ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY:-

Women form an important segment of the labor force and the

economic role-played by them cannot be isolated from the frame
work of development. The role of women as business owners is
gradually increasing all over the world. Women entrepreneurship
development is the instrument of women empowerment.
Empowerment leads to self-fulfillment and women become aware of
where they are going, what their position is in the society, their
status existence and rights and women are becoming more
empowered, personally and economically through business ownership.
Thus, the present study is initiated on empowering women through
entrepreneurship development in India. The present study also aims
to find the overall umpact of entrepreneurship development on
women s Status and the extent to which an entrepreneur is
empowered.

KEYWORDS : Women Empowerment, Self-Fulfillment,

Entrepreneurship Development

INTRODUCTION:-

Entrepreneurship has traditionally been defined as the process of

designing, launching and running a new business, which typically
begins as a small business, such as a startup company, offering a
product, process or service for sale or hire. It has been defined as the
capacity and willingness to develop, organize, and manage a business
venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. While
definitions of entrepreneurship typically focus on the launching and
running of businesses, due to the high risks involved in launching a
start-up, a significant proportion of businesses have to close, due to
lack of funding, bad business decisions, an economic crisis or a
combination of all of these" or due to lack of market demand.
 In the 2000s, the definition of entrepreneurship has been expanded to explain
how and why some individuals (or teams) identify opportunities, evaluate them
as viable, and then decide to exploit them, whereas others do not, and, in turn,
how entrepreneurs use these opportunities to develop new products or
services, launch new firms or even new industries and create wealth. Women
entrepreneurship has been recognized 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, organization 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.
Women's entrepreneurship can make a particularly strong contribution to the
economic well-being of the family and communities, poverty reduction and
women's 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.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA

In spite of comprising almost half of Indian population, the participation of women

folk in the economic development of the nation is lower as compared to their
male counterparts. The reason behind this is that women in this country are
restrained by cultural barriers prevailing around. However, women's participation
in economic development of the country has been increasing. This can be accrued
to increase in the level of women education, economic need, unemployment
problem and their personal desire and ambition. The women are also enticed into
entrepreneurship by the various government incentives. According to 1981 census
, in India, self-MUC employed women comprise 5.2 per cent of the total numbers.
Most of the self-employed women are engaged in the unorganized sectors like
agriculture, handicraft, handlooms and cottage-based industries. Considering the
importance of women's role in development of the nation, the Government of
India incorporated in its sixth plan, a scheme called Development of Women and
Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) in 1982 for the upliftment of women. As per the
1988-89 census, growth of women entrepreneurs was recorded at 1,53,260
claiming 9.01 percent of the 1.7 million entrepreneurs in India. Again, the industrial
policy resolution of 1991 stressed the need forconducting special training
programme for the development of women entrepreneurs.
In the traditional Indian society, women are confined to their families.
She is the bearer of children, including the role of a mother and home
maker. There is no culture for working outside their homes. During the
course of time, this system has been changing because of many factors
, such as urbanization, technical progress, women education etc.
Technological upgradation has facilitated women's role at home. Women
have the same ability and skill as compared to men. This has enabled
them to take advantage of the industrialization process.

Women now show and prove that they want to actively participate in
the welfare of their family and society. Majority of the women
participate in an unorganized sector like agriculture and some of them
in non-agricultural section, like construction, mining, quarrying, livestock
, forestry, fishing, plantation, transport, storage, communication,
manufacturing industry etc., but their participation in organized sector
is very low, but growing steadily. The proportion in the total
employment has remained practically constant at 11 percent which is
lesser as compared to other developed countries
In India, women are engaging in-trade, selling family products both
agricultural and non- agricultural in the way of daily or weekly markets.
Indian women are also self employed by producing food items such as
pickles, papads etc.

In India, women shoulder great responsibilities as working women.

According to 1981 census report, there were 45 million women
workers in the country who worked for a greater part of the year and
18.5 million women workers who work less than 183 days in a year
out of 321 million total female population in the country. Women
constitute 26 per cent of all workers (main and marginal). In the
eighties, because of economic crisis we have seen women in greater
numbers, themselves on the job market, changing the paid labour. The
role of women in modern society is complex. She has to be an
intelligent housewife at the same time an accountant who can handle
the family budget well. Women today have to be aware of the
opportunities open to them and their abilities should be put to full use
. Banks have been offering lots of opportunities for establishing small
business enterprises which have hardly been utilized by women
The census of 1991 highlights that there were only 1,85,900
women accounting to a meager 4.5 per cent of the total self-
employed persons in the country. Most women entrepreneurs are
involved in unorganized sectors like agriculture, agro based
industries, handicrafts, handlooms and cottage industries. Sharing
of economic activity by women in Indian is neither a new
phenomenon nor a new development. They are already engaged in
domestic and child care activities which is categorized under unpaid
household work. According to International Labour Organization,
the value of unpaid household work constitutes 25.39 per cent of
the Gross National Product in developing countries. Though on the
face of it, there seems to be no disparity between men and women
entrepreneurs. However, the challenges faced by women
entrepreneurs are manifolds than their male counterparts as far as
needs for achievement, independence, economic gain and leadership
qualities are concerned.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:-

The study was conducted in Indore block of Indore district of

Madhya Pradesh which was purposively selected, because it served a
great deal of convenience for the research worker in terms of
accessibility, ease of rapport building, time, money, and efforts. A list
of the villages was made around a town or kasba, where market
facilities and inputs are available for the enterprises. Care was taken
to select only those villages which were well connected by road to
nearby towns. Six villages were selected purposively from the
selected block.A list of rural woman entrepreneurs was made from
each village. A total of 60 respondents (ten respondents from each
village) were selected for the study by using simple random sampling
method.

SIGNIFICANCE OF WOMEN IN INDIA'"S ENTREPRENEURIAL

SECTOR:-

Indian women have been at the receiving end of criticism but much to the
dismay of their skeptics, they have mostly appeared triumphant as the dust of
criticism settled. The industry has much to gain and literally nothing to lose
with women in business. The merits are innumerable.
 • Indian industry's think-tank gets bigger.
- New opportunities are created.

- More employment opportunities are generated.

- Per-capita income increases.

- Indians enjoy better standard of living.

- Education and awareness becomes common.

- Future becomes brighter for the next generation.

• Women gain a better understanding of managing family and

business concurrently.

• Indian women achieve a sense of self-realization and self-fulfillment.

- Women gain better ability to take risks and business decisions.

• Women become more confident.

OPPORTUNITIES TO INDIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Educated, gifted, and qualified females can enter virtually any business
. Successful women have been representing and still continue to
represent brands like Times of India, PepsiCo, ICICI, TAFE, HP, HSBC and
J.P Morgan along with other names The list in the lines to come puts
forward few sectors where women entrepreneurs of India can excel
as senior managers and owners

• Eco-friendly/ Bio-friendly sectors

• IT sector

• Event Management

• Lifestyle sector
 • Beauty and cosmetic
• Healthcare

• Travel and tourism sector

• Food, food processing and beverages
• Telecommunications
Financing
•
• Plastic manufacturing
• Local and international trading
• Property and estate

BARRIERS TO INDIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF INDIA

• Family problems

• Management of Finance

Managing manpower

• Professional disrespect

The key reason of women being blocked from business is that they
are women.
Male prejudice is still prevalent in India. Male is still considered the
dominant gender and sole bread provider. The view that Indian
women lack self-confidence, willpower, mental composure and
entrepreneurial attitude has made devastating effects on India. This
view has kept the women from becoming leaders and has also
instilled fear in women.

This age-old prejudice has also convinced a portion of women that

they are unable to take risks; that they are unable to access
technology, deal effectively with workers and that the best job for
them is to raise a family
However, India is full of examples new and old that a woman can be an
entrepreneur and a successful one at that. Compared to men, fewer
female businesses fail because of poor financial management once their
business gets a kick start.

SOLUTIONS TO BARRIERS

The problems women face pose a challenge for government and the
authorities to tackle, but with the right approach and some time, they
can be solved. Every Indian must understand the importance of
women entrepreneurship. On top of all, women need motivation and
any discouragement must be dealt with. Following are some measures
that can be taken to make women empowered so that they can
continue their business activities as confidently as Indian men.

.
Creating better education opportunities.
• Making provisions for personality development and training.

• Improving communication skills.

• Institutions where women can learn entrepreneurial skills and risk
taking abilities.

• Measures to change the attitude of society concerning women and

women entrepreneurs in India.

• Attempts from nongovernmental bodies like agencies, trusts, welfare

societies and NGOs.

More women's associations for better financing and capital

• management.

• Providing nationwide platform for women like forums to discuss

prevalent issues and solutions to deal with such shortcomings.
 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SCHEMES

Mudra Loan for Women

• Annapurna Scheme
• Stree Shakti Yojana
• Dena Shakti Scheme
• Bhartiya Mahila Bank Business Loan
• Mahila Udyam Nidhi Yojana
• Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana
Scheme
• Cent Kalyani Scheme
• Udyogini Scheme
• Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana
• Synd Mahila Shakti Scheme

The government schemes for women entrepreneurs are

discussed in details below:

1. MUDRA LOAN FOR WOMEN

Mudra loan for women was launched by the government as a women loan
scheme to offer financial support for enthusiastic women entrepreneurs. They
seek a business plan like starting a beauty parlour, tuition centre, stitching shop,
etc. This scheme does not require any collateral to grant the loan.
However, there are categories under which a Mudra loan application can be
applied.
They are as follows:

shishu Loan: The maximum loan amount granted to

businesses in the initial stage is Rs. 50,000.
Kishor Loan: This loan is for businesses that are already
established but wish to improve services. The amount of loan
granted varies from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 Lakhs.

2 ANNAPURNA SCHEME:-

The Annapurna Yojana is one of the many government schemes

for women. Under this, the Government of India offers women
entrepreneurs schemes in food catering businesses loans up to
Rs. 50,000. The borrowed amount could be used for working
capital requirements such as buying utensils, mixer cum grinder
, hot case, tiffin boxes, working table, etc.

After the loan is approved, the lender doesn't have to pay the
EMI for the first month. Once sanctioned, the amount has to be
repaid in 36 monthly instalments. The interest rate charged is
determined based on the market rate and the concerned bank.

3. STREE SHAKTI YOJANA:-

The Stree Shakti package is a unique government scheme for

women that supports entrepreneurship by providing certain
concessions. This woman loan scheme is eligible for women who
have the majority of ownership in the business.

Another requirement is that these women entrepreneurs be

enrolled under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme
(EDP) organised by their respective state agencies. This Stree
Shakti scheme allows women to avail of an interest concession
of 0.05% on loans more than Rs. 2 lakh.

4. DENA SHAKTI SCHEME:-

The Dena Shakti Scheme provides loans up to Rs. 20 lakh for

women entrepreneurs scheme in agriculture, manufacturing, micro
-credit, retail stores, or small enterprises. This government
scheme for women also provides a concession of 0.25 percent on
the interest rate. In addition, women entrepreneurs can avail of a
loan of up to Rs. 50,000 under the microcredit category.
5. BHARTIYA MAHILA BANK BUSINESS LOAN :-

Implemented by The Bhartiya Mahila Bank

(BMB), this is a public sector banking company that offers loans
schemes for women entrepreneurs up to Rs. 20 Crores for working
capital requirements, business expansion, or manufacturing
enterprises.
Some of the different plans under this woman loan scheme includes:

Shringaar: The BMB Shringaar loan applies to self-employed women

or homemakers planning a start-up or meeting their daily business
expenses.
The loan doesn't require you to provide any collateral security.

Parvarish: Similarly, the BMB Parvarish loan is for self-employed

women or homemakers to set up day-care creches.
The upper limit of this loan can be Rs. 1
Crore without any collateral security under the Credit Guarantee
Fund Trust
for Micro and Small Enterprises
(CGSTSM) scheme.

6. MAHILA UDYAM NIDHI YOJANA:-

One of the most popular government schemes for women

entrepreneurs, the Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme, is offered by
Puniab National Bank and Small Industries Development Bank of
India (SIDBI). The scheme supports women entrepreneurs to set up
a new small-scale venture by extending loans up to Rs. 10 lakh to
be repaid in 10 years. The rate of interest charged depends upon
the market rates.

7. ORIENT MAHILA VIKAS YOJANA SCHEME:-

Oriental Bank of Commerce launched the scheme, women

with an ownership of 51 percent share capital individually or
jointly in a proprietary concern can avail a loan through the
Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana..
There is collateral required for loans between Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 25
lakhs. The repayment tenure of the loan is seven years.
Orient Mahila Vikas Yoiana Scheme also provides a concession on the
interest rate of up to 2 percent.

8. ENT KALYANI SCHEME:-

The Cent Kalyani Yojana is a government scheme for women that

can be availed by both existing and new entrepreneurs and self-
employed women. Micro/small enterprises like farming, agriculture,
cottage industries, and retail trade are all eligible to apply for the
Cent Kalyani Scheme. You do not have to provide any collateral as
security or need any guarantors for this loan. The interest rate on
loans depends on market rates. The repayment tenure of the loan
will be a maximum of seven years.

9. UDDYOGINI SCHEME:-

The Women Development Corporation has implemented the Udyogini

Scheme under the Government of India. This scheme promotes and
motivates women's entrepreneurship among the poor by providing
financial support to women. This scheme majorly supports and helps
illiterate women living in rural and backward areas.

10. PRADHAN MANTRI ROJGAR YOJANA:-

The objective of Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), one of the

various government schemes for women, is to provide opportunities
of self-employment to the educated young people of the country.
Initiated in 1993, the scheme provides the unemployed Indian youth a
loan amount to commence their personal business project and
subsequently create scope of employment for others.
Just a few of the approved business segments for which the
government scheme provides financial backup include
manufacturing, trade, services, etc., you can avail a loan up to Rs.
1 Lakh without having to provide any collateral. The tenure for
repaying the loan ranges from 3 to 7 years.

11. SYND MAHILA SHAKTI SCHEME:-

Syndicate Bank has introduced a scheme known as the "Synd

Mahila Shakthi Scheme" with an aim to support women's
entrepreneurship development. Under this plan, the bank offers
financial backup to those women entrepreneurs and
professionals involved in small business, retail trade, or self-
employed through its credit facilities.

A survey shows the following reasons for women to

become the entrepreneur:-

• Lack of job opportunity

• The increasing cost of living
• Due to high education, they are entering into
entrepreneurial activities
• Alot of opportunities in a market
• Family background of having business

INFLUENCING FACTORS FOR WOMEN TO CHOOSE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A CAREER OPTION:-

There are various motivating factors that might have

influenced women entrepreneurs to take up the ventures.
• Opportunity for taking up innovative work
• Individual identity
• Family support
• Availabilitv of raw material
• Taking assistance from government and other organization
• Social recognition
• Flexibility of job hours in private enterprise and other factors
• Self-dependence
• Economic needs or pressure

Most of the women entrepreneurs covered by this study have

agreed that flexibility of iob hours in private enterprises has
motivated them to undertake entrepreneurship as a career.
Women, in general, have to shoulder the responsibility of
maintaining the family, house hold chores, apart from their
career. They always prefer to have flexible working hours

CHALLENGES FACE BY WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS

Sex discrimination, gender-bias or gender stereotyping is a

challenge, which is faced, by most women entrepreneurs and
being discriminated against in a male-dominated societv hinders
women entrepreneurs from being successful,
There are several constraints that check the process of women
empowerment in India
Social norms and family structure in developing countries like
India, manifests and perpetuate the subordinate status of
women There are several challenges that are plaguing the
issues of women's right in India. Targeting these issues will
directly benefit the empowerment of women in India. The
following are some of the challenges that women entrepreneurs
face:
1. GENDER DISCRIMINATION:-

Women in our country always remained a victim of neglect and

discrimination and were not
allowed to nertorm their due role in the economc or social ate
ot the society Kavitha ~ Raian
2014

2. LACK OF EDUCATION:-

Running a business is very risky for any entrepreneur, even

more so for women entrepreneurs, who not only have to
survive in a male-dominated environment but also often lack the
education and training in this field. (Phillips et al., 2014). Many
women in developing countries remain illiterate and live in poor
communities (Ascher, 2012).

3. FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS;-

Finance is regarded as "life-blood" for any enterprise. be it big or

small. However, women entrepreneurs suffer from shortage of
finance on two counts. Firstly, women do not generally have
property on their names to use them as collateral for obtaining
funds from external sources. Thus, their access to the external
sources of funds is limited. Secondly, the banks also consider
women less credit-worthy and discourage women borrowers on
the belief that they can at any time leave their business. Given
such situation, women entrepreneurs are bound to rely on their
own savings, if any and loans from friends and relatives who are
expectedly meager and negligible. A report released by International
Finance Corporation in 2014 said there was a finance gap of R$ 6.
37 lakh crore (R$ 6.37 trillion) when it came to meeting
requirements of women entrepreneurs in the MSME (micro, small
and medium enterprise) sector. Lack of collateral and a misogynist
mindset are the main stumbling blocks women face in accessing
loans (Kably, 2015). Thus, women enterprises fail due to the
shortage of finance.
4. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY:-

In India, it is mainly a women's duty to look after the children

and other members of the family.
Man plays a secondary role only. In case of married women, she
has to strike a fine balance between her business and family.
Her total involvement in family leaves little or no energy and
time to devote for business

5. LOW MOBILITY:-

Unlike men, women mobility in India is highly limited due to

various reasons. A single woman asking for room is still
looked upon suspicion. Cumbersome exercise involved in
starting an enterprise coupled with the officials humiliating
attitude towards women compels them to give up idea of
starting an enterprise.

6. MALE DOINATED SOCIETY:-

6. Male-Dominated Society
Male chauvinism is still the order of the day in India. The
Constitution of India speaks of equality between sexes. But, in
practice, women are looked upon as abla, i.e. weak in all
respects. Women suffer from male reservations about a
women's role, ability and capacity and
are treated
accordingly. In nutshell, in the male-dominated Indian society,
women are not treated equal to men.
This, in turn, serves as a barmer to women entry into business
. (Ascher, 2012)
7. LOW ABILITY TO BEAR RISK:-

Women in India live protected life. They are taught to be

depending on male members from birth.
They are not allowed to take any type of risk even if they are
willing to take and have the ability to bear. (Khare and Gautam,
2014)

GROWTH OF ENTREPRENEURS INDIA:-

In India, because of culture & traditions, wome. are

supposed to perform household activities & take
care of family because of these reasons women
entrepreneurship is very low. But due to the
widespread of education and social awareness
during last three decades now women are showing
interest in starting their own venture. Hence there is
a considerable growth of women entrepreneurs.
Eg:- Mujumdar Shaw of Biochem, Shahanaj
Husana, Mahila khadi Udyog.
Now a day's in Indian women are willing to accept
challenges & assume responsibility in economic
social, political group. Generally, they engage them
in tiny or small cottage industries But recent study
show women have been starting ventures in all the
sector equivalent to male
 A survey shows the following
reasons for X women to become
the entrepreneur-:
• Lack of job opportunity
• The increasing cost of living
• Due to high education, they are entering into
entrepreneurial activities
• A lot of opportunities in a market
• Family background of having business
• a)Though women are entering into business activities
they constitute
• 47.7% of the total
• population but women workforce constitute only
• 28% of the female population.

b)Total number of self-employed women Were

engaged in an organized sector like handicraft,
Agriculture, Handloom, Cottage base industry
c)1988-89 survey shows there was 153000 women
entrepreneur which are 9% of a total of 1.7 million
in India. Thus 1980 onwards India has shown
positive growth among Women entrepreneurship
during 95-96 therewere300000 women entrepreneur
in India
In India women, entrepreneurs are classified as follows
1-Women with adequate education & professional
qualification get engaged in the business
2-Middle-class women who have an education but lack
training
3-Women who take up a business enterprise who face
financial difficulties
Government Of India has made certain efforts through
industrial policies
7-5 YEAR PLAN:-

This plan gave importance to the development of the

SSI sector. Before the implementation of this plan,
the percentage of women entrepreneur was 9 % &
was targeted to 20%
In 1996 the Department of SSI under the ministry of
industry had taken initiative to train lakh women
entrepreneurs. Through various schemes like

8-5 YEARS PLAN:-

This plan has included a special provision for the
development of women.1991 industrial policy
highlights a special training programme to develop
women entrepreneur. The objective of these plans
was to increase the number of women in the field of
small industry & to create self-employment

1-Mahila Gramudyog Scheme

2-Jawahar Rojagar Uyojaga
Scheme
3-Ibis Mahila Udyog Vidhi
4-Urban Poverty Education
Programme
5-Scheme Of Nabard
6-Shakti Package for Women's
7-Schemes of SBI

These were to stimulate growth among women

There is a federation of the society of women
entrepreneur which also supports
Women enrepreneurs. Besides this at state level also various
programs are conducted.
For Eg -women Industrialist Association of
Maharastra was set up in 1985.
 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS-:

Right efforts from all areas are required in the

development of women entrepreneurs and their
greater participation in the entrepreneurial activities.
Entrepreneurship basically implies being in control
of one's life and activities and women entrepreneurs
need to be given confidence, independence, and
mobility to come out of their paradoxes. The
following measures are suggested to empower the
women to seize various opportunities and face
challenges in business.
There should be a continuous attempt to inspire,
encourage, motivate and cooperate women
entrepreneurs.
An awareness programme should be conducted on a
mass scale with the intention of creating awareness
among women about the various areas of business.

Attempts should be there to enhance the standards of

education for women in general as well making
effective for their training, practical experience and
personality development programmes, to improvise
their over-all personality standards.
Organize training programmes to develop
professional competencies in managerial, leadership,
marketing, financial, production process, profit
planning, maintaining books of accounts and other
skills. This will encourage women to undertake
business.
Vocational training to be extended to women
community that enables them to understand the
production process and production management.
Skill development to be done in women's polytechnics
and industrial training institutes.
 Skills are put to work
in training-cum-production workshops.
Educational institutes should tie up with various
government and non-government agencies to assist in
entrepreneurship development mainly to plan business
projects

SUGGESTIONS:-

For developing and promoting women entrepreneurship, there

is the need for a holistic approach from the side of the
Government, Financial Institutions, Individual entrepreneurs and
many others. The following suggestions can be made for the
concerned authorities

TO ENTREPRENEURS:-

. Women entrepreneurs should have adequate knowledge for

making project report.

. The latest technology available should be used as far as

possible for starting the venture.

The women entrepreneurs should have risk taking ability, urge

. to learn new things, alertness to take opportunity, ability to
change and adapt to new situations.

. The women entrepreneurs should know the achievement of

their work.
The women entrepreneurs should gather various techniques
. and design from other sources and incorporate in their
enterprises to solve their production problem.
. Apart from the above mentioned suggestions, the
entrepreneur should not lag behind regarding knowledge in
information technology, especially in the field of electronic
commerce (E-Commerce), that can solve their problems
The most common problem of most of the women entrepreneurs
is finance. Although bank finance is made available, they are not
easily accessible. In this regard, provision for security may be
simplified for enabling the entrepreneurs to have bank facilities.

TO GOVERMENT:-

The Union and State Government Should conduct awareness

campaigns to make the people especially women entrepreneurs,
aware of the various policies, incentive schemes, programmes etc.
made for better growth of women entrepreneurs in the region.

Various specific and non-specific training programmes should be

conducted at various levels especially at district level, so as to
promote Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP).

The government should also carefully study project viability of sick-

unit and select for rehabilitation and open export cell in remote
areas.

Apart from these, the government should also give concession on

license fees, electricity and water charge, land revenue tax etc. to
women entrepreneurs
Top Women Entrepreneurs in
India

1.CHITRA GURNANI DAGA:-

Chitra Gurnani Daga is the Co-founder & CEO of

Thrillophilia, India's biggest platform for booking
travel experiences.
Thrillophilia offers tours, adventures, activities,
rentals, and offbeat places to stay. Chitra did her
MBA in Strategy and Leadership at the Indian
School Of Business in Hyderabad

She wanted to start her own travel company.

With a loan for her MBA, and money needed for the
start-up, Chitra's choices did not appear to be
financially sound to her family, but she was committed,
determined and persistent.

She has been recognized for her outstanding

contributions to tourism by the Ministry of External
Affairs, Government of India.
In 2020 the company had over 3 Million users as a
result of 12,500 activities across 125 + destinations.
The funding for Thirllophilia is $1.24M, valued at
$4.84M. Chitra's net worth is 165 crores.
2. UPASNA TAKU 9 MObiKwik:-

Upasana Taku is the Co-founder of MobiKwik & Zaakpay.

MobiKwik is a payment service provider that provides a mobile
phone-based payment system and digital wallet.
Upasana finished her schooling in Surat and went on to pursue
engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar in
Industrial Engineering.
Later, she did her MS in Management Science and Engineering
from Stanford University, US. She initially worked with HSBC in
San Diego and later, went on to work with PayPal. She came
back and founded Zaakpay in 2009.
At the same time, she met Bipin and came to know that he was
eager to work for the betterment of the startup ecosystem as
well.
Within six months, Upasana was helping him with many aspects
of the business, and later, she joined Mobikwik as its co-founder.
She received the Best Woman Entrepreneur Award in 2017.
Mobikwik has an active user base of 2.4 million. The company’s
total funding is $181.2M at a valuation of $1B
3. ADITI GUPTA :-

Aditi Gupta is the founder of Menstrupedia, a company that aims at

creating awareness about Menstruation.
She grew up in Jharkhand and witnessed the difficulties faced by
women during menstruation and decided to do something about it.
Aditi started Menstrupedia to educate the women about
menstruation and make them aware of the ways to deal with it.
She was listed on the Forbes India U-30 list & her net worth is
approximately between $1.5 Million to $5.5 Million

4. DIVYA GOKULNATH ((Byju's):-

Divya Gokulnath is the Co-founder of one of India's largest ed-tech
startups, Byju’s.
Divya pursued a B.Tech in Biotechnology from Bengaluru. She
started her career as a teacher before co-founding Byju’s in 2011.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Divya managed user
experience, content, and brand marketing.
She received multiple awards like MAKERS India Conference,
Entrepreneur of the Year, & Women Who Make India.
Byju’s has raised total funding of $5.5B at a valuation of $23B.
While Divya & her husband Byju Raveendran have a combined net
worth of $3.05B

5. SUCHI MUKHARJEE:-

Suchi Mukherjee is the founder & CEO of Limeroad, an Indian online clothing marketplace.

Suchi studied economics at the school of Cambridge and completed her master's in
Economics and Finance from London School of Economics.

She started her first job as a Senior Associate for Corporate Finance at Lehman Brothers
Inc in 1998. Then she worked for Virgin Media and later joined eBay. She returned to
India in 2011 with a dream to create a global brand based in India.

She encountered problems with the Indian system like inappropriate infrastructure,
complicated bank processes, a complex company filing procedure, unreliable internet
connectivity, and much more.

But she made her way through the obstacles to build Limeroad. She received the coolest
startup of the year award, Unicorn startup of the year, Infocom Woman of the Year, &
ET Startup Award. Limeroad has a funding of $51.9M at a valuation of $117.4M
 6. FALGUNI NAYAR (NYKAA):-

Falguni Nayar is the founder & CEO of Nykaa. S

he is one of the famous female entrepreneurs in India. After
completing her studies at IIM Ahemdabad, she worked as a venture
investor and merchant with Kotak Mahindra Group for around 20
years.
Falguni resigned from her position at Kotak Mahindra bank to
embark on her entreprenurial journey. She has been facilitated by
the "Most powerful business" at Business today and "Women ahead
" at Economic times awards.
The women-centered online marketplace Nykaa records over 1.5
million orders a month and over 15 million registered users. The
total funding for Nykaa is $148.5M at a valuation of $14B, while
Falguni’s estimated net worth is around $1.1B
7. RICHA KAR ( ZIVAME):-

Zivame, an established and leading lingerie store, was founded by

Richa Kar, one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in
India.
She received her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management
after studying engineering at BITS Pilani and worked as a corporate
attorney in Bangalore.
After finishing her MBA and working as a retail consultant for
Spencers Retail and SAP in Bangalore, she learned about the retail
sector.
\During her time at SAP Retail, she worked with The Limited, the
owner of Victoria's Secret. Victoria's Secret inspired her to start
Zivame.
She has received Padma Shri for her immense contribution to the
Trade and Industry sector. Zivame has received $69 million in
funding at a valuation of $98.6M and her net worth is Rs 749
crores, according to reports
 8.VINEETA SINGH (SUGAR COSMETICS):-

Vineeta Singh is the co-founder & CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, one of

India’s most popular cosmetics brands.
Vineeta Singh graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology
Madras in 2005 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and then
entered IIM Ahmedabad to pursue her MBA.
She co-founded FAB BAG, a beauty subscription service in 2012. In
2015, Vineeta co-founded Sugar Cosmetics along with her husband
Kaushik Mukherjee.
Today, the brand has more than 2500 branded outlets in over 130
cities and a revenue of more than 100 crores.
It has a funding of $85.5M at a valuation of $500M. Vineeta has a
net worth of $8M. The Economic Times has recognized her as a young
business leader with its 40 Under Forty Award 2020
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:-

• To study about the role of Entrepreneurship in Women

Empowerment
• To arrive at conclusion based on the study
• To analyze the factors contributing to women
entrepreneurs in socio- economic development
•
To find out the various personal and financial problems in their
businesses.

REVIEW OF LIERATURE:-

M. Bhavani Sankara Rao has highlighted that strength of Women

individuals from SHG have surely taken a swing to better. It
obviously demonstrates that heath of women individuals examine
among themselves about wellbeing related issues of different
individuals and their kids and make them mindful of different
Government arrangements exceptionally implied for them

Doepke M. Tertilt M. Does Female Empowerment Promote Economic

Development? This study is an exact examination recommending
that cash in the hands of moms advantages youngsters. This study
built up a progression of non-helpful family bartering models to
comprehend what sort of grindings can offer ascent to the
watched observational relationship.

Subrahmanyam looks at Women instruction in India at present and

Past. Creator highlighted that there has a decent advance in
general enrolment of young lady und erstudies in schools The term
engage intends to give legitimate force or power to act. It is the
way toward procuring a few exercises of Women.
Sethuraman K. The Role of Empowerment Women' sand Domestic
Violence in tvke Growth and Under nourishment in a Tribal and
Rural Communitv in South India. This exploration paper
investigates the relationship between Women's Empowerment
and Domestic Violence, maternal nourishing status and the
dietary status and development more than six months in kids
matured 6 to 24 months in a provincial and tribal group. This
longitudinal observational study attempted in provincial
Karnataka. India included tribal and country subjects.

Venkata Ravi and Venkatraman concentrated on the impacts of

SHG on women support and practicing control over basic
leadership both in family matters and in gathering exercises.
Duflo E. Women's Empowerment and Economic Development,
National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge The study
contends that the bury connections of the Empowerment and
Development are likely too feeble to be in any way self-managing
and that constant strategy responsibility.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE:-

. UNIVERSE

The group of individuals under the study is known as

population or universe. Some of the women entrepreneurs in
india are taken as universe.
SAMPLING UNIT

The women entrepreneurs of india are selected as sampling

unit.

• Tools and Techniques for data analysis:

• Tools for data collection:

Questionnaire is used to collect data.

• Tools for analysis:

Tabulation of data
The process of placing classified data into tabular form is known
as tabulation
 CONCLUSION;-

India is a male dominated society and women are assumed to be

economically as well as socially dependent on male members. Women
entrepreneurs faced lots of problems like lack of education, social
barriers, legal formalities, high cost of production, male dominated
society, limited managerial ability, lack of self confidence etc. Various
factors like pull and push factors influencing women entrepreneurs.
Successful leading business women in India. Government takes
various steps for the upliftment of women entrepreneurs in 7th five
year plan, 8th five year plan and in 9th five year plan. Women have
the potential the potential and determination to setup, uphold and
supervise their own enterprise in a very systematic manner,
appropriate support and encouragement from the society, family,
government can make these women entrepreneur a part of
mainstream of national ecomomy and they can contribute to the
economy progress of India

BIBLIOGRAPHY;-

1. Akhter, R., & Ward, K. B. (2009). Globalization and gender equality

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