GLOBALISATION AND WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF INDIA

By – Dr. Ritu Bhattacharyya – Professor Marketing

Bharati Vidyapeeths Institute of Management Studies and Research
C.B.D. Belapur Navo Mumbai

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship is “creating and building something of value from practically

nothing”(1).Which simply means having the foresight to spot an opportunity and utilising
that opportunity to derive value for self and the society. Rayan P. Allis put it very well
“The world is filled with opportunities just waiting to be found”. Thus it is mainly
important to sport that opportunity and then further to utilise it for creation of value.

Globalisation on the other hand has brought a certain snob value to entrepreneurship,
making it synonymous to high technology, huge capacities and thus the need for huge
markets and marketing plans in the domestic markets and abroad. It has also started to
mean instant success, huge profits and success at all cost. These ideas have killed the
true spirits of entrepreneurship. The worst hit due to these ideas have been women
entrepreneurs

Women comprise of almost 48% of India’s total population but they barely represent 1%
of all entrepreneurs in the country. They have a very unique position in society and in the
world of business. India has a very strong patriarchal society and women have always
found it difficult to get the same kind of resources for entrepreneurial ventures as men do.
The problem starts from home where the family members dissuade women from starting
businesses due to their lack of confidence in their sills and abilities. Women are
constantly told that they cannot afford to lose hard earned money in their ventures. The
same attitude is reflected in banks and financial institutes who feel that money forwarded
to men would be fruitful and that forwarded o women would be lost.

Women have thus ventured out into small scale/house hold businesses with very little
initial funding. Since these businesses start off small their progression is slow. Due to
low funds adaptation of technology is also slow. These drawbacks result in women being
limited to primarily the small and medium enterprises. Approximately 60% of all women
entrepreneurs are in the small scale sector only 15% of the total represent the large scale
and almost all of these 15% are form family-owned businesses and managing family
firms or have the resources for the family to manage their firms.

Globalisation has bought with it ills of standardised large scale manufacturing, which
results in huge quantities of low cost products, This has adversely hit the Indian women
entrepreneur who is not able to match up the global standards in terms of size and
quantity. They are mainly dependent on their inherent skills, that may not be
revolutionary. They work under high pressure of family and society and have still
managed to survive and grow. The question therefore, is whether globalisation is killing
their business and their spirit?
 GLOBALISATION AND WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF INDIA

By – Dr. Ritu Bhattacharyya – Professor Marketing

Bharati Vidyapeeths Institute of Management Studies and Research
C.B.D. Belapur Navi Mumbai

1
Entrepreneurship is “creating and building something of value from practically nothing”
Which simply means having the foresight to spot an opportunity and utilising that
opportunity to derive value for self and the society. Rayan P. Allis put it very well “The
world is filled with opportunities just waiting to be found”. Thus it is mainly important
to sport that opportunity and then further to utilise it for creation of value.

Globalisation on the other hand has brought a certain snob value to entrepreneurship,
making it synonymous to high technology, huge capacities and thus the need for huge
markets and marketing plans in the domestic markets and abroad. It has also started to
mean instant success, huge profits and success at all cost. These ideas have killed the
true spirits of entrepreneurship. The worst hit due to these ideas have been women
entrepreneurs

Women comprise of almost 48% of India’s total population but they barely represent 1%
of all entrepreneurs in the country. They have a very unique position in society and in the
world of business. In the society, they are seens as the home makers thus their first
responsibility is towards the well-being of the family and its members and nurturing of
the kids. Any women who take an interest in other matters is firmly put in place for
seeking to do more than is her required role in the society. In business too they face
similar problems, they are never taken to be serious and any business interest by women
is considered to be a passing fad. Never receiving the seriousness it deserves.

1
Entrepreneurial Development – Concept and Practices – Dilip M Sarwate – Everest Publishing House –
Eighth Edition
India has a very strong patriarchal society and women have always found it difficult to
break the shackles of this role. They have always found it difficult to assert themselves
for any of their requirements. In business too they find themselves in the situation where
getting the same kind of resources for entrepreneurial ventures as men do is virtually
impossible. .

Family members generally dissuade women from starting businesses because they lack
confidence in their sills and abilities. It is a mindset that women are unable to handle
finances and therefore, should say away from financial affairs. Women are constantly
told that they cannot afford to lose hard earned family money in their ventures. This put
an additional pressure on the women because come what may they cannot fail if they
decide to do business.

The same lack of confidence is seen in banks and financial institutes who feel that money
forwarded to men would be fruitful and that forwarded to women would be lost or would
not get them proper returns. The difficulty does not stop here because women
entrepreneurs also face discrimination at the hands of suppliers, distributors and stockists
who all would like to believe that women are in the business just for the fun of it and the
men are in the same business to support a family, to create worth, wealth and growth.

The several hurdles faced by women result in most women taking up ventures that are on
a small scale or at house hold level. They thus require very little initial funding and the
risk exposure is very low. Most of these entrepreneurs start off with their own savings
and assets and at home or in the backyards. They take on the venture without giving up
their responsibly at home. Due to this they are unable to dedicate all their time and since
finance are low they are unable to keep hired help, therefore, progression of business is
slow. They don’t hav the required resources to undertake huge orders to for that matter
undertake big promotional plans and adaptation of new technology is also thus effected
These drawbacks result in women being limited to primarily the small and medium
enterprises. 2Approximately 60% of all women entrepreneurs are in the small scale sector
only 15% of the total represent the large scale and almost all of these 15% are form
family-owned businesses and managing family firms or have the resources for the family
to manage their firms. Names like Dr. Swati Piramal, Ms Kinal Mujumdar, Ms Komal
Vazir, Ms Sulaja Firodia, Ms. Priya Paul, Ms. Bharatiaya are all very heartening to hear
because these women are at the helm of affairs of huge companies with international
standing but, the disturbing factor is that all of them come from families that own huge
business houses.

3
Women in family-owned businesses have always found it easy to enter into the world of
business. The family –owned business had earlier in the business representation of
women only as stake holders who would put their support behind the men of the family.
Today the situation has changed and women are being encouraged in new ventures and
are given the required resources in terms of finance and people skills to enable them to
succeed in their venture

Globalisation has bought with it ills of standardised large scale manufacturing, which
results in huge quantities of low cost products. Global players have at their disposal large
finances and a well-equipped pool of managers. This gives them a cutting edge over the
small -scale operation of women entrepreneurs.

Some of the problems faced by women entrepreneurs are –

1. Lack of funds and backing from financial institutions

2. Lack of exposure to corporate culture
3. Lack of requisite professional training
4. Lack of trust and encouragement from the family
2
Succession Processes in Family-owned businesses in India – Doctoral Study by Ritu Bhattachayya – Pune
University
3
Succession Processes in Family-owned businesses in India – Doctoral Study by Ritu Bhattachayya – Pune
University- Chapter Women in Family-Owned Businesses
 5. Lack of self confidence
6. Lack of knowledge on market and marketing capabilities
7. Lack of knowledge of formalities under law on setting of business and other
statutory requirements

In order that globalisation does not result in total destruction of our women entrepreneurs,
especially those, who work on small scale and their business are mainly skill based, the
government need to support and protect them. This it can take up through Business
Federations and Forums. The tasks that the federation or forum can undertake could be-

1. Counselling - most of the time women don't know where to start. They need to
be guided towards making a decision based on their situation; in other words,
assessing the kind of environment they are in or the kind of family support they
have.
2. Guiding – Women need guidance regarding formalities required by the
government for starting of business. Most women are not aware of the licences
required the permission and other formalities required and therefore they are
weary of entering into business due to fear of legal hassles
3. Finance – Access to credit has long been cited as the major hurdle to women in
business. Although it is much easier today for them to obtain financing than it
was ten years ago, women in business still maintain this is one of the biggest
challenges they face. One major issue is that Banks view, that the businesses that
women go into tend to be in the service sector, experience slower growth and are
higher risk ones. Or are simply businesses which are more difficult to finance.
This is especially so if the businesses have few hard assets against which to
secure a loan. What is also important is understanding and identifying what type
of financing is needed. Financing can take different forms: start-up capital,
expansion capital, venture capital or more sophisticated financing products.
Women entrepreneurs often suffer from a lack of knowledge of the various
options available to them for different types of capital requirements for their
ventures. Women-owned businesses also are often smaller or do not expand as
 quickly as traditional businesses or high growth sectors. Because they are
smaller, many bankers believe that they do not justify the amount of paper work
or time involved in processing loans for them. In many cases, women are still
asked for guarantors or cosigners to secure relatively modest credit. Women are
not aware regarding procedures of acquiring finance. The Government has a
number of schemes that provide soft loans to women entrepreneurs but due to
lack of awareness women are unable to acquire those finance. Even if they are
aware, at times they do not know how to follow the procedures. The federations
and forums can be very useful herein educating and helping women
entrepreneurs identify their requirements and then acquire the loans that they
want.
4. Training- Training programs are also a must . There are women running very
small enterprises who don't even have the most basic level of business know-
how. In India, the Ministry of Industry has established the Small Industries'
Institute that has facilities in all the major cities where women can get training on
manufacturing agricultural products, jewellery, and other products.
5. Information - Women often are not able to get the information they need to run
their businesses because often their involvement in family affairs is so great that
they do not have time or they are not able to gain access to information they need
for their businesses. Therefore, federations and forums can provide the latest
information regarding the industry through seminars and news letters to its
members.
6. Access to Markets - The challenge of access to markets is very big . In order for
a company to be successful, it must be able to sell its products or services. Due to
the smaller size of women-controlled businesses, access to markets can pose a
very large challenge. Many women controlled businesses make products or
services for the local market that could be sold to other communities within the
same country or exported. However, learning about potential markets and
identifying customers and suppliers is difficult for small and micro businesses.
Developing packaging for shipping or adapting packaging, labeling, and printing
for a different market is also complex and costly. The requirements of lengthy
 paperwork can create an unproductive burden on small business, as can complex
customs and excise tax procedures. Even participating in trade shows can be
beyond the budgets of small businesses. Here the role of Federations becomes
very important because they can help the women entrepreneurs overcome all
these aspects by providing expert services and training.
7. Family Counselling - The family is a very important institution for a women
therefore, if she needs to succeed in business it is essential that her family
supports her. Success at the cost of the family is not want most women are
interested in. Thus it is essential to counsel the family regarding the growth of the
business and the times that the women need to give to the business. It is also
essential to address the ego issues that arise in the male of the family regarding
growing importance of the women and the role reversal in earnings.

The Government has done a lot for women entrepreneurs on its part it has granted several
concessions that benefit women entrepreneurs. For example, the Small Industries
Development Bank of India and state-level government banks now require that women
entrepreneurs raise a smaller percentage of the capital they need. If a man is starting a
business, he has to have a funding ratio of 1 to 3; that is, he must put up one rupee for
every three he obtains from the banks. But in the case of women, they must put up just
10% and can obtain financing for the remaining 90%. The only limitation is that this kind
of credit can be given only to very small businesses. Still, this is a very positive change.

4
There are two major problems that need to be resolved. First, the commercial banks have
failed to provide concessionary interest rates to women-owned businesses. The
government defines such businesses as those in which women hold at least 51% of the
equity and 51% of all the jobs. The second issue is that the Bank of India and the
government have defined small-scale enterprises as those having a capital of up to 10
million rupees. Because 10 million rupees is much more than the capital of most small

4
Economic Reform Today
Organizing for Success: Number 2, 1997 Rajni Aggarwal, President, Federation of Indian Women
Entrepreneurs
enterprises, most of the commercial bank credit continues to go to the larger companies
in this range.

Conclusion : The steps taken by the Government to support and protect small women
entrepreneurs have been many and in the right direction. There are also several Women’s
Federations attached to The Merchants Chambers who have taken it upon them to help
women entrepreneurs face global competition. Women have also come forward to avail
of the facilities made available to them. They are gearing themselves to face all
competition. Their biggest problem could be in terms of size of operations, a situation
they can overcome by Forging Alliances. Many women's businesses are small.
However, collectively their total impact on the economy is very significant. Some
kind of women's Business Alliance which brings together women business owners
who are in the similar industry could be a viable solution. The priorities of the
alliance should be :
 Promotion of women business owners in the industry.
 Support and networking opportunities
 Education, training, and professional development
 Effective lobbying and advocacy
 Business matching and increased business opportunities
 National and international exposure and cooperation

The Alliance can thus give them the numbers in terms of size as well as the collective
barging and survival power. The alliance could also arrange of specialist in the field
of marketing and promotion so that all the companies under the alliance can be
benefited. The objectives of the alliance should be to provide a coordinated voice on
issues of concern to women in business; develop and lobby on pertinent policy
initiatives; and develop and disseminate information and research relevant to women
entrepreneur, help and mentor each other. The combined economic force of women
business owners is a highly dramatic way to illustrate the power that women have to
rise to the challenges they face.