WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP-CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

S.HARI ROOPAA K. MAHALAKSHMI

II.M.Com II.M.Com
Department of Commerce Department of Commerce
Bishop Heber College [Autonomous] Bishop Heber College [Autonomous]
Trichy Trichy

ABSTRACT

Economic problem is the main problem faced by women entrepreneurs, while

empowering to own business to women in service. There is a downtrend in economic
situation, which creates lot of unemployment problem that too exclusively for women. In
order to overcome this situation entrepreneurial concept for women is more important.
Development of women entrepreneurship is very low in india in comparison to developed
countries. There are number of obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs during start-up stage
and running up of their enterprise. These obstacles need to be addressed so that women can
make a significant contribution in sustained economic development and social progress of our
country. As family members are not in favour of supporting their ladies to take up the
business in which they have skills, naturally they will be unwilling to support with the
finance required for starting a business unit.(1) This study encounters the real facets which
the women entrepreneurs face in day to day life. (2) What are all the government factors in
favour of women entrepreneurs? (3) What is the primary motivation of the entrepreneurs for
in doing exclusive his own business? (4) What are policies which are offered by the
government for effective stimulation and support?The present study tries to examine the
financial problems faced by women entrepreneurs in present context.
Key words: women entrepreneur, economic condition.
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship refers to setting up of a new business to take advantages from new
opportunities. Entrepreneur is the key factor of entrepreneurship and now women in India is
also successful in this present context, as they have qualities desirable for entrepreneurship
development. Various programmes are being conducted to improve the status of women, their
access to resources and so on. Finance is life blood of business. So, it becomes necessary for
women entrepreneurs to approach to financial institutions when need arises. Women
entrepreneurship development is an essential part of human resource development. In the
present period, the women owned businesses in the form of women entrepreneurs are one of
the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations in India. Women have become aware of their
existence rights and their work situation. However, women of middle class are not too eager
to alter their role in fear of social problems. Entrepreneurship is a much suitable profession
for women than regular employment. Studies on women-owned businesses have added
energy in current years with a lot of scholars deal with a range of areas of knowledge that
have facilitated an improved understanding of the numerous dimensions of women’s
entrepreneurship

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR

 Entrepreneurs should focus on making their businesses work, and eliminate any
problems or distractions to their goals. They have overarching strategies and outline
the tactics to accomplish them. Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined enough to
take steps every day toward the achievement of their objectives.
 The entrepreneur does not ask questions about whether they can succeed or whether
they are worthy of success. They are having confidence with the knowledge that they
will make their businesses succeed.
 Entrepreneurs realize that every event and situation is a business opportunity. They
are having the ability to look at everything around them and focus it toward their
goals.
 Entrepreneurs know that if something needs to be done, they should start it
themselves, they should be the self-starter. They are proactive, not waiting for
someone to give them permission.
  Many companies are formed because an entrepreneur knows that they can do a job
better than another. They need to win at the sports they play and need to win at the
businesses that they create. An entrepreneur should be a good competitor.
 Entrepreneurs often come up with solutions which are the creation of other items.
 Entrepreneurs are not frustrated by their defeats. They look at defeat as an opportunity
for success. They are having thedetermination to make all of their events succeed.
Successful entrepreneurs do not believe that something cannot be done.
 The entrepreneur has strong communication skills to sell the product and motivate
employees. Most successful entrepreneurs know how to motivate their employees so
the business grows overall.
 The successful entrepreneur will often be the first person to arrive at the office and the
last one to leave. They must have strong work principle.
 Passion is the most important trait of the successful entrepreneur. They genuinely
love their work. They are willing to put in those extra hours to make the business
succeed because there is a joy their business gives which goes beyond the money. The
successful entrepreneur will.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

 According to Kamala Singh (1992), “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”.

 In the words of former president "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."

 Meanwhile, Dilipkumar (2006) has elaborated on some of the issues faced by

entrepreneurial women, such as a shortage of finances, male dominance, limited
mobility, a lack of education, required motherly duties and a lack of achievement
motivation. According to rizvi and gupta (2009), government-sponsored development
 activities have benefited only a small section of women, namely the urban middle
class. This may be primarily due to their level of education, access to information and
family support.

 Previously, the female workforce in India was mainly employed in non-managerial,

subordinate or low-profile positions. Now, they occupy almost all categories of
positions in the workplace. These changes in work culture have added to women’s
duties and responsibilities to their family as well as to society (Mathew
&Panchanatham 2009a; 2009b). Despite this new found work culture, and even
though more and more women are joining the workforce, women in entrepreneurial
roles are limited. The probable reason for this phenomenon is the conflicts between
competing work demands and personal and family needs. According to
peters,Montgomery, Bakker and Schaufeli (2005), pressures from the job and family
domains are often incompatible, giving rise to imbalance.
 Women become entrepreneurs in Indian society.
 The typical entrepreneurthe entrepreneur is a leader, arguably the most important kind
of leader, develops as his initiatives enterprises that have both economic and social
relevance. Risk taking remains the entrepreneurial quality, and in many cases has
deep personal implications. Other leaders take risks too; but in the case of the true
entrepreneur, his own success is usually intricately enmeshed with the enterprise he is
promoting. While domain knowledge is a must for one's enterprise to succeed,
discipline being thus important: synthesis, creativity, respect and ethics, all are
important for the entrepreneur of these five minds, however, it is the creative mind
that is perhaps most important for the entrepreneur; the ability to engage in bold,
innovative and unconventional thinking being a definitive must. Curiously, perhaps,
for the true entrepreneur, the cause is far more important than the financial and social
rewards that come with it. Indeed, the true blue entrepreneur is oftentimes, in this
way, "altruistic", because he believes deeply in his creation. It is this statesmanlike
dharma of enterprise, that defines best, perhaps, the quintessential entrepreneur.
 Dr.Ennapadam S.Krishnamoorthy is a senior consultant in clinical neurology &
neuropsychiatry based in Chennai. The Hindu (business line)
 Promoting entrepreneurship in IndiaVirennaidu, it's a known fact that india, today, is
an emerging economy that is destined to achieve milestones, on various fronts, in the
near future. However, for india, to acquire the status of a "developed" nation, it needs
 to create 100 million jobs, statistics point out! experts confirm, in an endeavor
to achieve this mark, tapping the potential of the unemployed and exploring
opportunities in the employment market, so that each and every person plays a crucial
role in contributing towards the growth of the indian economy is necessary. However,
how can one create 100 million jobs? And the million-dollar question is which
industry will absorb people and bridge the employment gap? While experts are busy
contemplating the possibilities of the army, the railways, the government and the
private sector to recruit, speculations about the difficulty in employing in such huge
numbers continue to persist.So, is there any solution to this problem? The answer is
entrepreneurship! With several organizations understanding the importance of
entrepreneurs and the ways in which they can create jobs for the unemployed, thus
paving the way for an enriching economy, they are partnering with several expert
bodies such as institutes, financial firms, etc. To foster all kinds of entrepreneurship-
rural, social, etc. The Hindu
 Entrepreneurship in India(economic times)given the increasing significance and
visible impact of entrepreneurship in wealth-creation and employment-generation,
nkc considers it critical to India’s growth and development. It has undertaken this
study to explore factors that have advanced entrepreneurship in India as also various
other factors that could further encourage and facilitate even greater growth.
a) Entrepreneurship and innovations are the key drivers for generating wealth
from knowledge, supported principally by the availability of skilled human
resources, access to finance and the ability of the state to create an enabling
environment.
b) This study explores factors that have advanced entrepreneurship in India as
also various others that could further encourage and facilitate even greater
growth.
c) The opportunities created by today’s global knowledge economy coupled with
the ‘unshackling of indigenous enterprise has contributed to making India a
‘fertile ground’ for entrepreneurship.
OBJECTIVE

 To identify the reasons for slow progress of women entrepreneur

 To categorize the views for development of women entrepreneurs
 To ascertain the policy for development of women entrepreneurs

REASONS FOR SLOW PROGRESS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA

1. The greatest warning to women entrepreneurs is that they are women. A kind of male-
controlled- male dominant social order is the building block to them in their way
towards business success.
2. Male members think it a big risk financing the ventures run by women in a male
dominated society, women are not treated equal to men that act as a barrier to
woman‘s entry into business.
3. Lack of self-confidence, will power, strong mental outlook and optimistic attitude
amongst women creates a fear from committing mistakes while doing their piece of
work.
4. The family members and the society are reluctant to stand beside their entrepreneurial
growth.
5. Women in India lead a protected life. They are even less educated, economically not
stable nor self-dependent which reduce their ability to bear risks and uncertainties
involved in a business unit
6. Women's family obligations also bar them from becoming successful entrepreneurs in
both developed and developing nations. The financial institutions discourage women
entrepreneurs on the belief that they can at any time leave their business and become
housewives again
7. The educational level and family background of husbands also influences women
participation in the field of enterprise.
8. It is not always easy for women to access the information they need regarding
technology, training, innovative schemes, concessions, alternative markets, etc. Just a
small percentage of women entrepreneurs avail the assistance of technology and they
too remain confined to word processing software in the computer.
9. Lack of awareness about the financial assistance in the form of incentives, loans,
schemesEtc. By the institutions in the financial sector. So the sincere efforts taken
towards women
 a. Entrepreneurs may not reach the entrepreneurs in rural and backward areas.
10. Achievement motivation of the women common is found to be 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.

PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

1. Women should be considered as specific target group.

2. Regular entrepreneurship awareness programs should be conducted with the intention
of creating knowledge among women about the various areas to conduct business.
3. The standards of education of women should be enhanced and effective practical
experience and personality development and training programs should be conducted
to improvise their over-all personality standards.
4. Educational institutes should tie up with various government and non-government
agencies to assist in entrepreneurship development mainly to plan business projects.
5. Develop professional competencies in managerial, leadership, marketing, financial,
technical, production process, profit planning, etc.
6. Training on professional competence and leadership skill to be extended to women
entrepreneurs. Vocational training should be provided to women which enables them
to understand the insights of production management.
7. Psychological training and counseling through the aid of committed ngos,
psychologists, managerial experts to remove lack of self-confidence and fear of
success. Women in business should be offered soft loans & subsides for encouraging
them into industrial activities. Micro credit facilities to the women entrepreneurs will
overcome the financial problems to some extent.
8. There should be a continuous attempt to inspire, encourage, motivate and co-operate
women entrepreneurs.
POLICY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

1. Vocational training to be extended to women community that enables them to

understand the production process and production management
2. State finance corporations and financing institutions should permit by statute to
extend purely trade related finance to women entrepreneurs.
3. The financial institutions should provide more working capital assistance both for
small scale ventures and large scale ventures.
4. Making provision of micro credit system and enterprise credit system to the women
entrepreneurs at local level
5. Industrial estates could also provide marketing outlets for the display and sale of
products made by women.
6. A women entrepreneurs‟ guidance cell may be set up to handle the various problems
of women entrepreneurs all over the state.
7. Training in entrepreneurial attitudes should start at the high school through well
designed courses, which build confidence through Behavioral games.
8. More governmental schemes to motivate women entrepreneurs to engage in small
scale and large scale business ventures
9. Involvement of non-governmental organizations in women entrepreneurial training
programs and counseling
10. Training on professional competence and leadership skill to be extended to women
entrepreneurs
11. Adequate training program on management skills to be provided to women
community
12. Better educational facilities and schemes should be extended to women common from
government part
ASSOCIATION PROMOTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
A brief analysis of various associations and agencies that are functioning at state and
national levels to promote Women entrepreneurs are discussed as follows:
 Self-help groups (SHG)
 Federation of Indian women (FIWE)
 Women’s India trust (WIT)
  Small industries development bank of India(SIDBI)
 small industries development organization (SIDO)
 Consortium of women entrepreneurs in India(CWEI)
 National bank of agriculture and rural employment (NABARD)
 Development of women and children in ruralAreas (DWCRA)
 Self-employed women’s association (SEWA)
SUGGESTIONS

 Most of the women wish to become a successful entrepreneur if they are providing good
guidance and it helps to avoid unemployment problems to a greater extent.
 Women, being almost 50% population of india, have a key role to play as remote as
economic development of country is concerned.
 The government has increased the importance of women by adopting various schemes
and programs for their participation in economic activities. Therefore, women are getting
more opportunities not only in entrepreneurial work but also in other domains of human
life.
 Increased support should be provided by the government to help women entrepreneurs in
order to overcome the challenges faced by them.
 Women entrepreneurs also require support from their family and society.
 Entrepreneur should be provided financial help without putting unrealistic conditions by
banks and financial institutions.
 If women entrepreneurs get support and encouragement from family, society, government
and financial institutions, such positive effort can open new opportunities for them and
increase their position.
 If the problems of women entrepreneurs are addressed properly, they can emerge as very
successful entrepreneurs far better than men entrepreneurs can.

CONCLUSION

There are a number of constraints to women owned businesses that need to be

addressed. The present study is an attempt to examine the various financial obstacles faced by
women entrepreneurs during startup stage and running up of their enterprise. It can be
concluded that women entrepreneurs faced multiple problems among the problems economic
problem is main. Women entrepreneurs indicate higher prospects and within the service,
sector corporate/industries have the shows higher prospects to women. It can be said that
today we are in a better position wherein women participation in the field of entrepreneurship
is increasing at considerable rate, efforts are being taken at the economy as well as global
level to enhance woman’s involvement in the enterprise sector. This is mainly because of
attitude change, diverted conservative mindset of society to modern one, daring and risk-
taking abilities of women, support and cooperation by society members, changes and
relaxations in government policies, granting various up-liftman schemes to women
entrepreneur

REFERENCES

1. Business Today, September 18, 2011. “The Most Powerful women in Indian Business”.
2. Business Today, November 29, 2009. “The 30 most powerful women in Indian
Business”.
3. Das,M.(2001). Women entrepreneurs from India: Problems, motivations and success
factors. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 15(4), 67.
4. Dilip Kumar, M.(2006), Problems of Women Entrepreneurs in India. Retrieved 3
December 2010, from http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_column/FC293/fc293.html.
5. Dhameja.S.K (2002), Women Entrepreneurs: Opportunities, performance, problems.
Deep Pub (p) Ltd, New Delhi. P11.
6. Desai “Dynamics of entrepreneurial development and management” Himalaya
Publishing House.
7. Mathew, R. V., & Panchanatham, N.(2009b). “Influencers and the role in determining
the work life balance of employees working in the information technology sector”.
KGEES Journal of Social Science, 1, 17–31.
8. Peters, M.C.W., Montgomery, A.J., Bakker, A.B. & Schaufeli, W.B. (2005). Balancing
work and home: How job and home demands are related to burnout. International
Journal of Stress Management, 12 (1), 43–61.
9. Sharma Sheetal (2006) “Educated Women, powered women. Yojana Vol.50.No 12.
10. Singh , Kamala.(1992), Women Entrepreneurs, New Delhi, Ashish Publishing House,12.