Forty-eight per cent of women working in finance and accountancy want to become entrepreneurs. That’s the figure emerging from ACCA’s survey of 11,000 professionals across 175 countries—and it marks a three-percentage-point jump from last year’s 45 per cent.
The shift matters. Those three points represent thousands of women recalibrating their career endgames, pivoting from climbing corporate ladders to building their own ventures.
Younger professionals are driving the trend. Roughly half of Gen Z and Millennial women in the field now express entrepreneurial ambitions, according to early findings from ACCA’s forthcoming Global Talent Trends 2026 report, due for full publication in May 2026. Men still show higher entrepreneurial intent overall, but the gap is narrowing—a sign that confidence and opportunity are spreading more evenly across the profession.
Kush Ahuja, Head of Eurasia and Middle East at ACCA, attributes the momentum to how the profession itself is evolving. “Finance and accountancy are increasingly seen as platforms for leadership and innovation,” he explained. “What we are seeing is a new generation of women who are not only entering the profession but actively reshaping its future, whether that’s within organisations or through entrepreneurial ventures.”
The numbers arrive as finance roles expand beyond traditional boundaries. Market volatility, regulatory complexity and technological disruption have pushed accountants into strategic territory—supporting business decisions, managing risk, driving long-term value. That broader remit creates natural pathways to entrepreneurship, where financial expertise translates directly into business ownership.
In the Middle East, demand for women’s leadership development is accelerating faster than programmes can scale. ACCA’s Women in Finance 2025 initiative drew more than 100 participants—double the attendance from previous editions. The programme blended AI-enabled leadership simulations with expert discussions on the profession’s trajectory, reflecting how digital transformation is reshaping the skills required to lead.
“At ACCA, we are committed to creating opportunities that enable women to thrive at every stage of their careers,” Ahuja noted. “Through our initiatives in the Middle East, we are not only supporting professional development but helping to build a pipeline of future-ready leaders for the region.”
The appetite for such programmes signals more than professional development interest. It points to women actively preparing for expanded roles, whether inside organisations or beyond them. Entrepreneurship offers independence, impact and the chance to build businesses aligned with personal values—appealing prospects for professionals whose expertise is increasingly strategic.
Yet translating ambition into action remains challenging. ACCA acknowledges that advancing women in finance requires sustained effort beyond awareness campaigns. Barriers persist around access to capital, networks and mentorship—factors that still disproportionately affect women entrepreneurs.
The organisation, founded in 1904 and now supporting 257,900 members and 530,100 future members across 180 countries, positions itself as breaking down barriers to the accountancy profession. Its regional initiatives aim to bridge the gap between aspiration and execution, equipping women with skills and confidence to navigate a profession transformed by artificial intelligence and digital tools.
What remains unclear is how many of those 48 per cent will actually launch ventures. Aspiration data captures intent, not action—and the distance between wanting to start a business and securing funding, building infrastructure and managing risk can be vast. The survey doesn’t track conversion rates or timelines.
Still, the upward trajectory from 45 per cent to 48 per cent suggests momentum building rather than plateauing. As finance roles continue expanding and younger professionals enter the field with entrepreneurial mindsets already formed, the pipeline of women-led finance ventures could strengthen significantly over the next decade.
For now, the data reflects shifting perceptions of what a finance career can be. Not just technical competence rewarded with promotions, but a foundation for building something entirely new. Whether inside established firms or through independent ventures, women in the profession are redefining what leadership looks like—and increasingly, it looks like ownership.
