London overtakes New York as best city for female entrepreneurs

London has overtaken New York and San Francisco as the best cities in the world for women entrepreneurs after startups grew at a “huge” rate during the pandemic. city ​​morning can be revealed exclusively.

The 2023 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index, compiled by Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), ranked the capital among 55 other cities for its ability to attract and develop female entrepreneurs.

London defeated 2nd, 3rd and 4th ranked New York, Bay Area and Paris respectively to win the title.

Not only has it consistently ranked among the top three since the index’s inception, but London is the only city to progress in both the 2019-23 index and the previous 2017-19 index, with the capital improving during the pandemic. I was able to.

While talent development has proven to be London’s strength, business leaders have expressed concerns about London’s lack of progress when it comes to technology.

Cities were rated based on both operational and enabling factors for women entrepreneurs and further divided into five ‘pillars’.

Regarding the talent component, London showed the strongest performance, measuring the likelihood of finding women with the training and experience and the availability of a local workforce with the necessary skills and education.

In other categories, London ranked 3rd for Markets and Capital and 7th for Culture. Copenhagen did not make the top 10 leading technology.

“London consistently ranks among the top three cities for its ability to attract and support potential female entrepreneurs. It’s the golden age of entrepreneurship, with London taking the top spot on the podium this year,” the report said.

But London didn’t have a perfectly clean report card. The report notes that London “generally lags behind” in technology and culture.

“Early signs point to an enabling environment for remote work and the information age to become a key differentiator for the cities of the future as they mature into the digital age,” the report said.

Margarete McGrath, Global Advisory and Strategic Partner Lead, Dell Technologies, said: City AM Capital has climbed to the top “by leveraging its incredible talent.”

“We are seeing the startup ecosystem grow at an incredible rate, but not as fast as in London, and with it the demand for entrepreneurial talent.

“London is home to many of the world’s leading universities and business schools, which have helped establish a skilled talent pool, which has proven essential for founders looking to start and scale their businesses. ”

“This study identifies accelerators as a major opportunity for women entrepreneurs in London,” she adds, and works with programs such as the Natwest Entrepreneur Accelerator and LORCA, Plexal’s cyber accelerator.

Heralding the power of technology, she added that technology is “a key driver for cities that want to foster the right environment for women entrepreneurs to succeed, especially in a post-pandemic world.”

“London scored well in all other dimensions, but the index shows that there is room for improvement when it comes to technology.

“Considering that London has a reputation for producing some of the best tech startups in the world, this is surprising, but it presents a tremendous opportunity.

“For London to maintain its world-leading position for women entrepreneurs, investments in technologies such as 5G deployments, for example, are essential to maintain competitive advantage.”

Elizabeth Heron, CEO and founder of London-based events company Orangedoor, said the capital “is in the top 10 under the cultural pillar, partly due to the access women entrepreneurs have to mentors and role models.

“The survey highlights the increasingly strong role women play in driving economic growth in London and the UK as a whole. I hope you are committed to empowering women founders and aspiring entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, whose success is absolutely critical to the economic recovery of the country.

“We are proud that London has been ranked as the most progressive city for women entrepreneurship this year. It perfectly shows what the place is. Long live it!”