ENTRPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
UNIT 1
ENTREPRENEUR-
The entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability
and desire to establish, administer and succeed in a startup
venture along with risk entitled to it, to make profits.
The best example of entrepreneurship is the starting of a new
business venture.
The entrepreneurs are often known as a source of new ideas or
innovators, and bring new ideas in the market by replacing old
with a new invention.

ENTRPRENEURSHIP-
Entrepreneurship is the ability and readiness to develop,
organize and run a business enterprise, along with any of its
uncertainties in order to make a profit.
The most prominent example of entrepreneurship is the
starting of new businesses.
Entrepreneurship “Entrepreneurship is the act of being an
entrepreneur, which can be defined as “one who undertakes
innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to
transform innovations into economic goods.” Entrepreneurship
can create new organizations or develop a strategy to revitalize
mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity.
The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting a
new business also called As “startup Company”. More recently,
the term has evolved to include other types of entrepreneurship
such as: • Social entrepreneurship that applies the
“entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a
venture to achieve social change” and • Political
entrepreneurship or “starting a new political project, group, or
political party.” No society can exist without entrepreneurship.
Every society depends on entrepreneurs. Definition of
'Entrepreneur' An individual who, rather than working as an
employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risk and
reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service
offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a
business leader and innovator of new ideas and business
processes. Who is an entrepreneur? What characteristics define
an entrepreneur? Dan Sullivan Says that: “An entrepreneur is
someone who does not expect compensation until he has
created value for someone else.” Jean-Baptist Say, Says that:
“Entrepreneur is someone who takes resources from a lower
level of productivity and raise them to a higher level.”

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

ENTRPRENEAUR ENTREPRENEAURSHIP ENTERPRISE

Entrpreneur is a entrpreneaurship is the ability to bear Enterprise is the resultant

Person or identity risk of establishing a new enterprise factor of these.

Who have a idea for a its direction, controlling, bring chnges and

Business. Innovations, creativity, taking corrective actions

Characteristics of Entrepreneurship
Not all entrepreneurs are successful; there are definite
characteristics that make entrepreneurship successful. A few
of them are mentioned below:

 Ability to take a risk- Starting any new venture involves a

considerable amount of failure risk. Therefore, an
entrepreneur needs to be courageous and able to evaluate
and take risks, which is an essential part of being an
entrepreneur.
 Innovation- It should be highly innovative to generate new
ideas, start a company and earn profits out of it. Change
can be the launching of a new product that is new to the
market or a process that does the same thing but in a
more efficient and economical way.
 Visionary and Leadership quality- To be successful, the
entrepreneur should have a clear vision of his new
venture. However, to turn the idea into reality, a lot of
resources and employees are required. Here, leadership
quality is paramount because leaders impart and guide
their employees towards the right path of success.
 Open-Minded- In a business, every circumstance can be
an opportunity and used for the benefit of a company. For
example, Paytm recognised the gravity of demonetization
and acknowledged the need for online transactions would
be more, so it utilised the situation and expanded
massively during this time.
 Flexible- An entrepreneur should be flexible and open to
change according to the situation. To be on the top, a
businessperson should be equipped to embrace change in
a product and service, as and when needed.
 Know your Product-A company owner should know the
product offerings and also be aware of the latest trend in
the market. It is essential to know if the available product
or service meets the demands of the current market, or
whether it is time to tweak it a little. Being able to be
accountable and then alter as needed is a vital part of
entrepreneurship.

Importance of Entrepreneurship:
 Creation of Employment- Entrepreneurship generates
employment. It provides an entry-level job, required for
gaining experience and training for unskilled workers.
 Innovation- It is the hub of innovation that provides new
product ventures, market, technology and quality of goods,
etc., and increase the standard of living of people.
 Impact on Society and Community Development- A
society becomes greater if the employment base is large
and diversified. It brings about changes in society and
promotes facilities like higher expenditure on education,
better sanitation, fewer slums, a higher level of
homeownership. Therefore, entrepreneurship assists the
organisation towards a more stable and high quality of
community life.
 Increase Standard of Living- Entrepreneurship helps to
improve the standard of living of a person by increasing
the income. The standard of living means, increase in the
 consumption of various goods and services by a
household for a particular period.
 Supports research and development- New products and
services need to be researched and tested before
launching in the market. Therefore, an entrepreneur also
dispenses finance for research and development with
research institutions and universities. This promotes
research, general construction, and development in the
economy.

What are the Types of Entrepreneurship?

It is classified into the following types:

 Small Business Entrepreneurship-
These businesses are a hairdresser, grocery store, travel
agent, consultant, carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc.
These people run or own their own business and hire
family members or local employee. For them, the profit
would be able to feed their family and not making 100
million business or taking over an industry. They fund their
business by taking small business loans or loans from
friends and family.
 Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship-
 This start-up entrepreneur starts a business knowing that
their vision can change the world. They attract investors
who think and encourage people who think out of the box.
The research focuses on a scalable business and
experimental models, so, they hire the best and the
brightest employees. They require more venture capital to
fuel and back their project or business.
 Large Company Entrepreneurship-
 These huge companies have defined life-cycle. Most of
these companies grow and sustain by offering new and
innovative products that revolve around their main
products. The change in technology, customer
preferences, new competition, etc., build pressure for large
companies to create an innovative product and sell it to
the new set of customers in the new market. To cope with
the rapid technological changes, the existing
organisations either buy innovation enterprises or attempt
to construct the product internally.
 Social Entrepreneurship-
 This type of entrepreneurship focuses on producing
product and services that resolve social needs and
problems. Their only motto and goal is to work for society
and not make any profits.

 5. Social entrepreneurship

 Social entrepreneurship is a type of entrepreneurship in

which entrepreneurs recognise a social problem and tailor
their activities to create social value. Such entrepreneurs
develop services, solutions or products to solve critical
social issues and bring about social change. This social
change could be related to environment conservation,
animal rights protection or philanthropic activities for the
underserved community. The motivating factor of social
entrepreneurship is achieving social benefits. Working in a
social enterprise means prioritising transformative social
change while ensuring financial sustainability.

 These organisations use ethical practices such as

conscious consumerism and corporate social
 responsibility to facilitate success. Instead of making
profits and earning wealth for the owners, social
entrepreneurship aims to make the world a better place to
live.

 Non-profit organisations are the best social enterprise

examples.

 6. Environmental entrepreneurship

 It is also known as ecopreneurship and green

entrepreneurship. Profit generation and a concern for the
environment drive the primary goal of such businesses. An
ecopreneur adopts highly environmentally responsible
business values and practices. They also try to replace the
existing product or services with products that are
environmentally safe to use. In short, environmental
entrepreneurship prioritises the business impact on
people and the environment besides profits.

 Impact blogging, publishing an audiobook and creating

SaaS software are a few examples of environmental
entrepreneurship as they protect the environment by not
cutting trees.

 7. Technopreneurship

 Technopreneurship is what you get on uniting technology

with entrepreneurship. It is also known as technology
entrepreneurship. A technopreneur merges
 entrepreneurial talent and skills with the technical
prowess to develop a business that thrives on the
intensive use of technology. Technopreneurs undertake
calculated risks that have chances of earning profits. In
short, these are entrepreneurs who have the ability to
revolutionise the prevailing economic conditions and
introduce breakthrough products for the customers. The
foundation of the products and services of such a
business is technology. Such a business prefers to employ
creative and technology-savvy people who are passionate
about bringing technological change.

 8. Hustler entrepreneurship

 A hustler entrepreneur is a self-starter motivated by their

goals and aspirations to succeed in entrepreneurship.
Such people start small and work hard to grow their
business. Instead of using money or capital to achieve
their business goals, they put in their best efforts. They
never wait for opportunities to come because they create
opportunities. Hustlers do not have a give-up attitude,
have a big risk-taking appetite and are always ready to
face challenges.

 9. Innovative entrepreneurship


 The foundation of innovative entrepreneurship is
inventions and new ideas. These entrepreneurs can think
about novel ways of doing business and have the potential
to turn a new idea into a successful venture. They are
business leaders and contribute significantly to the
economy. Moreover, such companies strive to make life
better by providing products, solutions and services which
other companies have not. Innovative entrepreneurship is
ambitious and requires significant investment to turn a
new idea into a breakthrough service or product.

 10. Imitative entrepreneurship

 This entrepreneurship mimics or imitates existing

business ideas and works hard to improve them. Such
companies imitate already functioning products and
services in the market, usually under a franchise
agreement. Such entrepreneurs have no interest in
innovation, though they are ready to work on and improve
the existing processes. Imitative entrepreneurship works
by adopting current technologies worldwide and
modifying their existing technologies to suit the local
conditions. Fast food companies and multinational
conglomerate companies are the best examples of
enterprises running on imitative entrepreneurship.

 11. Researcher entrepreneurship


  Researchers are those who conduct in-depth research on
the market and opportunities before launching their
business. Such entrepreneurs believe that with the right
set of information and preparation, they have a higher
chance of achieving success in their entrepreneurial
business. Rather than their instinct, they rely on facts, data
and logic. Before launching their business, they require a
detailed plan and in-depth report of the research findings
to minimise the probability of failure.

 12. Cyberpreneurship

 Cyberpreneurs or cyber entrepreneurs are people who

leverage the benefits of information technology to do
business. They come up with new ideas to provide
products and services to customers via the internet.
These people understand the digital age and remove the
hassle of going to a physical store. Such entrepreneurship
exists only online and is known as a virtual business.
 Ecommerce stores and over-the-top (OTT) entertainment
platforms fall in the category of cyberpreneurship.

Women Entrepreneurship

Women entrepreneurs may be defined as a woman or a group

of women who initiate, organise and run a business concern.
Women entrepreneurs are those women who think of a
business enterprise, initiate it, organise and combine factors of
production, operate the enterprise and undertake risks and
handle economic uncertainty involved in running it.

Schumpeter – “Women entrepreneurs are those women who

innovate, initiate or adopt a business activity”.
Government of India – “A woman entrepreneur is defined as an
enterprise owned and controlled by a woman having a
minimum financial interest of 51 percent of the capital and
giving at least 51 percent of the employment generated in the
enterprise to women.”
 World over 1/3rd of the entrepreneurial ventures are run by
woman entrepreneurs. Due to economic progress, better
access to education, urbanization, spread of liberal and
democratic culture and recognition by society, there has been a
spurt in woman entrepreneurship in India.
 Special incentives and drives have been created in India to
bolster the growth of women entrepreneurs. Schemes like
Startup India and Standup also make special case to promote
entrepreneurial drive among women.
 Gradually but steadily, world over, women entrepreneurs have
emerged as successful entrepreneurs while earning many
accolades for themselves.
 For e.g. Oprah Winfrey, an American entrepreneur, television
host and media executive received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 2013 for her outstanding work in the field of
entertainment and social impact.
 Closer to home, Indian woman Entrepreneur, Kiran Muzumdar
Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited,
received various coveted corporate award and civilian awards
like Padma Shri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005) for her
 remarkable contribution to health and medicine industry.
Other famous Indian Women entrepreneurs include
personalities like Vandana Luthra, Ekta Kapoor, Naina Lal
Kidwai and so on.

Women Entrepreneurship – Common Features

1. Most women with small income are likely to become

entrepreneurs
2. Women with small facilities are likely to become entrepreneurs
3. A majority of women entrepreneurs are married. With the support
of their husband they accepted entrepreneurship.
4. Most spinsters face difficulties in obtaining financial support to
start their enterprises.
5. A large number of women with little or no education and training
enter into the business field.
6. Many women become entrepreneurs out of economic necessity.
7. Women’s sincerity and hard work is the cause for sustainability
and growth.
8. Women entrepreneurs are security oriented rather than growth
oriented
9. Most women prefer stabilization of income and minimization of
risk
10. Business enterprises of women lack working capital, this causes
low profit margin
Why women become entrepreneurs?
1. To become economically independent
2. To establish their own enterprise
3. To establish their identity in the society
4. To achieve Excellency in their endeavour
5. To build confidence to themselves
6. To develop risk assuming ability
7. To claim equal status in the society
8. To secure greater freedom and mobility

 Need and Factors

In modern days, particularly in India, there is a great need for women
entrepreneurs. Several factors are responsible for compelling the
women members of the family to set up their own ventures.
These factors suggesting their need can be broadly classified into two
groups:
I) Motivational factors or needs and
II) Facilitating factors or needs.

(I) Motivational Needs:

The following are the motivational needs for which modern women
are motivated to become entrepreneurs:
1) Economic Necessity:
In business, the entry of women is relatively a new phenomenon.
Because of the break-up of the joint family system and the need for
additional income for maintaining the living standards in the face of
inflation or rising prices, women have started entering the most
competitive world of business. Thus, because of the economic
necessity, women have begun entering business field for earning
some income and increasing their family income in modern days of
inflation.
2) Desire for High Achievement:
Another motive force compelling women to enter business world is
their strong desire for high achievement in their life. In modern days,
though women are educated, they are not able to find jobs in the
market place or they may not be able to go out of their homes for
working somewhere else because of family problems.
Therefore, a woman is tempted strongly by a desire to achieve
something high and valuable and prove herself as an asset and not a
liability to the family. This is the strongest motivating force for a
woman to become an entrepreneurs.
3) Independence:
Another strong motive force compelling a woman to become an
entrepreneur is to lead an independent life with self-confidence and
self-respect. The ownership and control of a successful business
provides a woman entrepreneur a prestigious status, personal
reputation and a sense of independence in the society.
4) Government Encouragement:
The Government and non-government bodies have started giving
increasing attention and encouragement to women’s economic
conditions through self- employment and business ventures.
They have formulated various policies and programmes and
introduced various incentive schemes to promote women
entrepreneurs in the country. Such encouragement and incentive
schemes have induced women to undertake business mentors.
5) Education:
Women have been taking up various kinds of technical, vocational,
industrial, commercial and specialised education so as to qualify
themselves to be self-employed in some kind of trade, occupation,
vocation or business. Facilities are also being provided to women in
areas where they can grow and blossom as persons in their own
right. Women have proved in modern days that they are no less than
men in efficiency, hard work or intelligence or even they can surpass
men in several fields.
6) Model Role:
Women, like men, are also desirous of contributing their might to the
economic development of their country. Similarly, our women in
India would like to play a key role model. They have already entered
other fields like politics, education, social field, administration, etc.
Now they have started entering the business field where they can
also show their importance as in other fields.
7) Family Occupation:
Family occupation is an important factor motivating a woman
member to participate in the family business, along with her
husband and other members of the family. There is a great need for
women to undertake economic activity or business of the family and
support their families in family occupation or family business so as to
reduce the expenses of the family business and increase its income.
8) Employment Generation:
Another influencing factor that motivates women to become
entrepreneurs is the creation of employment opportunities. Women
entrepreneurs generally take up labour intensive small scale and
village industries or handicrafts and they have high potential in
employment generation. Therefore, they serve as a solution to the
widespread problem of women unemployment to some extent.
9) Self Identity and Social Status:
Women desire to enjoy some social status and recognition in the
society. Women entering business can achieve such a position of
self-identity and recognition of social status because they come in
contact with high level officers, ministers, authorities, and others
holding high positions.
10) Growing Awareness:
With the spread of education and the growing awareness among
women, the women entrepreneurs have been increasing, not only in
the kitchen extension activities i.e. the 3 Ps viz. pickles, powder
(masala) and papad or the traditional cottage industries, such as toy-
making, basket-making etc. as they require less technical know-how,
but they are entering also into engineering, electronics and many
other industries which require high level technical skill. Thus, women
entrepreneurs are found in such technical industries as T.V.
capacitor, electronic ancillaries, and small foundries.
Thus, in modern days, women do not want to stay within the four
walls of a house but they want to become, like their male,
counterparts, achievement-oriented, career-minded and
economically independent so that they would be able to provide
costly high level medical and technical education to their children
and, lead a high standard of living in their life.

(II) Facilitating Needs:

Facilitating needs are the needs for providing various facilities for the
successful working of the women enterprises.
These are given below:
1) Adequate Financial Facilities:
Finance is the life-blood of any business, whether it is run by men
entrepreneurs or women entrepreneurs. The Government has set up
industrial estates for women. It should therefore provide the
required financial facilities to the women entrepreneurs so as to
motivate them to start their business or industry in such estates.
Several financial schemes like Mahila Udyam Nidhi, Marketing
Development Fund etc., have been set up only for women
entrepreneurs. In addition, banks and development finance
institutions also provide financial assistance to women
entrepreneurs. Women will be tempted to start their own business
ventures when such facilities are easily available to them.
2) Innovative Thinking:
Innovative thinking in women motivate them to become
entrepreneurs. Women who have entrepreneurial talent and who
have innovative thinking are naturally induced to take up small
business or industry to convert their innovating and talent into a
position of entrepreneurship instead of employment.
3) Support and Cooperation of the Family:
Another important factor that induces women to take up
entrepreneurship is the full co-operation and encouragement of the
family members, particularly, husband, father-in-law and mother-in-
law, grown-up sons and daughters and other members, if any. In a
modern educated family, women members generally enjoy more
liberty and economic freedom. So naturally, they will be anxious to
have their own source of income from their business.
4) Availability of Experienced and Skilled Women:
Women entrepreneurs would be able to provide experienced and
skilled people to family occupations. Therefore, women will be
motivated to become entrepreneurs.
5) Development Programmes:
The Central and State Governments have started several
development and training programmes particularly for women so as
to enable them to become entrepreneurs. Such training and
development programmes provide all types of facilities to women to
start their business independently.

Women Entrepreneurship – Areas

Women entrepreneur in earlier years after independence were
confined to entrepreneurship in traditional areas like food, fruits,
vegetables, pickles, papads, tailoring, hosiery etc. However, often,
Women entrepreneurs have branched out to several new areas like
engineering, beauty parlours, jewellery, handicraft, electrical,
electronics, chemical and other manufacturing. This shows that
entrepreneurial base of women expanded from traditional 3Ps –
pickle, powder and papad to modem 3ES – Engineering, Electrical
and Electronics.
There are vast numbers of industries under small business sector
where women are playing a major role.
Such industries can be listed as under:
1. Agriculture and Allied industries – such as sericulture, horticulture,
dairying and animal husbandry etc.
2. Home based industries-such as handicrafts, Agarbati, Candle
making,  bidi industry, hosiery, and textile, doll making, jewellery
pottery, designing etc.
3. Outside home industries – such as electrical and electronics, food
processing etc.
Apart from the above, most Indian Women have performed well in
both organized and unorganized sector. For example, Kiran
Mazumdar shaw, Shahnaz Hussain, Ekta Kapoor, Kathi Ben who
started their enterprises in small scale and achieved wonders and
created history.
According to Frederick Harbison, like a male entrepreneur, a woman
entrepreneur has five functions – viz.:
1. Exploring the prospects of starting new enterprises,
2. Undertaking of risks and the handling of economic uncertainties
involved in business,
3. Introduction of innovations or initiation of innovations.
4. Co-ordination, administration and control, and
5. Supervision and providing leadership in all business aspects.
The above functions can be summarised into three i.e., risk bearing,
organisation and innovation. These functions are not always of equal
importance. Risk bearing and innovation are of paramount
importance for establishing or diversifying an enterprise.
Organisation is needed for improving the efficiency of operation of
the undertaking.

Women Entrepreneurship – Top 9 Qualities

Women entrepreneurs establish their businesses while exhibiting
array of qualities.
Following is an indicative list of some of the qualities of women
entrepreneurs:
1. Accept challenges
2. Ambitious
3. Hard working
4. Patience
5. Motivator
6. Adventurous
7. Conscious
8. Educated
9. Intelligent

Women Entrepreneurship
Women Entrepreneurship – Role and–Importance
Role and Importance

Inthis
In thisdynamic
dynamicworld,
world,women
womenentrepreneurs
entrepreneursare areaasignificant
significantpart
partofof
thethe global
global expedition
expedition for for sustained
sustained economic
economic development
development andand
social
social progress.
progress. Duegrowing
Due to the to the growing industrialization,
industrialization, urbanization,
urbanization, social
social legislation
legislation andwith
and along along
thewith the of
spread spread ofeducation
higher higher education
and and
awareness,the
awareness, theemergence
emergenceofofWomen
Womenowned
ownedbusinesses
businessesarearehighly
highly
increasingincreasing in the economies
in the economies of almostof
allalmost all countries.
countries.
InInformer
formerdays,
days,for
forWomen
Womenthere
therewere
were3 3Ks-
Ks-Kitchen,
Kitchen,Kids,
Kids,Knitting,
Knitting,
thencame
then came33Ps-Ps-Powder,
Powder,Pap
Pappad,
pad,Pickles
Picklesand
andnownowatatpresent
presentthere
there
are44Es-
are Es-Electricity,
Electricity,Electronics,
Electronics,Energy,
Energy,Engineering.
Engineering.Indian
Indianwomen
women
hadundergone
had undergoneaalong longway
wayand
andare
arebecoming
becomingincreasingly
increasinglyvisible
visibleand
and
successful in
successful in all
all spheres
spheres and
and have
have shifted
shifted from
from kitchen
kitchen toto higher
higher level
level
of professional activities. of professional activities.
Women entrepreneurs are fast becoming a force to reckon with in
the business world and are not only involved in business for survival
but to satisfy their inner urge of creativity and to prove their
capabilities. Educated Women is contributing to a great extent to the
Women entrepreneurs are fast becoming a force to reckon with in
the business world and are not only involved in business for survival
but to satisfy their inner urge of creativity and to prove their
capabilities. Educated Women is contributing to a great extent to the
social transformation and in the future, will be seen that more
women venturing into areas traditionally dominated by men.
Today’s women are taking more and more professional and technical
degrees to cope up with market need and are flourishing as de
signers, interior decorators, exporters, publishers, garment
manufacturers and still exploring new avenues of economic
participation. It is perhaps for these reasons that Government
Bodies, NGO’s, Social Scientists, Researchers and International
Agencies have started showing interest in the issues related to
entrepreneurship among women in India.
 Women Entrepreneurship – Various Schemes Introduced by Government for Empowerment of Women

Once the government on its part realized the need for empowerment of women, it started coming out
with a number of schemes, to provide for greater access to capital, so that they could startup units. Some
institutions like National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (NAYE) assess women in starting-up, identifying
good investment opportunities and raising capital more easily. Commercial banks also have women
entrepreneur sections, where financial assistance is provided.

In fact, schemes under the IDBI bank called ‘Mahila Udhyam Nidhi’ and ‘Mahila Vikas Nidhi’ help women
entrepreneurs with equity assistance. Established in the early 1990s, ‘Ashriya Mahila Kosh’ trains and
provides orientation programmes for women. With their help, women have been able to triple their
income.

The Norwegian Agency for International Development was established in 1983 to help educated men and
women to start-up businesses in electronics, computers, manufacturing, printing, readymade garments,
etc. Arvind, a scheme started by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD)
provides loans to women to participate in agriculture. The Development of Women and Children in Rural
Areas (DWCRA) was launched in 1980s by the rural development to support women’s income generation
activities. They provided economic assistance to develop skills and meet their liabilities.

The government of Tamil Nadu established the Tamil Nadu Co-operation for Development of Women
Limited for the development and empowerment of women. It is a nodal agency for implementing various
projects. A number of organizations today have started playing critical roles in empowering women and
developing women entrepreneurs.

This includes FICCI’s Ladies Organization (FLO’s), NAYE, etc. There are also organizations such as
Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWEK), Women Association of Maharashtra (WEMA),
Self- employed Women’s Institution (SEWA), Ahmedabad, etc. The Indian Council of Women
Entrepreneurs (ICWE) is also trying to promote entrepreneurship among women.

SEWA has its own bank which provides loans to women (like vegetable vendors, flower vendors, etc.) from
rural areas. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments have promoted industrial estates especially
among women entrepreneurs. In fact, the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh (ALEAP) is
an organization that promotes entrepreneurship in both rural and urban areas. On the outskirts of
Chennai, a biotechnology park was set up to promote women entrepreneurs in the Siruseri area along the
IT highway.

Women Entrepreneurship – Development Schemes: TREAD, MSE – CDP, Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme
for Micro and Small Enterprises and a Few Others

According to the Third All India Census of Small Scale Industries conducted in 2001-02 and subsequent
estimates made, only 10.11% of the Micro and Small Enterprises in India are owned by women while
9.46% of the MSE enterprises are managed by women. Currently (2006-07) their estimated number is
12.99 lakh women managed enterprise and 12.15 lakh women managed enterprise.

In order to encourage more and more women enterprises in the MSE sector, several schemes have been
formulated by this Ministry and some more are in the process of being finalized, targeted only at the
development of women enterprises in India.
9 SCHEMES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
IN INDIA
ANNAPURNA SCHEME:
This loan is provided to women in the food catering industry, still
establishing their small scale businesses. The loan allows these women
entrepreneurs to avail it as capital requirements like buying equipment
and utensils, setting up trucks, etc. Under this scheme, women can sell
packed food items and snacks which is one of the most common
businesses that women entrepreneurs scope out and excel in since it is
something that housewives have been managing all their lives and are
accustomed to. This boosts their sales since they have a chance at
better capital and new products to kickstart their business than they
could otherwise afford. The loan limit is Rs. 50,000 under the scheme.

BHARATIYA MAHILA BANK BUSINESS LOAN:

This banking scheme supports women and their businesses on a large
scale, that is why it was created in the first place. Women have ventured
into different fields of business and are constantly pining for success.
This bank has the vision to provide economic empowerment to women.
The loan limit via this source is Rs.20 Crores.

MUDRA YOJANA SCHEME: 

It is a Government of India initiative that aims to improve the status of
women in the country by providing business loans and supporting them
so that they can be financially independent and self-reliant. After
approval of the loan, they will be given Mudra cards that work like credit
cards with the withdrawal limit being 10% of the loan. This scheme has
several different types of plans as per business type, level of expansion,
and loan aim. The loan limit under this scheme by the government is Rs.
10 Lakhs.

ORIENT MAHILA VIKAS YOJANA SCHEME:

This scheme is for women who hold 51% share capital separately or
collectively as a proprietary concern. It is a very good opportunity for
these stakeholders to help expand their business and add to the
development of their field. This scheme does not require collateral
security while also giving a concession at the interest rate of up to 2%.
The period of repayment is flexible up to 7 years and the loan limit is Rs.
25 Lakhs.
DENA SHAKTI SCHEME:
This scheme is also for women entrepreneurs but limited only to those in
the fields of agriculture, retail, manufacturing, are small enterprises or
micr-credit organizations. As per RBI limits, the maximum ceiling limits to
women beneficiaries are also provided according to the sector they are
expanding or planning to open a business in. The loan limit is Rs.20
Lakhs.

PRADHAN MANTRI ROZGAR YOJANA:

Also known as PMRY, this is one of the best schemes for women
entrepreneurs both socially and financially. The focus of this scheme is
on creating skill-based, self-employment through women entrepreneurs
and smart minds at work being utilized for monetary independence. This
scheme covers both urban and rural areas and was developed through
several amendments in cost, eligibility, and subsidy limits. The loan
subsidy amount is up to 15% of the project cost with an upper ceiling of
Rs. 12,500 per borrower as a restriction. The scheme applies to all types
of ventures in industries, trade and services. The age limit is 35 years
and loan limit for business is Rs. 2 Lakh while for service and industry,
Rs. 5 Lakh.

UDYOGINI SCHEME: 
This program encourages women to be self-reliant and help them in self-
development by empowering them economically to be able to do so.
This scheme encourages budding women entrepreneurs by providing
loans in the regards and giving good rates of interest in comparison to
private sector skyrocketing rates, while also being a trustworthy source
of lending. This is only valid for those who have a family income of less
than Rs. 40,000 per annum. They especially encourage loans in the
trade and service sector and the cap amount for the same is Rs. 1 Lakh.

CENT KALYANI SCHEME:

The scheme is targeted at both new businesses and those that aim to
grow and expand; the only specific emphasis is on the scheme being for
Women Entrepreneurs. Retail trade, education and training, and self-
help groups are not eligible for the scheme. The eligible categories are
given in detail with the rules on their website. This loan is a collateral-
free loan as well as zero processing fees. The selected eligible
categories of business women can take the loan and expand their
business through these schemes for women entrepreneurs. Under this
scheme, the loan limit is Rs. 100 Lakh.
MAHILA UDYAM NIDHI SCHEME:
This scheme aims to meet the gap in equity. It promotes MSMEs and
small sector investments in different industries to grow and excel in their
areas. This also encourages the reconstruction of SSI units that are
deemed incapable but are actually viable to save. A period of 10 years is
given to the debtor to repay the loan and the limit for the loan is Rs.10
Lakhs.

LACK OF FINANCE
Finance is the lifeblood of any business, be it small or big. One of the
biggest challenges women entrepreneurs face in India is the lack of
finance. They face a shortage of funds on two counts.
First of all, they generally do not have enough assets in their name. It
means they have nothing to use as collateral for borrowing funds from
banks and other financial institutions. This situation limits their access to
external sources of finance. 
Secondly, lending institutes also feel that women are less credit-worthy
as compared to men. They believe that women entrepreneurs can
anytime wind-up their business for personal commitments. 
However, the government of India has come up to support and
encourage women on financial grounds. Several schemes for women
entrepreneurs are launched in this direction:

 Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women –

STEP
 Stree Shakti Package
 Annapurna Scheme
 Udyogini Scheme
 Dena Shakti Scheme

Also Read: 5 Grants For Women-Owned Businesses

LACK OF EDUCATION
The female literacy rate in India is around 65.46% as compared to 74%
male literacy rate. Illiteracy has always been the root cause of several
socio-economic problems in India. In rural areas, women are still
deprived of higher education.
This condition limits their know-how of business management functions.
A well-educated woman has higher chance of managing a successful
business empire. On the other hand, less qualified women tend to
struggle a lot for managing regular business functions as well.
Here is a list of the top government schemes to promote women
education in India:

 Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana – To address declining CSR,

propagating education, protection, and the survival of girls.
 Mahila E-Haat – A multilingual web-based platform to promote
marketing skills in women.
 Mahila Shakti Kendra – To empower rural women by educating
them about digital literacy, employment opportunities, skill
development, health, and nutrition.

LOW RISK TAKING ABILITIES

Although Indian parents are coming forward to provide an enriched life to
their daughters, they still prefer women to play safe. They encourage
their daughters to step into a stable job rather than start their
independent venture. This attitude has impacted the risk-taking abilities
of women to a larger extent. Here are some simple tips to overcome this
challenge:

 Women should focus on building self-efficacy.

 They should understand all the pros and cons before making the
final decision.
 They should also have confidence in their abilities to face any
challenge that comes in their way.
 It is also crucial to be intelligent in taking risks and fighting
negativity in society.

Also Read: Top 5 Nationalised Bank Loan Options For Women

Entrepreneurs

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES
What is more important for a woman— family or career? The majority of
the Indians would say, family. It is where most of the women lose the
plot. A career-oriented woman has to juggle between her work and
family constantly.
She is not given the freedom to concentrate on her career as men have.
It is one of the biggest reasons why women entrepreneurs get
discouraged and choose to go for 9-to-5 jobs. 
Are you also facing this issue? If yes, it is high time you stand for
yourself. Here are some tips for you:

 Consult with your family members and devise a convenient way to

strike a work-life balance.
 Get in touch with nearby daycare centres to take care of your
children, if you have any, till the time you are in office.
 Be clear with your priorities and learn time management skills for
the best results.

POOR NETWORKING SKILLS

Networking is crucial for strengthening business ties, gaining knowledge,
building confidence, and expanding business. However, it is seen that
women prevent themselves from stepping out of their comfort zones.
The majority of them are not pro in networking with clients and
customers. This habit can act as a big roadblock in the success of their
entrepreneurial ventures. Here are some networking tips for such
women:

 Start attending networking events.

 Identify the right conversational icebreakers.
 Enhance your knowledge about the industry.
 Develop relationships.

SECURITY AND SAFETY ISSUES

Lack of safety and security is one of the biggest women entrepreneurs
challenges in India. Entrepreneurship demands long working hours and
complete dedication. That’s not all; you might also need to travel a lot,
and be present for the clients and customers 24*7.
The constant rise in the crime rate demotivates women from pursuing
their passion for becoming a successful business owner. Although the
government of India is taking every possible step to curb this issue,
things will take time to get normal and safer.