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Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

A map depicting Women Entrepreneurs is need of the hour!

– Dr. Neelam Gorhe 

Lead: 

The upgraded version of Google Maps is now convenient than ever. Along with road maps, we can easily find the maps for educational institutions, clinics, restaurants, gardens and even playgrounds in the city. Though, the map showing scope for what kind of entrepreneurs working in each city or villages are still not available on Google, I think such entrepreneurship maps should be made available. It will help to boost entrepreneurship for both women and men. 

Matter: 

I am very happy to see the special section for Women entrepreneurs in the magazine, ‘Yashasvi Udyojak’ dedicated to entrepreneurship development. I am working in the social sector for more than 40 years. With the experiences gained during this period, I have frequently noticed that many efforts have to be taken to promote entrepreneurship amongst women. Till today, central government, state governments, various corporations, voluntary organisations and private companies have participated in these kinds of efforts and continue to work upon it. I feel that among all these efforts, the efforts taken by ‘deAsra Foundation’ and ‘Yashasvi Udyojak’ are more systematic and result oriented. Hearty congratulations to Dr Anand Deshpande and his whole team!! 

Since ages women have been practising entrepreneurship. But they were unorganised. There are women selling vegetables from door to door, or utensil sellers in exchange for old clothes, home tutors, or housemaids preparing rotis… According to me, all of these women are entrepreneurs. Maids doing the dishes or washing clothes or even home tutors are kind of self-employed women and will continue to be the same. Apart from this, umpteen examples of wives, daughters, and daughters-in-laws joining the traditional family business can be seen. Women were already entrepreneurs. But things like capital, availability of place, facilities for women were never offered by the society. In 1970, Ilaben Bhat started working upon ‘the empowerment of unorganised women’ in Gujrat. She established an organisation called ‘SEWA’ and brought together the self-employed unorganised working women under a single umbrella. The issues of making markets available for their products were addressed by SEWA. The movement of women’s microcredit groups started in the 1990s. This movement was primarily for the women in the low-income category. They worked like self-help groups. It helped women in raising capital, producing goods, selling them and earning a profit. The capital raised through this was micro, meaning it was a small amount. The businesses started in this movement were also of small size. According to some social scientists, unknowingly it created a social division. Women were thought upon on a micro level and men were thought upon on mega level. Initiatives like reservations for women in industrial estates, availability of capital at low interest were started by the Government. Despite these efforts, we cannot deny that there are very few women entrepreneurs. Of course, there are reasons for it. 

The main reason behind fewer women becoming entrepreneurs is their conditioned mentality. Generally, women are always ready for hardships. They do have perseverance, but things like marriage, raising the children, duties regarding the elders at home are the obstacles in their path and finally, they have to give up on their ambitions. Also, women get limited working hours due to household chores. So, if they want to work as an entrepreneur, their growth is limited. Distribution of work and making other people work for them might not be possible. Many women don’t understand their capabilities in a realistic manner. At times they have overconfidence and sometimes they lack it. That is the main hurdle in becoming an entrepreneur. Apart from this, many women always need companions. Since childhood, they have been made dependant. They always want their friends or spouse to accompany them even for a casual outing. Many women entrepreneurs are unaware of the market. They are ignorant about the places where they can sell their products. They lack the skills to remain in contact with other women buyers. They lack the adjustment skills for gaining orders. Many times women sell their products as subcontractors to the established brand owners, naturally, they do not get any recognition. For example, they sell the product to a well-known sweet mart. Even though they are paid for it, the shop owner gets the credit for the product. Many confectioners place orders for products like puranpoli, modak from different women. For customers, the final product is prepared by brands like Chitale or Kaka Halwai which is not at all the case. The woman who prepares it never gets the credit. She keeps on working without any credit. Many times such well-known confectioners drop the vendor and work with someone else. So, there is no guarantee of continuous work orders in this industry. There is no certain way of facing the competition in the industry. One always must prove how her products or services are best than other competitors. Everyone has got a different strategy for this. Women generally fall behind in this area. Women hesitate in consulting successful entrepreneurs, getting information from them or taking their advice on the problems in business. Women believe in hardships, but if one must survive in the market, the other qualities are also necessary. Recently many women are adopting these skills and venturing in the businesses. 

Entrepreneurship opportunities in urban and rural areas differ from one another. There are many opportunities in the city for new businesses. Especially in the service sector, women can work while performing their household duties. There are many services like crèches, taking care of elders, tuitions, typing, translation, wellness, gym-yoga, stitching, fashion and boutique. The is a need for people who can learn new languages and ready to work as a tourist guide for foreign tourists. Companies like Ola, Uber are now willing to appoint lady drivers. There are many opportunities in the food industry as well. For intimate celebrations, many people prefer food items with a homely taste. Bachelors staying in big cities for education or jobs are always in need of homemade food. It is possible to start a business according to one’s strengths. 

A map and a plan of entrepreneurs must be prepared for each city and village. If the needs of that city, available resources, the market place are taken into consideration, a list of what type of industries are needed can be prepared. It will be immensely beneficial. This method is followed in some places in rural areas. Unfortunately, this type of work is not done in urban areas. It is done for plumbers, carpenters, mechanics and electricians in some way. Still, a lot of work can be done. Many jobs in the service industry can be made available in urban areas. If it is impossible for the municipal bodies, then other institutions can volunteer. If such a Google Map is executed, many people can get work and many people can get the needed services. That is why many unemployed people like to work in malls. They find these jobs prestigious. As jobs in the labour industry are not considered a reputed one, many people are unwilling to work in that sector. Zee Marathi channel has developed an app for women entrepreneurs. Such type of app can be developed on a personal level as well. Similar app development work can be done by the Government as well. 

A couple can look for household work in housing societies. The wife can do household cleanings, cooking, looking after children. The husband can work as a driver to drop the children for school, he can do the daily maintenance work. But this needs to be done in an organised way. A lot of manpower is available. Unfortunately, no one has created a system in informing them about the opportunities of self-employment or providing training for it, upgrading their knowledge and maintaining their records. Large corporations can do this work. Some big industries can also do this as a social activity. Companies like Tata work in this sector. But it must be done on a larger scale. As I mentioned earlier, a map and a plan for local entrepreneurship can be prepared. 

Let me share an interesting example. Sunita Chalak, a lady from Latur has started a factory. Every day around 40 women stitch blouses in this unit. Many women from Latur and surrounding cities buy blouses from Sunita. Searching for an opportunity and working on it was an important factor to her. Because one can select a design and purchase the saree online. But blouses need to be stitched according to the individual measurement.  

A lady in Mumbai has started a unique business. Nowadays many young people go to the USA or other foreign countries for education or job. This lady teaches them the mannerism followed in those countries. She also teaches them some simple but important things like how to enquire in the foreign university, how to get an accommodation there, how to do a daily commute, the etiquettes in hotels or malls, or how to face unexpected problems.

Some ladies teach short recipes to boys and girls who want to go abroad. Women can work in different industries like tourism, the management of holy rituals, etc. Working in the fields of Ayurvedic medicines, yoga, Indian food culture also has a wide scope. People should think about it these opportunities. 

There are fewer opportunities for employment in rural areas in comparison to the urban area. Male dominance is still prevailing in the society. A person’s appearance is more important in our society. Women from rural area find it as a big obstacle in business opportunities. They are not accepted in society due to their simple clothes or their language. When a woman from a rural area wants to start a business, many people give confusing suggestions. If women get domestic flour mills or sewing machine under various schemes, many a small business can be started. But they tend to be short-lived. Many types of permissions are needed to start a new business. Government is implementing policies like ‘Single Window Scheme’. But women are hesitant in completing the legal procedures. They are not aware of various government schemes for their benefits. At times, men take advantage of such grants by doing fake registrations under women’s name. 

The path of entrepreneurship for women has many hurdles. But, we are finding solutions. The number of women entrepreneurs from urban areas is increasing and the future for women entrepreneurship is certainly bright. 

 

 

Originally Published in Yashashwi Udyojak. Subscribe Today.

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