Women Entrepreneurship

Women entrepreneurship refers to the process by which women identify business opportunities, mobilise resources, and organise and manage enterprises of their own, accepting the risks and rewards involved -- the same entrepreneurial process described earlier in this chapter, carried out by women as the driving force. Encouraging women entrepreneurship is treated as important both for gender equity and for the wider economy: it widens the pool of entrepreneurial talent a country can draw on, raises household incomes, and improves the economic independence and social standing of women.

Problems commonly faced by women entrepreneurs in India include:

• Access to finance -- women often find it harder to raise capital, whether because they lack independent property to offer as collateral or because of a general reluctance among some lenders to finance women-led ventures.
• Family and social responsibilities -- balancing domestic responsibilities with the demands of running a business remains a real constraint for many women entrepreneurs, particularly in the early years of a venture.
• Social attitudes and mobility -- in some regions and communities, restrictions on women's mobility and traditional attitudes toward a woman's role can limit networking, market access, and dealings with suppliers or officials.
• Limited managerial and market exposure -- many first-generation women entrepreneurs have had fewer opportunities to gain prior business, technical, or managerial experience compared with their male counterparts.
• Risk-bearing capacity -- a woman entrepreneur, particularly one without independent assets, may have a lower risk-bearing capacity, making her more cautious about scaling a venture. …