Women entrepreneurship issues, challenges and empowerment through self help groups

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered as one of the most important factors contributing to the economic development of the society. Entrepreneurs have been considered instrumental in initiating and sustaining socio-economic development. In India, concept of women entrepreneurship is of recent origin. Women have become aware about their rights and situations and entered in different fields of business. They have established their own successful business empires. They are contributing towards the growth of economy and improvement of their socio- economic conditions. Government of India has given due importance to women empowerment in the country and several schemes has been introduced for the upliftment of women entrepreneurs. Women workforce ratio in the country is increasing due to the increase in the women literacy rate in India.The concept of Self Help Groups (SHGs) is proved to be boon for the rural women in some states of India. It has not only raised their income but also their social status. This paper particularly focuses on various issues pertaining to women entrepreneur’s issues, challenges and future perspective in India.The women in rural areas are showing interest to become entrepreneurs because there is lot of financial facilities from the SHGs. SHGs are self-governed with decisions about production and marketing taken collectively, although the group leader is responsible for identifying potential marketing centers and consumer in formal groups. Informal groups empower rural women to manage rural industries and make decisions collectively for their common economic interests. The encouragement of women towards entrepreneurship leads to the development of the nation as they constitute half of the population. The study reveals the reasons for which they wanted to become entrepreneurs, the problems faced by them in the context of carrying out the entrepreneurial activities and suggestions to overcome the problems.