The study notes that entrepreneurship rates are actually higher in developing countries than in more mature economies - a finding that some might find surprising.

There are about 252 million women entrepreneurs worldwide and another 153 million are running established firms, according to an academic report highlighting how women in developing countries are often far ahead of their peers in richer nations.

The report, issued by Babson College and Smith College, also demonstrates how women in business are now a major client segment that the wealth sector cannot ignore.

While there has been considerable commentary on why financial institutions such as private banks should improve how they serve women, there are not many reports on the sheer scale of how potentially large this client group is.

The study, which was sponsored by the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation, sheds some light on the size of the female business segment. It is based on analyzing 59 economies. The study, called the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, was started in 1999 as a joint venture between Babson College and the London Business School.

"Overall, this report demonstrates the value women entrepreneurs bring to societies worldwide and suggests areas for improvement in ecosystems that better encourage and support women entrepreneurs," Candida G Brush, Babson College Vice Provost of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership, said.

The report recommends that stereotypes of who entrepreneurs are and what this term means must be challenged, and urges readers to learn about best practices in building and running businesses.

One term minted by the report is “total entrepreneurial activity”, which tracks the percentage of the adult working-age population (18-64) who are either nascent or new entrepreneurs. Globally, the TEA rate for women is 10.2 per cent, approximately three-quarters of that seen for men.

Interestingly, low-income countries showed the highest rates of women's TEA at 15.1 per cent. Low-income countries report the smallest TEA gender gap, where women's TEA is over 80 per cent of that of men. Women's TEA rate drops to 8.1 per cent for high-income countries with a corresponding TEA gender gap slightly more than two-thirds that of men.

The highest rates of TEA for women are found in sub-Saharan Africa (21.8 per cent) and Latin American (17.3 per cent). The lowest rates are found in Europe (6 per cent) and MENA regions (9 per cent).

Nine countries where women report entrepreneurial behaviors at levels equal to (parity) or greater than those of men are Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Panama, Qatar, Thailand and Vietnam - representing all three levels of national income.

Entrepreneurial intentions
The global average of women intending to start a business within the next three years is 17.6 per cent, only about four points less than the rate for men. The highest rates of women's entrepreneurial intentions are found among low-income countries (37.8 per cent), followed by middle-income (21.3 per cent) and high-income countries (12.6 per cent).
 
There has been a rise in the number of established businesses owned by women for more than 42 months. Globally, 6.2 per cent of women entrepreneurs own established businesses, about two-thirds of the rate of men. The highest rates are seen in sub-Saharan Africa (11.3 per cent) and Asia (9.1 per cent) with the lowest rates of established business ownership reported in MENA (4.5 per cent), Europe (5.3 per cent), North America (5.7 per cent) and Latin America (6.5 per cent).