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Women Entrepreneurship in India: Some Aspects

By:

Dr. Sanjay Manocha

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•Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost all countries. •The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. •Skill, knowledge and adaptability in business are the main reasons for women to emerge into business ventures.• ‘Women Entrepreneur’ is a person who 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 of contributing values in both family and social life. •With the advent of media, women are aware of their own traits, rights and also the work situations.

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•The glass ceilings are shattered and women are found indulged in every line of business from pappad to power cables. •The challenges and opportunities provided to the women of digital era are growing rapidly that the job seekers are turning into job creators. •They are flourishing as designers, interior decorators, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers and still exploring new avenues of economic participation. •In India, although women constitute the majority of the total population, the entrepreneurial world is still a male dominated one. •Women in advanced nations are recognized and are more prominent in the business world.

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But the Indian women entrepreneurs are facing some major constraints like –

a) Lack of confidence – In general, women lack confidence in their strength and competence. The family members and the society are reluctant to stand beside their entrepreneurial growth. To a certain extent, this situation is changing among Indian women and yet to face a tremendous change to increase the rate of growth in entrepreneurship.

b) Socio-cultural barriers – Women’s family and personal obligations are sometimes a great barrier for succeeding in business career. Only few women are able to manage both home and business efficiently, devoting enough time to perform all their responsibilities in priority.

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c) Market-oriented risks – Stiff competition in the market and lack of mobility of women make the dependence of women entrepreneurs on middleman indispensable. Many business women find it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular. They are not fully aware of the changing market conditions and hence can effectively utilize the services of media and internet.

d) Motivational factors – Self motivation can be realized through a mind set for a successful business, attitude to take up risk and behavior towards the business society by shouldering the social responsibilities. Other factors are family support, Government policies, financial assistance from public and private institutions and also the environment suitable for women to establish business units.

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e) Knowledge in Business Administration – Women must be educated and trained constantly to acquire the skills and knowledge in all the functional areas of business management. This can facilitate women to excel in decision making process and develop a good business network.

f) Awareness about the financial assistance – Various institutions in the financial sector extend their maximum support in the form of incentives, loans, schemes etc. Even then every woman entrepreneur may not be aware of all the assistance provided by the institutions. So the sincere efforts taken towards women entrepreneurs may not reach the entrepreneurs in rural and backward areas.

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g) Exposed to the training programs –

Training programs and workshops for every type of entrepreneur is

available through the social and welfare associations, based on

duration, skill and the purpose of the training program. Such

programs are really useful to new, rural and young entrepreneurs

who want to set up a small and medium scale unit on their own.

h) Identifying the available resources –

Women are hesitant to find out the access to cater their needs in the

financial and marketing areas. In spite of the mushrooming growth of

associations, institutions, and the schemes from the government

side, women are not enterprising and dynamic to optimize the

resources in the form of reserves, assets mankind or business

volunteers.

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• Highly educated, technically sound and professionally

qualified women should be encouraged for managing

their own business, rather than dependent on wage

employment outlets.

• The unexplored talents of young women can be

identified, trained and used for various types of

industries to increase the productivity in the industrial

sector.

• A desirable environment is necessary for every

woman to inculcate entrepreneurial values and

involve greatly in business dealings.

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Why do Women Take-up Employment?

• Push Factors– Death of bread winner– Sudden fall in family income– Permanent inadequacy in income of the family

• Pull Factors– Women’s desire to evaluate their talent– To utilize their free time or education– Need and perception of Women’s Liberation, Equity etc.– To gain recognition, importance and social status.– To get economic independence

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Categories of Women Entrepreneurs

• Women in organized & unorganized sector

• Women in traditional & modern industries

• Women in urban & rural areas• Women in large scale and small scale

industries.• Single women and joint venture.

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Categories of Women Entrepreneurs in Practice in India

• First Category– Established in big cities– Having higher level technical & professional qualifications– Non traditional Items– Sound financial positions

• Second Category– Established in cities and towns– Having sufficient education– Both traditional and non traditional items– Undertaking women services-kindergarten, crèches, beauty

parlors, health clinic etc.

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Categories of Women Entrepreneurs in Practice in India (Contd.)

• Third Category– Illiterate women– Financially week– Involved in family business such as

Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, Fisheries, Agro Forestry, Handloom, Powerloom etc.

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Supportive Measures for Women’s Economic Activities and

Entrepreneurship

• Direct & indirect financial support• Yojna schemes and programmes• Technological training and awards• Federations and associations

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Direct & Indirect Financial Support

• Nationalized banks• State finance corporation• State industrial development corporation• District industries centers• Differential rate schemes• Mahila Udyug Needhi scheme• Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI)• State Small Industrial Development

Corporations (SSIDCs)14

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Technological Training and Awards

• Stree Shakti Package by SBI• Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India• Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and

Development (TREAD)• National Institute of Small Business Extension

Training (NSIBET)• Women’s University of Mumbai

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Federations and Associations• National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (NAYE)• India Council of Women Entrepreneurs, New Delhi• Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)• Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka

(AWEK)• World Association of Women Entrepreneurs (WAWE)• Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW)

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Women Entrepreneurship in India

States No of Units Registered

No. of Women Entrepreneurs

Percentage

Tamil Nadu 9618 2930 30.36

Uttar Pradesh 7980 3180 39.84

Kerala 5487 2135 38.91

Punjab 4791 1618 33.77

Maharastra 4339 1394 32.12

Gujrat 3872 1538 39.72

Karnatka 3822 1026 26.84

Madhya Pradesh

2967 842 28.38

Other States & UTS

14576 4185 28.71

Total 57,452 18,848 32.82 17

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Women Work ParticipationCountry 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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Women Entrepreneurship in India

• Earlier there were 3 Ks– Kitchen– Kids– Knitting

• Then came 3 Ps– Powder– Pappad– Pickles

• At present there are 4 Es– Electricity– Electronics– Energy– Engineering

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Some examples

• Mahila Grih Udyog– 7 ladies started in 1959:

Lizzat Pappad• Lakme

– Simon Tata• Shipping coorporation

– Mrs. Sumati Morarji• Exports

– Ms. Nina Mehrotra• Herbal Heritage

– Ms. Shahnaz Hussain• Balaji films

– Ekta Kapoor

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Problems• Dual role to play at workplace & at home place• Subordinate to men• Just that her being women• Non-awareness of facilities provided by

government• Competition with large scale units• Problems related to marketing

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Suggestions• Procedure of getting finance should be

simple• Effective propagation of programmes

and yojna• Linkages between product, services and

market centers.• Encouragement to technical and

professional education.

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Top Women EntrepreneursSource - http://sneakpeaks.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-their-business-top-women.html

                   Entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director of Bioon Ltd., who became India's richest woman in 2004 (an estimated Rs.2,100 crore )~US$480 million), was educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College in Bangalore. She founded Biocon India with a capital of Rs.10,000 in her garage in 1978 - the initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Her application for loans were turned down by banks then - on three counts - biotechnology was then a new word, the company lacked assets, and (most importantly) women entrepreneurs were still a rarity. Today, her company is the biggest biopharmaceutical firm in the country.

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Ekta Kapoor, creative head of Balajji Telefilms, is the daughter of actor Jeetendra, and sister of actor Tushar Kapoor. She has been synonymous with the rage of soap operas on Indian TV, after her most famous venture 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', which started airing on STAR Plus in 2000. Ekta dominates Indian television, producing more than eight television soaps. At the 6th Indian Telly Awards 2006, she bagged the Hall of Fame award for her contributions. Most of her creations begin with the letter'K' due to her superstition that it brings her good luck.

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Sunita Narain, an environmentalist and political activist as well as a

major proponent of the Green concept of sustainable development,

was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2005.

Narain, who has been with the India-based Centre for Science and

Environment since 1982, is currently the director of the Centre, and

the director of the Society for Environmental Communications, and

publisher of the fortnightly magazine, 'Down to Earth'.

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Neelam Dhawan, Microsoft India managing director, leads

Microsoft's sales and marketing operations in the country. A

Stephenian (graduated in 1980), she passed out of Delhi's

Faculty of Management Studies in 1982. Back then, while

she was keen to join FMCG majors like Hindustan Lever and

Asian Paints, both companies rejected Dhawan as they did

not want to appoint women for marketing.

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Naina Lal Kidwai was the first Indian woman to graduate

from the Harvard Business School. Fortune magazine listed

Kidwai among the World's Top 50 Corporate Women from

2000 to 2003. According to the Economic Times, she is the

first woman to head the operations of a foreign bank in India

(HSBC). Kidwai was awarded the Padma Shri in the year

2008.

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Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Joint Managing Director of Kinetic Engineering Ltd., is in-charge of the company's overall business developmental activities. She is also the Director of Kinetic Motor Company Limited and Kinetic Marketing Services Limited. A fitness freak and avid sports enthusiast, she even played badminton at the national level. The magazine 'India Today' has honoured her with the title of business 'Face of the Millennium'. She was ranked among the top 25 business entrepreneurs of the country, and was also presented with the Society Young Achiever's Award for Business in 2002. The same year, she was chosen as the 'Global Leader of Tomorrow' by the World Economic Forum.

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Dr. Jatinder Kaur Arora, an outstanding scientist from Punjab, was conferred a national award for her work on women's development through science and technology. Dr. Arora, perhaps the first scientist to get such an award, is a doctorate in microbiology and has a brilliant academic record. An unlikely and fairly new contender on this list, she is serving as a joint director in the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology at present.

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Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, chairman and executive officer of PepsiCo, was according to Forbes magazine's 2006 poll, the fourth most powerful woman in the world. She was also named the #1 Most Powerful Woman in Business in 2006 by Fortune magazine. She got her bachelor's degree from Madras Christian College in 1974, entered the Business Diploma programme at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and later moved to the US to attend the Yale School of Management. Nooyi serves on the board of directors of several organizations, including Motorola, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the International Rescue Committee, and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

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Indu Jain has many identities: spiritualist, entrepreneur, humanist, educationalist, great lover of art and culture. She was the Chairman of the The Times Group, the biggest and the most powerful media house in India. The company was bought from a British group. Now, her two sons Samir and Vineet are running the company. Among the major products of the company, The Times of India, the largest selling English daily newspaper of the world.

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Lalita Gupte & Kalpana Morparia—93rd position—Joint Managing Directors, ICIC BankKalpana Morparia and Lalita Gupte are Joint Managing Directors of ICIC Bank, the second largest bank of India. Lalita Gupte holds a Master’s Degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. She joined ICIC Bank in 1971. Her reason behind success is her supportive family. She got great support from her husband and in laws. Ms. Kalpana Morparia is a graduate in law from Mumbai University. She joined ICIC in 1975 as a senior legal officer. In 1996, she became General Manager. She became Executive Director in 2001. In 1999, for her contribution in Finance and Banking sector in India, Indian Merchants' Chamber awarded her.    

Lalita Gupte

Kalpana Morparia

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Shahnaz Hussain:

•She brought the breeze of revolution in the field of beauty treatment in India. •Her herbal beauty treatments have won accolades all over the world and have adorned women for decades.•The beauty chain of Shahnaz Hussain is known for a wide range of treatments and herbal cosmetics offering stunning results. •She has clientele including all the renowned women personalities round the world.• Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of India is also one of her well known clients.

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Ritu Kumar:

•A great name in the fashion area, Ritu Kumar has made a

wonderful presence with her unique dresses and creations.

• Her style and uniqueness has won her praises in various

fashion events across the globe.