Business woman. Credit: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels.
Spain’s fintech industry was meant to be a flagship for innovation and inclusion, yet women remain strikingly underrepresented.
According to the OECD report Bridging the Finance Gap for Women Entrepreneurs, “only 1 in 10 entrepreneurs in the fintech sector is a woman, which is a decline from 14 per cent in 2018.”
The OECD warns that this backward trend undermines Spain’s broader economic goals. As the report stresses, “It is of particular importance to eliminate the existing gender gaps, since our country will not be able to achieve the desired competitiveness if the necessary measures are not taken to incorporate the talent of women into the ecosystem.”
New startup laws, old barriers
Two flagship laws – the Start-up Law and the Create and Grow Law, passed in 2022 – were designed to boost entrepreneurship, attract foreign investment, and simplify business creation. The government described their main aims as providing “tax benefits and the attraction of international investment and talent.”
However, the OECD notes that “political and geopolitical uncertainty is hindering the implementation of specific proposals and objectives that these two laws brought to encourage entrepreneurship.” The disappearance of the High Commissioner “Spain Entrepreneurial Nation” in early 2023 left the national policy “without a clear driver.”
Female leadership falls behind
The AEFI’s VI FinTech Women Network Report (2023) found that, despite some improvement in management representation, women’s entrepreneurship in fintech remains limited.
Among its findings:
- “Only 1 in 10 entrepreneurs in the fintech sector is a woman.”
- “61 per cent of women affirm that they have had to exert more effort than men to achieve their current professional position.”
- “45 per cent of women state that they have had fewer opportunities than men in their work environment.”
This regression, the OECD explains, was “largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, when women were more likely to give up their professional careers and abandon their business projects to take care of their relatives.”
Why women still struggle to access leadership in fintech
The OECD and AEFI identify several structural obstacles:
- Higher fear of failure – “Women have more aversion to failure than men,” consistent with earlier research (Schubert et al., 1999; Charness & Gneezy, 2012).
- Limited access to investment – female founders report “inequality compared to projects led by men.” Studies show male investors are less likely to fund female-led ventures (Ewens & Townsend, 2020).
- Few safe networking spaces – many women cite the lack of suitable spaces to connect with investors.
- Lack of role models within fintech ecosystems.
- Bureaucratic delays can discourage small founders.
OECD recommendations: Simplify rules, support women
The OECD concludes that Spain must “create an environment that facilitates the emergence of a competitive landscape for digital financial services while reducing bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles.”
The report proposes:
- Applying a principle of proportionality to licensing requirements, recognising the difference between B2B and B2C firms.
- Establishing a public–private investment mechanism for women entrepreneurs – similar to the UK’s Future Fund initiative.
- Promoting visibility and mentorship for women in fintech.
“Regulatory agility is essential for the sustainable development of this dynamic sector,” the OECD emphasises.
As Spain repositions its digital economy post-2025, progress on women’s inclusion will determine whether its fintech revolution can truly deliver for everyone.