The Best Countries for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia, Compared on Data You Can Check
Asia has some of the world's most equal business laws for women and some of the widest gaps, often a short flight apart. This guide compares 10 countries in East, Southeast and South Asia for women who want to start or grow a company, using two primary sources only: the GEM 2025/2026 Women's Entrepreneurship Report for how many women actually start businesses, and the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2026 for how well laws and public systems back them. For each country we add one national programme for women, checked on a government or agency page. The older version of this article quoted 2014 rankings, unsourced percentages and links to websites that do not exist; we removed all of them. The order below follows the region, not a score: there is no single ranking that fits every founder.
Quick answer: South Korea, Taiwan and Japan combine strong laws with strong support systems and dedicated women's loans or centres. Vietnam has the highest legal score of the Asian economies in this guide (86.7 out of 100) and a new national women's startup project for 2026-2035. The Philippines scores well on support and runs government loans for women-led businesses. In Thailand and India women start businesses at high rates, and Indian women were 31% more likely than men to run a high-potential startup in GEM's 2025 survey.
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Female Entrepreneurship in Asia at a Glance
Sources: women's and men's early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) from Table A2.1 of the GEM 2025/2026 Women's Entrepreneurship Report (2025 survey); legal frameworks and supportive frameworks scores out of 100 from the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2026 data file (global averages 67 and 47); programmes from the official pages linked below, checked in November 2026.
How We Compared the Countries
GEM measures Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA): the share of adults aged 18 to 64 who are starting a business or running one less than about three and a half years old. Its 2025/2026 women's report, published on 8 October 2026, uses the 2025 survey of 150,799 adults in 48 economies. Worldwide, 11.9% of women and 14.4% of men were in early-stage activity, a women-to-men ratio of 0.83. Only a few Asian economies are in that survey: South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and India from our list, plus Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and other Gulf states. Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia were not surveyed in 2025, so we do not quote older or third-party startup rates for them.
The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2026, released on 24 February 2026, scores 190 economies from 0 to 100 on laws (legal frameworks), on the policies and institutions that put them into practice (supportive frameworks) and on how experts see enforcement. Its data are current to 1 October 2025. The World Bank groups Japan and South Korea with high-income OECD economies and the rest of this list with East Asia and Pacific or South Asia; we treat them together as Asia. For the same comparison across the world, see our best countries for female entrepreneurs guide.
10 Countries in Asia for Women Founders
1. South Korea
Korean women start businesses almost as often as men: 8.8% against 9.3% in GEM's 2025 survey (ratio 0.95), and slightly more women than men said they plan to start one (25.2% against 24.1%). The World Bank gives South Korea 85.6 for laws and 76.3 for support, and 87.5 for both laws and support on entrepreneurship, among the highest in Asia. The state-backed Wbiz portal, run by the Women Enterprise Supporting Center and the Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association, lists women's startup incubation centres around the country, a women's startup competition, a global accelerating programme, startup funds for women who head their household, femtech support, the women-owned business certificate and public procurement of products from women-owned firms. The portal is in Korean. Our Seoul startup events guide lists where to meet the ecosystem.
2. Taiwan
Taiwan has the highest supportive frameworks score of the Asian economies in this guide (84.1) and a 95 for support on entrepreneurship, with 79.8 for laws. Fewer women than men start businesses there: 8.5% against 11.9% in 2025 (ratio 0.71). The Ministry of Labor's Micro-Entrepreneurship Phoenix programme combines startup loans for women aged 20 to 65 (and people aged 45 to 65) with free startup courses and advice, according to the ministry's release that set it up. The programme's own website did not load when we checked, so confirm the current loan limit there before you plan around it.
3. Japan
Japan scores 80.8 for laws and 76.6 for support in the World Bank's 2026 data, with 82.5 for support on entrepreneurship. It was not in GEM's 2025 survey. The state-owned Japan Finance Corporation offers a startup loan for women, under-35s and over-55s (part of its new business and startup support fund): it is open to women who are starting a business or started one within about the last seven years, lends up to ¥72 million, gives up to 20 years to repay equipment loans and 10 years for working capital, each with up to 5 years before repayments start, and charges a special lower rate. The page is in Japanese. Our Tokyo startup events and Fukuoka startups guides show two very different Japanese scenes.
4. Philippines
The Philippines scores 77.4 for support, one of the highest in Asia, and 72.5 for laws; on entrepreneurship it gets 75 for laws and 95 for support. It was not in GEM's 2025 survey. The Department of Trade and Industry's lender, the Small Business Corporation (DTI-SB Corp), says it has lent more than ₱2 billion to women-owned and women-led enterprises; in March 2026 it awarded ₱21.6 million in loans to 15 of them. You apply through the SBCorp Money App with a business permit (barangay certification, mayor's permit or BMBE certificate), a government ID, proof of a bank account and photos of the business. See our Cebu startups for companies outside Manila.
5. Vietnam
Vietnam has the highest legal frameworks score of the Asian economies in this guide (86.7), a 75 for entrepreneurship laws and an enforcement score of 66.6, well above the world average; its support score is lower (56.8). Its national women's startup project for 2017-2025, run by the Vietnam Women's Union, supported 118,533 women to start businesses and advised 130,000 newly founded women-led enterprises, according to the Union's report on the Ha Tinh provincial portal. A follow-up project for 2026-2035 was approved in October 2025 and launched nationally on 30 November 2025, and according to the state news agency VietnamPlus it aims for women-owned businesses to make up 30% of all enterprises by 2030. Help is delivered mainly through the Women's Union's local branches.
6. Singapore
Singapore is easy to set up in, but its World Bank scores for women are mixed: 66.7 for laws and 70.1 for support overall, but only 25 and 30 for the entrepreneurship topic. It was not in GEM's 2025 survey. There is no government grant only for women founders. In a March 2026 speech, the trade ministry said women-owned companies grew from 16,300 in 2010 to 36,000 in 2022, more than a quarter of resident-owned companies, and launched the ASME Women's Initiative of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, which partners with WEConnect International on leadership programmes and global trade networks. Our Singapore startup events guide lists the main meetups.
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7. Thailand
Thailand has the highest women's startup rate of the Asian economies on our list: 17.6% of Thai women were in early-stage activity in 2025 (20.5% of men, ratio 0.86), and 14.9% ran an established business (16.4% of men). GEM also found Thai women investing informally in other people's businesses as often as men. Laws score 69.4, just above the world average, but support scores only 32.9, and the entrepreneurship topic 25 for laws and 12.5 for support. We could not verify a national programme only for women founders on an official page, so plan to use general SME schemes and private networks. See our Bangkok startups for the local scene.
8. India
India is one of the few countries where women start businesses as often as men (12.5% against 12.2% in 2025), and Indian women were 31% more likely than men to run a high-potential startup, one that innovates, exports or plans to hire (ratio 1.31). Indian women also invested informally in other businesses as often as men. Its World Bank scores are below the world averages (57.9 laws, 54.8 support), though support on entrepreneurship scores 72.5. The Finance Ministry's Stand-Up India scheme gave bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for new businesses of women and SC/ST entrepreneurs, with about 1.99 lakh accounts for women by 28 February 2025. It ran until 31 March 2025, and the ministry says a new scheme for 5 lakh first-time women, SC and ST entrepreneurs, with term loans of up to ₹2 crore, was announced in the Budget. Our Bangalore startup events guide covers India's biggest tech hub.
9. Malaysia
Malaysia's legal score is low (49.6, below the world average), but it scores 95 for support on entrepreneurship. It was not in GEM's 2025 survey. In March 2026 the entrepreneur development ministry KUSKOP launched DEWI (Dana Ekonomi Usahawan Wanita), which pools RM3 billion of financing across TEKUN Nasional, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, Bank Rakyat and SME Bank for up to 300,000 women entrepreneurs. By 11 April 2026 it had lent RM906 million to 106,100 women, and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia offers up to RM30,000 per applicant, according to the government broadcaster RTM, which also reported that more than 70% of the money was still unused.
10. Indonesia
Indonesia scores 56.2 for laws and 56.7 for support, with 25 for entrepreneurship laws and an enforcement score of 45.3, below the world average. It was not in GEM's 2025 survey. We could not verify a national programme only for women founders on an official page, so the old claim that 85% of Indonesian women entrepreneurs run small businesses is gone too. For funding that Indonesian women have actually won, see our list of grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia.
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West Asia: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman
GEM's 2025 survey covers more of West Asia than of East Asia. In Saudi Arabia 27.0% of women were in early-stage activity (30.0% of men) and 44.0% of women said they intend to start a business; its World Bank scores are 56.2 for laws and 72.0 for support. In the United Arab Emirates 16.0% of women and 22.4% of men were starting businesses, with scores of 53.6 and 36.8. In Oman women started businesses slightly more often than men (6.7% against 6.0%) and were 22% more likely to run a high-potential startup, though its legal score is 36.7. All three score below the world average of 67 for laws, so check the rules for your sector and visa before you move.
What Changed Since the Older List
The 2025 version of this article promised 25 countries and covered 10. Its figures had no sources or were years old: a 2014 World Economic Forum rank for the Philippines, a 2014 Dell index for South Korea and China, a "top city" claim for Singapore, and percentages for Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and India with no publisher. Its country links went to web addresses that do not exist. We removed all of it and used the two primary datasets above.
- China and Hong Kong left the list: neither is in GEM's 2025 survey, and we could not verify a programme for women founders on an official page. Their World Bank scores are 70.0 / 69.3 (China) and 76.1 / 59.0 (Hong Kong). See our Hong Kong tech startups guide.
- Gobi Women's Fund (China) and the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund were cited through AI search redirect links with no official source, so we removed them.
- Added: Japan and Taiwan, with official loan programmes and some of the highest support scores in the region.
Which Country Should You Choose?
- You want strong laws and support together: South Korea, Taiwan or Japan.
- You need a startup loan: Japan's JFC loan (up to ¥72 million), the Philippines' DTI-SB Corp loans or Malaysia's DEWI financing.
- You want many other women founders around you: Thailand and India have the highest women's startup rates in this guide.
- You are building a high-growth company: India, where women lead high-potential startups more often than men.
- You want a regional hub for selling across Asia: Singapore, keeping in mind that it has no women-only grants.
- You build for a large domestic market: Vietnam, Indonesia or the Philippines.
How Founders Use This List
Shortlist two countries, then look at where the money and support are: our guides to startup incubators in Asia, early-stage VCs in Asia and startup competitions in Asia list them by country, and our ranking of startup cities in Asia helps you pick the city. Women-focused programmes are in our lists of accelerators for female entrepreneurs and grants for female entrepreneurs, and our female founder funding statistics explain the funding gap behind these numbers. To meet investors and other founders, pick from the startup events for female entrepreneurs or, if you are also looking at Europe, the startup events for female entrepreneurs in Europe. For all founders, compare the best countries for early-stage startups.
FAQ About the Best Countries for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia
Which is the best country in Asia for female entrepreneurs in 2027?
There is no single answer. South Korea, Taiwan and Japan combine strong laws and support with dedicated women's centres or loans; Vietnam has the highest legal score of the Asian economies in this guide; Thailand and India have the highest women's startup rates.
Which Asian country has the most equal business laws for women?
Of the 10 countries in this guide, Vietnam has the highest legal frameworks score in the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2026 (86.7 out of 100), followed by South Korea (85.6) and Japan (80.8). The global average is 67.
In which Asian countries do women start businesses as often as men?
In GEM's 2025 survey, women's early-stage activity matched men's in India (12.5% against 12.2%) and was close in South Korea (8.8% against 9.3%). In Oman women were slightly ahead (6.7% against 6.0%).
Which Asian country has the highest rate of women entrepreneurs?
Of the economies GEM surveyed in 2025, Saudi Arabia (27.0% of women in early-stage activity) and Thailand (17.6%) had some of the highest rates in Asia. Many Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, were not in that survey.
Are there government loans for women founders in Asia?
Yes. Japan Finance Corporation lends up to ¥72 million to women starting a business, the Philippines' DTI-SB Corp has lent more than ₱2 billion to women-led businesses, Malaysia's DEWI pools RM3 billion of financing for women, and Taiwan runs Phoenix startup loans for women.
Does Singapore have grants for women entrepreneurs?
We found no government grant only for women founders. In March 2026 the ASME Women's Initiative was launched with WEConnect International, and women-owned companies made up more than a quarter of resident-owned companies in 2022, according to the trade ministry.
Is India good for female entrepreneurs?
India has a high share of women starting businesses and women run high-potential startups more often than men, but its World Bank legal and support scores (57.9 and 54.8) are below the world averages. Stand-Up India loans ran until March 2025, and a successor scheme was announced in the Budget.
Why are China and Hong Kong not in the list?
Neither is in GEM's 2025 survey, and we could not verify a programme for women founders on an official page. Their World Bank legal scores are 70.0 (China) and 76.1 (Hong Kong).
Where can I find grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia?
Our list of grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia covers prizes and grants with verified rounds, such as the Cartier Women's Initiative and TiE Women.
How can I get my startup seen by investors in Asia?
List your startup in the F/MS Startup Game directory for a free backlink, and use our guides to startup competitions and early-stage VCs in Asia to plan your pitches.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
