Even though Africa is the only region where women are more likely than men to become entrepreneurs, women in Madagascar continue to experience a number of barriers to starting and growing their businesses. On the one hand, high rates of violence against women, deeply-engrained traditional gender norms, and stigmatization of the informal sector limit women’s opportunities to become entrepreneurs from a young age. These social limitations are compounded by prevalent barriers to accessing the finances and land that female business owners may need. For those that are able to start a business, geographic realities often restrict the ability of a business to expand its customer base beyond the local community. Even in the face of these barriers, the rates of female early-stage entrepreneurs in Madagascar exceeded that of male early-stage entrepreneurs in 2019, indicating a promising window of opportunity for Madagascar’s women and the country’s potential future prosperity.