Women Enterprise in India
Women and Enterprise in India
As the online magazine telling the story of contemporary Indian women, we examine the rise of women entrepreneurs in India. By Aparna V. Singh
Everywhere you look, there is an Indian woman in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream. Women have always been involved in small, usually home-based businesses but this is different. We are more visible, we are more ambitious and we hear more women talking about building businesses, not just earning an income. What is driving so many women to start businesses? What challenges do they face? What helps them succeed? Does gender enter the entrepreneur’s mind at all? These were only some of the questions we had, and out of that emerged the Women’s Web Women & Entrepreneurship in India 2012 Study. The study was conducted online between June 1st and 20th and we received responses from 114 women entrepreneurs across the country. Below are the results, which will be of interest to entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs-in-the-making, mentors, advisors, funding firms and anyone with an interest in the story of women and entrepreneurship in India. Women entrepreneurs in India: Who, where, how big? A significant chunk (58%) of the entrepreneurs we surveyed had started their businesses between the ages of 20 and 30; interestingly, 25% had started up even before turning 25. It raises the possibility of at least some women starting up businesses without first holding a job, right after their education. As expected, most were either graduates or post-graduates.
Which cities are producing India’s women entrepreneurs? Bangalore leads all other cities head and shoulders in the presence of women entrepreneurs. Kolkata is the only absentee large metro (tucked away under ‘others’), with all the others such as Chennai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad figuring in the list. As for industry type, Professional services, IT/ITES, Apparel/accessories and Food & Beverages are the four major
As the online magazine telling the story of contemporary Indian women, we examine the rise of women entrepreneurs in India. By Aparna V. Singh
Everywhere you look, there is an Indian woman in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream. Women have always been involved in small, usually home-based businesses but this is different. We are more visible, we are more ambitious and we hear more women talking about building businesses, not just earning an income. What is driving so many women to start businesses? What challenges do they face? What helps them succeed? Does gender enter the entrepreneur’s mind at all? These were only some of the questions we had, and out of that emerged the Women’s Web Women & Entrepreneurship in India 2012 Study. The study was conducted online between June 1st and 20th and we received responses from 114 women entrepreneurs across the country. Below are the results, which will be of interest to entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs-in-the-making, mentors, advisors, funding firms and anyone with an interest in the story of women and entrepreneurship in India. Women entrepreneurs in India: Who, where, how big? A significant chunk (58%) of the entrepreneurs we surveyed had started their businesses between the ages of 20 and 30; interestingly, 25% had started up even before turning 25. It raises the possibility of at least some women starting up businesses without first holding a job, right after their education. As expected, most were either graduates or post-graduates.
Which cities are producing India’s women entrepreneurs? Bangalore leads all other cities head and shoulders in the presence of women entrepreneurs. Kolkata is the only absentee large metro (tucked away under ‘others’), with all the others such as Chennai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad figuring in the list. As for industry type, Professional services, IT/ITES, Apparel/accessories and Food & Beverages are the four major