Project On Women Enterpreneurship in India

WOMEN ENTERPRENEURSHIP IN
INDIA
IN
A Project Submitted to
INDIAI
University of Mumbai for partial completion of the
degree ofMaster in Commerce
Under the Faculty of Commerce
By
Sameena Ayub Khan
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Shweta Gupta
Nalanda Education Foundtion (Sanchalit)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts,

Commerce And Science
March, 2024
1|Page
Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai
WOMEN ENTERPRENEURSHIP IN
INDIA
IN
A Project Submitted to
INDIAI
University of Mumbai for partial completion of the
degree ofMaster in Commerce
Under the Faculty of Commerce
By
Sameena Ayub Khan
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Shweta Gupta
Nalanda Education Foundtion (Sanchalit)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts,

Commerce and Science
March, 2024
2|Page
Index
Page No.
Chapter No. 1 Introduction
1.1 Research Problem
1.2 Significance of the project
1.3 Objective of the Study
1.4 Methodology
1.5 Scope
Chapter No. 2 Review Literature
Chapter No. 3 Company Profile
Chapter No. 4 Data Analysis and

Interpretation
Chapter No. 5 Limitation
3|Page
Nalanda Education Foundation (Sanchalit)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts, Commerce and Science
Certificate
This is to certify that Ms. Sameena Ayub Khan has worked and duly completed
her/his Project Work for the degree of Master in Commerce under the Faculty of
Commerce in the subject of Entrepreneurial Management and her project is
entitled, “Women Entrepreneurship in India
under my supervision”.
I further certify that the entire work has been done by the learner under my guidance
and that no part of it has been submitted previously for any Degree or Diploma of any
University.
It is her/ his own work and facts reported by her personal findings and investigations.
Name and Signature of

Seal of the Guiding Teacher
College
Date of submission:
4|Page
Declaration by learner
I the undersigned Miss.Sameena Ayub Khan here by, declare that the work
embodied in this project work titled “Women Entrepreneurship in India”,
forms my own contribution to the research work carried out under the guidance of
Prof. Shweta Gupta is a result of my own research work and has not been previously
submitted to any other University for any other Degree/ Diploma to this or any other
University.
Wherever reference has been made to previous works of others, it has been clearly
indicated as such and included in the bibliography.
I, here by further declare that all information of this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct.
Name and Signature of the learner
Certified by
Name and signature of the Guiding Teacher
Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai 5|Page

Acknowledgment
To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the depth
is so enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh
dimensions in the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to
do this project.
I would like to thank my Principal, Shri. Nitin Kadam Sir for providing the
necessary facilitiesrequired for completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank our Coordinator and HOD of M. Com

Department Prof. Diksha Jadhav, for her moralsupport and guidance.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide

Prof. Shweta Gupta whose guidance and care made the project successful.
I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference
books and magazines related to my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly helped
me in the completion of the project especially my Parents and Peers who supported
me throughout my project.
Project submitted to
Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai 6|Page

CHAPTER - I
INTRODUCTION
In the era of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization along with ongoing

IT revolution, today’s 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 toward
democratic system, and Monarchies build new civil institutions. These changes
have created economic opportunities for women who want to own and operate
businesses. Today, women entrepreneurs represent a group 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, their talents, abilities and creativity in business and a
compelling desire of wanting to do something positive. It is high time that
countries should rise to the challenge and create more support systems for
encouraging more entrepreneurship amongst women. At the same time, it is up
to women to break away from stereotyped mindsets.
In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are a significant part of the global
expedition for sustained 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 spheres and have
shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities.
Today’s women are taking more and more professional and technical
degrees to cope up with market need and are flourishing as de signers, interior
decorators, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers and still exploring new
avenues of economic participation. It is perhaps for these reasons that
Government Bodies, NGO’s, Social Scientists, Researchers ‘and International
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Agencies have started showing interest in the issues related to entrepreneurship
among women in India.
Women entrepreneur’s explore the prospects of starting a new enterprise;

undertake risks, introduction of new innovations, coordinate administration &
control of business & providing effective leadership 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 development of Women Entrepreneurs.
1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM
The research problem in view is the role of the NGO in promoting

women entrepreneurship. The activities performed by COWE in solving the
problems of women in setting up the business. The project also determines the
motivators for women in venturing into entrepreneurship.
1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
This report gives an overview on the role of a NGO in promoting the

women entrepreneurship. The report analyses the problems faced the women in
setting up a business and also the motivational factors for the women. The
significance of this report is that it will help COWE in better understanding the
women and empowering the women.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
a. To know the historical background of COWE

b. To understand the role of the organization in encouraging the
women
c. To determine the marketing strategies and awareness of COWE
d. To analyse problems unique to women in setting up and running
their enterprises.
e. To give relevant suggestions and conclusions
1.4 METHODOLOGY
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In view of the objectives of this report which are listed above, a simple
random sample as research design has been adopted to study the problems faced
by women entrepreneurs, a structured questionnaire covering different aspects
of women entrepreneurs was shaped and sent to the sample women
entrepreneurs.
1.4.1 SAMPLE DESIGN
Out of the 500 women registered with COWE, only 150 women were
approached by the way of questionnaire, out of which 100 responses were
recorded. The research methodology by the way of the questionnaire was
hindered by the reluctance of the women to receive any E-Mails and also the
remaining women could not be approached due to lack of technical know-how,
i.e. E-mail.
1.4.2 SOURCES OF INFORMATION
This report includes collection of data from both primary and secondary
sources. The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey among the
sample women entrepreneurs with the help of a well-structured questionnaire.
The secondary data has been collected from various NGO’s journals,
newspapers, research projects, research papers, articles and internet.
1.4.3 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF ANALYSIS
The data collected for this report has been analysed to arrive at
meaningful conclusions. The statistical tools like simple percentages have been
used to prepare various graphs and pie-chart. Three factors have been structured
in the questionnaire, which are the obstacles faced by the women in staring their
enterprise, the role of the NGO and the problems faced by the women presently
in running their business. Then these factors with their sub classification are
rated on Five point Liker rating scale (invented by Rensis Likert), where 1
denotes least important & 5 denote most important.
1.5 SCOPE
This report is mainly limited to the women entrepreneurs engaged with

COWE in Hyderabad. It provides the details of the problems faced by women in
starting an enterprise and the factors motivating women to become women
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entrepreneurs. The NGO has around 500 members out of which only 100
responses were collected for this project.
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CHAPTER – II
REVIEW LITRATURE
HISTORY
Entrepreneurship has gained currency across the sphere and female-

entrepreneurship has become an important module. India is one of the fastest
emerging economies and the importance of entrepreneurship is realized across
the gamut.
“Women Entrepreneurship” means an act of business ownership and

business creation that empowers women economically increases their economic
strength as well as position in society. Women-entrepreneurs have 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 participate and be accepted economically independent. Strong desire to do
something positive is a high-quality women entrepreneur who contributes to the
position values of family and social life.
“An enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum

financial interest of 51% of capital and giving at least 51% of the employment
generated by the enterprise to women.” - Government of India
According to Kamala Singh," A women entrepreneur is a confident,

innovative and creative woman capable of achieving economic independence
individually or in collaboration generates employment opportunities 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 who is an enterprising individual with an eye for opportunities and an
uncanny vision, Commercial acumen, with tremendous perseverance and above
all a person who is willing to take risk with the unknown because of the
adventures spirit she possesses.”
In the words of Former President APJ Abdul Kalam "Empowering

women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are
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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."
Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru has remarked “When women move

forward, the family moves, the village moves and the Nation moves.”
Women Entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of

economy of the world. Their willingness for the future is apparent in their
growing confidence, in their strengths and in their desire to seek different forms
of work in order to achieve a new balance between work and home. Thus a
women 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 desire to 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.
Traits of Women Entrepreneurs in India
 Women are ambitious

A successful woman entrepreneur is dreadfully strong-minded one, has an
inner urge or drives to change contemplation into realism. Knowledge from her
previous occupancy as an employee, relying on educational 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 woman entrepreneur is truly determined to achieve
goals and make her business prosper. Thorough knowledge of the field is
indispensable to success. She comes with new innovative solutions to old
problems to tide over issues.
 Women are confident

A successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to
learn from others, search for help from experts if it means adding value to her
goals. She is positive in nature and is keener to take risks. A winning woman
entrepreneur uses common intelligence to make sound judgments when
encountering everyday situations. This is gleaned from past experience and
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information acquired over the years. It is essential not to get aggravated and
give up when you face obstacles and trials. The aptitude to explore 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. Her high 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 the importance 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
learn and 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 capitalize on 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 associations and communicates evidently and efficiently. This
helps her to negotiate even responsive issues without difficulty. She is
sympathetic to people around her and have good networking skills that help her
to get better contacts 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 dedicated to assist others and enjoys her liability.
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 Women focus on their Plans
Women Entrepreneur’s plan their work and work with plan. Set long-term
and short-term goals and take consistent action in moving toward them.
 Women are Resourceful

Women entrepreneurs take advantage effectively coordinating the available
factors and resources such as mentoring, training and coaching and build a
strong base of education, training and experience which can help lead to
success.
An effectual Women Entrepreneur requires certain additional essential

qualities, which can be listed 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.
 May judge ambiguous business conditions in more positive, enthusiastic,
and optimistic terms.
 Clear vision and ambition on the improvement of family and children.
 Takes advantage of resources such as mentoring, counselling and other
small business development assistance.
 Patience and bearing the sufferings on behalf of others.
 Has some blend of critical analytical thinking, creativity, and practical
implementation of ideas.
 Ability to work physically more at any age.
Many women have these traits but they never got a platform to showcase their
talents and for this reason they don't know their real abilities. Matching the
basic qualities required for entrepreneurs and the basic characters of Indian
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women reveal that, much potential is available among the Indian women on
their 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.
KEY CHANGES IN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN LAST FIVE

DECADES
 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.
 SEVENTIES:
The women in this decade opened up new frontier. They had not only
aspiration but ambition.
 EIGHTIES:
Women were educated in highly sophisticated, technological and
professional education. They became equally contributing partners.
 NINETIES:
This was the first time when the concept of best rather than male heir was
talked about.
 21st Century:
“Jill of all trades”
Since the 21st century, the status of women in India has been changing
as a result to mounting industrialization and urbanization and social legislation.
Over the years, more and more women are going in for higher education,
technical and professional education and their proportion in the workforce has
also been increased.
With the spread of education and awareness, women have shifted from
the kitchen, handicrafts and traditional cottage industries to non-traditional
higher levels of activities. The Government has also laid special weight age on
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the requirement for conducting special entrepreneurial training programs for
women to enable them to start their own ventures.
Financial institutions and banks have also set up particular cells to help
women entrepreneurs. This has rebound the women entrepreneurs on the
economic scene in the recent years although many women’s entrepreneurship
enterprises are still remained a much neglected field. Though, for women there
are quite a lot of handicaps to enter into and manage business ownership due to
the intensely entrenched conventional state of mind and strict principles of the
Indian society.
Role of women as an Entrepreneur:
Considering the flow of women entrepreneurs in the traditional industries, it is

often
criticized 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 being identified, considering the
socio-economic, cultural and educational status and motivational level of
women entrepreneurs, particularly projects with low investment, low technical
know-how and assured market are suggested for them such as production of
soaps, detergents, ready- made instant food products including pickles, spices,
papad, manufacturing of woollen goods, beauty parlour business, typing centre,
job contracts for 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.
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 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.
 Determination: Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfil

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.
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Functions of Women Entrepreneurs:
A Woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in

establishing an enterprise
 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.
In nutshell, women entrepreneur are those women who think of a business

enterprise, initiate it, organize and combine the factors of production, operate
the enterprise, undertake risk and handle economic uncertainties involved in
running a business enterprise.
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
 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
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 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
Women Entrepreneurs and Their Problems
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 husband or close family
members. Majority of the time the family members do not motivate them.
Besides they face other problems like mobility constraints, dual responsibility,
low managing ability, risk-bearing ability etc. They don’t 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 in technical know-how. Transportation difficulties, improper
power supply and telecommunication are some of the 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 initial commencement of enterprise, in running their
enterprise. Their various problems are as follows:
 Arrangement of Finance: -
For every business undertaking Finance is said to be the “life blood”,
whether it is large,medium or small 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 for obtaining loans/funds from banks
and other financial institutions. Thus their access to external sources is
very limited .Secondly, obtaining the support of bankers, managing
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the working capital, lack of credit resources are the problems which
still remain in the male’s domain.
 Shortage of raw-materials:-
Women entrepreneurs encounter the problems of shortage of raw-
materials and necessary inputs. On the pinnacle of this, is the high
prices of raw materials, on one hand and getting raw materials at
minimum discount rates are the other.
 Cut-throat Competition:-
Lot of the women entrepreneurs have imperfect organizational set up
to drive in a lot of money for canvassing and advertisements. They
have to face severe competition from organized industries. They have
also to face a stiff competition with the men entrepreneurs who easily
involve in the promotion and development area and carry out easy
marketing of their products with both the organized sector and their
male counterparts. Such a competition ultimately results in the
insolvency of women entrepreneurs.
 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 education
creates problems before women to set up competitive enterprises.
 Family Conflicts:-
Women also countenance the conflict of performing of home role as they
are not available to spend enough time with their families. Because in
India, mainly a woman’s duty is to look after her children and manage the
other members of the family. In business they have to spend long hours
and as a result, they find it difficult to meet the demands of their family
members and society as well. Their incapability to attend to domestic
work, time for education of children, personal hobbies, and entertainment
adds to their conflicts.
 Marketing Problems:-
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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 a dent.
For marketing the products women entrepreneurs have to be at the mercy
of middlemen who pocket the hunk of profit. Although the middlemen
exploit the women entrepreneurs, the purging of middlemen is tricky,
because it involves a lot of running about. Women entrepreneurs also find
it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular.
 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 committing mistakes while
doing their piece of work, more over there is limited initiative of taking
risk and bearing uncertainty in them. Thus all these psychological factors
often obstruct their path of achieving success in the area of enterprise.
 High cost of production:

High cost of production undermines the efficiency and adversely affects
the development of women entrepreneurs. The installation of new
machinery during expansion of the productive capacity and like similar
factor dissuades the women entrepreneur from venturing in to new area.
Government assistance in the form of grant and subsidies to some extent
enables them to tide over the difficult situations. However, in the long
run, it would be necessary to increase efficiency and expand productive
capacity and thereby reduce cost to make their ultimate survival possible,
other than these, women entrepreneurs also face the problems of labour,
human resources, infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack
of family support, mistrust etc.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
The main purpose or objective of study of women entrepreneurship is as

follows:
 To exhibit the encouraging and discouraging factors in an enterprise.

 Identification and analysis of all the shortcomings encountered by
women in setting and establishing an industrial enterprise.
 To provide solutions to the various problems faced by the women
entrepreneur group.
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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 a marked 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 programmes are being implemented for the development of
women entrepreneurship in India.
There is a need for changing the mind-set 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
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empowered her competencies towards decision- making will surely influence
her family's behaviour.
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 in India
States No of Units No. of Women Percentage

Registered Entrepreneurs
Tamil Nadu 9618 2930 30.36
Uttar Pradesh 7980 3180 39.84
Kerala 5487 2135 38.91
Punjab 4791 1618 33.77
Maharashtra 4339 1394 32.12
Gujarat 3872 1538 39.72
Karnataka 3822 1026 26.84
Madhya Pradesh 2967 842 28.38
Other States & UTS 14576 4185 28.71
Total 57,452 18,848 32.82
Women Work Participation
Country Percentage
India (1970-1971) 14.2
India (1980-1981) 19.7
India (1990-1991) 22.3
India (2000-2001) 31.6
USA 45
UK 43
Indonesia 40
Sri Lanka 35
Brazil 35
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Let's meet some of such Indian women who can be easily termed as role models
for every Indian- both males and females:
1. Indra Nooyi
Current position: CFO, Pepsico
Indra Nooyi, 56, is the current chairman and CFO of the second largest
food and beverage business, PepsiCo. Born in Chennai, Indra did her
Bachelor's in Science from Madras Christian College in 1974 and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from Indian Institute of
Management, Calcutta in 1976. Beginning her career in India, Nooyi held
product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur
Beardsell. Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and
CFO in 2001. She has been conferred with prestigious Padma Bhushan
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for her business achievements and being an inspiration to India's
corporate leadership.
2. Naina Lal Kidwai
Current position: Group General Manager & Country Head – HSBC,

India.
Naina Lal Kidwai, 55, is presently the Group General Manager and
Country Head of HSBC India. Naina has a Bachelor's degree in
Economics from Delhi University and an MBA from Harvard Business
School. In fact, Kidwai was the first Indian woman to graduate from
Harvard Business School. She started her career with ANZ Grind lays.
Presently, she is also serving as a non-executive director on the board of
Nestle SA. Kidwai is also global advisor at Harvard Business School.
Indian government conferred Padma Shri award on Naina for her
contributions in the field of Trade and Industry.
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3. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Current position: CMD, Biocon Kiran,59, is the founder Chairman and

Managing Director (CMD) of Biocon Limited.
Born in Bangalore, Shaw completed her Bachelors in Zoology from

Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University. She later did her post-
graduation in Malting and Brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne
University. She worked as a trainee brewer in Carlton and United
Breweries, Melbourne and as a trainee master at Barrett Brothers and
Burston, Australia. She started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its
evolution from an industrial enzymes manufacturing company to a fully
integrated bio-pharmaceutical company. Today Biocon under Shaw's
leadership has established itself as a leading player in biomedicine
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research with a focus on diabetes and oncology. Kiran is also a member
of the board of governors of the prestigious Indian School of Business
and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. Kiran received the
prestigious Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005) from the
government of India.
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CHAPTER III
COMPANY PROFILE
This chapter gives the profile of the NGO- COWE (Confederation of Women
Entrepreneurs).It also gives an insight to the role of the organization and the
different marketing strategies adopted by the organization. Later in the project
the data analysis also show the extent to which the organization helps the
women in setting up a business enterprise.
COWE is a benchmark platform for women entrepreneurs in the country. The

objective of the organization is to foster the 'Economic Empowerment of
Women', particularly the SME segment, by helping them to become successful
entrepreneurs and to become a part of the main stream industry. The NGO is
engaged in the social and economic upliftment of women through
entrepreneurship. The slogan “Gearing women power” stands for the
democratic structure of COWE and stands for
“Of the women, for the women and by the women”
Entrepreneurs from varied fields and those dedicated to the promotion of

entrepreneurship amongst women, got together to form COWE. They work un-
relentlessly towards providing opportunities for women in Industry, Trade,
Retail, Franchising and Service sectors. Traditional professions are also
encouraged and hand holding support is given wherever required. The expertise
and experience of seniors in the field is sought and passed on to the members
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The following table 3.1 gives an insight about the company profile.
Table 3.1 Company Profile
INAUGURATION 22nd November, 2004

LOCATION Hyderabad, India
Mission of the NGO is to enhance
women's opportunities in achieving the
MISSION vision by creating a resource base of
technical knowhow, management,
marketing skills, finance, infrastructure
and equipment to promote
entrepreneurship.
The Vision is to build a women force
VISION that is economically empowered,
valued citizens of the nation. By
pooling the dormant talent, skills,
practical knowledge and resources of a
woman and combining it with her
intrinsic quality of dedication and
commitment.
MEMBERS Above 500
PARTNERS ZDH &SEQUA,SICAN and WECAN
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The founding members of the
organization are Ms Shylaja Reddy,
FOUNDING MEMBERS Ms. Suman Kumar, Ms. Uma Ghurkha,
Ms. Sandhya Reddy, Ms. P. Soudamini,
Ms. P. Girija and Ms. Sangeeta Reddy.
*Source – Official COWE Website
COWE was inaugurated by honorable chief minister of Andhra Pradesh then,

Dr. Y.S.R. Reddy. They have emerged as a well-organized and established
organization working towards their goal of liberating women by making them
financially independent and vibrant.
COWE has in a short span, achieved recognition with Government, Bankers and
Industrial
Associations & Bodies. From 20 members as on the date of commencement,
today the membership is over 500 women. Altruism or selfless concern for the
wellbeing of women prompted the founders to come together and start the
organization.
COWE has partnership with associations to better help the women to enhance
business opportunities for them. COWE has partnership and MOU’s with the
following:
ZDH and SEQUA
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The ZDH/SEQUA partnership programme in India supports the development of
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by building up the capacities of business
membership organizations ‚ Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Associations
and Federations of business organizations to provide improved and sustainable
services to their members especially to the SMEs. COWE has been supported
by ZDH through its programmes in strengthening COWE by part funding its
programmes – GITEX, Trade Carnival, Seminars and Workshops and Study
Tours. Experts in Consultancy and Training have been hired by ZDH in
assisting and upgrading the member partners.
SEQUA - The main project focus is the promotion of small and medium-sized
enterprises, the development of private sector organizations and the support of
vocational training in the partner countries. ZDH-SEQUA Partnership
programmes have been immense support to member associations and chambers
like COWE.
SICAN
COWE is in the forefront to form a group of 14 partners association – South

Indian Chambers and Associations Network (SICAN) and start a common
portal, which will promote exchange and interactive communication and
programmers and provide a marketing tool to reach out. This is aimed at
facilitating not only intra and inter communication between and amongst
members but would enhance the opportunities for individual entrepreneurs in
each by reaching out to a wider segment. Common problems would be
addressed and solutions worked at as a group utilizing the experience and
expertise of the chambers and association.
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WECAN
Women Entrepreneurs & Associations India (WECAN) is a consortium of 4
woman association partners of ZDH – COWE (Hyderabad), AWAKE
(Bangalore), FKCCI (Woman’s wing, Bangalore) and GCCI (Woman ‘swing,
Goa). The objective is to create a training and development institution fostering
and nurturing entrepreneurial abilities of women and promoting
entrepreneurship growth and excellence. To maximize the efficiency of these
organizations and to have a collective voice on issues that concern women in
forums that discuss policy formulations, is the primordial objective of WECAN.
MOUs
COWE has many Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with different

associations in order to help the women in promoting their enterprises and help
them start an enterprise. The MOU’s of COWE are as follows:
 Federation of Madhya Pradesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(FMPCCI)
 Faridabad Small Industries Association (FSIA)
 Indian Industries Association(IIA)
 Mohali Industries Association(MIA)
 Ramky Group(ADRASL)
 National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)
 Ceylon Chamber Of Commerce
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 AWAKE, FKCCI & GCCI
 Galle Chambers of Commerce, Srilanka(Women’s Wing)
 Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA) , Egypt
Role of the NGO in encouraging the women
COWE has various schemes which help the women in starting a business,
helping them to develop entrepreneurial skills and it also acts as a medium to
reduce the problems faced by the women.
 Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY)
COWE has been empanelled as Udyami Mitra under RGUMY; it is a scheme
by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Government of
India. This scheme helps and guides the potential first generation entrepreneurs
as well as existing entrepreneurs by supporting them, particularly during the
initial stages.
 Marketing Intelligence Cell

The objective of this cell is to collect and distribute both domestic as well as
international marketing intelligence for the benefit of MSMEs. This cell
maintains database and distributes information of bulk buyers, contractors,
Indian exporters, international buyers and technology suppliers.
 Goldman Sachs 10000 women initiative

This is a social initiative of Goldman Sachs which aims at training
10,000women in 20 different countries free of cost. The training is conducted at
ISB for a period of 16 weeks. The training is a partial class room type which is
balanced through mentoring.
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 MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)
The focus on MSMEs has been increasing rapidly and various institutions and
banks are encouraging the MSMEs through finance and counseling support.
 The New Industrial Policy of Andhra Pradesh 2010

The new Industrial Policy 2010-15 of the Andhra Pradesh Government has
given a big boost to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),
Manufacturing and Food Processing Sectors. This has increased the
employment rates in Andhra Pradesh.
The NGO provides the women with different entrepreneurial development

programmes which help these women in better running of their enterprises.
COWE provides the women with training sessions, seminars, study tour,
entrepreneurial development program and trade carnival.
The NGO’s major activity which helps the women is the trade carnival which is
organized every year end in people’s plaza, Hyderabad. This carnival helps
provides women entrepreneurs opportunities and guidance under one roof
through Business to Business (B2B) meetings with public and private sector
giants. The activities of the organization are as follows:
EDP
Entrepreneurial Development Program provides the knowledge and the ability

of being a successful entrepreneur. EDP has become a basic requirement for
every entrepreneur before starting an enterprise. EDP is one of the main
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activities conducted by COWE, beside the EDP course, the organization also
counsels and provides financial support. EDP has become compulsory for
anyone who is starting an enterprise and it is also useful for existing enterprises
as it helps the entrepreneur to have proper training in the field.
EDP’s are for a time period of 4-6 weeks and the organization has an
experienced faculty, representing various reputed institutions. At the completion
of the program the participants are validated with the certificate of completion.
COWE has successfully conducted EDPs on the following fields since its
foundation. The areas are as follows:
 Medical Transcription
 IT & IT support services
 Food
 General EDP
Seminars
Seminar generally is a form of bringing together small groups for frequent

meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject and in which
everyone’s participation is required. COWE has conducted regular seminars on
subjects of prominent interest and requirement for its members and anyone who
wishes to gain more information and knowledge. The seminars which have
already been held by the NGO are as follows:
 Information Technology
 Building Market Linkages through Exhibitions
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 Quality Control Seminar
 Seminar on Lean Manufacturing
 Seminar on Franchising Opportunities
 Retail Seminar
Trainings
One of the core believes of COWE is updating knowledge base of its members.
Besides the ongoing EDPs, COWE conducts trainings in different fields and the
organization also takes major steps in encouraging members to participate in the
training workshops. The NGO has conducted training sessions on the following:
 Training on IT & ITES
 Training on Capacity Building
 Training on Team Building
 Training on Quality Control
 Lean Manufacturing
 Training on Franchising Opportunities
 Building Market Linkages
 Workshop on Retail Management.
Exhibitions
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COWE’s trade carnival is one which strives to facilitate trading opportunities
for its members. The organisation saw its first annual trade carnival in the year
2007. The three day trade fair held by the organisation have helped in opening
up new territories and segments there by increasing the opportunities for the
women. The exhibition is usually conducted in the last quarter of every year and
till now COWE has organised 5 annual trade carnivals. COWE saw its first
trade fair in the year 2007. COWE assists its members to participate in other
trade carnivals by taking COWE Pavilion and providing it to its members for
free of cost. The members of the organisation have participated in International
Trade Fairs. The NGO also has a strong networking link with other
organisations and it interacts with Women Associations across the world, this
helps act as a catalyst for facilitating trade linkages and improves import and
export relations for its members.
Study tour
COWE believes in enhancing the opportunities for its members and it provides
its members with opportunities overseas through study tours. These study tours
emphasize on experiential learning and self-directed activities that enable the
women to explore new territories, cultures, and people. This kind of exposure
has widened the vision and has helped the women to deal better. Another
importance of study tour is that it maximizes the opportunities and narrows the
time-length for firming trading contracts. So far, the study tours that COWE
delegates have participated in, with the support of ZDH, were at Australia,
Germany, Srilank, Egypt, Bangkok and Kaula Lumpur.
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CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
This chapter will bring about the analysis of the questions in the questionnaire
which was sent to the women registered with the organization. Bar graphs, pie
diagrams, statistical formulas and Linker’s rating scales have been used to
analyze the responses from 100 women. The different parameters used in the
questionnaire are the present age of the women, the age at which they started
their business, family status, marital status and the educational background of
the women.
4.1 Present Age Category of the women
Graph 4.1 Age Category
Age Category
45
40 40%
35
30
25 26%
24%
20
15
10
9%
5
1%
0
Under 20 years 20-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50+ years
*Source – Questionnaire (Fieldwork)
The above graph 4.1 depicts that 40% of the women in my sample survey are of
the age category 30-39 years. 26% of the women belong to the category of 20-
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29years, 24% of the sample size women fall in the 40-49 years category. 9% of
the women fall in the range of 50 years and above. Out of the 100 respondents
only one woman belongs to the category of under 20 years.
This analysis shows that the rate of young entrepreneurship is increasing with
the years and entrepreneurship demands dynamisms and innovation.
4.2 The age at which the respondents started their ventures.
Graph 4.2 at what age did you start your own venture?
At what age do you start your own venture?

60
55
50
41
40
30
20
10
1 3
0
10 -20 Years 20-30 Years 30-40 Years 40-50 Years
From the above graph 4.2 we can conclude that the 55 women who fall in the
age group of 20-30 years are the maximum number of women from the sample
who have started their own venture. In the age group 30-40 years 41 of the total
women have started their enterprise and 3 women in the age group of 40-50
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years. The analysis brings out there is only one women who in the age category
10-20 years.
Using the statistical formula the mode of the data has been calculated. Mode
depicts the most frequently occurring value in the data. Out of the 100
respondent’s majority of the women have started their own enterprises when
they were 26 years old.
4.3 The family status of the women
Figure 4.3 Family Status
Family Status
Joint Family
34%
NuclearFamily
66%
*Source- Questionnaire (Fieldwork)
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The above figure 4.3 shows the family background of the women. Out of the
100 women surveyed 66% of the women come from nuclear families and the
remaining 34% of the women belong to joint families.
4.4 Marital Status of the sample size
Figure 4.4 Marital Status
Marital Status
Single Parent
Unmarried 4%
Widow
50% 3%
Other
4%
Divorced
Married 1%
42%
Figure 4.4 depicts the marital status of the sample women. Out of the 100
recorded questionnaires 50% of the women are unmarried whereas 42% of them
are married. The other 4% of the women are single parents and out the
remaining 4% women 3 women are widows and one woman is a divorce.
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One of the main reasons for the major percentage of unmarried women who are
into their own business is because they can focus and devote their maximum
time in developing their enterprise.
4.5 Educational Background of the respondents
Figure 4.5 Educational Background
Educational Background
3% 3%
Basic Schooling
Secondary Education
43%
Graduation (College
51%
Education)
Post Graduation
The above diagram 4.5 illustrates the educational background of the surveyed
women and according to the graph 51% of the total respondents have done a
graduation, where as 43% of the women have gone further more and completed
their post-graduation and acquired a University Degree. Whereas 3% of women
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have done just basic schooling and other 3% have stopped school after
secondary education.
4.6 Is the present enterprise the first enterprise of the respondent?
Graph 4.6 First Enterprise
First enterprise?
80
60 76%
40
20
0
Yes 24%
No
The chart above shows that 76% of the respondents stated that their current
enterprise is the first one they owned and the remaining 24% of the women
stated that they had previous enterprise ownership experience.
The 24 women who responded with a no to this question had to further answer
another question which is related to the reasons for the closure of the previous
enterprise.
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4.7 If No, what happened to the previous business?
Graph 4.7 What happened to the previous business?
Previous business
33 %
63 %
46 %
21 %
4%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Went of out business Financial Problems(Losses) Has been sold Lack of manpower Others
Graph 4.7 is a bar graph which is used to observe what happened to the previous
business of the women, whose present business is not their first business they
owned. Out the total questionnaires recorded 63% of the women had financial
problem with the business. 46% of the women had to sell their enterprise, 33%
of the women mentioned that they went out of business and 21% of the women
faced lack of manpower. The remaining 4% of the total data said that they had
other reasons for the closure of the business, the reasons being new idea
generation, trade unions issues and destruction of the business premises.
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4.8 The sector of the business ventured in by the respondent
Graph 4.8 Sector of the business
Sector
46%
50
40 28%
30 16%
20
10%
10
0
1
Primary Sector Secondary Sector Tertiary Sector Other
The above graph depicts the different sector of business which the women have
adopted. This analysis reviles that 46% of the women have ventured into
tertiary sector, which includes Retail and wholesale sales, transportation and
distribution, entertainment, restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism,
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insurance, banking, healthcare, law and so on. Whereas only 28% of the women
surveyed have a business in the secondary sector, which includes Automobile
production, textile production, chemical industries, aerospace, construction and
16% of the women have a primary based business, which includes Agriculture,
mining, forestry, farming, grazing, and fishing. And the remaining 10% of
women have ventured into other business sector, like ITES, fashion house,
Home décor.
4.9 The size of the business which the women own
Figure 4.9 Size of the business
Size of the business

Large(Over 250
Employees)
10%
Micro(1-9
Employees)
38%
Medium(50-249
Employees)
21%
Small(10-49
Employees)
31%
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Figure 4.9 shows the size of the business using the pie chart. According to the
overall summary of replies received, majority of women entrepreneurs have
micro enterprises (1-9 employees) which amounts of 38% of the total responses.
31% of the women from my sample have small companies (10-49 employees),
21% of the women have medium sized companies with employee’s size of 50 to
249 and only 10% of the total respondents have a large scale business with over
250 employees.
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4.10 The ownership details of the women in the sample size
Figure 4.10 Ownership details
Onwership Details
5%
8%
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
32% 55%
Joint
Corporation
According to figure 4.10 we can observe that 55% of the women in sample are sole
proprietors of the business. 32% of the women have a partnership and the other 8% of the
women have a joint business venture. The remaining 5% of the women have a corporation.
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4.11 The factors which motivate the women to start their own business
Graph 4.11 Motivation for starting the business
Motivation for starting the Buisness

60
52%
50 48%
40%
40 38%
30 27%
20
10
3%
0
1
Self Achievement Social Status
Money Making Did not want to work for others
Want to take independent decisions Other
The above graph 4.11 depicts the reasons for starting the business. When
questioned the reasons for starting their business, 52% women quoted
generating profits (money making) as being the most important factor which
motivated them to start their business. Other 48% of the women surveyed
started their business as a part of self achievement and the 40% women did not
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want to work for others. 38% of the women quoted that they wanted to take
independent decisions and hence started a business whereas 27% of them have
started a business in order to gain social status in the community. The other 3%
of the women have responded with other reasons to start their businesses.
4.12 The initial amount invested by the surveyed women
Graph 4.12 Initial Investment
Initial
35
30
25
20
15 30%
25% 23%
10
5 18%
4%
0
Less than 10,000 10,000-50,000 50,000-1,00,000 1,00,000-5,00,000 More than 5,00,000
From the above graph 4.12 it is clear that 30% of the surveyed women started
their business with an amount lying between the range of 1, 00,000 to 5, 00,000
rupees. 25% of the women’s initial investment was around 10,000 to 50,000
rupees, 23% of the women invested around 50,000 to 1, 00, 000 rupees initially.
Only 18 women out of 100 respondents invested more than 5, 00,000 rupees to
start the business and the remaining 4% of the women have started their
business with just about 10,000 rupees or less.
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CHAPTER IV
LIMITATIONS
During doing this research I found out that Women entrepreneurs face
following limitations:-
1. The greatest deterrent to women entrepreneurs is that they are women. A

kind of patriarchal – male dominant social order is the building block to them in
their way towards business success. Male members think it a big risk financing
the ventures run by women.
2. The financial institutions are sceptical about the entrepreneurial abilities of

women. The bankers consider women loonies as higher risk than men loonies.
The bankers put unrealistic and unreasonable securities to get loan to women
entrepreneurs. According to a report by the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization , "despite evidence that women's loan repayment
rates are higher than men's, women still face more difficulties in obtaining
credit," often due to discriminatory attitudes of banks and informal lending
groups.
3. Entrepreneurs usually require financial assistance of some kind to launch

their ventures - be it a formal bank loan or money from a savings account.
Women in developing nations have little access to funds, due to the fact that
they are concentrated in poor rural communities with few opportunities to
borrow money. The women entrepreneurs are suffering from inadequate
financial resources and working capital. The women entrepreneurs lack access
to external funds due to their inability to provide tangible security. Very few
women have the tangible property in hand.
4. Women's family obligations also bar them from becoming successful

entrepreneurs in both developed and developing nations. "Having primary
responsibility for children, home and older dependent family members, few
women can devote all their time and energies to their business" .The financial
institutions discourage women entrepreneurs on the belief that they can at any
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time leave their business and become housewives again. The result is that they
are forced to rely on their own savings, and loan from relatives and family
friends.
5. Indian women give more emphasis to family ties and relationships. Married
women have to make a fine balance between business and home. More over the
business success is depends on the support the family members extended to
women in the business process and management. The interest of the family
members is a determinant factor in the realization of women folk business
aspirations.
6. Another argument is that women entrepreneurs have low-level management

skills. They have to depend on office staffs and intermediaries, to get things
done, especially, the marketing and sales side of business. Here there is more
probability for business fallacies like the intermediaries take major part of the
surplus or profit. Marketing means mobility and confidence in dealing with the
external world, both of which women have been discouraged from developing
by social conditioning. Even when they are otherwise in control of an
enterprise, they often depend on males of the family in this area.
7. The male - female competition is another factor, which develop hurdles to

women entrepreneurs in the business management process. Despite the fact that
women entrepreneurs are good in keeping their service prompt and delivery in
time, due to lack of organisational skills compared to male entrepreneurs
women have to face constraints from competition. The confidence to travel
across day and night and even different regions and states are less found in
women compared to male entrepreneurs. This shows the low level freedom of
expression and freedom of mobility of the women entrepreneurs.
8. Knowledge of alternative source of raw materials availability and high

negotiation skills are the basic requirement to run a business. Getting the raw
materials from different souse with discount prices is the factor that determines
the profit margin. Lack of knowledge of availability of the raw materials and
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low-level negotiation and bargaining skills are the factors, which affect women
entrepreneur's business adventures.
9. Knowledge of latest technological changes, know how, and education level of

the person are significant factor that affect business. The literacy rate of women
in India is found at low level compared to male population. Many women in
developing nations lack the education needed to spur successful
entrepreneurship. They are ignorant of new technologies or unskilled in their
use, and often unable to do research and gain the necessary training. Although
great advances are being made in technology, many women's illiteracy,
structural difficulties, and lack of access to technical training prevent the
technology from being beneficial or even available to females. According to
The Economist, this lack of knowledge and the continuing treatment of women
as second-class citizens keeps them in a pervasive cycle of poverty. The studies
indicates that uneducated women do not have the knowledge of measurement
and basic accounting.
10. Low-level risk taking attitude is another factor affecting women folk
decision to get into business. Low-level education provides low-level self-
confidence and self-reliance to the women folk to engage in business, which is
continuous risk taking and strategic cession making profession. Investing
money, maintaining the operations and ploughing back money for surplus
generation requires high risk taking attitude, courage and confidence. Though
the risk tolerance ability of the women folk in day-to-day life is high compared
to male members, while in business it is found opposite to that.
11. Achievement motivation of the women folk found less compared to male
members. The low level of education and confidence leads to low level
achievement and advancement motivation among women folk to engage in
business operations and running a business concern.
12. Finally high production cost of some business operations adversely affects
the development of women entrepreneurs. The installation of new machineries
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during expansion of the productive capacity and like similar factors dissuades
the women entrepreneurs from venturing into new areas.
RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the aforesaid problems faced by women entrepreneurs and

various other problems too, there is a provision of a number of Strategies
for promoting women entrepreneurship to overcome these problem such
solutions or remedies can be well understood as under:-
 Promoting entrepreneurship among women is especially important to

tackle the problems of under employment and unemployment in the
society.

women in entrepreneurial activities. The formal education not only helps
in acquisition of requires knowledge for a job, which demands non-
traditional skills but also imparts knowledge about the different
occupational opportunities. Good academic background makes women
confident in dealing with problems in business in an effective manner.
Although it is a fact that entrepreneurship is not a special preserve for the
educated but in the case of women already burdened with many social
pressures, education is a powerful tool in breaking down the barriers to
successful
Entrepreneurship. Thus education is a liberating force and barriers of
caste and class,
Smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances.
 There should be an incessant attempt to motivate, give confidence, inspire

and assist women entrepreneurs.
 Government should provide better educational facilities and schemes to

women folk.
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 There should be continuous monitoring, improvement of training
programmers, practical experience and personality development
programmes to improvise their over-all personality standards.
 Establishment of proper training institutes for enhancing their level of

work-knowledge, skills, risk-taking abilities, enhancing their capabilities.
Training Centres should provide training to prospective women
entrepreneurs free of cost and Entrepreneurship Development Programme
should be much more practical oriented. Inculcation of self-confidence
amongst women that they can also run a business should be one of the
prime motives of these programmes.
 Potential women entrepreneurs should be exposed to different types of

emerging opportunities.
 Housewives should be motivated to learn additional income.
 A women entrepreneur should herself set up an example by being

successful and should act as a role model. Since children have a tendency
to emulate their parents, the resultant effect would be automatic.
 Establishment of proper training institutes for enhancing their level of

work-knowledge, skills, risk-taking abilities, enhancing their capabilities.
 Finance is sine-qua-non for any enterprise. The banking system is not

sufficiently responsive to social banking needs and has not been able to
deal with barriers that hinder women from using or gaining access to
credit. Adequate arrangements must be made for the supply of credit
facility at concession rate for the women entrepreneurs in view of their
growing needs.
 Creating provision of micro credit system and enterprise credit system to

the women entrepreneurs at local level.
 A Women Entrepreneur's Guidance Cell should be set up to handle the

various problems of women entrepreneurs all over the state.
56 | P a g e
 Positive attitudinal change in the society recognizing the role of women
as entrepreneur may lead to the development of appropriate environment
in which women will be able to exploit their entrepreneurial talents.
 Offering seed capital, up-liftmen schemes, women entrepreneurs fund etc.

To encourage them economically.
 To extend confessional rates facilities and schemes for women

entrepreneurs to prosper in the field of enterprise.
Thus by adopting the following aforesaid measures in letter and

spirit the problems associated with women can be solved.
57 | P a g e
CONCLUSION
India is a male dominated society and women are assumed to be economically

as well as
Socially dependent on male members. The absolute dependence seems to be
diluted among the high and middle class women as they are becoming more
aware of personal needs and demanding greater equality.
Women entrepreneurs faced lots of problems at start-up as well as

operating stage like, non-availability of finance, restricted mobility freedom and
having to perform dual role one at home and other at work. Technological
advancement and information technology explosion have reduced the problem
of women entrepreneurs. Along with technological revolution, mental
revolution of society is needed to change the attitude of the society and provide
women with democratic and entrepreneurial platform.
More-over with increasing Government and Non-Government and other

financial institutions assistance for various women entrepreneurs within the
economy there can be significant increase brought about in the growth of
women entrepreneurship process. Still efforts are being made to coordinate with
the enterprise activities of women and providing them utmost financial, morale,
psychological support by various institutions working within the economy and
world-wide.
Thus, Women have the potential and the determination to set up, uphold
and supervise their own enterprises in a very systematic manner. Appropriate
support and encouragement from the Society in general and family members in
particular is required to help these women scale new heights in their business
ventures. The right kind of assistance from family, society and Government can
make these Women Entrepreneurs a part of the mainstream of national economy
and they can contribute to the economic progress of India.
58 | P a g e
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Entrepreneurship Development –By S.S Khanka. S. Chand & Company

Limited. (Ram Nagar, New Delhi-10055).
 A Reflection of the Indian Women in Entrepreneurial World

www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2005-08-07indirap.pdf
 www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC1073/fc1073.html
 www.oppapers.com › Business & Economy Research Papers
 www.asiaentrepreneurshipjournal.com/AJESVolIIIss1Malar.pdf
 www.academicjournals.org/ajbm/.../Witbooi%20and%20Ukpere.pdf
59 | P a g e

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WOMEN ENTERPRENEURSHIP IN

Under the Faculty of Commerce

Sameena Ayub Khan

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Shweta Gupta

Nalanda Education Foundtion (Sanchalit)

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts,

Under the Faculty of Commerce

Sameena Ayub Khan

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Shweta Gupta

Nalanda Education Foundtion (Sanchalit)

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts,

1.1 Research Problem

1.2 Significance of the project

1.3 Objective of the Study

Chapter No. 2 Review Literature

Chapter No. 3 Company Profile

Chapter No. 4 Data Analysis and

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts, Commerce and Science

Name and Signature of

Name and Signature of the learner

Name and signature of the Guiding Teacher

Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai 5|Page

I take this opportunity to thank our Coordinator and HOD of M. Com

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide

Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai 6|Page

In the era of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization along with ongoing

Faculty of Commerce, University of Mumbai

Women entrepreneur’s explore the prospects of starting a new enterprise;

This report focuses on the concept of woman entrepreneurs in India; their

1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM

The research problem in view is the role of the NGO in promoting

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

This report gives an overview on the role of a NGO in promoting the

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

a. To know the historical background of COWE

1.4.1 SAMPLE DESIGN

1.4.2 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

1.4.3 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF ANALYSIS

This report is mainly limited to the women entrepreneurs engaged with

Entrepreneurship has gained currency across the sphere and female-

“Women Entrepreneurship” means an act of business ownership and

“An enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum

According to Kamala Singh," A women entrepreneur is a confident,

According to Medha Dubhanshi Vinze,” a women entrepreneur is a

In the words of Former President APJ Abdul Kalam "Empowering

Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru has remarked “When women move

Women Entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of

Traits of Women Entrepreneurs in India

 Women are ambitious

 Women are confident

 Women is open and willing to learn

 Women are cost conscious

 Women values cooperation and allegiance

 Women can balance home and work

 Women are aware of her legal responsibility to the social order

 Women are Resourceful

An effectual Women Entrepreneur requires certain additional essential

KEY CHANGES IN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN LAST FIVE

 WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE SIXTIES:

Role of women as an Entrepreneur:

Considering the flow of women entrepreneurs in the traditional industries, it is