Women-led businesses in Marche show resilience and innovation

Nearly one in four businesses in the Marche region is led by women. Data published by the Chamber of Commerce of Marche, updated to 31 December 2025, record 33,746 female-led enterprises, equal to 23.2% of the regional total—above the national average of 22.3%.

• Stability and resilience: the overall number of women-led firms remained largely stable compared to the previous year (-0.2%), indicating stronger resilience in a challenging economic context.
• Key sectors: female entrepreneurs are particularly active in sustainability, digitalization, tourism and enhancing Made in Italy products.
• "Impronta d’Impresa Marche" 2025 fund: promoted by the Committee for Female Entrepreneurship, the fund allocates a total budget of €40,000. The latest edition received 106 applications, 59 of which were admitted.
• Geographic spread: applications mainly came from Ancona (16) and Pesaro-Urbino (14), followed by Macerata (13), Ascoli Piceno (12) and Fermo (4).

Gino Sabatini, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Marche, emphasized that female entrepreneurs are "a fundamental resource for the regional economic system." Federica Capriotti, president of the Committee for Female Entrepreneurship, highlighted the fund's aim to reward women-led businesses that introduce innovations generating local value.

Released ahead of International Women's Day (March 8), the report underscores both the quantitative presence and the strategic contribution of women entrepreneurs to the Marche's economic transformation, particularly in sustainable and digital business models.