The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The Asia Foundation prepared this report as a guide to support women's entrepreneurship in Asia and the Pacific. The three parts of the report cover the key barriers that women in Asia and the Pacific face when trying to establish or grow a business, case studies of projects supported by ADB and The Asia Foundation throughout the region, and proposed areas for further research. The recommendations are aimed at creating an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs and strategies for addressing gaps and leveraging opportunities.

This report presents the findings of the second Provincial Facilitation for Investment and Trade (ProFIT) survey in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It provides a comparative picture of the experiences and perceptions of the business community in complying with government regulations by gender. The report shares analysis in six key areas: (i) ease of starting a business, (ii) transparency and access to information, (iii) regulatory burden, (iv) informal charges, (v) consistency in policy implementation, and (vi) business friendliness of the provincial administration. It notes that women entrepreneurs reported that their business registration takes longer and costs more. The report urges the government to train staff to overcome hidden gender biases and make it easier for women to create and run businesses.

In a world of unprecedented disruption and market turbulence, business transformation revolves around the need to generate new values, unlock new opportunities, drive new growth, and deliver new efficiencies.The world is witnessing volatility in the environment, in technology, in the economy and in society. 'Business as usual' is no longer acceptable, and the pertinent question is how long can humanity continue pursuing consumption and growth predicated on ever-increasing efficiency. The Coronavirus pandemic has amplified concerns about the highly digitized, interconnected, and vulnerable state of the global economy, the relationship with nature, and the prospects for each living being on this planet, including people, to survive and to thrive. To navigate and survive the coming decade of transformative change, every business will need to harness all the ingenuity, creativity and imagination they can muster. Corporate leaders and entrepreneurs will be required to steer their businesses towards a new model of prosperity, based on green and regenerative principles. It is time for leaders in business to overhaul their purpose, plans and strategies for this new context and explore different futures, engage with new partners and create space for experimentation. The only way to prepare for the future is to explore how companies, especially medium and small enterprises as well as women led businesses can transform their future strategies to be more compatible with challenges such as cyber security, human security, ethical principles and financial transparency.This book presents a collection of empirical and original research papers on evolving business strategies within a dynamic global environment to provide valuable insights to scholars, academicians, practitioners, policymakers and students.

The East Asia and Pacific region has made great progress, relative to other regions, with regard to both economic development and, specifically, economic opportunities for women. However, aspiring female entrepreneurs continue to face unequal barriers to starting, operating, and growing their businesses. Not only does this hurt business women in the region, but it also ultimately hurts poverty reduction and economic growth. 'Economic Opportunities for Women in the East Asia and the Pacific Region' brings together data and available evidence on the constraints that female entrepreneurs in the region face with regard to: access to assets, business regulations and governance issues, and available avenues for expanding businesses and trading with larger markets. The authors present recommendations at the end of each chapter. This book will be of interest to policy makers, donors, nongovernmental organizations, and researchers looking to further examine the constraints that are holding back female entrepreneurs in East Asia and the Pacific.

Globally, women are disproportionately impacted by climate change and disasters due to gender inequalities and limited opportunities to participate in decision-making processes. To help address this imbalance, this publication provides guidance on how to integrate gender equality in laws and policies on climate change and disaster management in developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank. It provides a conceptual framework and good practice guide based on international norms and examples of national laws. It also demonstrates how gender-responsive laws and policies can contribute to women’s resilience to climate change and disasters. The publication was developed for the use of governments, policy-makers, organizations, and individuals engaged in gender-responsive legislative reforms.

This edition analyses how trade can contribute to economic diversification and empowerment, with a focus on eliminating extreme poverty, particularly through the effective participation of women and youth. It shows how aid for trade can contribute to that objective by addressing supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure constraints, including for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises notably in rural areas.

Examining how the livelihoods, health, and well-being of women in Central and West Asia were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, this report assesses responses and considers how the experience can guide gender mainstreaming. Emphasizing the need for better granular data, it looks at intersecting vulnerabilities and how policies that prioritize women’s economic security and strengthen social protection can better insulate them against future shocks.