ASSIGNMENT

REG:NO- 14BBR003
RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Many examples of successful rural entrepreneurship can already be found in
literature. Diversification into non-agricultural uses of available resources such as
catering for tourists, blacksmithing, carpentry, spinning, etc. as well as diversification
into activities other than those solely related to agricultural usage, for example, the
use of resources other than land such as water, woodlands, buildings, available skills
and local features, all fit into rural entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial combinations
of these resources are, for example: tourism, sport and recreation facilities,
professional and technical training, retailing and wholesaling, industrial applications
(engineering, crafts), servicing (consultancy), value added (products from meat, milk,
wood, etc.) and the possibility of off-farm work. Equally entrepreneurial, are new uses
of land that enable a reduction in the intensity of agricultural production, for example,
organic production.
Dynamic rural entrepreneurs can also be found. They are expanding their
activities and markets and they find new markets for their products and services
beyond the local boundaries.
To leave general examples of rural entrepreneurship behind, let us look at the
real cases. Here only a few will be mentioned, all illustrating entrepreneurial
initiatives, individuals and local communities from Great Britain. The names of
entrepreneurs I have chosen to present here are not globally known but are no less
important because of that. They are very well known to the communities to which
they belong and their initiatives are highly appreciated by the community members.
One of them is Graham-Probin (Johnstone et al., 1990, p. 9), owner of a 110 acre farm
in Malpas, Cheshire, England. By converting a two-storey building into four
workshop units, he created employment opportunities within the community. Another
one is John Anderson from Kirkwhelpington, who created employment opportunities
in the local area by restoring traditional stables into business premises and renting
them out to a blacksmith who shoes horses and does light engineering work for

farmers (Johnstone et al., 1990, p. 9-10). Another is the McNamara family from
Canaston Bridge. They responded to the dairy quotas imposed by the Government by
diversification of their land for non-agricultural usage. The family converted 80 acres
of land into an adventure and leisure complex. After three years of investment,
amounting to 800 000, the adventure and leisure facilities were opened in 1987,
boasting a range of attractions entirely unconnected with agriculture, such as: a
bobsleigh run, a miniature railway, a pitch and putt golf course, a natural history
centre, go-kart tracks, assault courses, a restaurant and various shops (Johnstone et al.,
1990, p. 18). This entrepreneurial venture is an example of a straightforward
entrepreneurship and not so much an example of on-farm diversification. It is an
example of how seeing and seizing the opportunity are vital ingredients of
entrepreneurial success.
Let me turn now to illustrations related to social entrepreneurship, to examples
of when people have changed things, acting in the interest of their communities while
playing the same role as an individual entrepreneur. East Cleveland Training and
Enterprise Group from Loftus, Small Industries Groups in Somerset and Antur Teifi
from West Wales, are all real examples of social entrepreneurship. The East Cleveland
Training and Enterprise Group began as a group of four people in Loftus who were
angry and frustrated at the lack of action by statutory bodies to tackle the area's
unemployment (Johnstone et al., 1990, p. 107). The Group developed a large
programme of activities, such as employment training, youth training, initiating the
establishment of a training and enterprise centre, improving environmental and
property acquisition to benefit the community. The Small Industries Group Somerset,
West Somerset, started with the objective of helping to create local jobs. The founding
group consisted of a dairy farmer, a sub-postmaster, an insurance broker, a lecturer, a
youth worker and the manager of a field studies centre (Johnstone et al., 1990, p. 109).
For ten years the Group greatly fostered the development of the community and
contributed to the change of attitudes of farmers as well as local communities, to
favour self employment and business expansion. Antur Teifi, from the Teifi Valley, the
enterprise agency, was started by a group of local volunteers who were concerned
with the high level of unemployment and unbalanced structure of the local population
(Johnstone, et al., 1990, p. 109). The group set the objectives as follows: to identify
and support community initiatives, to establish new permanent jobs and to initiate
activities to prevent the area's economic and cultural decline. The group has more than
achieved these objectives.

Among the case studies presented here, there is no woman's name. Too often
their names are not specifically mentioned, although the evidence shows that there are
many activities in rural areas pursued by female entrepreneurs such as: trade, food
processing, handicrafts, production of basic consumer articles, catering, running
tourist establishments, and bed and breakfast arrangements. However, compared to
male entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs in rural areas still tend to be limited to what
have traditionally been viewed as women's activities. Also the scale of their
entrepreneurial operation tends to be smaller when compared with male entrepreneurs.
Although agriculture today still provides income to rural communities, rural
development is increasingly linked to enterprise development. Since national
economies are more and more globalized and competition is intensifying at an
unprecedented pace, affecting not only industry but any economic activity including
agriculture, it is not surprising that rural entrepreneurship is gaining in its importance
as a force of economic change that must take place if many rural communities are to
survive. However, entrepreneurship demands an enabling environment in order to
flourish.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Women entrepreneurship has been recognised as an important source of

economic growth. Women entrepreneurs create new jobs for themselves and others and
also provide society with different solutions to management, organisation and business
problems. However, they still represent a minority of all entrepreneurs. Women
entrepreneurs often face gender-based barriers to starting and growing their businesses,
like discriminatory property, matrimonial and inheritance laws and/or cultural
practices; lack of access to formal finance mechanisms; limited mobility and access to
information
and
networks,
etc.
Womens entrepreneurship can make a particularly strong contribution to the
economic well-being of the family and communities, poverty reduction and womens
empowerment, thus contributing to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Thus,
governments across the world as well as various developmental organizations are
actively undertaking promotion of women entrepreneurs through various schemes,
incentives
and
promotional
measures.
Women entrepreneurs in the four southern states and Maharashtra account for
over 50% of all women-led small-scale industrial units in India. Click here for a statewise break-up of women-led SSIs

Policies and Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs in India

In India, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises development
organisations, various State Small Industries Development Corporations, the
Nationalised banks and even NGOs are conducting various programmes
including Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) to cater to the
needs of potential women entrepreneurs, who may not have adequate educational
background and skills. The Office of DC (MSME) has also opened a Women Cell
to provide coordination and assistance to women entrepreneurs facing specific
problems.
There are also several other schemes of the government at central and
state level, which provide assistance for setting up training-cum-income
generating activities for needy women to make them economically independent.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has also been implementing
special schemes for women
entrepreneurship.
In addition to the special schemes for women entrepreneurs, various
government schemes for MSMEs also provide certain special incentives and
concessions for women entrepreneurs. For instance, under Prime Ministers
Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), preference is given to women beneficiaries. The
government has also made several relaxations for women to facilitate the
participation of women beneficiaries in this scheme. Similarly, under the MSE
Cluster Development Programme by Ministry of MSME, the contribution
from the Ministry of MSME varies between 30-80% of the total project in case of
hard intervention, but in the case of clusters owned and managed by women
entrepreneurs, contribution of the M/o MSME could be upto 90% of the project
cost. Similarly, under the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and
Small Enterprises, the guarantee cover is generally available upto 75% of the
loans extended; however the extent of guarantee cover is 80% for MSEs operated
and/ or owned by women.