New Delhi – The Women Empowerment Vertical of BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BRICS CCI WE), a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship, trade and business across BRICS+ and partner countries has released a comprehensive whitepaper titled “Women in Innovation, Science & Entrepreneurship (WISE): Challenges and Opportunities”, presenting a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen women’s participation in science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystems across BRICS nations.
The whitepaper emerged from the BRICS CCI WE Trailblazers Roundtable 2026 held under the theme “Women in Innovation, Science & Entrepreneurship (WISE): Challenges and Opportunities.” WISE is a global initiative launched on the sidelines of last year’s BRICS Summit in Brazil during the BRICS WBA Annual Plenary Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2025. The roundtable brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, legal experts, technologists, investors, and business leaders from across BRICS nations to discuss structural barriers and collaborative opportunities for women-led growth.
The 2026 Roundtable convened distinguished participants including Ms. Ruby Sinha, President, BRICS CCI WE and Programme Lead, WISE; HRH Ms. Lebogang Zulu, National Chairperson, BRICS Women’s Business Alliance South Africa and Global Advisory Board Member WISE; Ms. Monica Maghami, Regulatory, Technology & Sustainability Lawyer and Global Advisory Board Member WISE; ; Ms. Glaucia Regina Alves, CEO, HSM, Singularity Brazil and Learning Village; Ms. Geovana Quadros, President, Inspiring Women; Gênero Startup20 Leader, G20 Brasil 2024; Dr. Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi, Founder & Chairperson, NAREDCO MAHI; Dr. Sulochana Segera, Founder & Chairperson, Women in Management; Ms. Shormishtha Ghosh, Founder, InTandem Global Consulting; Ms. Rashmi Gupta, Head, Marketing and CX, Esri India; Ms. Mohita Gattani, Founder & CEO, MedGlobal360; Ms. Bogusia Dhingra, Head of Marketing and Public Relations at Defence Bakery and Alma Bakery, Ms. Ankita Sachdev, Joint Director, BRICS CCI among others.
According to Ms. Ruby Sinha, President, BRICS CCI WE and Programme Lead, WISE, “Gender equality in STEM should not be merely a “rallying cry” confined to a small circle of women. It has become increasingly clear that women need global networks that function as communities and economic ecosystems. Women leaders need to work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem enabling more women to take a leadership position in new age technologies. The future of innovation cannot be inclusive unless women are equally represented in shaping it.”
HRH Ms. Lebogang Zulu, National Chairperson, BRICS Women’s Business Alliance South Africa said, “We need to shift the conversation from gender equality to female equity. The focus must move towards creating systems that address what women actually require to participate fully in entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership. Equity is about enabling outcomes, not just representation.”
The whitepaper highlights seven key structural challenges impacting women in innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems across BRICS economies. These include deep-rooted social and cultural biases, barriers in accessing funding and investor networks, intellectual property and innovation protection gaps, limited participation in advanced STEM and digital sectors, the growing “missing middle” challenge faced by mid-career women professionals, governance and policy implementation gaps, and the continued invisibility of women’s unpaid economic contribution within formal economic systems.
The report notes that despite increasing participation of women in education and entrepreneurship, women-led ventures continue to receive a disproportionately smaller share of venture capital funding, while many innovators continue to face challenges in securing legal protection for intellectual property and scaling their ideas in competitive ecosystems.
At the same time, the whitepaper identifies several emerging opportunities capable of accelerating inclusive growth. These include the rise of digital transformation and emerging technologies, cross-border collaboration platforms, women-led strategic business networks, and increasing institutional and policy momentum supporting gender-responsive innovation ecosystems.
The report emphasises that technology and digital platforms can serve as powerful enablers for inclusion when developed through equitable and inclusive frameworks. It also highlights the growing role of global partnerships, innovation labs, hackathons, and multilateral cooperation in expanding access to knowledge exchange, mentorship, markets, and funding opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
The whitepaper also presents a detailed set of strategic recommendations aimed at strengthening women-led innovation ecosystems across BRICS nations. These include introducing gender-responsive procurement and innovation policies, establishing a dedicated BRICS WISE Fund for women innovators, developing blended finance models, expanding AI and digital literacy programmes, creating structured re-entry pathways for women professionals, strengthening gender diversity in leadership and governance, launching cross-border innovation labs and accelerators, and building a Women Entrepreneurs Digital Registry to improve visibility and access.
Additionally, the report calls for stronger maternity and caregiving support frameworks, harmonised intellectual property protection systems, and greater collaboration between governments, academia, industry, and multilateral institutions to build sustainable and scalable innovation ecosystems for women.
The whitepaper outlines a phased roadmap focused on data collection, stakeholder consultations, policy development, financial ecosystem creation, and implementation-led commitments through future BRICS engagements and summits.