A record number of women took part in business boot camps in the ACT this year, defying a national trend.

The uptake has come as welcome news for the commerce sector, which received news this week the nation is falling behind in business innovation.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Thursday a dearth of investment was holding businesses back, with one in five businesses reporting a lack of funds was standing in the way of implementing creative ideas.

Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre chief executive officer Anna Pino said business start-ups continued to be a male-dominated field but a growing number of women in the ACT were taking steps to become their own bosses.

"This year the participation was 50-50 male to female at our Start-Up Camp, which has never happened before," she said.

"It's bucking the national trend and large numbers of women are also lining up for at-home business seminars, peer group activities and mentoring programs."

Canberra Women in Business president Claire Connelly said there had been enormous growth over the past two years in the number of women either opening businesses or laying the groundwork to launch businesses.

"A lot of women are doing start-ups in Canberra because they don't have a choice to balance work and life and so they are going into business for themselves," she said.

Ms Pino said the ACT had come a long way since the ABS' 2006-07 Innovation in Australian Business report which found Canberra was lagging behind every state and territory in the nation for its innovation.

The Bureau has axed geographical data from this year's report due to budget constraints, but Ms Pino said it was clear the ACT had lifted its game.

"A lot has happened since then and the ACT is probably one of the most actively supported jurisdictions for start-ups because it is a small area and the business community is very co-operative," she said.

The Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre opened in 2008 with the purpose of helping Canberra start-ups, including offering help with securing microcredit loans and grants.

It has helped start-ups get into the new Griffin Accelerator program, which is a business incubator in Canberra, that opened this year.