Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in Birgunj, Nepal: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study is an empirical research of women entrepreneurs involved in the various industries in Birgunj, Nepal. Women Entrepreneurs of both registered and unregistered units are considered as respondents. Three entrepreneurial activities had considered as the study area of this research viz. manufacturing, trading and services. It concentrates only in micro and small enterprises run by women. In order to draw comparisons, researchers included a control group of male business owners. The criteria established by Lalitha Rani (1996) based on ratio of profit to total investment were used to measure the preference of entrepreneurs. Performance was classified as "Less than average," "Average," and "very successful." Comparative study and chi- squire test were carried out to see the association between performance and other independent variables. Exploratory and descriptive research had done through judgmental sampling; information was collected from 72 women entrepreneurs and 29 male entrepreneurs. This study applied cross sectional design under quantitative research methods. Result of performance analysis shows that performance and gender, training, and experience did not have any significant relationships; but, there were significant relationships between performance and activities and legal ownership.