ANTILLA MARTINIQUE | Avec vous depuis 1981

This is a wo(man’s) world, this is a wo(man’s) world

But it wouldn’t be nothing, anything without a man or a boy“

I had to open with a refresh of those James Brown song lyrics and here’s why.

Do you know that ” Women make 70% of major financial decisions for themselves and their families, everything from auto, home, and investment? In the U.S. alone, women control $14 trillion in assets or roughly 60% of personal wealth, which is expected to climb to $22 trillion in 2020. Globally, women control $36 trillion in total wealth.?” – Daniel Kayembe, Futurist

Based on statistics released in 2015, women collectively represent the second largest economy in the world based on earned income vs GDP. This would seem like a logical assumption because women make up half the population, but due to a lack of data, this number undercounts female contribution to the global economy

Then you pair that with the fact that ” GDP doesn’t account for women’s uncompensated labor  —  an area of productivity that is foundational to the function of every economy in the world. The estimates are staggering: Women globally produce a minimum $10 trillion in uncompensated labor.”

What you get is that “The Global Female economy: A phenomenon that many global brands are missing, “represents an opportunity larger than the economies of China and the United States. “

With all of this data, you would think that…companies and businesses would be Bolting to invest heavily in balanced or female-heavy teams to better understand and engage with their customers — many of whom are women. But nope, In 2015, women were receiving 15% of total VC funding, and those numbers have declined to 2% in 2017.  Then in 2022, JP Morgan now refers to The Female Economy, as being part of the Trillion Dollar blind spot that is, investing in female and multicultural entrepreneurs.

In JP Morgan’s 2018 survey, it said that “investors reported capitalizing multicultural and women-owned businesses at 80% less than businesses overall, and our research shows this translates into roughly US$4.4 trillion in missed opportunity.”

But women entrepreneurs are not waiting to be seen or validated though.

According to Kayembe “A new generation of women is increasingly stepping into entrepreneurship and innovation. Yet as they do so, we are seeing a wave of businesses with women-centered innovation at the core  —  meaning, products and services that are designed to reflect women’s pain points and direct needs.”

And all of this moved me to ask what are the opportunities here in the Caribbean and around the World:

1. Research and gather data on Caribbean Women in the Region and Diaspora to understand their role in entrepreneurship and innovation.
2. Research and gather data on Caribbean Women in the Region and Diaspora and their role in spending and influencing buying decisions in various industries
3. Track this new generation of Caribbean women who are digitally savvy and find fresh ways to start, fund, and grow their businesses outside of the mainstream methods.
4. Facilitate and fun women-led and women-focused businesses around the world across various industries.
5. Educate, facilitate, and fund women to position for the opportunities of Web3

Because it’s now a Woman’s World…