What are the common reasons for failure at some women-led start-ups?

A bad shareholding structure, too little focus and difficulty in hiring and sexism were some reasons cited by the Golden Bauhinia Women Entrepreneur Association for failure at some start-ups led by women.

Members of the association share their successes and failures with other female entrepreneurs as part of efforts to encourage more women to set up their own businesses. The association has teamed up with the Guangdong Women Entrepreneur Association as a sister organisation and the two associations have 4,500 members.

While only 10 per cent of directors in Hong Kong-listed companies are women, the city is taking the lead when it comes to female entrepreneurs.

Among all entrepreneurs in Hong Kong in 2015, 45 per cent were women, which is the highest ratio worldwide, only behind India where this number is 49 per cent, according to a BNP Paribas survey.

Before joining King Fook as a senior executive, Li cofounded an education centre with a partner in early 2000 but that eventually closed down in 2003 due to the outbreak of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome, which discouraged parents from bringing their children to the centre.

It was also because the company had a bad shareholding structure. “I and my partner were good friends so we decided to have a 50-50 shareholder structure. It is quite common for female entrepreneurs, as we want equal rights among us and we believe we can always negotiate our differences,” Li said.