Women-led businesses in Jordan are increasingly embracing digital tools and platforms, even as a majority continue to face structural and societal challenges, according to a new study by Visa.
The research highlights a striking contradiction. While nearly 70% of women entrepreneurs report encountering bias or barriers in their business journey, many are still actively investing in digitisation to grow and compete. This includes adopting digital payments, e-commerce platforms, and online customer engagement tools.
Digitisation is proving to be a critical equaliser. For many women entrepreneurs, moving operations online reduces reliance on traditional networks, lowers entry barriers, and opens access to broader customer bases. It also enables more flexible business models, which can be particularly important in environments where access to capital and mobility may be constrained.
The findings align with a broader trend across emerging markets, where small and medium-sized businesses are using digital infrastructure to scale faster and operate more efficiently. In Jordan, where SMEs form a significant part of the economy, this shift is becoming increasingly important for overall economic growth.
However, challenges remain. Access to funding, digital skills, and mentorship continues to limit the full potential of women-led businesses. While technology can bridge some gaps, ecosystem-level support is still required to sustain long-term growth.
Visa’s insights point to the need for more targeted initiatives that combine financial access with capability building. Training programmes, funding support, and partnerships with fintech platforms could accelerate adoption and improve outcomes for women entrepreneurs.
The study also reflects a growing focus among global payment networks on enabling SME digitisation, not just through infrastructure, but through ecosystem development.
Editor’s Note:
The most important line in this story is not the 70% bias. It is the behaviour that follows it. Women entrepreneurs are not waiting for the system to fix itself. They are bypassing it through digitisation. That is powerful. The opportunity here is massive. If ecosystems step in with capital, training, and infrastructure, this segment could become one of the fastest-growing drivers of digital payments and SME growth in the region. Ignoring it is not just a social miss, it is a commercial one.
