Female entrepreneurship is on the rise worldwide. Data from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) indicates that, on average, approximately 37 percent of global firms are owned by women. And loans to women-owned businesses tend to be associated with lower write-offs and lower portfolio-at-risk, according to research by CGAP's Microfinance Gateway that assessed 350 microfinance institutions in 70 countries. Despite this, new research finds that business loan approval rates for women are 15 to 20 percent lower than for men.