Women led startups on the rise. (IW Update).

Women-led business startups are far surpassing the national average for star tups, despite the hurdles many women face when launching their own business - and they are managing to do so with very little seed money.

About 50 per cent of new business startups in Canada are headed by women. And in Ontario, about 34 per cent of business owners are women, says Shelley Acheson, partnership development specialist with the Ontario Women's Directorate.

The directorate has two core functions: to promote women's economic independence and to prevent violence against women. Acheson focuses on women's economic independence programs.

"There are significant trends that are taking place," Acheson says.

"Women are actually starting companies at double the rate of the national average." Acheson says, noting a study conducted in 1994.

"One other amazing thing is that the majority of women entrepreneurs start their business with less than $10,000, some even with only $5,000."

And yet, so many women are successful in entrepreneurship endeavours, she adds.

Securing financing to start a business is likely one of the biggest obstacles women face, she notes.

While it is clear women entrepreneurs are making a notable contribution to the economy, the fact that they still face challenges in securing financing is indicative of a lack of understanding on the part of lending institutions, she adds.

"(Entrepreneurship by women) is a wonderful boon to our economy," Acheson says. "But it also means that other kinds of businesses need to realize that more women are getting into business and I think banks and institutions need to take a look at the stats."

There are a number of regional business support offices and self-help centres that assist women in securing startup financing. Women also tend to band together to develop their own support network, which is important at both personal and professional levels because of the many challenges, she notes.

"Balancing work and family life is a challenge," Acheson says. "If you talk to women who have started their own business, they will say it's exhausting because of the time commitment they have had to make in order to be successful."

The upward trend toward female entrepreneurship can be attributed mainly to shifts in educational attainment, social changes and a changing economy, Acheson says.

In the last two decades more women have been coming out of university and moving into areas of employment that were predominantly held by males, she says.

"(Some women have) reached that glass ceiling and find that they haven't reached their full potential in the corporate world," so they weigh their options and embrace the idea of entrepreneurship, Acheson says.

Downsizing has also led more women to seek other opportunities. Also, more women are finding themselves in a position of being increasingly responsible for their financial situation, she explains.

Statistics Canada reports that in 1995 one-third of women who became self-employed were between the age of 35 and 44, one-fifth were between 25 and 34 and one-fifth were between 45 and 54.