Women entrepreneurship is a critical step towards economic inclusion and development of women. Women entrepreneurs mean a woman or a group of women who initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise. In the last decade, the number of women-owned enterprises went up from 14 percent to 21 percent in India.
Socio-economic benefits of women entrepreneurship:
Economic benefits:
- Higher economic growth: Promoting women’s participation in employment and entrepreneurship in India can potentially increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by $0.8 trillion by 2030.
- Generation of employment: According to a report, female entrepreneurs can generate 100-120 million job opportunities in India by 2030.
- Increased per capita income: With higher Female Labour Force Participation, a better family income and consequently, a higher per capita income for the country can be achieved.
- Creating women-centric products and solutions: Most of the venture capital funding goes to male-led companies indicating that there is a lack of businesses that targets the needs of women better. More women entrepreneurs can fill this gap.
Social benefits:
- Balanced regional development: Women set up industries in backward areas to avail the resource concessions and subsidies offered by the government.
- Female empowerment: Entrepreneurship provides a platform for women to utilise their potential, gain financial independence and break the gender barriers in society.
- Reduced gender gap: Women entrepreneurship would bridge compensation gaps, reduce the glass ceiling effect and create a more equitable corporate culture in the country.
- Improved human capital: Being inextricably tied with caregiving roles at home, women tend to prioritize a considerable portion of their income on education of children and health and nutrition of the family, which results in better-educated and healthier generations.
Innovations and government schemes like Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Mahila Shakti Kendra, Mahila e-Haat and TREAD have resulted in an increasing number of women venturing into entrepreneurship, but still barriers remain in this regard.
Factors hindering the growth of women entrepreneurship in India include:
- Lack of financial support: It is estimated that over 90 percent of finance requirement for women entrepreneurs is met through informal channels since they are unable to source formal and collateral free financing for their enterprises.
- Social and cultural barriers: Women face restrictions on mobility owing to social customs and often have to deal with the existing gendered division of labour and childcare activities.
- Lack of networking opportunities: Women entrepreneurs often lack networking opportunities and may not have access to mentors, investors, or business partners who can help them grow their businesses.
- Limited access to technology: Women entrepreneurs may face technological barriers that limit their access to the markets, customers, and resources.
- Gender bias: Women entrepreneurs face gender bias in the market, which makes it difficult for them to secure contracts, access capital, or gain the trust of clients and customers. Moreover, managing a male workforce entrenched in a patriarchal society poses its own challenges.
- Lack of role models: Traditionally, women have lacked inspirational role models in terms of successful women-led businesses making it difficult for them to visualize what success will look like.
The Indian start-up landscape, with over ten million women entrepreneurs, is at an inflection point where an accelerated pro-women change is of vital importance. Each small step that we take today will bring us closer towards fulfilling the larger vision for India of our Agenda 25X30 – 25 percent women entrepreneurs by 2030