Development and Growth of Women Entrepreneurship of India

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1 Development and Growth of Women Entrepreneurship of India Shirin M. A. Chimthanawala Kanchan Naidu Neeta V. Shah Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management Entrepreneurship can be a rewarding career route. But with rewards, come challenges. Women entrepreneurship is gaining momentum in today s context of a globalized village. Many women feel confident about themselves to leave the formal job scenario and work from home, starting a business on a modest scale, making a profit and moving onwards from there. They have managed to break the proverbial glass ceiling. It is their success stories, which become an inspiration to be studied. This paper focuses on the progress of women in the corporate sector and the challenges faced by them while pursuing their goals. Keywords- Women Entrepreneurship, inspiration, corporate sector, momentum, challenges 1. Introduction An entrepreneur since times past, is always automatically referred to the male gender. It is only in the NOW, that we are comfortable with the idea of a woman entrepreneur and most of them are successes in the fields that they have chosen. It is this large percentage of women who have triumphed in India and globally which force us to take note of them as an emerging power force. Entrepreneurship refers to the act of setting up a new business or reviving an existing business, in order to take advantages from new opportunities. Thus, entrepreneurs shape the economy by creating more wealth and new jobs, by inventing new products or services. They search for change and respond to it. A number of definitions have been given for entrepreneurs - the economists view them as a fourth factor of production along with land, labor and capital. The sociologists feel that certain communities and cultures promote entrepreneurship. For example in India, it is believed that residents of certain states are more enterprising than those from their sibling states. Still others feel that entrepreneurs are innovators, who come up with new ideas for products, markets, methods or techniques. Thus, entrepreneurs shape the economy. However, an insight study reveals that entrepreneurship is not just about making money, having the greatest ideas, knowing the best sales pitch or applying the best marketing strategy. In reality, it is an attitude to create something new and engage or involve others in an activity which creates value in the entire social eco-system. It is a state of mind, which develops naturally, based on their background and experiences, which makes them think about life and career in a specific way. Entrepreneurship has been a male-dominated phenomenon for ages, but time has changed the situation and today, women are standing tall in their own right and many have moved countless steps ahead. Despite all social hurdles, India is brimming with the success stories of women. They stand poised in a crowd and are applauded for their achievements in their respective fields. The transformation of the social fabric of the Indian society, in terms of increased educational status of women and varied aspirations for better qualitative living, necessitated a change in the life-style of the Indian women. She has competed with man and successfully stood up with him in every walk of life. Business being no exception! Ability to learn quickly from her weaknesses, understanding her organizational capabilities, open style of problem solving, willingness to take risks and chances, ability to motivate people, knowing how to win and lose gracefully are the strengths of the Indian women entrepreneur. These women leaders are assertive, persuasive and willing to take risks. They managed to survive and succeed in this cutthroat competing world with their hard work, diligence and perseverance. This is a paper presentation on women entrepreneurs and the thought that initiates them to become enterprisers in a world predominated by men. The data used in this paper is secondary in nature. It has been studied, researched and compiled through certain journals, published articles and the internet. 2. Concept of Women Entrepreneurship Women Entrepreneurs have been defined as the women or a group of women who initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise. The Government of India has defined women entrepreneurs as an enterprise owned and controlled by women having a minimum financial interest of 51 per cent of the capital and giving at least 51 per cent of the employment generated in the enterprise to women. Women entrepreneurs engage in business due to push and pull factors which encourage them to have an independent occupation and stand on their own legs. A sense towards independent decision-making for their life and career is the motivational factor behind this urge. 320

2 Saddled with household chores and domestic responsibilities, women tend to feel undervalued. The desire to be appreciated is a normal and valid human tendency. Many a time it is this feeling that motivates them towards an enterprise which gives them a sense of self-sufficiency. Under the influence of the above mentioned circumstances, women entrepreneurs choose a profession as a challenge and as an ignition to do something novel. Such situations are described as pull factors. A push factor is one whence a woman is subtly coerced into the family business and they have obligatory responsibility thrust upon them. And then of course we have the classic factor where a woman simply has a passion to do something worthwhile to establish an identity for herself besides a homemaker and simply soars with her ideas. As women constitute nearly 48% of the adult work force, an entrepreneurship venture by them has been recognized as an important source of economic growth. Women entrepreneurs create new jobs for themselves and others and also provide the society with different solutions to management, organization and business problems. However, they still represent just a minority amongst all entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs often face gender-based barriers to starting and growing their businesses, like discriminatory property, matrimonial and inheritance laws and/or cultural practices; lack of access to formal finance mechanisms; limited mobility and access to information and networks, etc. Women s entrepreneurship can make a significant contribution to the economic well-being of the family and communities, poverty-reduction and women s empowerment. Thus, governments across the world as well as various developmental organizations are actively undertaking promotion of women entrepreneurs through various schemes, incentives and promotional measures. From the above discussion, the main reasons for a woman to enter entrepreneurship can be classified into three main heads as- Push factors Pull Factors Passion 3. Evolution of Women Evolution is part of the growth process and survival of the fittest; Darwin s norm. Hence, it is all the more important that women be encouraged and supported to survive for the enhancement of all lives and not just their own. In the sixties, women took trivial steps to start small, one-woman enterprises at home and from home for self-occupation and engagement. They did not aspire to grow big and preferred to stay within the confines of their physical and psychological boundaries. The women in the seventies opened up new frontiers and developed not only aspirations but ambitions for self-employment and employment generation. These women wanted home, marriage, children as well as a profession. They accepted the share of work and responsibilities for success and growth of their enterprise. They wanted their voices to be heard as leaders to employees; and as managers of the enterprises to the entire business environment. However, all of them accepted both, their social and professional roles, maintaining a striking balance among the two. In the eighties, the number of women pursuing highly advanced, technological and professional education increased. They entered into family businesses as equally contributing and working partners. They made personal choices, stood up for their convictions and had the courage to make new beginnings. Much of society was hostile to them and sometimes they developed a sense of guilt for not playing the fitting traditional and conforming to the conventions of the society. The women of the nineties were capable, competent, confident and a package deal to be taken seriously. They were clear of their goals, processes and the dynamics of their end accomplishments. These women were fearless, and had learnt to live alone, travel alone and raise children alone when failure in marriage and life partnerships occurred. In most of the cases they moved out, exceled and out-performed their male counterparts. The 21 st century is the century of telecom, information technology and financial institutions. Women s expertise in all these industries has made them emerge as a force to reckon with. Many of these industries are headed and guided by women as pioneers and mavericks. They have ventured to build enterprises, to discover their relevance and meaning of life in themselves. Women represent approximately half of the total population. Over the course of history, the demographics of the workforce have changed significantly. Women continue to advance, holding important roles and positions in both academia and industry. More and more women are stepping out of their comfort zones and emerging as leaders. Be it retail, technology, adventure, education or social enterprise, there has been a gradual rise in women entrepreneurs as a power across various sectors every year. Challenges Faced By Women Entrepreneurs Traditional Mind-Sets Entrepreneurship has been traditionally seen as a male preserve and the idea of women taking up entrepreneurial activities is considered a distant dream. Any deviation from the norm is frowned upon and if possible, immediately curbed. Women also 321

3 have to face a role conflict as soon as they initiate any entrepreneurial activity. It is an uphill task for women to face such battles and cope with the twin role. Absence of Entrepreneurial Aptitude Many women take training by attending the Entrepreneurship Development Programs but do not possess an entrepreneurial bent of mind. Some women study and gain a lot of knowledge in theory, but application becomes difficult. Women, who are being imparted training by various institutes must be verified on account of aptitude through the tests, interviews etc. Marketing Difficulties Women entrepreneurs usually face trouble 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 a chunk of the profit. Although the middlemen exploit women, the elimination of middlemen is difficult, because it involves a lot of running about. Women also find it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular. Raising Finance Obtaining the support of banks, managing the working capital, lack of credit resources are the problems which still remain in the males domain. Women are yet to make a significant mark in quantitative terms. Marketing and financial problems are such obstacles where even training doesn't considerably help women. Some problems are structural in nature and beyond the control of entrepreneurs. Family Ties Women also face the conflict of performing a dual role of being a homemaker as well as a working woman. They spend long hours in business and as a result, they find it difficult to meet the demands of their family members and the society as well. They are supposed to attend to all the domestic work, look after the children and other members of the family. They are overburdened with familial responsibilities like extra attention to husband, children and in-laws which takes away a lots of their time and energy. In such situations, it becomes very difficult to concentrate and run the enterprise successfully. Lack of Capital Traditional sources of finance like banks are reluctant to lend to women entrepreneurs especially if they do not have any male or family backing. They are often denied credit by bankers on the ground of lack of collateral security. Therefore, their access to risk capital is limited. This is especially true of lower income females. Women do not often have adequate finance or legal knowledge to start an enterprise. The complicated procedure of bank loans, the inordinate delay in obtaining the loans and the running about involved during the process do deter many women from venturing out. At the same time, a good number of self- employment programs have been promoted by the government and commercial banks. Heavy Competition Many of the women-owned enterprises have imperfect organizational foundations. Usually women entrepreneurs employ low technology in the process of production. In a market where the competition is too high, they have to fight hard to survive in the market against the organized sector and their male counterparts who have vast experience and capacity to adopt advanced technology in managing enterprises High Cost of Production High cost of production undermines the efficiency and stands in the way of development and expansion of women's enterprises, 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 so face the problems of labor, human resources, infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack of family support, mistrust etc. Safety and Security In today s times, safety is probably the biggest obstacle for any woman in India. The security blanket is at its thinnest, thus, making women hesitate to take on roles that demand long hours and interactions with a world of strangers. The rise of social crime and the need for safety pushes everything else down the priority list when there is a demand to spend late hours at getting work done. While urban women are taking the plunge after much thought, the silver lining is when women from rural areas turn entrepreneurs in their own small ways with small businesses like opening a small grocery store or something as simple as rearing cows to sell dairy products. 4. Success Stories Women-owned business enterprises, which are success stories, are playing a more active role in society and its economy, inspiring academics to focus on this interesting phenomenon. The increasing presence of women in the business field has 322

4 changed the demographic characteristics of business and has given a spurt to the economic growth of a country. Examples of such inspiring women who have achieved soaring feats are Anu Sridharan Anu is the founder of Next Drop, a company which allows Indian residents in the urban areas to track the availability of piped water through SMS (Short Message Service). The company already serves around 18,000 people in the state of Karnataka. She is determined to change the ways in which technology allows us to interact with our urban systems. Next Drop began by tackling the problem of erratic water supply. In most of urban India, water is available for only a few hours at a time or a few times a week, but residents have no way of knowing when. Working with operators in the field, Next Drop sends text messages 60 minutes before the water arrives in taps. It also offers utility boards, the tools to better manage and track leakages in water supply. Anu Sridharan was 23 years old when she became CEO of the social startup, NextDrop in Hubli- a town some 500 kilometers from Bangalore in Karnataka. Aditi Gupta Aditi is the founder of menstrupedia.com. She co-founded the site with Tuhin Paul, who is also her husband, in November Menstrupedia is a friendly and useful guide to healthy periods. It aims at educating girls and women about periods and breaking the various myths attached to this subject. It is unique as it is India s first such site which talks so openly about women s monthly cycles and eliminates the topic from being considered a taboo. Aditi is a post-graduate in New Media Design from National Institute of Design, and graduated in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering. Aditi first got the idea for Menstrupedia while doing her thesis on the very subject for her postgraduation at NID (National Institute of Design). Aditi was born and brought up in Garhwa, a small town in Jharkhand, where she had to deal with the shame associated with the act of buying sanitary napkins, and had to resort to using rags. Later, during her college, she realized that there is very little information available in India for the so-called monthly curse of women. She, then, along with Tuhin Paul, developed a comic book in Hindi to educate girls & women about menstruation and she even won a Ford Foundation scholarship for the same. Priya Naik Priya is a social entrepreneur in India and founder of Samhita Social Ventures, which is an organization that helps corporations, donor agencies, NGOs, individuals and philanthropists collaborate with each other for social impact on a large scale. Samhita was founded in 2009 and means collective good in Sanskrit language. Prior to Samhita, Priya cofounded The Spark Group, an education company that delivered affordable education to low income communities. Priya s interest in social entrepreneurship started when she worked as a Researcher at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. At MIT, Priya was part of a two student-led start-ups Aerovax and Kalpataru. Aerovax is a company that created safe, inhalable aerosol vaccines that could be delivered without the use of needles; while Kalpataru dealt in delivering innovative, low-cost technology to increase the efficiency of microfinance institutions. Both these social startups won several awards at MIT. When Priya was 23, she spent her summer working in four countries in West Africa. Seeing the devastating poverty in those areas shocked her. Thereafter, she thought about dedicating her skills and knowledge to provide opportunities to everyone who deserved it, irrespective of gender, income, nationality or caste and especially, the underprivileged people. Ajaita Shah Ajaita is the founder and CEO of Frontier Markets, started in It focuses on energy products and connecting with a microfinance partner in Karnataka. She has a goal of making high quality, affordable products and goods available to people in rural India. She has an experience of over 5 years in microfinance with esteemed organizations like Ujjivan Financial Services and SKS Microfinance. Her company, Frontier Markets has an aim to be the scale solution for manufacturers creating goods for the rural markets of India. Ajaita trains locals to educate and sell to rural households. The company has sold around 10,000 solar solutions until now. Ajaita has worked on numerous development projects in 7 states of India. She has consulted the World Bank about microfinance in South Asia and Latin America. She served on the Committee of the Social Performance Task Force, as well. Sheetal Mehta Walsh Sheetal is the founder of Shanti Life, which is a very unique microfinance platform aiming at serving the poor in Gujarat slums and villages, so that they can create sustainable businesses. Along with her husband Paul Walsh, Sheetal is also the cofounder of MetaCert - a for-profit company that provides products and services for family safety, online. Sheetal is currently focused on developing MetaCert globally and ensuring it is available to all devices in all schools. Sheetal is also a yoga teacher and loves playing the dhol, which is a special Indian drum. All the beneficiaries at Shanti Life get mentoring, financial-literacy-training, easy access to eco-sanitation facilities and a very low interest rate. Sheetal is also thinking of creating an online marketplace for the recipients of microfinance where they can easily sell their goods, globally. 323

5 Sheetal, with her social venture Shanti Life, has done a tremendous job for the rural population of India, especially in Gujarat. Sheetal funded an Ahmedabad Sewing School in Vatva, Gujarat, which is among the poorest of the poor communities, who lost everything in fires during the 2002 riots. Another example is the rickshaw project in the slums of Ahmedabad and Baroda. Sheetal helped in granting microfinance loans to the rickshaw drivers so that they could afford a down-payment and eventually own their own rickshaw. Shibani Jain Shibani Jain is the CEO of Crafts bridge India Pvt. Ltd. A first generation woman entrepreneur, she has stuck through a lot of ups and downs to build a very unique and inspiring business. She has successfully brought India s traditional crafts and arts to a wider market, using the Internet and direct marketing as tools to ensure the craftsmen get their right recognition and dues. She was a web and multimedia designer and had always been interested in handicrafts. She thought that she could make a difference to this business with her ability to understand current market norms, design and bring in professional-inputs. They were also excited by the concept of "customized crafts". Being a handmade product, it is relatively easier to customize a product with a special message or specification or color, even in small quantities. She offers designer and special skill products which map current corporate requirements. Her company works with special skill groups across the country and their sales help the small rural, urban groups to generate income. These women entrepreneurs truly emulate the essence of this paper. They wish growth and development not only for themselves, but the entire society at large. Their tireless efforts to design a change are dynamic and progressive. They have overcome the hurdles in their paths and emerged as winners. They clearly reflect on the fact that women are as capable as men and have the ability to triumph in all situations. 5. Conclusion In India, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises development organizations, various State Small Industries Development Corporations, the nationalized banks and even NGOs are conducting various programs including Entrepreneurship Development Programs (EDPs) to cater to the needs of potential women entrepreneurs, who may not have adequate educational background and skills. Even as women are receiving education, they face the prospect of unemployment. In this background, self- employment is regarded as a cure to generate income.the Planning commission as well as the Indian government recognizes the need for women to be part of the mainstream of economic development. Women entrepreneurship is seen as an effective strategy to empower the rural and urban poverty. Entrepreneurship Development and Skill Training is not the responsibility of the Government alone. Other stakeholders need to shoulder this responsibility too. Women are coming forth to the business arena with ideas to start innovative enterprises. The transition from being a traditional homemaker to a sophisticated business woman is not that easy. Many women feel strong about themselves to leave the formal job scenario and work independently, starting a business on a modest scale, making a profit and moving onwards from there. Today, women entrepreneurs may manage to garner essential external support- special funds, working capital loans; network groups- find them & use them well. But the primary support needs to come from an understanding society. No area of society can be allowed to remain backward if the country wants to prosper and society wants to progress. I myself wish to be a successful entrepreneur, and I have realized that the most important ingredient to success has to come from within. Deep within oneself. A supreme, indomitable will to succeed and a never-say-die attitude! 6. References 1. BhardwajG.N. et al, (2012), Women Entrepreneurship in India: Opportunities and Challenges CH Institute of management and communication, vol2http:// Pdf 2. Vishwanathan, R, Opportunities and challenges for women in business, 2001 Retrieved July15, 2009 from 3. Meenu Goyal; Jai Parkash, Women Entrepreneurship In India-Problems and Prospects International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 5, September 2011, ISSN Rashmi Bansal, Follow Every Rainbow, Westland, 2013 ISBN