Female Entrepreneurship: Empowering Women in Business

Learn about some inspiring success stories of women entrepreneurs in India.

Women's successes in our day and age are outstanding, with many of them producing ground-breaking achievements in every aspect of life, notably business. India is not an aberration to the general global trend wherein businesses led by women are contributing significantly to the economic growth of the country. Even the Government of India acknowledges and appreciates this development. We are witness to the fact that a number of our ministers are openly issuing statements that highlight the contribution of women entrepreneurs in facilitating the economic growth of the country. Even, statistics reveal that women owned businesses are now growing at a rapid pace.

As per survey reports of a leading consultancy firm, women own roughly 20% of businesses in India. As India revamps its economic stability riding on the contribution of several woman-operated businesses, some of the female entrepreneurs have become pioneers through path-breaking achievements. Image consultancy, e-commerce, science, and entertainment are just a handful of the fields where Indian women entrepreneurs have broken through barriers.

Some inspiring stories:

In reality, Kalpana Saroj was a pioneer in the history of bold female entrepreneurs in India. She is widely regarded as India's first female entrepreneur and the first "Slumdog Millionaire." Kalpana purchased Kamani Tubes firm's troubled assets in 2001 and guided the firm back to profitability.

Aditi Gupta, an alumna of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, founded Menstrupedia in 2012 to give user-friendly knowledge on menstruation, cleanliness, and puberty via comic books other relevant media. Menstrupedia's offerings have aided around 13 million girls and women worldwide. Aditi was selected one of the BBC's 100 most important women for her ground-breaking work in menstruation education and was named one of Forbes India's Under 30.

Shaikh Razia, a microbiologist from Chhattisgarh, changed people's perceptions about Mahua flowers, which are traditionally connected with the production of alcohol and are commonly used by tribal people. Razia founded Bastar foods, a company that employs indigenous tribal women to make ladoos and other nutritious treats from the flower, with a focus on its nutritional content.

Ela Bhatt, dubbed the "gentle revolutionary," founded the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a labour union for self-employed women textile workers. She has done incredible work at the grassroots level to elevate and empower Indian women.

So far, we have just highlighted the tip of the iceberg in terms of astonishing success stories of women entrepreneurs. There are many more success stories that have already developed or are in the formulation process, riding on the fact that the government is playing an increasingly important role in their development. In fact, government programs have significantly aided small female entrepreneurs in recent years by providing them with subsidized and easily accessible capital, connecting them with potential buyers, providing skill and market development assistance, capacity building, financial literacy, and access to simple micro-credit facilities.

Foresightedness of the government:

For example, in 2021-22, the Ministry of Women and Child Development will start 'Mission Shakti,' an integrated women empowerment initiative. It serves as an umbrella scheme for women's empowerment through institutional and convergence mechanisms, aiming to realize the government's vision of 'women-led development' and economically empower women through skill development, capacity building, financial literacy, access to micro-credit, and so on.

Similarly, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises' "SAMARTH" initiative gives women the option to be self-reliant and independent by pursuing self-employment possibilities. The scheme's goal is to give 7500 women applicants from rural and sub-urban regions with skill development and market development support throughout the fiscal year 2022-23.  

The government's Mudra Loan program provides financial assistance to women entrepreneurs who want to open their own beauty salon, tuition centre, stitching store, and so on. Shishu, Kishor, and Tarun are the three categories under which a Mudra loan application may be submitted.

Annapurna Yojana, which provides women entrepreneurs in food catering firms loans of up to Rs. 50,000, is another step in the right direction. As working capital, the loan money may be used to purchase utensils, mixer cum grinder, hot case, tiffin boxes, working table, and so on.

The Udyogini Scheme, sponsored by the Women Development Corporation on behalf of the Government of India, encourages women's business among underprivileged women by giving financial assistance. This initiative primarily assists illiterate women living in rural and underserved parts of the nation.

Without a question, women entrepreneurship is a crucial source not only for a country's economic progress, but it can also operate as a strong weapon to break free from the shackles that existed due to very persistent gender disparities, particularly when it comes to their employment involvement. And, given that India's trajectory has increasingly shifted from women's development to women-led development, the aforementioned schemes can do a lot in terms of identifying untapped talents, providing necessary training, and facilitating inclusive participation in industries, all of which can contribute to increasing industrial and national productivity.

Moris Media, India’s leading digital marketing agency, has always strongly advocated the role of women entrepreneurs in the development of the country and supports inspirational female innovators through its Entrepreneur Training Program.