LONDON -- Women-led businesses need more support from the government if female entrepreneurs are to overcome lack of confidence and finance to achieve their real potential, a study said on Wednesday.

The report by research program Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) published to mark National Women's Enterprise Day found women needed bigger incentives than men to take the risk of setting up on their own. The report found women were less likely than men to think they had the skills to start a business or to know an entrepreneur personally and to think there were good business opportunities to be exploited.