The Strive Women project, led by CARE Peru, is a transformative initiative designed to enhance the financial health, resilience, and overall quality of life of women-led micro and small enterprises (MSEs) across Peru. This document outlines the baseline study for the Strive Women project, an initiative by CARE Peru aimed at strengthening the financial resilience, decision-making confidence, and overall quality of life of women-led micro and small enterprises (MYPEs) across Peru. Building on the success of the IGNITE program, the project seeks to address systemic and individual barriers such as limited access to financial services and gender biases that hinder the growth and sustainability of women-led businesses. The baseline study employed a rigorous mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative surveys of 879 women entrepreneurs across diverse regions and qualitative insights from focus groups and in-depth interviews. The findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the financial, business, and personal dynamics of women entrepreneurs, serving as a foundation for targeted interventions and offering a replicable model to foster gender equity and economic empowerment in similar contexts.

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