Legal and Financial Support for Women Innovators and Entrepreneurs in IP
Women innovators and entrepreneurs continue to face significant barriers that limit their participation in innovation ecosystems. Access to finance remains a critical challenge, directly affecting women’s ability to research, develop, protect, and commercialize their ideas. In emerging markets and developing economies, women-owned small businesses face a credit gap of about US$ 1.9 trillion, highlighting the scale of unmet financial needs. In practical terms, one out of three dollars of unmet credit needs among small businesses belongs to a woman-owned enterprise.
While the financing shortfall is most pronounced in emerging markets, women entrepreneurs in developed economies also encounter substantial barriers. In Europe, all-women-founded startups founded by at least one woman raised only about 12 percent of total investment in 2024. Within OECD countries, women are roughly half as likely as men to secure bank financing to start, operate, or expand their businesses.
The venture capital (VC) landscape further amplifies this gap: only about 2% of global VC funding goes to all-female founding teams, and when women do receive VC investment, they typically receive 70% of the amount allocated to male founders. This systemic financial exclusion can directly affect women’s ability to protect intellectual property (IP) and bring innovations to market. Recognizing challenges such as these, IP offices worldwide are implementing targeted legal and financial support programs.
Chile: Mentorship and Patent Assistance
Chile’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has developed programs to address legal barriers faced by women innovators. While legal fees are fixed by law and funding for IP registration remains limited, some measures have provided targeted support. These include, for example, the possibility of deferred patent payments under Article 18 of the Industrial Property Law. In addition, the Support Program for Patenting Chilean Inventions Abroad, launched in 2017 by the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO), was implemented as a one-time initiative in 2017.
In 2024, INAPI launched the Trademark Registration Mentorship Pilot Program for Women Entrepreneurs to reduce the high abandonment rate of trademark applications, which often occurs due to formal objections and procedural hurdles. The pilot cohort included eleven women entrepreneurs, prioritizing participants from rural areas, indigenous communities, and regions outside the capital. The program offers personalized mentorship covering the early stage of trademark registration, from application submission to publication in the Official Gazette. INAPI plans to expand the program in 2026 and is exploring a strategic alliance with the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI) to establish a pro bono network aimed to guide women through the final stages of trademark registration.
Since March 2022, INAPI has also participated in the WIPO Inventor Assistance Program (IAP), which connects under-resourced inventors with pro bono patent attorneys. To date, sixteen applications have been supported, including six from female inventors.
Philippines: Incentivizing Women’s IP Ownership
The Philippines, ranked twentieth globally in the 2025 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index with a 78 percent gender parity score, has developed innovative initiatives that encourage women’s IP ownership.
The Juana Patent and Juana Design Program (JPIP), offered by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), provides financial incentives and procedural support to women innovators, designers, and entrepreneurs. Eligible applicants benefit from waived IP fees for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, and additional claims, as well as prioritized examination to ensure faster processing of their applications. The program targets women-led enterprises with assets not exceeding PHP 100 million and fewer than 20 employees. Applicants must demonstrate limited financial capacity or at least one year of business operation. Managed by IPOPHL’s Bureau of Patents, the program simplifies IP protection and encourages broader participation by women innovators in national and global innovation economies.
Connecting Through the IPGAP Database
Both Chile’s and the Philippines’ initiatives are highlighted in WIPO’s IP and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP) Database, which catalogs national policies and programs that aim to improve women’s economic empowerment and participation in entrepreneurship, innovation, and IP. These initiatives demonstrate how practical, targeted legal and financial measures can concretely support women with protecting, commercializing, and benefitting from their innovations and creations, strengthening their role in the global knowledge economy.
Acknowledgements: Cristina De Guzman , OIC-Director, Bureau of Patents, Philippines and Denisse Pérez Fierro, Head of International Affairs, National Institute of Industrial Property, Chile