According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor published on Wednesday, the share of women respondents who set up or were running a company fell from 8.3% in 2019 to 4.9% in 2020, a low not recorded since 2013.

Across genders there was a 20% decline in respondents who set up or were running a new company in 2020. And this trend appears to have marred perceptions, with the share of people planning to start a business falling from 18.4% in 2019 to 14.4% in 2020. Of that segment, eight out of ten said it was because of the pandemic.

Growth prospects

Four out of ten entrepreneurs expected slower growth in 2020. But the situation was rosier for others--three out of ten respondents expected to increase their growth.

“This reflects the fact that crises, while posing considerable challenges to new and established businesses, can also represent opportunities to those that leverage the new economic conditions to introduce innovative products and services,” national statistics office Statec wrote.

Barriers and support

Difficulties in accessing potential customers, notably because of lockdowns at the start of 2020, were cited as a new barrier to entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the government response to entrepreneurs facing difficulties because of the pandemic was considered “satisfactory” by eight out of ten respondents.