The aim of the current paper was to compare the regional differences in innovation and the resulting growth expectation among female entrepreneurs in the MENA region as compared with the rest of the world. Data on innovation and growth aspirations of 162,752 female entrepreneurs in 109 countries was extracted from GEM annual surveys in 2002-2016. A hierarchical linear modelling technique was used to analyse the data. Interestingly, results indicated that female entrepreneurs in the MENA region are more innovative than their peers in the rest of the world; however, there is no difference between the MENA female entrepreneurs and their counterparts in the rest of the world in terms of growth ambitions and benefiting from innovation for growth. Innovation was found to be positively related to shaping growth ambitions in female entrepreneurs.
