Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs

Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs

London to Host a Global Research Conference in February 2027

The international conference will bring researchers, policymakers and business experts together to examine the evidence, policies and financial solutions that can help women-led businesses grow.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM | 1–2 FEBRUARY 2027

The future of women-led businesses will be a central focus when the fourth Research Conference: Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Economies takes place at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) headquarters in London on 1–2 February 2027.

Jointly organized by the EBRD and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), the conference will bring together academics, policymakers, development professionals and private-sector representatives to explore one of the most important questions facing inclusive economic growth: what actually helps women entrepreneurs establish, sustain and expand their businesses?

The event is being organized in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the World Bank Group, American University, Imperial College London and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Its focus is on generating and sharing research that can inform policies, financial services and business-support programmes for women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups and growth-oriented micro-enterprises.

Rather than concentrating solely on the challenges women face in business, the conference aims to examine evidence about which interventions work, under what circumstances and how successful approaches can be applied more widely. This makes the gathering relevant not only to researchers but also to governments, financial institutions and organizations working to strengthen women's participation in the economy.

Why women's business growth deserves greater attention

Women entrepreneurs contribute to employment, innovation, household incomes and local economic development. However, establishing a business does not necessarily mean having the resources or opportunities needed to expand it.

Access to finance, business networks, technology, skilled workers and new markets can influence whether an enterprise remains small or develops into a sustainable, job-creating business. The surrounding policy environment also matters, including regulations, social expectations and the availability of services that help entrepreneurs manage competing responsibilities.

These issues are particularly important in developing economies, where business owners may operate in markets with limited financial infrastructure or face barriers to formal business services.

The London conference will examine these questions through research focused on women-led enterprises and the conditions that influence their performance. A key emphasis is the use of data that distinguishes outcomes by sex, allowing researchers and policymakers to better understand whether financial products, training programmes and other interventions reach women entrepreneurs effectively.

The broader objective is to move beyond assumptions and identify practical, evidence-based ways to improve the conditions in which women-owned businesses operate.

Finance: From access to meaningful business growth

Access to finance is among the major themes of the conference. For entrepreneurs, funding can determine whether they can purchase equipment, hire employees, develop products, invest in technology or enter new markets.

Yet the availability of finance alone does not explain every business outcome. Loan conditions, collateral requirements, financial literacy, the cost of borrowing and the suitability of financial products can all affect an enterprise's ability to grow.

The conference will examine access to finance and blended finance, including how different financing approaches might support women-led businesses. Blended finance combines development-oriented funding with other sources of capital to help address investment challenges.

Research in this area can help financial institutions and policymakers assess which financing arrangements are most appropriate for different businesses. It can also help identify where existing systems fail to serve women entrepreneurs and what changes could make funding more accessible and useful.

For women founders seeking to scale their operations, these discussions are relevant to a wider question: how can finance become a tool for productive investment, rather than simply a source of short-term capital?

Artificial intelligence and digital finance are changing the business landscape

Technology is another important area on the conference agenda. Artificial intelligence, digital financial services and financial technology are changing how businesses manage operations, communicate with customers, analyse information and access services.

For smaller enterprises, digital tools may create opportunities to automate routine work, reach customers through online channels and make more informed decisions. Digital financial services can also offer new ways to make payments, manage transactions and interact with financial institutions.

However, the benefits are not automatic. Entrepreneurs need access to reliable digital infrastructure, appropriate skills and tools suited to their business needs. Costs, cybersecurity risks, data protection and unequal access to technology can also limit adoption.

By examining AI and entrepreneurship alongside digital finance and fintech, the conference will explore questions that matter to businesses at different stages of development. The aim is to build a stronger evidence base for understanding how technology can contribute to women's enterprise growth.

For women entrepreneurs in emerging markets, these discussions may be especially relevant as digital platforms create new possibilities for reaching customers beyond traditional geographic boundaries.

Business training, skills and access to markets

Capital and technology cannot replace the need for sound business management. Entrepreneurs must also make decisions about pricing, customer acquisition, cash flow, hiring, supply chains and long-term strategy.

The conference will therefore address business training and bundled services, as well as access to markets and technology.

Bundled services combine different forms of support, potentially including training, mentoring, financial services and assistance with market access. Research can help determine whether these combined approaches deliver better results than individual interventions, and which types of entrepreneurs benefit most.

Market access is equally important. A business may have a viable product but struggle to find buyers, establish distribution channels or meet the requirements of larger customers. Better access to technology, commercial networks and supply chains can help enterprises identify new opportunities.

For policymakers and business-support organizations, understanding these relationships is essential when designing programmes intended to produce measurable results. Effective support should respond to the needs of businesses rather than assume that every entrepreneur requires the same intervention.

The policy environment and the importance of reliable data

Entrepreneurs operate within wider economic and institutional systems. Laws, regulations, social norms and administrative requirements can influence the cost of starting a company, employing workers, securing funding and trading across markets.

The conference will consider the enabling environment for entrepreneurship, including policies, laws, regulations and norms. It will also examine systemic change and the importance of sex-disaggregated data on financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Reliable data can help decision-makers identify differences in how businesses access capital and other resources. Without sufficient information, programmes may overlook gaps in access or fail to establish whether their intended beneficiaries are receiving support.

Better measurement can also improve accountability. Governments, lenders and development institutions can use evidence to evaluate whether programmes are reaching women-led enterprises and whether the results justify expanding or redesigning them.

The emphasis on research reflects the conference's wider purpose: connecting what is learned about women's entrepreneurship with decisions that influence business conditions and economic development.

Entrepreneurship in difficult economic circumstances

Business growth does not happen under identical conditions everywhere. Conflict, natural disasters and economic disruption can damage infrastructure, interrupt supply chains, reduce household incomes and restrict access to financial services.

Women entrepreneurs operating in these circumstances may face additional obstacles in maintaining business continuity and protecting their livelihoods. Understanding their experiences is important when designing financing and recovery programmes.

The conference includes finance and entrepreneurship in conflict zones and natural disasters among its research themes. This topic creates an opportunity to examine how financial institutions, governments and development organizations can respond to businesses facing exceptional uncertainty.

The programme also identifies entrepreneurship and time use in the care economy as an area of interest. Care responsibilities can influence how entrepreneurs allocate time, manage employees and pursue business opportunities. Research into these relationships can help explain why business support must sometimes account for responsibilities outside the workplace.

These themes broaden the discussion beyond conventional measures of business performance and consider the circumstances in which women build and operate enterprises.

A keynote address linking research with policy

The conference will feature a keynote address by Seema Jayachandran, the Kenneth J. Boudreaux ’65 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

Her participation adds an academic perspective to a programme designed to connect economic research with practical decisions. Alongside research presentations, policy-oriented sessions will give academics, practitioners and policymakers opportunities to discuss how findings can inform project design and implementation.

This connection is central to the event's purpose. Research can identify promising approaches, but its wider value depends on whether institutions can translate the findings into workable programmes, policies and financial services.

By bringing different professional perspectives into the same discussion, the conference aims to strengthen the relationship between evidence and action in women's entrepreneurship.

What the conference means for women entrepreneurs

Although the event has a strong research focus, its themes have direct relevance to founders and business owners.

The findings discussed in London may help inform future approaches to business financing, training, technology adoption and market access. They may also provide useful insights for organizations developing services for women-led businesses.

For entrepreneurs, the questions being examined are practical:

• What types of financing best support sustainable business expansion?

• How can digital tools and artificial intelligence improve business performance?

• Which forms of training and mentoring deliver meaningful results?

• How can women-led enterprises reach new customers and supply chains?

• What policy changes could reduce barriers to starting and expanding a business?

• How can business-support programmes better respond to economic shocks and care responsibilities?

The conference itself should not be interpreted as a guarantee of funding or commercial opportunities for attendees. Its principal contribution is to create a forum for sharing evidence and discussing how it can influence the programmes and systems that support entrepreneurship.

London as a meeting point for research and development policy

Hosting the conference at EBRD headquarters places the discussions within an institution whose work includes supporting private-sector development and economic transition.

The involvement of international development institutions and academic partners reflects the cross-border nature of the issues being examined. Women's entrepreneurship is influenced by local market conditions, national policies and broader patterns in finance, technology and trade.

The conference provides a setting for comparing findings across contexts and identifying questions that require further investigation. Such exchanges can help researchers understand where results are broadly applicable and where interventions need to be adapted to local circumstances.

For institutions working across developing economies, the challenge is not simply to promote more women-owned businesses, but to identify the conditions under which those businesses can become more productive, resilient and capable of creating employment.

Event details at a glance

Event: Fourth Research Conference: Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Economies

Dates: 1–2 February 2027

Venue: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development headquarters, 5 Bank Street, London, E14 4BG, United Kingdom

Organizers: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

Partner institutions: Inter-American Development Bank Group, World Bank Group, American University, Imperial College London and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

Keynote speaker: Seema Jayachandran, Princeton University

Primary themes: Finance, AI and entrepreneurship, digital finance, business training, market access, policy environments, crisis resilience and the care economy.

Official event information: https://www.we-fi.org/2027-research-conference/

Looking ahead

The Research Conference: Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs offers a focused opportunity to examine how evidence can improve the support available to women-led businesses. Its emphasis on finance, technology, market access and public policy reflects the range of factors that influence whether an enterprise can move from survival to sustainable growth.

For researchers, the event provides a platform to present findings and identify new questions. For policymakers and development institutions, it offers an opportunity to assess how evidence can inform programmes and investment decisions. For the wider business community, it highlights the importance of creating conditions in which women entrepreneurs can build resilient companies and contribute to employment and economic development.

Ultimately, expanding women's entrepreneurship requires more than encouraging women to start businesses. It requires understanding what helps those businesses grow, identifying the barriers that hold them back and applying that knowledge to create better opportunities.

That is the central question the London conference will bring into focus in February 2027.