73% of Brazilian entrepreneurs have children and 37% are solo mothers, reveals IRME 2024 survey 

The Entrepreneurs and Their Business 2024 survey, conducted by RME Institute with support from the Women Entrepreneurs Network, it presents the profile of women entrepreneurs in Brazil. With the theme “Caring economy: impacts on the configuration of the image that entrepreneurs have of themselves and how this affects the opportunities of their businesses”, the research, which is in its 9th edition, reveals that 73% of entrepreneurs are mothers, among these, 37% are solo mothers.

“Since 2016 we do this research annually. A highlight point: 73% of entrepreneurs are mothers and more than 68% say that their children came before her being an entrepreneur, which clearly shows a lot of resistance in our labor market to accept a mother as a professional. In these cases, the path that remains is that of entrepreneurship”, explains Ana Fontes, social entrepreneur and founder of the Women's Entrepreneurial Network and the RME Institute.  

Regarding age, 60% of female entrepreneurs are between 30 and 49 years old, and 52% have higher education. However, while 61% of white women have higher education, only 44% of black and brown women reach this level of education. Most of the female entrepreneurs reside in the Southeast (45%) and Northeast (25%) regions, with the lowest concentration in the Midwest (5%), North (8%), and South (161T). 

The cut-out by color/race shows that half of black and brown entrepreneurs (49%) earn up to R$ 2,000 monthly, compared to 36% of white women.In addition, black and brown entrepreneurs face more financial difficulties, with 52% of them reporting debts, while among white women the index is 45%.

Motivations 

The research reveals that the search for financial independence is the main motivation for entrepreneurship, especially among black and brown women (48%), who also see entrepreneurship as a way to increase income (39%). The flexibility of hours was pointed out as one of the most important factors for white women when it comes to starting their own business (41%).

Regarding the division of tasks, “50% of entrepreneurs do not receive any kind of help in their home or in their business, this shows how much the entrepreneur has to handle everything and it is no wonder that many feel a great mental overload”, concludes the social entrepreneur.

The IRME 2024 survey was conducted by Ideafix Corporate surveys with quantitative methodology, based on 2,141 respondents. There are 94% of brazilian participants, while 5% are foreign, mostly Venezuelan non-refugees. Data collection occurred between august and september 2024, using hybrid methodology, with online self-completion, face-to-face and telephone interviews.