WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

By: Assistant Professor- Ms. Sonam Yadav

 Definition of Women Entrepreneurs
Schumpeter – “Women entrepreneurs are those women who innovate, initiate or
adopt a business activity”.

Government of India – “A woman entrepreneur is defined as an enterprise owned

and controlled by a woman having a minimum financial interest of 51 percent of
the capital and giving at least 51 percent of the employment generated in the
enterprise to women.”
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Founder of Biocon India
Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw, a first generation entrepreneur, has made her country proud
with a globally recognized biopharmaceutical enterprise that is committed to
innovation and affordability in delivering world-class therapeutics to patients
globally.

Under her stewardship, Biocon has evolved since its inception in 1978 from an
industrial enzymes company to a fully-integrated, innovation-led, emerging global
biopharmaceutical enterprise committed to reduce therapy costs of chronic
conditions like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Falguni Nayar – Founder and CEO of Nykaa
The traditional stereotype expects a woman to quit her job after she has children. Or
consider a job after the children have grown up.

Falguni Nayar never had to worry about such expectations.

She launched Nykaa at the age of 49 after an illustrious corporate career spanning
over two decades.

Growing up in a business environment encouraged by her determined father, Falguni

Nayar learned the ins and outs of business and networking at an early age.

After cementing her professional career with Kotak Mahindra Group, she kickstarted
her second innings in 2012 by creating an e-commerce platform selling women’s
beauty products.
WOMEN - ENTREPRENEURSHIP OR JOB?
 Entrepreneurship- A favourable career for women

1) Flexibility
In entrepreneurship, they can decide their own working time, their own promotion and
their own success
2) High elasticity
It can never get overcrowded. Moreover, there is no quota and no reservation for entry
into this profession
3) Excellent in managing finances
Vital for the success of an entrepreneur
4) Only profession in which they could easily beat men
They are trained to be good entrepreneurs and good managers from childhood itself
 Women have some inherent qualities that make them successful entrepreneurs. This
is due to the following reasons:
1) Endurance among women
A United Nations study on Asian women supports the view that women on the farmland work more than men and
animal put together
2) Responsibility
A girl child is burdened with the responsibility much before her brothers. This enhances a sense of responsibility
among the women at an early age.
3) Managerial acumen
This is due to their single handedly managing various activities
4) Financial skills
Although men are the earners, most of the time it is the women who have the financial power
5) Communication skills
In their day-to-day communication, they have to interact with men and women in various age groups, such as
children, old parents, in-laws, etc.
 Weaknesses of women entrepreneurs
1) Lack of assertiveness

Women lack assertiveness that hinders their ability to sell a new idea. That might result in getting
disheartened and giving up the idea altogether

2) Limited understanding of legal issues

Due to non-exposure to the same

Partially due to the lack of interest as well

Women are so preoccupied in their household activities and responsibilities that they leave these issues on
others and take it up only when they are required to do so.

3) Emotional in business decision

The objectivity that is required in business decisions would be missing. This might result in business failure
or unnecessary complications

4) Lack of exposure

Women get a limited exposure to outside world. Therefore, this hampers their ability to run business and
deal with various agencies that need to be dealt with in the course of business
Indian women entrepreneurs still struggling to find the right framework to
sustain their business

According to a study published in 2021 by the World 6th Economic Forum, women
contribute only about 20% of the MSME sector in India. And as compared to 50
million male entrepreneurs, only over 8 million women own businesses.

The Indian government has launched several entrepreneurial schemes and

initiatives to support the female entrepreneurs to develop their skills, secure a loan
with relaxed business loan eligibility, and run their businesses.

Schemes like the Bharatiya Mahila Business loan scheme in 2013, and Mahila
Udyam Nidhi Scheme in 2021.

Despite such initiative, the female entrepreneurs are struggling with finance and
funding.
Indian women entrepreneurs still struggling to find the right framework to
sustain their business
● Vineeta Singh points out that “still the decision making in the field of marketing is
controlled by men, they invest with the categories they can relate with and hence
there is a huge gap that female entrepreneurs face.

● “As women, we struggle with equities and debt fund raising”, said Singh. Hence,
women entrepreneurs should rise to 30-35% over the next decade, adds Singh to get
and fulfil the ratio of funding.

● Singh adds that “domestic participation is skewed”. The amount of time a woman
spends on household chores is more than men.

● “The biggest partnership required to run this enterprise for a long time starts at home.”

● She indicates that the main support should come from home and if that partnership
and support system is there, it would encourage more women to come out and
explore their start-up ideas and manifest them into reality.
Central Government Schemes of women
1) Skill Upgradation and Mahila Coir Yojana

Benefit of the scheme-

- It is an exclusive training programme aimed at the skill development of women artisans engaged in the
coir industry.

- Two months of training in coir spinning is imparted through this programme

- The candidates who undergo this training are given a stipend of Rs 3000 pm.

- The trained artisans under the scheme are encouraged to avail assistance through Prime MInister’s
Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) scheme to set up coir units

- Eligibility Criteria

Rural women artisans in regions producing coir fibre

2) Women Entrepreneurship Programme (WEP)
-In 2018, NITI Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), bring together women from different
parts of India and create an ecosystem to nurture their entrepreneurial aspirations.

WEP hosts information and services relevant to women entrepreneurs.

It enables key partnerships to bring crucial content, workshops, campaigns, and other avenues of learning
and growth to its users from trailblazers in the industry.

○ Community and Networking

○ Funding and Financial Assistance
○ Incubation and Acceleration
○ Compliance and Tax Assistance
○ Entrepreneur Skilling and Mentorship
○ Marketing Assistance

Eligibility Criteria
○ Existing and aspiring women entrepreneurs.

eria
3) Mudra Yojana for Women/Mahila Udhyami Yojana

● Loans up to Rs 10 lakh are provided to women entrepreneurs, without any collateral, and
with low interest with flexible repayment tenure.
● Total tenure for loan repayment for women is a maximum of 5 years, and a minimum of 3
years.
● Women entrepreneurs who are heading and managing any manufacturing or production
business are eligible to get loans up to Rs 10 lakh, without any collateral.
● Mudra loans for women are phone repairing, auto-repairing, tailoring, photocopying, servicing
centers for electronics appliances, spa, beauty parlor services.
● Loans under Mudra Yojana Scheme for women can be used to set up a new business, expand
an existing business or modernize existing business with the latest technology and tools. The
age limit for women who can avail of loans under the Mudra scheme is 65 years. The
minimum age requirement is 18 years.
Stand-Up India benefited 180,000 SCs, STs and women entrepreneurs: Govt

# Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said loans worth ₹40,700 crore have been sanctioned to
more than 180,000 scheduled caste (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and women beneficiaries under
Stand-Up India (SUPI), the scheme launched seven years ago to promote entrepreneurship at the
grassroots level.

# Stand-Up India scheme has proved to be an important milestone in promoting entrepreneurship among
SC, ST and women

# The scheme, launched on April 5, 2016, to promote economic empowerment and job creation, has been
extended till 2025

# The scheme facilitates bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore
ASSIGNMENT
Scheme for Women by SBI- Stree Shakti Package for Women Entrepreneurs
Scheme by Central Bank of India- Cent Kalyani Scheme
https://youtu.be/JgN09GN8ZnY
https://www.rprealtyplus.com/interviews/rural-women-entrepreneurs-game-change
rs-in-indian-economy-110189.html

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