Delhi youth enjoy rain at India Gate. (Representative image/PTI file)

Bengaluru and Delhi are the best cities for women entrepreneurs in India, according to Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index 2017. While Bengaluru ranks 40th, Delhi is on the 49th position in the list of top 50 global cities topped by New York City. Other cities in the top 20 are: Bay Area, London, Boston, Stockholm, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Singapore, Toronto, Seattle, Sydney, Paris, Chicago, Minneapolis, Austin, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Atlanta, Amsterdam and Portland.

The cities were ranked on five important parameters: capital, technology, talent, culture and markets. These parameters were further organized into two groups — operating environment and enabling environment.

On Delhi, the report said that despite ranking 49 overall, Delhi can “leverage its Market Size (ranking 3rd) and low cost of technology (ranking 2nd) to improve its talent base (where it ranks 50th).

The 50 cities were ranked as follows:

1.New York City

2.Bay Area

3.London

4.Boston

5.Stockholm

6.Los Angeles

7.Washington, D.C.

8.Singapore

9.Toronto

10.Seattle

11.Sydney

12.Paris

13.Chicago

14.Minneapolis

15.Austin

16.Hong Kong

17.Melbourne

18.Atlanta

19.Amsterdam

20.Portland (OR)

21.Berlin

22.Taipei

23.Pittsburg

24.Tel Aviv

25.Copenhagen

26.Vancouver

27.Houston

28.Johannesburg

29.Barcelona

30.Seoul

31.Munich

32.Miami/Ft. Lauderdale

33.Nairobi

34.Dublin

35.Warsaw

36.Belfast

37.Milan

38.Beijing

39.Tokyo

40.Bangalore

41.Kuala Lumpur

42.Sao Paulo

43.Dubai

44.Shanghai

45.Mexico City

46.Lima

47.Guadalajara

48.Istanbul

49.Delhi

50.Jakarta

“Globally, women’s entrepreneurship rates are growing more than 10 percent each year. In fact, women are as likely or more likely than men to start businesses in many markets. However, financial, cultural and political barriers can limit the success of these businesses,” Karen Quintos, EVP and chief customer officer at Dell, said in a release.

“It is in the world’s best interest that women entrepreneurs everywhere thrive,” said Elizabeth Gore, entrepreneur-in- residence at Dell. According to Gore, the WE Cities Index can be used as a diagnostic tool to help ensure that lawmakers are enabling women entrepreneurs to succeed.

(The article was first published on July 19, 2017. Updated with a correction on July 20, 2017)