March is Women’s History Month, the data speaks for itself. Women entrepreneurs are not just participating in the American small business economy. They are driving much of its growth.
A New Generation of Entrepreneurs
In 1988, President Reagan signed the Women’s Business Ownership Act, giving women the legal right to obtain a business loan without a male co-signer. Less than four decades later, women own 14.5 million businesses, employ nearly 13 million workers, and generate $3.3 trillion in annual revenue.
According to Wells Fargo’s Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report (2025), that momentum is not slowing down. Women-owned businesses grew 43.5% faster than men-owned businesses from 2019 to 2024, and the pipeline behind them is stronger than ever.
The speed of that change is striking. According to the Gusto’s New Business Formation Report (2024), women accounted for nearly half of all new businesses started in 2024. Just a few years earlier, that share was closer to one in three. That kind of shift does not happen by accident. It reflects a generation of women who looked at the traditional path, decided it was not built for them, and built something of their own instead.
A More Diverse Entrepreneurial Landscape
The rise of women entrepreneurs is not happening evenly across all demographics. While women overall are starting businesses at record rates, much of the recent momentum is coming from women of color and younger founders who are entering entrepreneurship in growing numbers.
According to GoDaddy’s Venture Forward (2024), Black women remain the fastest-growing group of microbusiness entrepreneurs in the United States, more than doubling their share of ownership since 2019. Black entrepreneurs now own 13% of U.S. microbusinesses, and of those, 73% are owned by Black women. The same report finds that women now own 51% of all microbusinesses nationally, up from 41% in 2019, with nearly a third of women microbusiness owners serving as the primary breadwinners in their households.
Wells Fargo’s Report also includes focused analyses on Hispanic/Latina and Asian American women entrepreneurs that add further depth to this trend. According to the Hispanic/Latina findings, Hispanic and Latina women now own 2.1 million businesses, representing 14.5% of all women-owned businesses, and employ more than 873,000 people. Between 2019 and 2024, their revenue grew by 61.7%, and employment increased by nearly 20%.
The report’s findings on Asian American women entrepreneurs tell a similarly strong story. They own 1.4 million businesses, representing 9.8% of all women-owned firms, despite accounting for about 7% of the adult female population. From 2019 to 2024, these businesses increased employment by 28.4% and revenue by 40.9%. Asian American women are also more likely than other minority groups to operate employer firms, making them a particularly important driver of job creation.
Together, these patterns point to a broader shift in who is building businesses in the United States, with women of color playing an increasingly central role in business formation, revenue growth, and job creation.
Broader entrepreneurship data reinforces this momentum. According to Gusto’s report, Millennial and Gen Z women are driving much of the recent growth in new business formation, reflecting a generational shift that is also more diverse than those that came before.
Taken together, these trends suggest that the future of American entrepreneurship will be increasingly diverse. Women from many backgrounds are entering business ownership, bringing new ideas, new markets, and new pathways to economic opportunity in communities across the country.
Growth Meets a Capital Gap
The rise of women entrepreneurs highlights both the progress being made and the challenges that remain.
More women are launching businesses than ever before, but many of those companies are still starting with less capital than their male-owned counterparts. A recent analysis of more than 53,000 small businesses found that women-owned firms received smaller average funding amounts than men-owned firms, even as approval rates improved in 2024, according to the Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study 2025.
Part of that gap begins at the earliest stage of a business. Research from Gusto’s New Business Formation Report (2024), shows that women entrepreneurs are more likely to rely on personal savings, personal loans, or financing from family and friends when launching their companies. Women founders were less likely to secure SBA-backed loans or private equity funding, which often means they start their businesses with greater personal financial exposure.
These patterns help explain why the rapid growth in women-owned businesses represents both opportunity and unfinished work. More women are entering entrepreneurship, but many are building companies with fewer financial resources at the outset.
Closing that gap could have a significant economic impact. Wells Fargo’s Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report (2025), estimates that if women-owned businesses generated revenue at the same average levels as men-owned firms, the U.S. economy could see an additional $10.2 trillion in annual revenue.
What Comes Next
The momentum behind women-owned businesses is unmistakable. More women are starting companies, building teams, and contributing to the economic vitality of their communities.
But sustaining that growth requires more than determination. Entrepreneurs often need access to capital, practical guidance, and a network of partners who understand the realities of building and scaling a business.
At AmPac Business Capital, this belief is central to our mission. Through our Entrepreneur Ecosystem, we work to connect business owners with the resources and relationships that help them move forward, alongside our tailored financing options designed to support businesses at every stage of growth, from cradle to legacy.
Women entrepreneurs are already reshaping the landscape of American small business. Ensuring they have the support to grow will help turn today’s momentum into lasting success.