THE coronavirus pandemic created new opportunities for Welsh entrepreneurs in 2021, with the number of women setting up businesses at an all-time high, according to a new report.

The Global Entrepreneurship Team (GEM) report, published by Aston University and NatWest, and sponsored by the Welsh Government, was based on a sample of more than 10,000 individuals.

It found that almost one in three working age individuals were either engaged in entrepreneurial activity or intended to start a business within the next three years.

GEM is the world’s largest survey of entrepreneurship and the only global research source that collects data on entrepreneurship directly from individual entrepreneurs.

It measures various rates of entrepreneurship in 47 countries in 2021 and is sponsored by NatWest.

GEM’s UK team – led by Professor Mark Hart of Aston University – compared attitudes, activity and aspirations in the UK, Germany and the United States, as well as the four home nations individually.

The early-stage entrepreneurial activity rate of 10.3% in Wales is similar to the rest of the UK (11.5%), significantly higher than Germany (6.9%) and France (7.7%), but lower than the US (16.5%).

Early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 2021 had risen sharply compared to 2020 as the economy recovered after Covid lockdown restrictions were removed completely on ‘freedom day’ on July 19.

The report found the rise was due to more entrepreneurs in the first three months of starting their new business venture than normal, as many went ahead with plans postponed during 2020.

There was a sharp rise in the number of women in Wales setting up new businesses in 2021 – almost one in 10 women are in the early stages of setting up their own business which is an historic high.

Mr Hart, professor of small business and entrepreneurship at Aston Business School and deputy director of the UK’s Enterprise Research Centre, said: “In 2020, we saw a collapse of early-stage entrepreneurial activity as many decided to delay their move into setting up their own business in the face of the most severe economic downturn in 300 years – but within 12 months it has bounced back.

“The GEM survey undertaken in the middle of 2021 showed a sharp rise in the number of individuals in the early stages of setting up a new business compared to even the pre-pandemic high in 2019.

“It is now at the highest level since the annual survey began in 1999 and is an indicator of the entrepreneurial resilience of the UK.

“The recovery in 2021 has been driven by more women than ever before taking the steps to set-up their own business.

“In 2021, it is no longer the case that ‘women are half as likely as men to start their own business’.

“It now stands at almost three-quarters across the UK, although there are significant differences among the home nations with Wales closest to parity at 92%.

“The more than doubling of older early-stage entrepreneurial activity may be explained by the ‘Great Resignation’ observed in the pandemic as older individuals re-evaluate their future economic activity and their position in the labour market.

“Importantly, for the UK economy, the pandemic has had no damaging impact on the level of entrepreneurial activity by immigrants and ethnic minorities which remains higher than lifelong residents and the non-ethnic population.

“However, the current energy crisis, and the forecast of recession to come, means we need to ensure nascent entrepreneurs have the support they need from all quarters to survive this next economic tsunami which is already having an effect with rising insolvency rates across many sectors.”

Andrew Harrison, head of Business Banking NatWest, added: “The findings of this report, against a challenging backdrop of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, once again confirm that Wales is a nation of entrepreneurs, with around one in three adults now either running a business or looking at starting one.

“The resilience of small businesses over recent years is both inspiring and important.

“As the economy faces significant turbulence in the year ahead, it is critical that Wales, and the rest of the UK, have a thriving ecosystem to support this boom in entrepreneurship, which is central to economic stability and growth.

“As the UK’s biggest bank for business, we are determined to play our part in helping the future business success stories start, scale and thrive.”

The full GEM UK report, along with individual reports for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, in partnership with NatWest, Ulster Bank and RBS, are available at natwest.com/business/insights.html.