New WomX Report Shows Why More Women-Owned Businesses Are Not Scaling

Johannesburg, South Africa – WomX Woman in Business has released its 2026 white paper, calling for a more realistic and effective approach to supporting women entrepreneurs in South Africa.

Titled “Beyond the Business: The Psychological and Structural Barriers to Scaling Women-Owned Enterprises,” the report introduces a critical shift in how entrepreneurship is understood and supported, highlighting that for women, building a business is not only an economic journey, but a deeply psychological one.

It argues that while women business owners are often expected to lead, grow and sustain enterprises under intense pressure, the emotional and structural burdens they carry are still too often overlooked in mainstream enterprise development models.

From Starting To Scaling

While women across South Africa are actively starting businesses and contributing to local economies in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, retail and professional services, far fewer are able to transition from start-up to scale.

“The white paper makes the case that this is not a question of capability, but about whether women entrepreneurs have access to the right support systems at the right time,” says Jayshree Naidoo, Founder of WomX Woman in Business.

Drawing on insights from the WomX Accelerator Programme, which supported 50 women-owned businesses across South Africa, the report offers evidence of what works when support is intentional, co-ordinated, and designed for long-term growth.

The results of the Programme demonstrate the impact of integrated support:

R17.8 million in aggregate turnover growth152 permanent jobs created

Naidoo says these results underscore the potential of women-owned businesses when entrepreneurs are supported through ecosystems that combine technical development, leadership growth, mentorship and peer networks.

Rethinking Enterprise Development

The white paper introduces a five-pillar framework for scaling women-owned businesses:

Operational capabilityFinancial readinessMarket access and networksLeadership and strategic growthPsychological resilience and wellbeing

It argues that sustainable growth cannot be achieved through isolated interventions alone. Instead, women entrepreneurs need ecosystem-aligned support that strengthens both the business and the entrepreneur behind it.

“Entrepreneurship is not just economic. For women, it is deeply psychological. If we want to see real growth in women owned businesses, we need to move beyond traditional support models and recognise the full reality of what it takes to build and lead a business. This white paper is a call to action to design ecosystems that support both the enterprise and the entrepreneur,” says Naidoo.

WomX calls on corporates, government, financial institutions and ecosystem partners to collaborate in building integrated support systems that enable women entrepreneurs to scale sustainably.

The full white paper is available at: https://www.womx.co.za