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A PROJECT REPORT ON

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS HIP IN

DEVELOPING INDIA

SUBMITTED BY

CHOUDHAY VARSHA SOHANLAL

T.Y.B.M.S. [Semester V]

PADMASHRI ANNASAHEB JADHAV BHARTIYA SAMAJ UNNATI MANDALS

B.N.N COLLEGE

DHAMANKAR NAKA, BHIWANDI, 421302

SUBMITTED TO

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ACADEMIC YEAR

2013 - 2014

PROJECT GUIDE

PROF. SHAFI ANSARI


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PROJECT REPORT ON

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS HIP IN

DEVELOPING INDIA

SUBMITTED BY

CHOUDHARY VARSHA SOHANLAL

T.Y.B.M.S. [Semester V]

PADMASHRI ANNASAHEB JADHAV BHARTIYA SAMAJ UNNATI MANDALS

B.N.N COLLEGE

DHAMANKAR NAKA, BHIWANDI, 421302

SUBMITTED TO

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ACADEMIC YEAR

2013 2014

NAME OF PROJECT GUIDEPROF. SHAFI ANSARI

DATE OF SUBMISSION

25 th OCTOBER 2013


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DECLARATION

I CHOUDHARY VARSHA SOHANLAL of PADMASHRI ANNASAHEB JADHAVS B.N.N

COLLEGE of TYBMS [Semester V] hereby declare that I have compiled this project on WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DEVELOPING INDIA in the academic year 2013-2014. The informationsubmitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

Signature of the Student



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CERTIFICATE

I, PROF. SHAFI ANSARI hereby certify that CHOUDHARY VARSHA SOHANLAL of PADMASHRI

ANNASAHEB JADHAV S B.N.N COLLEGE of TYBMS [Semester V] has completed project on

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DEVELOPING INDIA in the academic year 2013-2014. The

information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

U. D. KADAM Dr. SUVARNA RAWAL Prof. SHAFI ANSARI

(Principal) (Coordinator) (Project Guide)

External Examiner


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am indebted to my project guide PROF. SHAFI ANSARI for helping me out in the successful

completion of my Project Report on, WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DEVELOPING INDIA .

I am thankful to my other teachers for providing me the information as and when required. I am

extremely thankful to my family members for their constant support.

Last, but not the least, are my friends who discussed with me the various issues in my project. Finally,

I want to thank one and all who helped me directly or indirectly through the project work.

Signature of the Student



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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In India, entrepreneurship among women is of recent origin. Socio-economic background is an

important factor that influences the women to start their business. Money is not the sole objective among

women entrepreneurs to enter into the business. The studies relating to women entrepreneurs in rural areasfurther reveal that training and awareness regarding women entrepreneurs in building confidence. Since

entrepreneurship development involves provision of additional channels of funds in the form of working

capital and credit, training, management skills etc. the intervention aims at not only raising the income of

rural women of poor households, but also enabling organized participation of groups in the programmer of

credit, skill training and infrastructure support for self-employment in groups who cannot take up economic

activities, individually as their own.

In this dynamic world women entrepreneurs are significant part of the global expedition for sustained

economic development and social progress. Due to the growth of industrialization, urbanization, social

legislation and along with the spread of higher education, awareness, the emergence of women owned

business are increasing in the economies of almost all countries.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Title Page No.

1. Introduction. 1 - 65

2. Literature of Review. 66 - 72

3. Research Method. 73 - 81

4. Data Analysis & Interpretations. 82 - 93

5. Conclusion & Suggestion 94 - 97

6. References. 98

7. Appendix. 99 - 103


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1. Introduction

In the era of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization along with ongoing IT revolution,todays world is changing at a surprising pace. Political and Economic Transformations appear to be taking

place everywhere as countries convert from command to demand economies, dictatorships move towarddemocratic system, and Monarchies build new civil institutions. These changes have created economicopportunities for women who want to own and operate businesses. Today, women entrepreneurs represent agroup of women who have broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of economic

participation. Among the reasons for women to run organized enterprises are their skill and knowledge, theirtalents, abilities and creativity in business and a compelling desire of wanting to do something positive. It ishigh time that countries should rise to the challenge and create more support systems for encouraging moreentrepreneurship amongst women. At the same time, it is up to women to break away from stereotyped mind-sets.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are a significant part of the global expedition forsustained economic development and social progress. Due to the growing industrialization, urbanization,social legislation and along with the spread of higher education and awareness, the emergence of Women

owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost all countries.In former days, for Women there were 3 Ks- Kitchen, Kids, Knitting, then came 3 Ps-

Powder,Pappad, Pickles and now at present there are 4 Es- Electricity, Electronics, Energy, Engineering .Indian women had undergone a long way and are becoming increasingly visible and successful in all spheresand have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities.

Todays women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope up with marketneed and are flourishing as de signers, interior decorators, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers andstill exploring new avenues of economic participation. It is perhaps for these reasons that GovernmentBodies, NGOs, Social Scientists, Researchers and International Agencies have started showing interest inthe issues related to entrepreneurship among women in India.


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Women entrepreneurs explore the prospects of starting a new enterprise; undertake risks,introduction of new innovations, coordinate administration & control of business & providing effectiveleadership in all aspects of business and have proved their footage in the male dominated business arena.

This report focuses on the concept of woman entrepreneurs in India; their traits in business, the problems faced by them when they set up and make some suggestions for future prospects for developmentof Women Entrepreneurs.

History of Entrepreneur: The word Entrepreneur is derived from the French word Entrepreneur. It means to

undertake. Thus entrepreneur is a person who undertakes the risk of new enterprise. In the early 16 th century, the Frenchmen who organized and led military expeditions were referred to as Entrepreneurs.

Around 1700 A.D Thomas C. Cochran expanded the scope and applied the term to civilengineering activities, such as constructions, architecture and works. Bernard Belidor applied it to thefunctions of buying labour and material at uncertain prices and selling the restaurant product at a contracted

price. Quesnay regarded the rich farmer as an entrepreneur who manages and makes his business profitable by his intelligence, skill and wealth.

In the 18 th century, Richard Cantillon an Irishman living in France, was the first person to usethe term entrepreneur to economic activities. He defined entrepreneur as a person who buys a factorservices at certain prices. With a view to sell its product at uncertain prices in the future. He conceived of anentrepreneur as a bearer of non-insurable risk. According to him, entrepreneurs carry on production andexchange of goods at some risk, facing the possibility of bankruptcy, when the demand for their products isdepressed. He distinguished between the owner and an entrepreneur. Writers in the 17 thand 18 th centurieswere of the opinion that the essential characteristic of an entrepreneur was to take risks and createsinnovations.

Entrepreneurship has gained currency across the sphere and female- entrepreneurship has become animportant module. India is one of the fastest emerging economies and the importance of entrepreneurship isrealized across the gamut.

Women Entrepreneurship means an act of business ownership and business creation that empowerswomen economically increases their economic strength as well as position in society. Women-entrepreneurshave been making a considerable impact in all most all the segments of the economy.

Women Entrepreneur is a person who denies the role of their personal needs to parti cipate and beaccepted economically independent. Strong desire to do something positive is a high-quality womenentrepreneur who contributes to the position values of family and social life.

Many women have these traits but they never got a platform to showcase their talents and forthis reason they don't know their real abilities. Matching the basic qualities required for entrepreneurs and the

basic characters of Indian women reveal that, much potential is available among the Indian women on their


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entrepreneurial ability. This potential is to be documented, brought out and exposed for utilization in productive and service sectors for the progress of the nation.

An enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum financial interest of 51% ofcapi tal and giving at least 51% of the employment generated by the enterprise to women. - Government ofIndia

According to Kamala Singh ," A women entrepreneur is a confident, innovative and creative womancapable of achieving economic independence individually or in collaboration generates employmentopportunities for others through initiating establishing and running an enterprise by keeping pace with her

personal, family and social life.According to Medha Dubhanshi Vinze , a women entrepreneur is a person w ho is an

enterprising individual with an eye for opportunities and an uncanny vision, Commercial acumen, withtremendous perseverance and above all a person who is willing to take risk with the unknown because of theadventures spirit she possesses.

In the words of Former President APJ Abdul Kalam "Empowering women is a prerequisite forcreating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment ofwomen is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development of a good family, goodsociety and ultimately a good nation."

Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru has remarked When women move forward, the family moves, thevillage moves and the Nation moves.

Women Entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of economy of of theworld. Their willingness for the future is apparent in their growing confidence, in their strengths and in theirdesire to seek different forms of work in order to achieve a new balance between work and home. Thus awomen entrepreneur is one who starts business and manages it independently and tactfully takes all the risks,accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent. A strong desireto do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women, who is capable contributing values in

both family and social life and is one who faces the challenges boldly with an iron, will to succeed.


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Concept of Entrepreneur:

Majority of people are reluctant to undertake risk and uncertainty involved in organizing thefactors of production. Only some people are able and willing to bear risk and uncertainty. These people arenot mere dreamers. They are doers as well. They create wealth and employment. They work hard to achievesuccess. They have a high need of achievement. They are entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur is a person who undertakes the risk of new enterprise. Entrepreneur is one whorecognizes and seizes opportunities; convert these opportunities into marketable ideas; add value throughtime, effort, money, or skills assumes the risk to implement these ideas and realize the rewards from these

efforts. Entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking and assumes the riskinvolve in it for the sake of profit. An entrepreneur is highly achievement oriented and motivated.


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Definitions of an Entrepreneur:

Oxford Dictionary:

An entrepreneur is one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor

acting as intermed iary between capital and labour.

Adam Smith:

Entrepreneur is a person who only provides capital without taking active part

in the leading role in enterprise.

Peter Drucker:

An entrepreneur is one who always searches for change, responds to it and

exploits it as an opportunity.

International Labor Organization:

Entrepreneurs are people who have the ability to see and evaluate business

opportunities, bring together the necessary resources to take advantage of them; and to

initiate appropriate action to ensure success.


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Entrepreneurs V/S Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship.


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Characteristics of Entrepreneur:

i. Need to Achieve:

Entrepreneurs have got strong desire to achieve higher goals. Their inner self

motivates their behaviour towards high achievement. Most of the people dream of success but do not take

any action in achieving these dreams. For entrepreneurs winning is achievement.

ii. Independence:

Most of the entrepreneurs start on their own because they dislikes to work forothers. They prefer to be their own boss and want to be responsible for their own decision.

iii. Risk Bearing:

Entrepreneurs are the persons who take decisions under uncertainty and thus

they are willing to take risk, but they never gamble with the results.

iv. Flexibility:

Most of the successful entrepreneurs measure the pros and cons of a decision

and tend to change if the situation demands. They never feel reluctant to revise their decisions. They are the

person with open mind without rigidity.


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v. Self Confidence:

Entrepreneurs must have self-confidence to accomplish the task effectively andefficiently. They must take decision on their own in uncertain and risky situation and should stick to itconfidently even if there are occurs initial setback.

vi.

Decision Making:

Decision making skills implies the function of choosing a particular course ofaction out of several alternative courses, for the purpose of achieving specified goals.

vii. Technical Knowledge:

An entrepreneur must have a reasonable level of technical knowledge.Technical knowledge is an ability that most people are able to acquire if they try hard enough.


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Qualities of Entrepreneur:

Entrepreneurs have an ability to find and explore opportunity.

Successful entrepreneurs are highly optimistic. They are not disturbed by the present problems

faced by them.

Successful Entrepreneurs are goal oriented.

Successful entrepreneur generally has strong leadership qualities. The entrepreneurs should have a good foresight to know about the future business

environment.

In the course of his career an entrepreneur, will be required in many situations to influence

people and make them think in his way and act accordingly. He motivates people to act.


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B. On the basis of Use of Technology:

On the basis of use of Technology an Entrepreneur can be classified as follows:

1. Technical Entrepreneurs: Technical entrepreneurs are extremely task oriented. They are of craftsmen

type. He develops improved quality of goods because of his craftsmanship. He concentrates more on production then on marketing.

2. Non-technical Entrepreneurs: Non-technical entrepreneurs are those who are not concerned with the technical

aspects of the product in which they deal. They are concerned with developing alternative marketingdistribution strategies to promote their business. Thus they concentrate more on marketing aspects.

3. Professional Entrepreneurs:Professional entrepreneur is a person who is interested in establishing a

business but does not have interest in managing or operating it once it is established. A professional sells outthe running business and starts another venture with the sales proceeds. Such an entrepreneur is dynamic andhe conceives new ideas to develop alternative project.

C. On the basis of Motivation:

On the basis of Motivation an Entrepreneurs can be as follows:

1. Pure Entrepreneur:A pure entrepreneur is an individual who is motivated by psychological and

economic reward. He undertakes an entrepreneurial activity for his personal satisfaction in work, ego orstatus. For example Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance group.

2. Induced Entrepreneurs:Induced entrepreneur is one who is induce to take up an entrepreneurial task

due to policy measures of the government that provide assistance, incentives, concessions, and necessaryoverheads facilities to start a venture.3. Motivated Entrepreneur:

These entrepreneurs are motivated by their desire to make use of their technicaland professional expertise and skills. New entrepreneurs are motivated by the desire for self-fulfillment.

4. Spontaneous Entrepreneurs:These entrepreneurs start their own enterprise spontaneously. They are self-

confident and positive in their approach. Their inner urge and inborn talent drive them to establish their ownventure.

D. On the basis of Stages of Development:

On the Stages of Development an Entrepreneurs are as follows:

1. First Generation Entrepreneurs:He is one who starts an industrial unit by means of his innovative skill. He is

essentially an innovator, combining different technologies to produce a marketable product or service.

2. Modern Entrepreneurs:He is one who undertakes those ventures which go well along with the

changing demand in market. They undertake those ventures which suit the current or modern marketingneeds.

3. Classical Entrepreneurs:


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He is one who is concerned with the customers and marketing needs throughthe development of a self-supporting venture. He is a stereo type entrepreneur whose aim is to maximize hiseconomic returns at a level consistence with the survival of the firm with or without the element of growth.These entrepreneurs are traditional and do not undertake any innovation.

E. On the basis of Growth:

On the basis of Growth an Entrepreneurs can be classified as follows:

1. Growth Entrepreneurs:

Growth Entrepreneurs are those who necessarily take up a high growth industrywhich has substantial growth prospects.

2. Super-Growth Entrepreneurs:

Super-Growth entrepreneurs are those who have shown enormous growth of performance in their venture. The growth performance is identified by the liquidity of funds, profitability andgearing.

F. On the basis of Gender:

On basis of gender an Entrepreneur can be:1. Men Entrepreneurs.

2. Women Entrepreneurs.


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Women Entrepreneurs:

In this dynamic world women entrepreneurs are significant part of the globalexpedition for sustained economic development and social progress. Due to the growth of industrialization,

urbanization, social legislation and along with the spread of higher education, awareness, the emergence ofwomen owned business are increasing in the economies of almost all countries.In the former days for women there were 3ks-Kitchen, Kids, Kitting, then came

3Ps-Powder, Pappad, Pickles and now at present there are 4Es Electricity, Electronics, Energy, Engineering.Indian women have gone a long way and are becoming increasingly visible and successful in all sphere oflife and have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities.

Women entrepreneurs are fast becoming a force to reckon with in the businessworld and are not only involved in business for survival but to justify their inner urge of creativity and to

prove their capabilities. Educated women is contributing to a great extent to the social transformation and inthe future will be seen that more women venturing into areas traditionally dominated by men.

Todays women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope up withmarket need and are flourishing as designer, interior, decorator, exporters, publishers, garments,manufacturers and still exploring new avenues of economic participation. Therefore, Government bodies,

NGOs, Social Scientist, Researchers and International Agencies have started showing their interest in theissue relating to entrepreneurship among women in India.

In the words of Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability Is assured.Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development ofgood family, good society and ultimately a good nation.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has remarket When women move forward the family moves, thevillage moves and the nation moves.


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Definition of Women Entrepreneurs:The term women entrepreneurs deals with that section of the female proportion

who venture out into industrial activities i.e. manufacturing, assembling, job works, repairs/servicing andother businesses. In short women entrepreneurs are those women who think of a business enterprise, initiateit, organize it, operate it and undertake risks and uncertainty involved in business.

A. Government of India:


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An enterprise owned and control by a women having a minimum financialinterest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of the employment generated in the enterprise towomen.

However this definition is subject to criticism mainly on the condition ofemploying more than 51% women workers in the enterprise owned and run by the women.

With the effect from 7 th February 1992, the definition of women entrepreneursare as follows:

A small scale industrial unit/industry related service or business enterprisemanage bye one or more women entrepreneurs in proprietary concern in which she/they will individually or

jointly have share capital of not less than 51% as a partners/shareholders/directors of private limitedcompany, members of co-operative society.

B. Fredrick Harrison:

Any women or group of women which innovates, initiates or adapts aneconomic activity may be called women entrepreneurs.


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Traits of Women Entrepreneurs in India:

Women are ambitious

A successful woman entrepreneur is dreadfully strong-minded one, has an inner urge or drives tochange contemplation into realism. Knowledge from her previous occupancy as an employee, relying oneducational qualifications or lessons learnt from inborn business, she is ready to grab opportunities, sets goal,

possess clear vision, steps confidently forward and is ambitious to be successful. Every successful womanentrepreneur is truly determined to achieve goals and make her business prosper. Thorough knowledge of thefield is indispensable to success. She comes with new innovative solutions to old problems to tide overissues.

Women are confident

A successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to learn from others, searchfor help from experts if it means adding value to her goals. She is positive in nature and is keener to takerisks. A winning woman entrepreneur uses common intelligence to make sound judgments whenencountering everyday situations. This is gleaned from past experience and information acquired over theyears. It is essential not to get aggravated and give up when you face obstacles and trials. The aptitude toexplore uncharted territories and take bold decisions is the hallmark of a successful woman entrepreneur. A

successful woman usually loves what she does. She is extremely fervent about her tasks and activities. Herhigh energy levels motivate her to contribute immensely towards building, establishing and maintaining a

prosperous business. Women is open and willing to learn

A successful woman entrepreneur keeps side by side of changes, as she is fully conscious of theimportance of evolving changes. She is ahead of her competitors and thrives on changes. She adapts her

business to changes in technology or service prospect of her patrons. She is inquisitive, concerned to learnand accommodative to innovations.

Women are cost conscious

A successful woman entrepreneur prepares pragmatic budget estimates. She provides cost effective

quality services to her clients. With minimized cost of operations, she is able to force her team to capitalizeon profits and gather its benefits.

Women values cooperation and allegiance

A woman has the ability to work with all levels of populace. She is keen on maintaining associationsand communicates evidently and efficiently. This helps her to negotiate even responsive issues withoutdifficulty. She is sympathetic to people around her and have good networking skills that help her to get bettercontacts and utilize opportunities.

Women can balance home and work

A successful woman entrepreneur is good at balancing varied aspects of life.Her multitasking aptitude combined with support from spouse and relatives enables her to bring together

business priorities with domestic responsibilities competently and efficiently. Women are aware of her legal responsibility to the social order

A successful woman entrepreneur is eager to share her achievement with the society. She is dedicatedto assist others and enjoys her liability.

Women focus on their Plans


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Women Entrepreneurs plan their work and work with plan. Set long -term and short-term goals andtake consistent action in moving toward them.

An effectual Women Entrepreneur requires certain additional essential qualities, which can belisted as follows;

Innovative thinking and farsightedness.

Often relatively comfortable with ambiguity, uncertainty and risk.

Quick and effective choice making skill.

Strongly influence events (or self-efficacy). Strong determination.

Have high levels of work motivation.

Preparedness to take risks.

Characterized by high levels of social competence and social intelligence

Accepting changes in right time.

Has an ability to build relationships and to connect with others on a social and

interpersonal level

Access and alertness to latest scientific and technological information.

Single-minded and devoted to their unique passions.

Efficient execution of decisions imposed on them.

Key Changes in Women Entrepreneurs In Last Five Decades:

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FIFTIES:

Compulsive factors led to the creation of women entrepreneurs.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE SIXTIES:

Women began to aspire but also accepted the social cultural traditions.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE SEVENTIES:

The women in this decade opened up new frontier. They had not only aspiration but ambition.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE EIGHTIES:

Women were educated in highly sophisticated, technological and professional education. They became equally contributing partners.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE NINETIES:

This was the first time when the concept of best rather than male heir was talked about.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 21st Century:

Since the 21st century, the status of women in India has been changing as a result to mountingindustrialization and urbanization and social legislation. Over the years, more and more women are going in


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for higher education, technical and professional education and their proportion in the workforce has also beenincreased.

With the spread of education and awareness, women have shifted from the kitchen, handicrafts andtraditional cottage industries to non-traditional higher levels of activities. The Government has also laidspecial weight age on the requirement for conducting special entrepreneurial training programs for women toenable them to start their own ventures.

Financial institutions and banks have also set up particular cells to help women entrepreneurs. Thishas rebound the women entrepreneurs on the economic scene in the recent years although many womensentrepreneurship enterprises are still remained a much neglected field. Though, for women there are quite alot of handicaps to enter into and manage business ownership due to the intensely entrenched conventionalstate of mind and strict principles of the Indian society.

Features of Women Entrepreneurs:

A. Imagination:

It refers to the imaginary approach or original ideas with competitive market.Well planned approach is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the entrepreneurial

opportunities.

B. Attribute to Work Hard:

Enterprising women have further ability to work hard. The imaginative ideashave to come to a fair play. Hard work is needed to build up an enterprise.

C. Persistence:

Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfill their dreams. They haveto make a dream translated into an enterprise. Studies show that successful women have worked hard. They

persisted in getting loans from financial institutions and other inputs. They have persisted in adversecircumstances and in adversity.

D. Ability and Desire to Take Risk:


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The desire refers to willingness to take risk and ability to the proficiency in planning, making forecast, estimates and calculations. Profits are the reward of risk. Enterprising women takerisk but the risk is well calculated. It offers challenges where chances of survival and failure are on equalfooting.

E. Value of Self-fulfillment Over Money:

Generally women entrepreneurs are not driven by the desire to make money.Self-fulfillment seems to be women entr epreneurs basic motivating force since women have creative urge in

them. Money is simply a way of keeping the enterprise running.F. Sense of Responsibility:

Women entrepreneurs feel a deep sense of personal responsibility for theoutcome of ventures they start.

G. Tolerance for Ambiguity:

Women entrepreneurs have a high degree of patience and tolerance forambiguous and risky situations. Most often they can operate in ever-changing environment.

H. Flexibility:

Due to feminine nature, women entrepreneurs have their ability to adapt to thechanging demands of their customer and their business.

I. Organizing Capacity:

Women are good managers. That is why women entrepreneurs know how to put the right people and resources together to accomplish a task to achieve a goal.

Factors promoting women entrepreneurship:

Woman entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segment ofeconomy. They have succeeded in business for the following reasons.

A. Self-fulfillment Motive:


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Women are more creative than men. They always try to seek self-fulfillmentthrough some accomplishment and achievements. Women entrepreneurs want new challenges andopportunities for self-fulfillment. Thus, they are driven to establish enterprises to get creative pleasure.

B. Providing Worth:

Today women have become more desirous to prove their worth and talents inenterprising ventures. They have quality of endurance or courage to do entrepreneurial activities. Womenentrepreneur are motivated to prove their ability and mettle in innovative and competitive jobs. Today, they

are more likely than ever to be highly educated and have managerial experience in the industries.C. Maintaining Balance Between Family and Business:

Modern women entrepreneurs are more awakened, educated and able tomanage time. With the help of employees and managers, they are able to maintain a balance between theirfamily responsibilities and their business live. Often small scale units fit a womens life style. Small familiesalso help to facilitate both their family and business lives.

D. Social Take-off:

The emergence of female entrepreneurs is also promoted due to the conditionof social take-off, set for women. They are moving from the stage of dependence to their self-sustaininggrowth. They have created profitable opportunities for them.

E. Skill at Organizing:

Women are good manages. Due to their organizing skill, female entrepreneurscan effectively combine people, jobs and resources. With the experience of running a home, they can planand build a business from scratch.

G. Economic Expression:

The desire for economic expression and self-reliance has also motivatedwomen enter the business fields. Today small businesses are offering women opportunities for economicliberty through employment and entrepreneurship.

H. Branching out in Various Industries:

Today women have begun to break away tradition and invade fields that havelong been exclusively male-dominated. Female entrepreneurs have produced a new pool of talent withexperience in virtually every industry. The fastest growing industries for women-owned companies areconstruction, agribusiness, transportation, communication and utilities. They are running restaurants andhotels. The other chosen by women are retail trade, education, cultural arts, cleaning, insurance etc. womenentrepreneurs are invading such long time bastions as manufacturing, construction and tool engineering.

I. High Survival Rate of Business:

Female entrepreneurs have high degree of commitment and tenacity. Thisgenerates success for them. Although the businesses of women entrepreneurs tend to grow more slowly thanthose owned by men, women-owned businesses have higher survival rate.

J. Economy Reforms:


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Today, economic reforms in any country are being made very fast. Hence thereis a change in the prevailing condition of women. Socio-cultural environment is also changing. With themarch of economic reforms-liberalization, privatization, globalization- the entrepreneurial opportunities forwomen have tremendously increased.

K. Women Empowerment:

Today, women are attracted to make use of business opportunities. Thus theyhave joined the mainstream of the nation. They are also contributing to the shift from welfare approach to

empowerment. Women empowerment has created conditions for enabling the women to start enterpriseeffectively. Women empowerment provides access to resources and markets, actual ownership and effectivecontrol, thus the desire for women power has driven the women to start entrepreneurship.

L. Breaking Glass Ceiling:

Increasing numbers of women are discovering that the best way to break theglass ceiling that prevents them from rising to the top of many organizations is to start their own companies.In traditional society women were confined to the four walls of houses performing household activities. Inrecent year women have taken a bold step to come out of their traditional domestic occupation to start their

business unit.M. Generating Sale Revenue:

Profits earned by women entrepreneurs are inspiring. Their sales revenue is notfalling far short of those realized by their male counterparts. However for lower sales level for women stemsfrom, among other things, their concentration in the service and retail industries and the newness of their

business.N. Women Labour:

The one major reason for the emergence of women as founders of their own business has been the large influx of women entering the labour force, who later launch their own business.

O. Business-education Women:

The number of business institutes providing entrepreneurial education andtraining is increasing very fast. Clearly with the explosive growth of business-educated women, it followsthat, more than ever before, women are aspiring to start their own venture.

P. Government Support:

State Government, Central Government Agencies, Commercial Banks andother Financial Institutions have come forward to introduce different schemes for women entrepreneurs. Thishas promoted women to start their own business.


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Functions of Women Entrepreneurs:As an entrepreneur, a women entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions

involved in establishing a business enterprise. These included idea generation and screening, determinationof objectives, project preparation, product analysis, and determination of forms of organization, completionof promotional formalities, raising funds, procuring, men, machine, materials, and operation of business.

According to Frederic Harbison a women entrepreneur has to perform the followingfunctions:

Exploration of the prospects of stating a new business enterprise. Undertaking of risks and the handling economic uncertainties involved in business.

Introduction of innovations or imitations of innovations.

Co-ordination, administration, and control.

Supervision and leadership.


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All these functions appear to be somewhat uneven in character. Moreover, these functions arenot always of equal importance. For instance risk taking and innovations are paramount for establishing anddiversifying an enterprise. Co-ordination and supervision become an increasingly important in improving theefficiency and assuming smooth, balanced operation of the undertaking. In women enterprises, usually thesame lady performs all these functions. Most likely she is also the owner of the enterprises. In nutshell,women entrepreneur are those women who think of a business enterprise, initiate it, organize and combinethe factors of production, operate the enterprise, undertake risk and handle economic uncertainties involvedin running a business enterprise.

A Woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in establishing anenterprise:

Functions for establishment of an enterprise

Idea generation and screening

Determination of objectives

Undertaking a risk and handling of economic uncertainties involved in business.

project preparation

Product analysis

Introduction of innovations, imitations of innovations.

Form of business

Co-ordination, administration and control.

Raising funds

Supervision and leadership.

Procuring men, machine and materials and operations of business.

Successful Leading Business Women in India:The 21 Leading Businesswomen in India:

Akhila Srinivasan , Managing Director, Shriram Investments Ltd

Chanda Kocchar , Executive Director, ICICI Bank

Ekta Kapoor , Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms

Jyoit Naik , President, Lijjat Papad

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw , Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon

Lalita D Gupte , Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank

Naina Lal Kidwai , Deputy CEO, HSBC

Preetha Reddy , Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals


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Priya Paul , Chairman, Apeejay Park Hotels

Rajshree Pathy , Chairman, Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd

Ranjana Kumar , Chairman, NABARD

Ravina Raj Kohli , Media personality and ex-President, STAR News

Renuka Ramnath , CEO, ICICI Ventures

Ritu Kumar , Fashion Designer

Ritu Nanda , CEO, Escolife

Shahnaz Hussain , CEO, Shahnaz Herbals

Sharan Apparao , Proprietor, Apparao Galleries

Simone Tata , Chairman, Trent Ltd

Sulajja Firodia Motwani , Joint MD, Kinetic Engineering

Tarjani Vakil , former Chairman and Managing Director, EXIM Bank

Zia Mody , Senior Partner, AZB & Partners

Role of women as an Entrepreneur:

Considering the flow of women entrepreneurs in the traditional industries, it is oftencriticized that the women entrepreneurship is engaged only in handloom and handicraft and in the non-traditional term, now their aspect have broaden into new line like hotel line, Xeroxing, Beauty Parlour

business, incense stick making, candle making etc.In the last decade, there has been a remarkable shift it emphasizes from the traditional industry to

non-traditional industry and services. Based on this concept, some important opportunities are beingidentified, considering the socio-economic, cultural and educational status and motivational level of womenentrepreneurs, particularly projects with low investment, low technical know-how and assured market aresuggested for them such as production of soaps, detergents, readymade instant food products including

pickles, spices, papad, manufacturing of woollen goods, beauty parlour business, typing centre, job contractsfor packaging of goods and distribution and household provision etc.

At present they are:

Creative : It refers to the creative approach or innovative ideas with competitive market. Well-

planned approach is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the entrepreneurial

opportunities. It further implies that women entrepreneurs have alliance with clued-up people and

constricting the right organization offering support and service.

Quality to working hard : Innovative women have further ability to work hard. The creative ideas

have to come to a fair play. Hard work is required to build up an enterprise.


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Determination: Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfill their dreams. They have to

make a dream transferred into an idea enterprise.

Ability and desire to take risk: the desire refers to the willingness to take risk and ability to the

proficiency in planning making forecast estimates and calculations.

Profit earning capacity: she has a capability to get maximum return out of invested capital.

Types of women Entrepreneurs:

Types

Chance Entrepreneurs.

Forced Entrepreneurs.

Created Entrepreneurs.

Natural Entrepreneurs..


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A. Chance Entrepreneurs:

Those who started business without any preparation, clear goals or plans, theywere lucky to come across opportunities which they grabbed.

B. Forced Entrepreneurs:

Those who were compelled by circumstances such as death of husband orfather with responsibilities falling on them to take over the existing business such entrepreneurs called forcedentrepreneurs.

C. Created Entrepreneurs:

These are the ones who were properly identified, motivate, encouraged. Theyare the ones for whom the various schemes are being designed by the financial institutions and commercial

banks.D. Natural Entrepreneurs:

The entrepreneurs take business as a profession on their own by self planningor motivated through profit factor and also keeping themselves busy.

Common Factors of Women Entrepreneurs in India: Women with small families are more likely to become entrepreneurs. A majority of women entrepreneurs are married.

Unmarried women face difficulties in getting financial support to launch their enterprises.

Many women entrepreneurs are belong to the low-income group.

A large number of women with little or no education enter into business without

undergoing any training.

Working capital is limited and profit margins are low.


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Women from the low income group exercise greater freedom in making the decision to

start business as compared to middle-class women who suffer from cultural constraints.

Many women become entrepreneurs out of economic necessity.

Women hard work is generally responsible for the launch and sustainability of the

business.

Support systems do not effectively handle their important need for vision and confidence

building and also for development better business orientation and skills.

Gender discrimination is encountered at every stage of business development.

Women entrepreneurs are security oriented rather than growth oriented.

Women prefer diversification to specialization.

Women prefer stabilization of income and minimization of risk over maximization of

income.

Though the trend is changing, it id uncommon to find enterprise owned by women and run

by men.

Opportunities of Women Entrepreneurs in India:In the last decade there has been a remarkable shift in emphasis from the

manufacturing industry to the service industry. Considering this, some important opportunities are identifiedfor the women in different areas.

A. Opportunities for Women in Urban Areas:

Computer service and information dissemination.


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Trading in computer stationary.

Computer training at various levels.

Travel and tourism.

Quality testing, quality control laboratories.

Sub-assemblies of electronic products.

Screen printing, photography and video shooting..

Community kitchen.

Job contracts for packaging of goods.

Beauty parlours.

Communication centers like STD booths, cyber cafes, etc.

The opportunities enlisted above for women entrepreneurs are representativeand such opportunities can be indentified.

B. Opportunities for Women in Semi-urban Areas:

Considering the socio-economic, cultural and economic status and themotivational levels of women in semi-urban areas, particularly projects with low investments, low technicalknow-how and assured market are suggested for them. Important opportunities identified for semi-urbanwomen are enlisted below:

Production of liquid soap, soap powder, detergents etc.

Child care centers and cultural center for children.

Nursery classes.

Manufacturing of leather goods.

Garments.

Different types of training and coaching classes.

Convenience, readymade, instant food products including pickles, papads,

spices etc.

C. Opportunities for women rural areas:

In the recent industrial policy, the government has given tremendousimportance for the agro-based products and allied products. Only 1% to 2% of the total production of fruitsand vegetables is processed every year in India. Women have a natural flair and instinct for food preparationand processing. A new market is developed for the processed fruits and vegetables in the form of baby food,


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ice cream, convenience food, cold drinks, traditional medicine preparation etc. thus there are plenty ofopportunities available for women entrepreneurs.

Problems of Women Entrepreneurs in India: Women entrepreneurs face many hurdles. Societal support is a key determinant in entrepreneurial

establishment. The most common problem, which a woman faces, is the non-cooperation from her husbandor close family members. Majority of the time the family members do not motivate them. Besides they faceother problems like mobility constraints, dual responsibility, low managing ability, risk-bearing ability etc.They dont lack managerial skills but they have less promotional ability, which they need to improve upon. Scarcity of raw material and finance are another problem faced by the women entrepreneurs.

The standard of technology used by the women entrepreneurs is qualitatively low; they are poor intechnical know-how. Transportation difficulties, improper power supply and telecommunication are some ofthe other problem faced by them. Marketing problem is the biggest problem faced by women entrepreneurs.

There are some umpteen problems faced by women at various stages beginning from their initialcommencement of enterprise, in running their enterprise. Their various problems are as follows:

A. No Independence:

The first problem of women entrepreneurs is that of her being women. She is considered subordinateto male in all walks of life. The basic ingredients such as independence and authority required forsuccessful entrepreneurs are not adequate in India.

B. Lack of Self-Confidence:

Women do not have self-confidence in their own abilities which is partly due tocultural environment. This is because of familys reluctance to provide them funds for their venture. Banksare reluctance to their project due to no collateral securities on their name and very few developmentagencies come forward to give them help.

C. Low Risk Bearing Capability:


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Generally women in India are confined to the four walls of the house. They areless educated and thus economically backward. This reduces their risk bearing capability in running anenterprise.

D. Male Dominated Society:

An important barrier to empowerment of women through enterprise is the maledominated society. Prevalent socio-cultural attitudes and beliefs are not conducive to the blossoming ofwomen as entrepreneurs. Male child is still preferred to the female child right from the birth. The constitution

of India speaks about sex equality but till today women are considered as abala i.e. weak, passive and homeoriented an as a result less capable than men.E. Lack of Family Encouragements:

Very few women get encouragements from the family to start a business. InIndia it is mainly a womens duty to look after the children and other member in the family.

F. Low Mobility:

Women in general are less mobile due to social cultural barriers. The duelresponsibility that women entrepreneurs have to cope up with is making a success of their enterprise andlooking after the home and cooking restricts their mobility.

G. Lack of Education:

In India around 60% of women are still illiterate. Illiteracy is the root cause ofsocio-economic problems. Due to lack of education and that too qualitative education, women are not awareof business, technology and market knowledge.

H. Social Recognition:

Society does not give due recognition to women entrepreneurs. They arelooked down as small and weak.

I. Stiff Competition:

Women enterprises face stiff competition from organized industries and due tothe absence of any kind of organisational set-up by women entrepreneurs. As a result of this, such acompetition leads to the closure of women enterprises.

J. Low Need for Achievements:

For success in business, there is need for achievement. Generally women will not have strong needfor achievement. Every women suffer from the painful feeling that she is forced to depend on others in herlife. Till marriage she is dependent on her parent, after marriage she is dependent on her husband, on the oldage she is dependent on her son. Her pre-conceived notions about her role in life inhibit achievements and

independence.K. Arrangement of Finance:

For every business undertaking Finance is said to be the life blood, whether it is large,medium orsmall enterprise. Women entrepreneurs face the problems of shortage of finance on two important bases.Firstly, women do not in general have property on their own names to use that as collateral securities forobtaining loans/funds from banks and other financial institutions. Thus their access to external sources isvery limited .Secondly, obtaining the support of bankers, managing the working capital, lack of creditresources are the problems which still remain in the males domain.

L. Shortage of raw-materials:


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Women entrepreneurs encounter the problems of shortage of raw-materials and necessary inputs. Onthe pinnacle of this, is the high prices of raw materials, on one hand and getting raw materials at minimumdiscount rates are the other.

M. Cut-throat Competition:

Lot of the women entrepreneurs have imperfect organizational set up to drive in a lot of money forcanvassing and advertisements. They have to face severe competition from organized industries. They havealso to face a stiff competition with the men entrepreneurs who easily involve in the promotion anddevelopment area and carry out easy marketing of their products with both the organized sector and theirmale counterparts. Such a competition ultimately results in the insolvency of women entrepreneurs.

N. Lack of education and prevalent levels of illiteracy amongst women:

In India, around (40%) of women are still illiterate. Illiteracy is the root cause of socioeconomic barriers or hurdles. Due to lack of Knowledge of latest technological change, know-how and educationcreates problems before women to set up competitive enterprises.

O. Family Conflicts:

Women also countenance the conflict of performing of home role as they are not available to spendenough time with their families. Because in India, mainly a womans duty is to look after her children andmanage the other members of the family. In business they have to spend long hours and as a result, they findit difficult to meet the demands of their family members and society as well. Their incapability to attend todomestic work, time for education of children, personal hobbies, and entertainment adds to their conflicts.

P. Marketing Problems:

Women entrepreneurs incessantly face the problems in marketing their products. It is one of the core problems as this area is mainly dominated by males and even women with adequate experience fail to make adent. For marketing the products women entrepreneurs have to be at the mercy of middlemen who pocket thehunk of profit. Although the middlemen exploit the women entrepreneurs, the purging of middlemen istricky, because it involves a lot of running about. Women entrepreneurs also find it difficult to capture themarket and make their products popular.

Q. Lack of self-confidence and optimistic attitude amongst women:

Nowadays most of the women are suffering from one major problem of lack of self-confidence,determination, physically powerful outlook, hopefulness etc. They are always panic from committingmistakes while doing their piece of work, more over there is limited initiative of taking risk and bearinguncertainty in them. Thus all these psychological factors often obstruct their path of achieving success in thearea of enterprise.

R. High cost of production:

High cost of production undermines the efficiency and adversely affects the development of womenentrepreneurs. The installation of new machinery during expansion of the productive capacity and likesimilar factor dissuades the women entrepreneur from venturing in to new area . Government assistance in the


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form of grant and subsidies to some extent enables them to tide over the difficult situations. However, in thelong run, it would be necessary to increase efficiency and expand productive capacity and thereby reducecost to make their ultimate survival possible, other than these, women entrepreneurs also face the problemsof labour, human resources, infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack of family support,mistrust etc.

Strategies to Solve Problems of Women Entrepreneurs: A. Special Cells:

In bank and public financial institutions, special cells may be opened for providing easy finance to women entrepreneurs. These cells should be manned by women officers andwomen clerks. Further, finance may be provided at concessional interest rates.

B. Set up Co-operatives:

Women entrepreneurs should be encouraged and assisted to set up co-operatives in order to eliminate middlemen. These co-operatives will pool the inputs of women entrepreneursand sell them on remunerative prices.

C. Raw Materials:

Scarce and imported raw materials may be made available to womenentrepreneurs on priority basis.

D. Changes the Attitude of Society:

Steps may be taken to make family members aware of the potential of girls anddue role in society. There must be change in the negative social attitudes towards women.

E. Female Literacy:

Honest and sincere attempts should be undertaken by the government andsocial organizations to increase female literacy.

F. Self-employment Opportunities:


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In rural areas, self employment opportunities should be developed for helpingwomen.

G. Marketing Facilities:

Marketing facilities for the purpose of buying and selling both raw material andfinished goods should be provided in easy reach.

H. Facilitating Training and Development:

Facilitates training and development should be made available to womenentrepreneurs. Family members do not like women to go to distance places for training, therefore mobiletraining centers should be arranged.

I. Institutional Support System:

Institutional support system should be designed to suits therequirements of women entrepreneurs

J. Government Support:

Government should try to involve women entrepreneurs in decisionmaking process meant for entrepreneurship development.

Women Entrepreneurs Associations:With the growth of women entrepreneurs, a few associations of women

entrepreneurs have been setup at national and international levels. The main purpose of these associations isto be creates a congenial environment for developing women entrepreneurship in rural and urban areas. Someof the associations of women entrepreneurs in India are as follows:

India Council of Women Entrepreneurs.

National Commission on self Employed Women in the Informal sector. State Level Association of Women Entrepreneurs.

A. Objectives of women Entrepreneurs Association:

To provide a meeting place for women entrepreneur.

To promote and develop feelings of unity and sisterhoods among entrepreneurs.

To develop self-confidence and hope among female entrepreneurs.

To protect and promote the interest of women entrepreneurs.


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To present the problems of women entrepreneurs before the concerned authorities for

consideration and redressal.

To help women entrepreneurs in expediting procedures and formalities required for getting

license, if necessary.

To establish separate industrial estates for women entrepreneurs or get reserved space in already

established industrial estates.

To get various concessions, subsidies and assistance for women entrepreneurs.

To conduct entrepreneurial programmes for women entrepreneurs.

To identify investment opportunity for women.

To establishing useful contacts for promoting women entrepreneurship.

B. Government Support to Women Entrepreneurs in India:

To overcome the obstacles in the process of women empowerment, the

governments at the centre and states provide preferential treatment to women in finding them employment in

the organized sector and also in encouraging, equipping and facilitating them to start own units.

Government at the centre as well as at the state designed number of schemesand programmes for the support of entrepreneurs in general and women entrepreneurs in particulars. The

schemes of Government of include:

a. Support for training and Employment Programme (STEP):

It aims to increase the income of the women by updating their knowledge andskill and in the traditional sector such as dairy development, animal husbandry, handloom and social forestry.Since the inception of the program is in 1987 around 3.32 lakhs women were benefited through 61 projects atthe end of the March 2000.

b. Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD):

It is for training and skill development, and also for promotion of self-reliancethrough the generation of income for women in non traditional trades. Since 1982-83 when the programmewas launched, till 31 December 1997, 1.40 lakh women have been benefited through 887 projects.

c. Trade-Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD):

It was designed to generate self-employment for 45,000 women in rural andurban areas. The package involves financial assistance and services through NGOs in the non-farm sector.The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), with the objective of meeting thecredit needs of the poor links banks with self-help groups. About 85 per cent of the self help groups thatlinked with the banks are women's groups.


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C. Women Development Corporation:

The Scheme for setting up Women's Development Corporations in States wasformulated, in 1986-87 with a view to identifying women entrepreneurs, providing them with technicalconsultancy, facilitating availability of credits, promoting marketing of products, strengthening women's

cooperatives, arranging training facilities, etc. The scheme was transferred to the State sector during 1992-93,as per the decision of the National Development Council.

a. Indira Mahila Yojana (IMY):

Indira Mahila Yojana (IMY) was launched in 1995 in over 200 blocks of India,for the holistic empowerment of women. IMY is being implemented in 238 blocks and till now, 40,000women's groups have been formed under the scheme. Of these, 3,000 groups were formed in 1999-2000.

b. Swa-Shakti Project:

It was earlier known as Rural Women's Development and Empowerment

Project It was sanctioned on 16 October 1998 as a centrally sponsored project for a period of five years. Withan objective of establishment of self-reliant women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Sensitising andstrengthening the institutional capacity of support agencies to proactively address women's needs, developinglinkages between SHGs and credit-lending institutions, Enhancing Women's access to resources for betterquality of life; and Increased control of women, particularly poor women, over income and spending, throughtheir involvement income-generation activities. The Project was launched in 1998, initially introduced in sixstates (Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, M.P, and U.P) through the establishment of self-help groups the

project is jointly supported by International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

D. Assistance For Marketing:

Success of any manufacturing enterprise will depend on its ability to market its products. One of the major barriers in the operation of women enterprises is marketing outlet. Marketing isconsidered as the most important entrepreneurial function based on which the entire success of the enterprisewill be determined.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), KeralaSmall Industries Development Corporation Ltd. (Kerala SIDCO) Marketing CDS products. Kerala SIDCOhas several schemes for the marketing of products produced in the SS1 sector. It has launched a specialscheme for the marketing of products produced in the Community Development Societies with special

preference for products produced by women enterprises. SIDCO collect quality products from CDS units andmarketing them to the end consumers. SIDCO on behalf of the Small Scale Industrial units in the state will

participate in tenders floated by Central and State government departments and organizations.


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Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs by Government of India:

Subsidy for Technical knowhow & Feasibility Reports.

Development Plots / Development Areas/ Mini Industrial Estates.

Incentives for quality Certification.

Margin Money Loan.

Margin Money loan for Non resident Keralites.

National Equity Fund Scheme (NEF).

State Investment subsidy for Information Technology.

Loan to SC/ST Entrepreneurs. Rural Artisans Programme (RAP).

Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).

Sworn Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).

Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana Scheme (SGSY).

Incentive for Growth scheme.

General Excise Exemption.

Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme (CGFSI).

Priority in getting power Connection.

Marketing Support and Price preference.

Sick Units Revival Programmer (SURP).


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Financial Support from Reserve Bank of India: Women units are very often too tiny in size. Institutions are reluctant to attend

loans for very small amounts and demand collateral securities three or four times of the loan amount. Womenhaving no sufficient securities to offer or not to take large amounts of loans do not get the attention of theseinstitutions. To tackle this situation and to ensure adequate financial support to women enterprises the RBItook several initiatives. The RBI in its action plan for 2001 provided special programmes and strategies forfacilitating assistance to women in the entrepreneurial sector and to attract more to this sector. Forstrengthening credit delivery to women particularly in the Tiny and SS1 sector, RBI issued directions and anaction plan to all the public sector banks.

For strengthening credit delivery to women particularly in the Tiny and SS1sector, RBI issued directions and an action plan to all the public sector banks. The action plan consists of thefollowing points:

A. Redefining Of Banks' Policies / Long Term Plans:

Banks should redefine its policies by taking into account women's requirementsin a focused and integrated manner, Banks should have a Charter for women, who must be published, andBanks must ensure that the benefits under various poverty alleviation and employment promotion schemesgo to the women in the prescribed ratio.

B. Setting Up Women Cells:

Women's cells should be set up at the banks' head office as well as in theirregional offices where information, counseling/ guidance and other credit related circumstances for womenentrepreneurs are readily available, At the branch level, or clusters of branches in rural areas, the bank shouldhave a desk visibly placed in order to provide women with relevant information and guide assist them inmaking loan applications etc. as far as possible a well-trained lady staff member particularly in rural areasshould handle the desk, Special attention should be given to women in every branch. One officer in each

branch should be designated exclusively for dealing with cases of flow of credit to women. Banks shouldhave a target for covering at least 20 women per branch for lending and 20 for training.

C. Simplification Of Procedural Formalities:

The application forms, appraisal standards and other procedural requirementsfor extending finance to women entrepreneurs should be simplifies & as far as possible. Banks should ensurethat the managerial staffs assist women entrepreneurs in understanding the banks' procedural formalities in asimple manner. They should also give assistance in the preparation of project reports and completion of other

paper work.D. Orientation Of Bank Officers Staff On Gender:

Concern credit requirements of women Banks should take appropriatemeasures to ensure that the branch level functionaries do not have traditional bias of preferring men towomen in financing. For this purpose the bank staff should be oriented through short term training

programmes in which a special component on gender concerns can be incorporated. Banks should also invitemembers of Non- Government Organisations (NGOs) or women social workers to these workshops for activeinteraction so that the problems were being faced by the women entrepreneurs could be better understood by

bank staff in an informal manner.E. Publicity Campaign For Creating Awareness About Credit Facilities:

Banks should launch Awareness Programmes/Publicity Campaigns aboutschemes available for women. Attractive publicity material such as posters, charts, can be specially designed


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in a simple manner so that women are able to understand it easily. The publicity material should be availablein different languages and should be widely distributed particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. Genderconcerns should also be addressed through publicity material viz. slogans on hoardings shelters etc. For thelarge numbers of illiterate and semi-literate women, particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas, the banksshould make efforts to inform them through audio-visual methods/slides and charts about the differentschemes under which finance is available. Banks should establish contact with the. Village Panchayats toseek their assistance in dissemination/distribution of information material to women in the village and fordelivery of credit to identified women. Banks can also explore the possibility of using the local radio and thetelevision network for disseminating information to women in the farthest corners of the country. Banksshould interact with schools/colleges/universities for publicising schemes and programmes for women. In the

present computer age, banks should make use of creating web- sites through which wider publicity could begiven about various scheme credit facilities available with the bank for women entrepreneurs. This wouldhelp all sections of the society to have easy access to such information particularly the young, educated urbanwomen who are using computers.

Entrepreneurship Development Programs:Banks should organize entrepreneurship development programmes exclusively

for women entrepreneurs. For this purpose the banks can contact various Entrepreneurship DevelopmentInstitutes in the country and develop appropriate programmes for women in the urban and rural areas, Banksshould finance training courses for women, particularly in the area of information technology.

A. Specialized Branches for Women:

Banks should make concerted efforts to open specialized branches in identifiedareas for financing women entrepreneurs on the lines of 881 branches or Agricultural Finance branches. Thespecialized branches should cater exclusively and at least predominantly to the requirements of womenentrepreneurs in an integrated manner.

B. Motivational Strategies to Enthuse Bank Staff:

Banks should use motivational strategies to enthuse their managers to achievetargets for women. Their work in this area should be given appropriate recognition. Banks can give annualawards to the 3 best performing branches in achieving targets plus providing credit related services towomen.

C. Monitoring System:

A monitoring system should be in place for submitting regular reports on thecredit flow to women. It should be an item on the calendar for review being submitted to the Board ofDirectors of the bank. RBI should also monitor and give suitable directions to banks from time to time.

D. Data Collection:Separate data about credit flow to women is not presently available. Data

should be generated by banks and quarterly reports submitted to RBI who should process the information andcreate a separate database for women. Data for women should be collected separately for amounts advancedthrough micro-credit, credit to small scale

E. Strengthening Of Existing Schemes:

There should be greater interaction between NABARD, ISIDBI and banks.Existing schemes and programmes being implemented by them should be further strengthened both in termsof coverage as well as volume of credit. Other facilities offered under these schemes, there is no direct


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alliance between SIDBI and banks. SIDBI should explore the possibility of having a tie-up with banks forwomen's schemes.

F. Increasing The Limit of Collateral Security:

Banks insistence on collateral/securities is a major impediment in borrowing bywomen. Banks should therefore implement the recent measures taken by Government /RBI for increasing thelimit for non-obtention of collateral security fromRs.1 lakh to Rs.5 lakh. Banks may also consider whether

loans beyond Rs.5 lakhs i.e. at least up to Rs.10 lakhs could be offered without collateral. Banks shouldencourage women entrepreneurs to avail loans on liberal terms like minimum margin money. The promoterscontribution could be lowered from 25 per cent to 10-15 per cent.

G. Involving NGOs/SHGs/Women's Cooperatives:

Non-government organizations (NGOs) are playing a crucial role in reachingout to women even in the remotest regions. A large number of well known NGOs are operating throughoutthe country. In many areas smaller NGOs are also working at the grass roots level. Banks can establishcontacts with the local NGOs and liaise with them to identify the needs of women and give credit relatedinformation and guidance services. Financial institutions viz. NABARD and SIDBI are already involving theWomen's self help groups for reaching out to women entrepreneurs. Banks can also take initiative in workingout viable strategies to work with more Self Help Groups (SHGs) and women's cooperatives and a yearlytarget for lending to SHGs.

H. Mahila Rural Co-operative Banks:

Mahila Rural Cooperative Banks on the lines of Mahila Urban Cooperative banks should be set up for assisting women in the semi-urban and rural areas. RBI may issue licenses forsuch banks liberally.

Growth of Women Entrepreneurs in India: As per 1991 census, only 185900 women accounting for only 4.5% of the total

self employed persons in the country were recorded. Majority of them are engaged in the unorganized sectorslike agriculture, agro based industries, handicrafts, handlooms, and cottage based industries.

There were more than 295680 women entrepreneurs claiming 11.2% of thetotal 2.64 million entrepreneurs in India during 1995-96. This is almost double the % of women 5.2% amongthe total population of self employed during 1981.

21 st century is the century of telecom, it and financial institutions. Womensexpertise all these sectors. Many of these industries are headed and guided by women as pioneers. They haveventured to build enterprises, to discover their relevance and meaning of life in themselves.


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In order to mobilize such of women entrepreneurs, a number of activities suchas motivational drive, preparation of information material, conducting training, creation of commonmarketing exposition centers, use of mass media etc. are required. Combined effects of all these are bound toaccelerate the process of women entrepreneurship development.

Admired Women Entrepreneurs in India :

When it comes to womenmoving up the ladder ofsuccess. However, these go-

getters have surely proved this notion wrong by achieving success through sheer hard work anddedication.

Indra Nooyi


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Strong-willed, with an acute acumen for financial strategizing, Nooyi is theCFO and President of PepsiCo. Her strong acumen for business has helped the company garner as much as30 billion dollars worth of crucial deals within the last couple of years. With a Masters Degree in PublicManagement from Yale University and Masters in Finance and Marketing from IIM, Kolkata, Nooyi heldseveral senior positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri before joining PepsiCo.

Chanda Kochhar

Chanda Kochhar holds a Masters Degree in Management Studies fromJamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. She joined ICICI as a Management trainee after her Masterin the year 1984. Later she was appointed as part of core team to set the ICICI bank. She became DeputyGeneral Manager in 1996. In 2001, she was promoted as Executive Director, heading the retail business inICICI Bank. In 2006, she was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI bank. She holds many

prestigious awards and honors to her credit. She won the Retail Banker of the Year 2004 by the AsianBanker, Business Women of the Year 2005 by The Economic Times and Rising Star Award for GlobalAwards 2006 by Retail Banker International. She is also been featured in Fortune's list of Most PowerfulWomen in Business.


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Naina Lal Kidwai

From being Head of Investment Banking at ANZ Grindlays during 1982-1994 to Viccurrently Country Head andGroup General Manager HSBC GroupIndia. Apart from working at HSBC, Kidwaihas also held other eminent positions such asthat of Global Advisor, Harvard Business School, non-executive director at Nestle SA and as a member ofGoverning Board NCAER, Auditor General of India and several other positions. Naina has received thedistinguished Padma Shri award for her contributions in the segment of Trade and Industry.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is one of the richest women in India studied zoology atBangalore University and brewery at Ballarat University. She started her career as trainee brewer at Carlton& United Beverages in 1974. Four years later she started her own company, Biocon, in her garage with aninvestment of Rs 10000. Three issues biotechnology was nascent at the time in India, she was a woman and


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her organization had almost nil assets made financial institutions turn down her loan application. However,with hard work and commitment, Shaw transformed Biocon into one of the leading biopharmaceutical firmsin India.

Indu Jain

This multi-faceted lady used to be the Chairman of The Times Group themost powerful and the largest media house India has known. Indu Jain is known by many different identitiessuch as that of a spiritualist, humanist, entrepreneur, an aficionado of culture and the arts, an educationalist

but her most prominent and eminent role has been that of Chairman Times Group.


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Priya Paul

Armed with a Bachelors degree specializing in Economics from the WellesleyCollege in US, Priya Paul entered the family business and is currently Chairperson, Apeejay Park Hotels. TheApeejay Surrendra Group has many different subsidiaries such as hotel, tea, retail, shipping, financialservices and real estate. Her contributions in the segments of commerce and industry and her efforts have

been recognized through various citations and awards Young Entrepreneur of the Year award from the

Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India, Businessperson of the Year, Economic TimesAwards and the Park Hotel being rated as one amongst the best 101 Hotels Worldwide by Tatler magazinein the UK.

Jessie Paul


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With many awards and recognitions in her kitty, such as Chairman's Award,Infosys-1998, Data Quest's list of most powerful women in IT in India, 2005, Business Today's List of

Women Achievers in India, 2007, IT People's Award for Women in Leadership-2008, Jessie Paul is currentlythe CEO of Paul Writer Strategic Advisory, which is a marketing advisory firm and the author of the book No Money Marketing. She has been part of Wipro for four and half years where she created the shared-

marketing unit for Wipro Technologies and Wipro Info tech. Her own company, Paul Writer StrategicAdvisory, is a marketing platform for B2B early-stage companies in the traditional and new media space like

social blogging. She is considered as an expert in brand globalization.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani

Sulajja Firodia Motwani, the Joint Managing Director of Kinetic Motors andManaging Director Kinetic Finance, is responsible for Kinetics transformation from a moped company to amanufacturer of great versatility. Sulajja has single-handedly designed and developed marketing strategies tospearhead the companys growth forward. The recent collaboration with Italjet Moto has provided Kineticcomplete rights to launch 7 brand new models of scooters in India. India Today has honored Sulajja bynaming her the Face of the Millennium and she has beenselected as the Global Leader of Tomorrow bythe World Economic Forum.


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SimoneTata

Holding the coveted title of being the cosmetics czarina of India Simone Tata

has been instrumental in changing a small subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills into the largest cosmetic brand inIndia Lakme, synonymous today with Indian fashion. She became part of Lakme during 1961 and has beenresponsible for the metamorphosis of the company into the biggest brands of fashion in India. She becameChairperson of the company during 1982 and is now the Chairperson of Trent Limited, a subsidiary of theTata group.

Neelam Dhawan


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Neelam Dhawan, the Managing Director of Microsoft India and is the head of

marketing and sales operations of the company throughout India. At the start of her career she yearned to bea part of major players in the FMCG space such as Asian Paints and Hindustan Lever. Unfortunately, theseorganizations did not want a woman to be a part of their marketing and sales efforts and hence she wasrejected at the time. Before joining Microsoft, Neelam has been part of many prominent companies such asIBM, HP as well as HCL.

Ekta Kapoor

Women who single-handedly founded and made Balaji Telefilms thehousehold name it is today. This baby-faced teenager, who once dreamed of marrying and settling down justlike any other woman in India, is the creative head of Balaji Telefilms and counted as one of the top 10women entrepreneurs of today. Her production house has many hit serials to its credit Kyunki Saas BhiKabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and many others, making her the Queen Bee of the Indian soapopera scene. She has won the Hall of Fame award at the 6th Indian Telly Awards during 2006 for hercontribution to the Indian television industry. Known to be fiercely protective of her company and brand,Ekta is also very professional and has strong business acumen.


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Mallika Srinivasan

Mallika Srinivasan, currently the Director TAFE India, was honored with thetitle of Businesswoman of the Year during 2006 by the Economic Times. She joined the company in 1986and has since been responsible for accelerating turnover from 85 crores to 2900 crores within a span of twodecades. Mallika has an MBA from Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania.

2. Review of Literature


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Women entrepreneurship development is an essential part of human resource development. The

development of women entrepreneurship is very low in India, especially in the rural areas. Entrepreneurship

amongst women has been a recent concern. Women have become aware of their existence their rights and

their work situation. However, women of middle class are not too eager to alter their role in fear of social

backlash. The progress is more visible among upper class families in urban cities.

This paper focuses on women entrepreneur. Any understanding of Indian women, of their identity,

and especially of their role taking and breaking new paths, will be incomplete without a walk down the

corridors of Indian history where women have lived and internalized various role models. The paper talks

about the status of women entrepreneurs and the problems faced by them when they ventured out to carve

their own niche in the competitive world of business environment.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are an important part of the global quest for sustained

economic development and social progress. In India, though women have played a key role in the society,

their entrepreneurial ability has not been properly tapped due to the lower status of women in the society. It is

only from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards that their role has been explicitly recognized with amarked shift in the approach from women welfare to women development and empowerment. The

development of women entrepreneurship has become an important aspect of our plan priorities. Several

policies and programmers are being implemented for the development of women entrepreneurship in India.

There is a need for changing the mindset towards women so as to give equal rights as enshrined in the

constitution. The progress towards gender equality is slow and is partly due to the failure to attach money to

policy commitments. In the words of president APJ Abdul Kalam "empowering women is a prerequisite

for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured.

Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development

of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation."

When a woman is empowered it does not mean that another individual becomes powerless or is

having less power. On the contrary, if a women is empowered her competencies towards decisionmaking

will surely influence her family's behavior.

In advanced countries, there is a phenomenon of increase in the number of self- employed women

after the world war 11. In USA, women own 25% of all business, even though their sales on an average are

less than two-fifths of those of other small business. In Canada, women own one-third of small business and

in France it is one-fifth.

Women Entrepreneurship Problems And Prospects Of Indian Economy:


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Author: Mr.Sandeep Krishnat Raval [N.D.Patil Night College, Sangli]Mr.Suresh Shankar Shejal [Ganpatrao Arwade Commerce college sangli]Vol - I, ISSUE - V [June 2011]: Economic.

Women entrepreneurship development is an essential part of human resourcedevelopment. The development of women entrepreneurship is very low in India, especially in the rural areas.Entrepreneurship amongst women has been a recent concern. Women have become aware of their existencetheir rights and their work situation. However, women of middle class are not too eager to alter their role infear of social backlash. The progress is more visible among upper class families in u

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