Delhi, at the 22nd spot, is the only Indian city to feature in tech giant Dells 2016 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities) that looks at a city’s ability to attract and foster growth of women-owned firms.
New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, London, Stockholm and Singapore were the top five cities for high-potential women entrepreneurs, Dell said in a statement.
“WE Cities is the only global gender-specific index that looks at a city’s ability to attract and foster growth in firms founded by women entrepreneurs,” it added.
Cities, instead of countries, were identified in order to show the impact of local policies and programs in addition to national laws and customs, it said.
The report takes into account characteristics like capital, technology, talent, culture and markets.
Other cities in the list include Toronto, Washington DC, Sydney, Paris, Seattle, Munich, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Milan.
Johannesburg, Jakarta and Istanbul were the only cities that ranked below Delhi in the top 25 list.
“Innovation and job creation by women entrepreneurs is critical for a thriving global economy, yet our research shows some cities and countries are doing far more than others to encourage and support this important subset of the startup community,” Dell senior vice president and chief marketing officer Karen Quintos said.
She added that the index provides insights to move the conversation with policymakers and city leaders from awareness to action and, in turn, to empower women entrepreneurs to have the greatest economic impact on the world.
“Its time for women to be politically engaged to ensure the right ecosystems are in place for them to scale. If politicians and entrepreneurs partner, dynamic policies can be put in place to close the circle and enhance the process from idea to enterprise,” Dell entrepreneur-in-residence Elizabeth Gore said.