Government data reveals that about 39% of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are successfully owned by women. This stands as an achievement for gender equality and economic empowerment. This has surely led to an increase in the share of women’s contribution to economic growth and development.
The cause of this increase can be traced back to a myriad of factors like improved access to finance, shift in culture, targeted government initiatives as well as support provided to women entrepreneurs. The percentage of women owned MSME’s is 24.6 million out of the 63 million MSME’s operating in India.
Another major driver for this development is the government’s focus on financial inclusion as well as entrepreneurship development. It moved forward with schemes like MUDRA Yojana, a scheme that gives loans to micro and small enterprises. These loans have helped a lot of women entrepreneurs to expand and even start their buisnessess.
There are other initiatives that has led to this milestone achievement, one of them being Stand Up India, that motivates entrepreneurship spirit in lower caste and women. Through this initiative there is a possibility that one lower caste person or a woman can borrow about 10 lakhs to 1 crore from each bank for setting up a greenfield enterprise.
In addition to this the rise in use of the internet led to an increase in digital literacy, and motivated women to barge in new horizons and get new resources for their business prospects. Two other factors through which women have scaled their business as well as got unprecedented opportunity is through E-commerce platforms and digital payment systems.
The advent of numerous training and mentorship programs, along with financial support has equipped women with necessary skills as well as knowledge that is required to be a successful entrepreneur. There are organizations like National Small Industries Corporation and government initiatives that provide solutions to needs of women entrepreneurs.
According to experts this milestone can also be the result of shifts in India’s economic landscape. Dr Renu Singh specializing in gender and development stated “ These stats highlight the growing impact of women entrepreneurs in India’s MSME’s sector. The business that women own not only contributes to its own success but also takes part in the development of society as a whole.”
The increase of women participation in the MSME sector has not only led to economic growth but opens up areas for inclusive development. Businesses that are owned and run by women are more likely to drive social change, contribute to building an equitable society, invest in their communities and create jobs.
There are some sectors that need positive trends and remain an obstacle for development of women entrepreneurs. In these sectors, there is a need for the government to emphasize the importance of continuous support, awareness campaigns as well as infrastructure development to continue the growth and development of women owned MSMEs.
