Woman Entrepreneurs and Financial Literacy: A Study in Selected Districts of Western Odisha

Abstract

The level of financial literacy among the Indian women has not been well documented. Hence, the need arises to understand in detail the issue of financial literacy among women in India. This paper is an attempt in this direction. Financial literacy has been identified as one of the key competencies required for establishing, managing and thriving of the enterprise. However, the exact effect they have on the financial performance of enterprise has not been fully established by the available literature, therefore the need for further research in this area. This study seeks to establish the influence of financial literacy on the financial performance of women entrepreneurs in selected districts of western Odisha. A descriptive survey design was adopted for conducting the study. A sample of 57 woman entrepreneurs was selected out of the total population, using stratified sampling methods. The data collected was analysed using SPSS and the significance of the results tested using inferential statistics. The results of the multiple regressions revealed that there is a significant strong positive relationship between financial literacy and financial performance of woman entrepreneurs. The study recommends that awareness be created among woman entrepreneurs about the importance of being financially literate by encouraging them to participate in financial literacy training programmes.