An Article on Rural and Women Entrepreneurship: Growth and Development

Rural and Women Entrepreneurship: Growth and Development by Kamaljeet Dhillon Assistant Professor (Computer Applications)

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Historically, women have experienced special problems as entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. It probable is still true in some locales that women cannot get business loans without a husband’s or father’s co-signature. For this sort of reason, specially focused programmes for women can be important for a community to obtain the full benefit of this important sector for business development, quite apart from questions of equity.

An Article on Rural and Women Entrepreneurship: Growth and Development

Programmes in women entrepreneurship may, but ordinarily do not also serve men, although much of the content of such programmes would be no different if they happened to be organized for a group of men. For example, there are, of course, no gender differences in the processes of feasibility studies or market analyses. However, an emphasis, for example, on networking among solely women entrepreneurs provides a significant support for sharing experiences with gender-related obstacles and techniques or dealing with them. Moreover, seminars and other training sessions restricted to women probable offer a greater opportunity for the participants to gain from them than if the usual pattern of male-dominated interactions in the school and other training settings must otherwise be countered.

In rural communities, families on farms must seek supplementary income, and the woman who considers a side-business is particularly a potential client for an entrepreneurship programme. Similarly, women dependent upon welfare supplements are another client base when these seek some means of self-employment in a very restricted labour market. A women entrepreneurship programme should not be limited to working with individuals or groups of entrepreneurs. An important function for such a programme is to act as a collective advocate for women in business in the local community or in wider venues, including the province and the nation.

For example, WRED (Women and Rural Economic Development) has been especially active in advocacy at the provincial and national level. It as also addressed the problem of credit for women business by getting a credit union to establish a loan programme. It this instance, WRED offered to guarantee loans so as to encourage the credit union’s participation. Through WRED’s advocacy efforts the lenders are also making some financial contribution by offering the loans at minimal rates.

Benefits

All too often the ideas, energy, and effort of women have been denied by and to a community’s business development activities. This onerous handicap can be overcome by the techniques considered here. Thus today’s national trend in which most new businesses are being started by women can be capitalized on in a CED strategy that promotes women entrepreneurship.

Major Challenges

The biggest problem to address is the need for comprehensiveness in programming, especially in rural areas. It is not enough to simply encourage women to start their businesses; they will need a variety of supportive services to sustain the businesses, including access to capital. And probable most important is access to continuing consultation as they try to grow their businesses. These, of course, are the needs of all new businesses, but in rural areas, the infrastructure of support is so sparse.

Thus a women entrepreneurship programme, to be most effective, has to step in to do a variety of tasks that in urban settings are being addressed by other agencies or groups – e.g., basic numeracy and literacy training. Or failing that, the programme would have to restrict its clients to those who do not need the full range of supportive services and preparatory training. In that case, the programme neglects those who most need aid in moving into self-employment, particularly considering that they are least able to access any government programmes.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Is there still a need to talk specifically about women entrepreneurs. on top of everything that has been already said’? Yes and no. No, because all that has been said about entrepreneurship is directly applicable to women, the concept, characteristics, sources’ etc. Women entrepreneurs, as research demonstrates, may do things differently. For example, in comparison to male entrepreneurs, women tend to work more in teams, are less self-centred and personal ego to them is less important than success of the organization or business idea they are pursuing.

However, there is no difference in characteristics such as achievement, autonomy, aggression, independence and benevolence between female and male entrepreneurs. Also, no differences were found in risk taking propensity of male and female entrepreneurs.

However, we do need to talk explicitly about women entrepreneurs. It should be stressed that rural women can encounter many constraints when trying to take part in the transformation process. Rural areas tend to be more traditional in regard to the gender issue.

In rural areas, the gender issue is usually a much stronger hindering factor to potential female entrepreneurs than it is in urban areas, their selfesteem and managerial skills being lower when compared to urban women and access to external financial resources more difficult than in urban areas. Therefore, special programmes of assistance to overcome these constraints should be developed and designed to meet the needs of rural women in order to be able to take an active part in entrepreneurial restructuring of their communities, to start to develop their own ventures, to expand their already existing businesses, or to function as social entrepreneurs since their number today is still below the potential one.

To this end, based on my own experience as well as on the experiences of so many entrepreneurial women I have met across the world in my profession and in business, I very much agree with Juliana Schwager-Jebbink’s comment: “Nowadays, reflecting on the phenomenon of the successful female manager read entrepreneur), it is the individuality which must stand out and there are no general recipes to be presented. After my years as President of the Swiss Federation of Business and Professional Women, going all over the country and abroad to speak on development programmes for women, I firmly believe that quotas, positive discrimination and equal opportunity’ politics do not help the female manager: it is she herself who must do the managing of her life. This is true for all of Europe… “ This belief is the one for which we as trainers are responsible to bring to rural women in addition to trying to put in place all factors crucial for rural women to enter into entrepreneurial activities. Without it, entrepreneurial opportunities will not be seen, they will be lost and then the role of women in rural development will be much below their potential.

WOMEN AS ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA

Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost all countries. The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. Skill, knowledge and adaptability in business are the main reasons for women to emerge into business ventures.

‘Women Entrepreneur’ is a person who accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women, who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life. With the advent of media, women are aware of their own traits, rights and also the work situations. The glass ceilings are shattered and women are found indulged in every line of business from pappad to power cables.

The challenges and opportunities provided to the women of digital era are growing rapidly that the job seekers are turning into job creators. They are flourishing as designers, interior decorators, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers and still exploring new avenues of economic participation.In India, although women constitute the majority of the total population, the entrepreneurial world is still a male dominated one. Women in advanced nations are recognized and are more prominent in the business world.

But the Indian women entrepreneurs are facing some major constraints like:

• Lack of confidence: In general, women lack confidence in their strength and competence. The family members and the society are reluctant to stand beside their entrepreneurial growth. To a certain extent, this situation is changing among Indian women and yet to face a tremendous change to increase the rate of growth in entrepreneurship.
• Socio-cultural barriers: Women’s family and personal obligations are sometimes a great barrier for succeeding in business career. Only few women are able to manage both home and business efficiently, devoting enough time to perform all their responsibilities in priority.
• Market-oriented risks: Stiff competition in the market and lack of mobility of women make the dependence of women entrepreneurs on middleman indispensable. Many business women find it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular. They are not fully aware of the changing market conditions and hence can effectively utilize the services of media and internet.
• Motivational factors: Self motivation can be realised through a mind set for a successful business, attitude to take up risk and behaviour towards the business society by shouldering the social responsibilities. Other factors are family support, Government policies, financial assistance from public and private institutions and also the environment suitable for women to establish business units.
• Knowledge in Business Administration: Women must be educated and trained constantly to acquire the skills and knowledge in all the functional areas of business management. This can facilitate women to excel in decision making process and develop a good business network.
• Awareness about the financial assistance: Various institutions in the financial sector extend their maximum support in the form of incentives, loans, schemes etc. Even then every woman entrepreneur may not be aware of all the assistance provided by the institutions. So the sincere efforts taken towards women entrepreneurs may not reach the entrepreneurs in rural and backward areas.
• Exposed to the training programmes: Training programmes and workshops for every type of entrepreneur is available through the social and welfare associations, based on duration, skill and the purpose of the training programme. Such programmes are really useful to new, rural and young entrepreneurs who want to set up a small and medium scale unit on their own.
• Identifying the available resources: Women are hesitant to find out the access to cater their needs in the financial and marketing areas. In spite of the mushrooming growth of associations, institutions, and the schemes from the government side, women are not enterprising and dynamic to optimize the resources in the form of reserves, assets mankind or business volunteers.

Highly educated, technically sound and professionally qualified women should be encouraged for managing their own business, rather than dependent on wage employment outlets. The unexplored talents of young women can be identified, trained and used for various types of industries to increase the productivity in the industrial sector. A desirable environment is necessary for every woman to inculcate entre-preneurial values and involve greatly in business dealings.

The additional business opportunities that are recently approaching for women entrepreneurs are:

• Eco-friendly technology
• Bio-technology
• IT enabled enterprises
• Event Management
• Tourism industry
• Telecommunication
• Plastic materials
• Vermiculture
• Mineral water
• Sericulture
• Floriculture
• Herbal and health care
• Food, fruits and vegetable processing

Conclusion: Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the goals of sustainable development and the bottlenecks hindering their growth must be eradicated to entitle full participation in the business. Apart from training programmes, Newsletters, mentoring, trade fairs and exhibitions also can be a source for entrepreneurial development. As a result, the desired outcomes of the business are quickly achieved and more of remunerative business opportunities are found. Henceforth, promoting entrepreneurship among women is certainly a short-cut to rapid economic growth and development.

Let us try to eliminate all forms of gender discrimination and thus allow ‘women’ to be an entrepreneur at par with men.

FACTORS EFFECTING ENTREPRENEURIAL GROWTH

Following are the factors of environment affecting entrepreneurial growth. These conditions are grouped under two categories:

1. Economic conditions
2. Non-economic conditions

ECONOMIC FACTORS

Economic conditions includes the capital, labour, raw material and market.

Capital

It is the essence of enterprise. Availability of capital facilitates mobility of land, material etc., is required to produce goods. Therefore, capital is a lubricant which smoothens the working of vehicle called enterprise. Increases capital investment, capital output ratio results in profit, which ultimately goes up to capital formation.

Labour

Quality and quantity of labour influence the entrepreneurship mobility, dexterity and immobility.

Low cost labour and capital intensive technology oriented enterprises influence entrepreneurship.

Raw Material

Availability of raw material, nature of industrial establishment, technology innovation and mobility of raw material encourages or curbs the development of entrepreneurship.

Market

The potential of the market constitutes the major department of probable rewards from entrepreneurial function. The size and composition of market monopoly in a particular product influence entrepreneurship.

NON-ECONOMIC FACTORS (WITH REFERENCE TO CLASS STUDY)

Non-economic conditions are as follows: social conditions, psychological conditions and political or governmental action.

Sociologists and psychologists view that the influence of economic factors on entrepreneurial emergence largely depend upon the existence of non-economic factors.

Social conditions are as follow:

• Socio-cultural norms and values
• Degree of approval or disapproval of entrepreneurial behaviour.
• Family background, standard of education, technical knowledge and information.
• Financial stability, caste and religious affiliation. Psychological conditions are as follow:
• David Mcdellond’s theory of need achievement—A constellation of personality characteristics, and high need achievement is the major determinant of entrepreneurship.

• Individual works in the society but remains different.
• Impact of achievement motivation and training programmes influence development of entrepreneurship.

GOVERNMENT ACTIONS:- (WITH REFERENCE TO SPECIAL LEGISLATIONS AND COURT CASES)

• Government encourage entrepreneurship by creating basic facilities, utilities and services and by providing incentives and concessions.
• Government provides the prospective entrepreneurships a facilitative socio-economic setting.
• Entrepreneurship development is based on the government interest in economic development of the society.

The emergence of entrepreneurship. These factors are interlocking, mutually dependent and mutually reinforcing.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF MOTIVATION

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF MOTIVATION

Self preservation, whether this is pointed directly to survivial or towards our image of ourselves painted by our beliefs and ideals. What I mean by this is that we have in our mind a view point of who we are and we trive to accomplish this in either advancement or a continuation of our currant state. This personal view point might look down upon theft, and so seeing a theft we might feel “motivated” to call police, in order to up keep our currant view of what kind of person we see ourselves as.

ACHIEVEMENT

Over the years, behavioural scientists have noticed that some people have an intense desire to achieve something, while others may not seem that concerned about their achievements. This phenomenon has attracted a lot of discussions and debates. Scientists have observed that people with a high level of achievement motivation exhibit certain characteristics. Achievement motivation is the tendency to endeavor for success and to choose goal oriented success or failure activities.

Achievement motivation forms to be the basic for a good life. People who are oriented towards achievement, in general, enjoy life and feel in control. Being motivated keeps people dynamic and gives them self-respect. They set moderately difficult but easily achievable targets, which help them, achieve their objectives. They do not set up extremely difficult or extremely easy targets. By doing this they ensure that they only undertake tasks that can be achieved by them.

Achievement motivated people prefer to work on a problem rather than leaving the outcome to chance. It is also seen that achievement motivated people seem to be more concerned with their personal achievement rather than the rewards of success. It is generally seen that achievement motivated people evidenced a significantly higher rate of advancement in their company compared to others. Programmes and courses designed, involves seven “training inputs.” The first step refers to the process through which achievement motivation thinking is taught to the person.

The second step helps participants understand their own individuality and goals. The third assist participants in practicing achievement-related actions in cases, role-plays, and real life. A fourth refers to practicing of achievement-related actions in business and other games. A fifth input encourages participants to relate the achievement behaviour model to their own behaviour, self-image, and goals.

The sixth programme facilitates participants to develop a personal plan of action. Finally, the course provides participants with feedback on their progress towards achieving objectives and targets. Achievement motivation as a branch of study has greatly established its prominence. A number of companies are now training their employees in the same.

References 

1. Mridula Velagapudi, Women Entrepreneurship‟Create Space Independent Publishing Platform.
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