Rural and suburban women in India are overcoming challenges to become successful business owners and change agents, making India a US$ 5-trillion economy by 2025. Women-led businesses can bring about social and behavioral change, bridging the gender gap, and igniting the economy and society.
To enable India’s rural and suburban entrepreneurs to play a critical role in realizing India’s aspirational vision of becoming a US$ 5-trillion economy by 2025, much more work needs to be done in addition to the current government of India’s promotion of women’s entrepreneurship as an important component of nation-building. Less than one out of every seven Indian entrepreneurs is a woman, although the percentage of women in the workforce has remained appallingly low throughout the years. However, between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of female founders in India increased by 2.68 times, whilst the proportion of male founders increased by just 1.79 times.
The growth rate of female entrepreneurship peaked in the epidemic years, or in 2020 and 2021, which essentially indicates that more women than males are now looking to start their own businesses in India. When it comes to starting their own business, rural and suburban women in India face a number of challenges, including stricter family and household responsibilities and restrictions, gender bias, early marriages, a lack of support from family or spouse, a lack of financing or capital, a lack of awareness, and a lack of technical and networking support for business growth.
Despite these challenges, Indian rural and suburban women are overcoming all odds to become wildly prosperous business owners and change agents for their neighborhoods and society. According to research, female business owners frequently have better levels of internal concentration in terms of control and accomplishments. They also frequently demonstrate high levels of empathy, motivation, and self-direction.
Thus, women-led businesses may lead the way in bringing about social and behavioral change, particularly in terms of bridging the gender gap that still exists and presenting creative ideas for enhancing and igniting the economy and society as a whole. Women entrepreneurs may have a good impact in a variety of areas, including reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, developing rural regions, and raising farmer earnings. Unaffected by their age, upbringing, or geography, women entrepreneurs must have access to an enabling ecosystem in order to succeed.
India is not an exception to the good effects of women-led startups, MSMEs, and SHGs on economic growth, employment creation, and rural and suburban job creation. It is past time to reorient our nation’s objectives toward more aggressively encouraging, empowering, and supporting women’s entrepreneurship on a large scale, with an emphasis on women’s entrepreneurship rooted in rural and suburban areas. As more and more women in rural and tier 2, tier 3, India assume leadership roles, pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions, and make decisions, this will inevitably have a positive ripple effect on the nation’s economic development and economy and help India (including “Bharat”) achieve true economic independence.
