achieve full inclusiveness and equal entrepreneurship opportunities. Thanks to these type of funds and actions however, little by little we start to see the results of the actions that will lead us to achieve gender equality. The empowerment of minorities and of people who have been made invisible only results in greater social cohesion and better social outcomes.
For more information of female-led entrepreneurship opportunities, check out our latest FUNDED Magazine.
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