Dell ranks Johannesburg 28th out of 50 in support of women entrepreneurs

Computer company Dell has ranked Johannesburg 28th out of 50 global cities in fostering high-potential women entrepreneurs, in its 2017 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities).

The latest index, which was released last month, places Johannesburg ahead of cities such as Seoul, São Paulo, Kuala Lumpur, Barcelona, Tokyo and Dublin.

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However the South African city has slid from its position at 23rd in the 2016 study, which Dell said is reflective of tougher market conditions.

Dell explained that the 2016 and 2017 studies differ in several ways, including the total number of cities, number of indicators and the weight of indicators based on new data sources. Given the new elements to the ranking, scores should not be compared year-over-year, the tech company cautioned.

The index ranks cities on five elements: access to capital, technology, talent, culture and markets.

Johannesburg’s strengths included that 76% of adult women participate in the labour force and the presence of four local business schools with an average female enrollment of nearly 43%, Dell noted.

However it pointed out that Johannesburg has many opportunities to better nurture and support women entrepreneurs.

Johannesburg must add more women support initiatives, improve maternity benefits, increase use of technology among females – Dell

These include the need to improve the quality of education, both for entrepreneurial women and the workforce at large and the need to improve the amount of paid maternity benefits, which currently stand at just four months of unpaid or partially paid maternity leave.

“This would help women maintain and build their capital base where the city ranks 39th,” it added.

Dell recommended that Johannesburg could host networking opportunities and build city level organisations and incubator and accelerator programmes specifically for women entrepreneurs.

It added that Johannesburg could also increase women’s use of technology by developing programmes to decrease the high average monthly cost of internet (ranking 41st)
and by creating technology training programmes specifically designed for women (where it ranks 48th out of 50).

The 50 cities are ranked as follows:

1. New York (US)
2. San Francisco Bay Area (US)
3. London (UK)
4. Boston (US)
5. Stockholm (Sweden)
6. Los Angeles (US)
7. Washington DC (US)
8. Singapore (Singapore)
9. Toronto (Canada)
10. Seattle (US)
11. Sydney (Australia)
12. Paris (France)
13. Chicago (US)
14. Minneapolis (US)
15. Austin (US)
16. Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
17. Melbourne (Australia)
18. Atlanta (US)
19. Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
20. Portland, Oregon (US)
21. Berlin (Germany)
22. Taipei (Taiwan)
23. Pittsburg (US)
24. Tel Aviv (Israel)
25. Copenhagen (Denmark)
26. Vancouver (Canada)
27. Houston (US)
28. Johannesburg (South Africa)
29. Barcelona (Spain)
30. Seoul (Korea)
31. Munich (Germany)
32. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (US)
33. Nairobi (Kenya)
34. Dublin (Ireland)
35. Warsaw (Poland)
36. Belfast (UK)
37. Milan (Italy)
38. Beijing (China)
39. Tokyo (Japan)
40. Bangalore (India)
41. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
42. São Paulo (Brazil)
43. Dubai (UAE)
44. Shanghai (China)
45. Mexico City (Mexico)
46. Lima (Peru)
47. Guadalajara (Mexico)
48. Istanbul (Turkey)
49. Delhi (India)
50. Jakarta (Indonesia)

 

Featured image: Fran001 via Flickr (CC 2.0, resized)