New Visa and Emerging Europe survey reveals 9 out of 10 Ukrainian women-owned businesses do not cross national borders

Results of recent research in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus – conducted by Emerging Europe as part of the She's Next Empowered by Visa campaign – show 88 per cent of Ukrainian women-owned businesses operate domestically. For 42 per cent of female entrepreneurs, the main source of motivation to start their own business is the desire to increase income. At the same time, 29 per cent of Ukrainian businesswomen are concerned that business will leave them no time for rest. Overall, the survey proves female leaders in the region have a keen interest in digital marketing and social media and are willing to expand their businesses internationally.

Visa today announced the results of research into female leadership and entrepreneurship in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia & the Caucasus conducted by Emerging Europe, a prominent growth hub with expertise in the region, as part of the She's Next initiative.

The extensive study was conducted in 2022 and comprised an online survey of 2,000 female business owners or self-employed women in 11 countries, including Ukraine, 75 in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings provide a thorough profile of the average female entrepreneur from the region and will allow stakeholders to understand the struggles and challenges faced by women as they pursue their careers.

"As one of our interviewees said, it is harder for women to raise funds. It is harder in Silicon Valley. It is harder in her country of Armenia. And raising funds is only one of multiple challenges that female entrepreneurs are facing," said Andrew Wrobel, Founding Partner of Emerging Europe. "In this research, we wanted to explore female entrepreneurship as deep as possible and understand all potential obstacles that might influence the businesses and start-ups women create. We also wanted to explore their needs, as well as potential solutions that could empower them and help their businesses thrive and grow internationally."

Overall, most women-owned businesses (84 per cent) in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus don't cross international borders (in Ukraine this number is 88 per cent), but all female entrepreneurs are willing to learn about doing business abroad. 

The leading sectors where women-owned businesses operate are beauty and wellness (17 per cent), retail (12 per cent), agriculture and food (12 per cent), education (eight per cent) and PR and marketing (seven percent). Two-thirds of female entrepreneurs do not use external financing, while three-quarters do not have any employees. Some 35 per cent of women-owned businesses in the region were set up with an investment of less than 1,000 US dollars. Only one in 10 women employs more than 5 people.

"From its start in 2019, the She's Next program was all about empowering female leaders and local communities and helping them thrive," said Vira Platonova, Visa Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for 17 countries. "That is why it is very important for Visa to learn about the specific needs and concerns of women entrepreneurs in the countries where the initiative is active. We are happy to see female leaders of Ukraine and the whole region of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus gradually transition to e-commerce and enjoy convenient and reliable digital payments. We will use the results of the research to bring many more initiatives promoting gender inclusivity in the region."

Key takeaways

• Women strive for professional and financial independence. The main sources of motivation for women to start their business are the desire to increase income (50 per cent), willingness to work for themselves (31 per cent) and fulfillment of a dream (21 per cent).

In Ukraine, the main motivation sources to start a business are the desire to increase income (42 per cent) and the desire to be independent (41 per cent).

• Female entrepreneurs care about their business and private lives almost equally. Respondents named business failure (29 per cent), a worsening financial situation (27 per cent) and neglect of family and children (25 per cent) among their biggest concerns. 

Businesswomen in Ukraine, on the other hand, are most worried their business might leave them no time for rest (29 per cent), the fear of failure comes second (26 per cent).

• Women-owned businesses struggle to survive competition and raise funding. Female entrepreneurs tend to face such challenges as high competition (40 per cent), raising capital (32 per cent), and unfavorable business conditions (31 per cent).

Respondents in Ukraine noted that the biggest challenge of setting up and running a business in their country are high competition (58 per cent), while only 37 per cent and 21 per cent face unfavorable business conditions or problems with obtaining financing.

• Female entrepreneurs want to learn about doing business online. The primary skills that respondents are willing to obtain are strategies to acquire additional funding (47 per cent), digital marketing and social media (37 per cent), e-commerce (24 per cent) and international business development (21 per cent). 

In Ukraine, the top of the most popular skills looks the same: the leaders are strategies to acquire additional funding (47 per cent), digital marketing and social media (38 per cent) and e-commerce (27 per cent).

• Women-owned businesses stick to cash when paying employees and suppliers but tend to install POS terminals for customers. 42 per cent of female entrepreneurs pay their employees and suppliers in cash, while 37 per cent prefer card payments.

In Ukraine, only 39 per cent pay employees and suppliers in cash, and 42 per cent prefer to pay by card. However, when it comes to customers, electronic payments are much more popular: 37 per cent of respondents named card payments the most frequent method to pay for their goods and services and 42 per cent said they prefer their customers to pay them by card. In comparison, 35 per cent of female entrepreneurs said their customers paid in cash more often, and only 28 per cent prefer clients to stick to cash. In Ukraine, customers mostly pay by card (37 per cent versus 31 per cent who pay in cash). And about half of Ukrainian female entrepreneurs named card payments as the most preferred method of payment for their goods and services.

The next stage of the Visa and Emerging Europe partnership — which has the ambitious goal of uniting female entrepreneurs throughout the region within the She's Next community — is to provide them with a platform to communicate, mentor, exchange experiences, and expand the horizons of their businesses.