Does the current entrepreneurial ecosystem in India allow women to thrive or simply survive?
A Google-Bain report in 2019 estimated that women in India owned nearly 20% of all enterprises; whereas the 6th Economic Census (2013-14) had earlier projected that only 13.76% of enterprises in India were women-owned
- Aug 27, 2021,
- Updated Aug 27, 2021 7:12 PM IST
As calls for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' get louder, the contribution of our country's women entrepreneurs has become a key catalyst for sustained economic progress.
However, data indicates that much more work needs to be done in order to create an enabling environment for women-led enterprises in India.
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for Women: Understanding the Backdrop and Challenges
The workforce participation rate of women in India remains only at 20.5 per cent, as per 2019 data from World Bank. In the context of women's entrepreneurship also, the situation is far from rosy.
A Google-Bain report in 2019 estimated that women in India owned nearly 20% of all enterprises; whereas the 6th Economic Census (2013-14) had earlier projected that only 13.76% of enterprises in India were women-owned.
Also Read: NITI Aayog, Cisco roll out WEPNxt to nurture women entrepreneurship in India
It is well documented that women in India face social, economic and cultural challenges in asserting their roles as economic actors.
The challenges are more pronounced when it comes to entrepreneurship, as the degree of risks involved is higher; the challenges include but are not limited to, inherent conscious and unconscious gender biases, lack of support from the family, societal and familial expectations around household responsibilities, inadequate access to finance, lack of networking opportunities and technical skills, among others.
At an institutional level, efforts are ongoing to make sure women receive the required support for pursuing entrepreneurship and becoming self-reliant. For instance, schemes like Udyogini, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Cent Kalyani Scheme, etc. provide subsidised loans or financial aids to women micro-entrepreneurs.
The United Nations-NITI Aayog Investor Consortium for Women Entrepreneurs is working to mitigate gender bias and/or disparities in start-up investments.
These are just a few examples of the many promising initiatives aiming to bridge the gender gap(s) in the ecosystem. However, studies in several tier II and III cities over the last few years tell us that challenges continue to persist, and women entrepreneurs still face a steeper climb than their male counterparts.
Addressing the gaps and moving forward
In India, the cultures and socio-economic realities often change from region to region, and each region may therefore present its unique challenges.
Hence, women's entrepreneurship-enabling programmes in our country need to take these aspects into account. And instead of having a centralised template or approach, the incubation or support programmes should design customised strategies based on the region and segment they operate in.
For instance, in North-East India, it is found that there are extremely low levels of awareness regarding business compliance as opposed to other regions, even though there are fewer social hurdles. So, the curriculum and mentoring in the said region needs to focus on improving the understanding of compliance requirements for entrepreneurs.
Another aspect of a customised support programme is the creation of competency-building sessions and content in the local language.
Also Read: Funds out of reach for Bharat's women entrepreneurs
As mentioned earlier, every programme must be sensitive towards the local needs, language being one of the most important factors in this context.
With that in mind, for some of the entrepreneurs who prefer communicating only in their respective native/vernacular languages, translators could sit in during their classroom and mentoring sessions.
This custom strategy will be a reminder that entrepreneurial abilities don't always reflect in crisply delivered elevator pitches in English.
Working with entrepreneurs to help them build competencies is only part of the solution. The need to actively engage with several other stakeholders like incubators, mentors and financial institutions, in order to sensitise them better towards the specific needs of women entrepreneurs, is key to creating an enabling ecosystem.
Equally important is engagement with other projects, donors, government bodies and enabling organisations in driving change at scale. From policy roundtables to sharing best practices, collaborative measures are crucial to our progress on this long road ahead.
Also Read: Businesses owned by women entrepreneurs likely to grow up to 90% in next 5 years in India: Study
In conclusion
Perhaps, the most encouraging shift in the discourse around women's entrepreneurship in recent years is that more of us now see it as an opportunity to be unlocked than a problem to be solved.
With sustained efforts, India can certainly change the narrative and build an ecosystem wherein women entrepreneurs can rise, shine and thrive (instead of simply 'surviving').
(The author is Interim Project Head, Her&Now, GIZ.)
As calls for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' get louder, the contribution of our country's women entrepreneurs has become a key catalyst for sustained economic progress.
However, data indicates that much more work needs to be done in order to create an enabling environment for women-led enterprises in India.
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for Women: Understanding the Backdrop and Challenges
The workforce participation rate of women in India remains only at 20.5 per cent, as per 2019 data from World Bank. In the context of women's entrepreneurship also, the situation is far from rosy.
A Google-Bain report in 2019 estimated that women in India owned nearly 20% of all enterprises; whereas the 6th Economic Census (2013-14) had earlier projected that only 13.76% of enterprises in India were women-owned.
Also Read: NITI Aayog, Cisco roll out WEPNxt to nurture women entrepreneurship in India
It is well documented that women in India face social, economic and cultural challenges in asserting their roles as economic actors.
The challenges are more pronounced when it comes to entrepreneurship, as the degree of risks involved is higher; the challenges include but are not limited to, inherent conscious and unconscious gender biases, lack of support from the family, societal and familial expectations around household responsibilities, inadequate access to finance, lack of networking opportunities and technical skills, among others.
At an institutional level, efforts are ongoing to make sure women receive the required support for pursuing entrepreneurship and becoming self-reliant. For instance, schemes like Udyogini, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Cent Kalyani Scheme, etc. provide subsidised loans or financial aids to women micro-entrepreneurs.
The United Nations-NITI Aayog Investor Consortium for Women Entrepreneurs is working to mitigate gender bias and/or disparities in start-up investments.
These are just a few examples of the many promising initiatives aiming to bridge the gender gap(s) in the ecosystem. However, studies in several tier II and III cities over the last few years tell us that challenges continue to persist, and women entrepreneurs still face a steeper climb than their male counterparts.
Addressing the gaps and moving forward
In India, the cultures and socio-economic realities often change from region to region, and each region may therefore present its unique challenges.
Hence, women's entrepreneurship-enabling programmes in our country need to take these aspects into account. And instead of having a centralised template or approach, the incubation or support programmes should design customised strategies based on the region and segment they operate in.
For instance, in North-East India, it is found that there are extremely low levels of awareness regarding business compliance as opposed to other regions, even though there are fewer social hurdles. So, the curriculum and mentoring in the said region needs to focus on improving the understanding of compliance requirements for entrepreneurs.
Another aspect of a customised support programme is the creation of competency-building sessions and content in the local language.
Also Read: Funds out of reach for Bharat's women entrepreneurs
As mentioned earlier, every programme must be sensitive towards the local needs, language being one of the most important factors in this context.
With that in mind, for some of the entrepreneurs who prefer communicating only in their respective native/vernacular languages, translators could sit in during their classroom and mentoring sessions.
This custom strategy will be a reminder that entrepreneurial abilities don't always reflect in crisply delivered elevator pitches in English.
Working with entrepreneurs to help them build competencies is only part of the solution. The need to actively engage with several other stakeholders like incubators, mentors and financial institutions, in order to sensitise them better towards the specific needs of women entrepreneurs, is key to creating an enabling ecosystem.
Equally important is engagement with other projects, donors, government bodies and enabling organisations in driving change at scale. From policy roundtables to sharing best practices, collaborative measures are crucial to our progress on this long road ahead.
Also Read: Businesses owned by women entrepreneurs likely to grow up to 90% in next 5 years in India: Study
In conclusion
Perhaps, the most encouraging shift in the discourse around women's entrepreneurship in recent years is that more of us now see it as an opportunity to be unlocked than a problem to be solved.
With sustained efforts, India can certainly change the narrative and build an ecosystem wherein women entrepreneurs can rise, shine and thrive (instead of simply 'surviving').
(The author is Interim Project Head, Her&Now, GIZ.)