SMT.

CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL MANSUKHANI COLLEGE

ULHASNAGAR- 421003

PROJECT REPORT ON
ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANAGEMENT

SUBMITTED BY
AKASH RANA
(ROLL NO: 701)

M.COM PART-II (SEM.IV):

ROLE OF MICRO FINANACE ENHANCING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AMONG WOMEN & CASE STUDY

SUBMITED TO
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
2016-17

PROJECT GUIDE
Prof.Kishore Karia

Department of Commerce

Certificate
Thisistocertifythat,Mr.AKASHRANAofM.Com.II,Sem.IV(RollNO701)hassuccessfullycompleted
the project titled ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE ENHANCING ENTERPRENURSHIP AMONG
WOMEN & CASE STUDYundermyguidancefortheAcademicYear201617.Theinformationsubmitted
istrueandoriginalaspermyknowledge.

Prof. Kishore Karia

(ProjectGuide)

Prof.GopiShamnani
Dr.ManjuLalwanipatha
(Coordinator,M.ComCourse)
(I/CPrincipal)

ExternalExaminer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge the valuable assistance provided by SMT.CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL

MANSUKHANI COLLEGE, for two years of degree course in M.Com.
I specially thank the principal Dr. ManjuLalwanipathak for Allowing us to use the
facilities such as library, computer laboratory, internet etc.
I sincerely thank the M.Com co-ordinator Prof.GopiShamnani for Guiding us in the right
direction go prepare the project.
I thank my guide Prof. Kishore Kariawho has given his/her valuable time, knowledge
and guidance to complete the project successfully in time.
My family and peers were great source of inspiration throughout my project their support
is deeply acknowledged.

Signature

DECLARATION
I, AKASH RANA OF SMT.CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL MANSUKHANI COLLEGE OF
M.Com PART-II (SEMESTER-IV), hereby declare that I have completed the project on
ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE ENHANCING ENTERPRENURSHIP AMONG WOMEN &
CASE STUDY in the academic year 2016-17. The information submitted is true and
original to the best of my knowledge.

(AKASH .P. RANA)

M.Com part-II, ROLL NO: 701
SEMESTER IV
4

INDEX
Sr.No

PARTICULARS

Page No

INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

LITERATURE REVIEW

INDUSTRY PROFILE

12

MICRO FINANCE AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

24

ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE

28

ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

29

9
10

11

SUCCESSFUL INDIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR IN INDIA

30
32

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

34

CASE STUDY

41

RECOMMENDATION

47

CONCLUSION

48

12
13
14
15
5

BIBLIOGRAPHY

50

INTRODUCTION
Microfinance is defined as any activity that includes the provision of financial services such as credit,
savings, and insurance to low income individuals which fall just above the nationally defined poverty
line, and poor individuals which fall below that poverty line, with the goal of creating social value. The
creation of social value includes poverty alleviation and the broader impact of improving livelihood
opportunities through the provision of capital for micro enterprise, and insurance and savings for risk
mitigation and consumption smoothing. A large variety of sectors provide microfinance in India, using
a range of microfinance delivery methods. Since the ICICI Bank in India, various actors have
endeavored to provide access to financial services to the poor in creative ways. Governments also have
piloted national programs, NGOs have undertaken the activity of raising donor funds for on-lending,
and some banks have partnered with public organizations or made small inroads themselves in
providing such services. This has resulted in a rather broad definition of microfinance as any activity
that targets poor and low-income individuals for the provision of financial services. The range of
activities undertaken in microfinance include group lending, individual lending, the provision of
savings and insurance, capacity building, and agricultural business development services. Whatever
the form of activity however, the overarching goal that unifies all actors in the provision of
microfinance is the creation of social value.

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The main purpose or objective of study on micro finance enhancing entrepreneurship
among women is as follows:
To exhibit the encouraging and discouraging factors in an
enterprise.
Identification and analysis of all the shortcomings encountered by women in
setting and establishing an industrial enterprise.
To provide solutions to the various problems faced by the women entrepreneur
group.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

For methodology an extensive literature review of secondary data from various sources has
been held as related to the stated objectives of the study as well as research study on internet survey
basis.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Effects of Financial Access on Savings by Low-Income People,
Fernando Aportelo,
December 1999

This paper assesses the impact of increasing financial access on low-income people savings. Effects on
households saving rates and on different informal savings instruments are considered. The paper uses
an exogenous expansion of a Mexican savings institute, targeted to low-income people, as a natural
experiment and the 1992 and 1994 National Surveys of Income and Expenditures. Results show that
the expansion increased the average saving rate of affected households by more than 3 to almost 5
percentage points. The effect was even higher for the poorest households in the sample: their saving
rate increased by more than 7 percentage points in some cases.
Do Rural Banks Matter? Evidence From The Indian Social Banking Experiment, Robin
Burguess&RohiniPande
August 2003
Lack of access to finance is often cited as a key reason why poor people remain poor. This paper uses
data on the Indian rural branch expansion program to provide empirial evidence on this issue. Between
1977 and 1990, the Indian Central Bank mandated that a commercial bank can open a branch in a
location with one or more bank branches only if it opens four in locations with no bank branches. We
show that between 1977 and 1990 this rule caused banks to open relatively more rural branches in
Indian states with lower initial financial development.
Microfinance in India: Small, Ostensibly Rigid and Safe, RajalaxmiKamath and R. Srinivasan
June 2009
Grameen replicators in India, using a for-profit Non-Banking Finance Company legal form, have
grown rapidly in terms of client numbers. Loan sizes are relatively small compared to per capita
income, while portfolio quality was until recently very high. There is evidence in field of multiple
borrowing, with clients borrowing simultaneously from multiple sources including micro-finance
9

institutions. We build a model of the microfinance sector that explains why such multiple borrowings
result optimally in small loan sizes and high portfolio quality.

Crabb, P. (2008)
He has examined that the relationship between the success of microfinance institutions and the degree
of economic freedom in their host countries. Many microfinance institutions are currently not selfsustaining and research suggests that the economic environment in which the institution operates is an
important factor in the ability of the institution to reach this goal, furthering its mission of outreach to
the poor.
Muhammad Yunus (1998)
He has examined that this approach to poverty reduction at the macro-level is inadequate. The primary
causes of poverty are not lack of human capital or lack of demand for labor. Lack of demand for labor
is only a symptom, not a cause, of poverty. Poverty is caused by our inadequate understanding of
human capabilities and by our failure to create enabling theoretical frameworks, concepts, institutions
and policies to support those capabilities.
The Transformation of Microfinance in India: Experiences, Options and Future; M S Sriram
and Rajesh Upadhyayula, September 2002
The paper looks at the growth and transformation of microfinance organisations (MFO) in India. It
first defines microfinance and identify its value attributes. Having chosen only those MFOs that
have microfinance as the core, we look at the transformation experiences.
Analysis of the Effects of Microfinance on Poverty Reduction, NYU Wagner Working Paper
Series
Microfinance has proven to be an effective and powerful tool for poverty reduction. Like many other
development tools, however, it has insufficiently penetrated the poorer strata of society. The poorest
form the vast majority of those without access to primary health care and basic education; similarly,
they are the majority of those without access to microfinance. While there is no question that the
poorest can benefit from primary health care and from basic education, it is not as intuitive that they
can also benefit from microfinance, or that microfinance is an appropriate tool by which to reach the
Millennium goals.
At the Crossroads: Microfinance in India; Rajesh Chakrabarti and Shamika Ravi; 2011
10

As of early 2011, the microfinance industry in India, one of the largest in the world, is facing a
moment of reckoning. The recent developments in Andhra Pradesh, the cradle of microfinance in
India, have stamped the future of the sector with a huge question mark. This paper sketches the
background of the microfinance movement in India as well as its current geographical distribution and
outreach;
MFI (Microfinance Institutes) Borrowers: Their loans and Repayments RajalaxmiKamath and
AbhiDattasharma
News about the microfinance sector in India today is in what can be called a lull, after the tumult
following the Andhra crisis (Taylor, Marcus. 2011). It has however, spawned a much needed reevaluation of the microfinance movement a$nd its meaning to the poor. The initial euphoria over this
bottom-up approach towards global poverty reduction has died down. World-over, doubts are being
raised over the conclusions of the impact studies cited (Duvendack et al. 2011).

11

INDUSTRY PROFILE
EVOLUTION OF MICROFINANCE IN INDIA (1960 TO TODAY)
Microfinance in India emerged as an effort to reach out to the un-banked, lower income segments of
the population

1960 to 1980

1990

2000 to 2015

Phase 1: Social Banking

Phase 2: Financial Systems

Phase 3: Financial Inclusion

Approach
1.Nationalization

of

private 1.Peer-pressure

commercial banks
2.Expansion of rural branch
network

1.NGO-MFIs and SHGs gaining

2.Establishment of

more legitimacy
2.MFIs emerging as strategic

MFIs,typically of non-profit

partners to diverse entities

origins

interested in thelow-income
segments
3.Consumer finance emerged

3.Extension of subsidized credit

ashighgrowth area

4.Establishment of Rural
4.Increased policy regulation

Regional Banks
5.Establishment of apex

5.Increasing commercialization

institutionssuch as National
Bank for Agricultureand Rural
Development and SmallIndustries Development Bank of
India

12

Entities in Micro Finance:Indian Microfinance dominated by two operational approaches:

SHG
Initiated by NABARD through SHG Bank Linkage Program.
Largest outreach to microfinance clients in the world reaching 79.60 self-help groups in
2011-12 ( NABARD Latest Report in 2011-12 )
MFIs
Emerged in the late 1990s to harness social and commercial funds.
Today the number of Indian MFIs has increased and crossed 1000 reaching 31.4 million
people in 2010-11 ( CRISIL Report on Microfinance )

SHGs comprise twenty or fewer members, of whom the majority are women from the poorest castes
and tribes. Members save small amounts of money, as little as a few rupees a month in a group fund.
Members may borrow from the group fund for a variety of purposes ranging from household
emergencies to school fees. Banks typically lend up to four rupees for every rupee in the group fund.
Groups pay 12-24% annual rate of interest.
MFI is an organization that offers financial services to low income populations. Almost all of these
offer microcredit and only take back small amounts of savings from their own borrowers (except for
NBFC- MFIs which cannot borrow from the general public) not from the general public. Term refers to
a wide range of organizations - NGOs, credit unions, cooperatives, private commercial banks and nonbank financial institutions.
Who are the clients of micro finance?
The typical micro finance clients are low-income persons that do not have access to formal financial
institutions. Micro finance clients are typically self-employed, often household-based entrepreneurs. In
rural areas, they are usually small farmers and others who are engaged in small income-generating
activities such as food processing and petty trade. In urban areas, micro finance activities are more
diverse and include shopkeepers, service providers, artisans, street vendors, etc. Micro finance clients
are poor and vulnerable non-poor who have a relatively unstable source of income.
Access to conventional formal financial institutions, for many reasons, is inversely related to income:
the poorer you are the less likely that you have access. On the other hand, the chances are that, the
13

poorer you are, the more expensive or onerous informal financial arrangements. Moreover, informal
arrangements may not suitably meet certain financial service needs or may exclude you anyway.
Individuals in this excluded and under-served market segment are the clients of micro finance.
As we broaden the notion of the types of services micro finance encompasses, the potential market of
micro finance clients also expands. It depends on local conditions and political climate, activeness of
cooperatives, SHG & NGOs and support mechanism. For instance, micro credit might have a far more
limited market scope than say a more diversified range of financial services, which includes various
types of savings products, payment and remittance services, and various insurance products. For
example, many very poor farmers may not really wish to borrow, but rather, would like a safer place to
save the proceeds from their harvest as these are consumed over several months by the requirements of
daily living. Central government in India has established a strong & extensive link between NABARD
(National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development), State Cooperative Bank, District Cooperative
Banks, Primary Agriculture & Marketing Societies at national, state, district and village level.
The Need in India:

India is said to be the home of one third of the worlds poor; 32.7% of the population (400

million ) live on less than 1.25$ a day. ( World Bank Data )

About 87 percent of the poorest households do not have access to credit, 70% do not have

access to saving account and less than 15% have access to any kind of formal insurance
The demand for microcredit has been estimated at up to $30 billion; the supply is less than $2.2
billion combined by all involved in the sector.

Legal Regulations
Banks in India are regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the RBI Act of
1934, Banking Regulation Act, Regional Rural Banks Act, and the Cooperative Societies Acts of the
respective state governments for cooperative banks.
NBFCs are registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and are governed under the RBI Act.
There were guidelines introduced for NBFC-MFIs on August 03,2012 which are as followsCapital requirement Entry Point Norms
i. Existing NBFCs
All registered NBFCs intending to convert to NBFC-MFI must seek registration with immediate effect
and in any case not later than October 31, 2012, subject to the condition that they shall maintain Net
Owned Funds (NOF) at Rs.3 crore by March 31, 2013 and at Rs.5 crore by March 31, 2014, failing
14

which they must ensure that lending to the Microfinance sector i.e. individuals, SHGs or JLGs which
qualify for loans from MFIs, will be restricted to 10 per cent of the total assets.

ii. New Companies

All new companies desiring NBFC-MFI registration will need a minimum NOF of Rs.5 crore except
those in the North Eastern Region of the country which will require NOF of Rs.2 crore till further
notice, as hitherto and would comply,from the beginning, with all other criteria laid out in the
following paragraphs.
Qualifying Assets
i. NBFC-MFIs are required to maintain not less than 85 per cent of their net assets as Qualifying
Assets. In view of the problems being faced by NBFCs in complying with this criteria on account of
their existing portfolio, it has been decided that only the assets originated on or after January 1, 2012
will have to comply with the Qualifying Assets criteria. As a special dispensation, the existing assets
as on January 1, 2012 will be reckoned towards meeting both the Qualifying Assets criteria as well as
the Total Net Assets criteria. These assets will be allowed to run off on maturity and cannot be
renewed.
ii. NBFC-MFIs were also required to ensure that the aggregate amount of loans given for income
generation is not less than 75 per cent of the total loans extended. On reconsideration, as the target
clientele is predominantly at the subsistence level and basic human requirements stand to gain priority
over income generation activities, it has been decided that income generation activities should
constitute at least 70 per cent of the total loans of the MFI so that the remaining 30 per cent can be for
other purposes such as housing repairs, education, medical and other emergencies.
Multiple Lending and Indebtedness
It is clarified that a borrower can be the member of only one SHG or one JLG or borrow as an
individual. He can thus borrow from NBFC-MFIs as a member of a SHG or a member of a JLG or
borrow in his individual capacity. However, a SHG or JLG or individual cannot borrow from more
than 2 MFIs. Lending NBFC-MFIs will have to ensure that the above conditions are strictly complied
with.
Development Process through Micro Finance
15

Donors and Banks

Micro-Finance

Governmentand Banks

Implementing Organisations

Individual

Awareness/Promotional Work

Individual

Promotion and Formation of SHGs

Micro Enterprise

Consolidation of SHGs

Micro Enterprise

Savings
Consumption Needs

Credit Delivery

Production Needs

Recovery
Follow-up Monitoring

Non-Farm Related
Farm Related
Income Generation (Sustainable & Growth Oriented)

Self-Sustainability of SHGs

Economic Empowerment through use of Micro-Credit as an entry point for overall Empowerment

Micro-finance interventions through different organisations

16

National Financial Institutions

Banks

Government Funded Programmes

Donors/Bilateral Projects

Implementing Organisations

Resource/Support Organisations

Indirectly engaged in Micro-Finance

Directly engaged in Micro-Finance

Individuals
SHGs

Members

Distribution of Indebted Rural Households: Agency wise (Source- NABARD)

17

Credit Agency

Percentage of Rural Households

Government

6.1

Cooperative Societies

21.6

Commercial banks and RRBs

33.7

Insurance

0.3

Provident Fund

0.7

Other Institutional Sources

1.6

All Institutional Agencies

64.0

Landlord

4.0

Agricultural Moneylenders

7.0

Professional Moneylenders

10.5

Relatives and Friends

5.5

Others

9.0

All Non Institutional Agencies

36.0

All Agencies

100.0

Micro Finance Models

1. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs):

18

MFIs are an extremely heterogeneous group comprising NBFCs, societies, trusts and
cooperatives. They are provided financial support from external donors and apex institutions
including the RashtriyaMahilaKosh (RMK), SIDBI Foundation for micro-credit and NABARD
and employ a variety of ways for credit delivery.
Since 2000, commercial banks including Regional Rural Banks have been providing funds to
MFIs for on lending to poor clients. Though initially, only a handful of NGOs were into
financial intermediation using a variety of delivery methods, their numbers have increased
considerably today. While there is no published data on private MFIs operating in the country,
the number of MFIs is estimated to be around 800.

Legal Forms of MFIs in India

Types of MFIs

Estimated Legal Acts under which Registered

Number*

1. Not for Profit MFIs

400 to 500 Societies Registration Act, 1860 or

similar

a.) NGO - MFIs

Benefit

10

Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956

MFIs 200 to 250 Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies

a.) Mutually Aided Cooperative

Act enacted by State Government

Societies (MACS) and similarly

set up institutions

3. For Profit MFIs

a.)

Non-Banking

Acts

Indian Trust Act, 1882

b.) Non-profit Companies

2. Mutual

Provincial

Indian Companies Act, 1956

Financial

Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934

Companies (NBFCs)
19

Total

700 800

2. Bank Partnership Model

This model is an innovative way of financing MFIs. The bank is the lender and the MFI acts as
an agent for handling items of work relating to credit monitoring, supervision and recovery. In
other words, the MFI acts as an agent and takes care of all relationships with the client, from first
contact to final repayment. The model has the potential to significantly increase the amount of
funding that MFIs can leverage on a relatively small equity base.
A sub - variation of this model is where the MFI, as an NBFC, holds the individual loans on its
books for a while before securitizing them and selling them to the bank. Such refinancing
through securitization enables the MFI enlarged funding access. If the MFI fulfills the true sale
criteria, the exposure of the bank is treated as being to the individual borrower and the prudential
exposure norms do not then inhibit such funding of MFIs by commercial banks through the
securitization structure.
3. Banking Correspondents
The proposal of banking correspondents could take this model a step further extending it to
savings. It would allow MFIs to collect savings deposits from the poor on behalf of the bank. It
would use the ability of the MFI to get close to poor clients while relying on the financial
strength of the bank to safeguard the deposits. This regulation evolved at a time when there were
genuine fears that fly-by-night agents purporting to act on behalf of banks in which the people
have confidence could mobilize savings of gullible public and then vanish with them. It remains
to be seen whether the mechanics of such relationships can be worked out in a way that
minimizes the risk of misuse.
4. Service Company Model
Under this model, the bank forms its own MFI, perhaps as an NBFC, and then works hand in
hand with that MFI to extend loans and other services. On paper, the model is similar to the
partnership model: the MFI originates the loans and the bank books them. But in fact, this model
has two very different and interesting operational features:

The MFI uses the branch network of the bank as its outlets to reach clients. This allows the
client to be reached at lower cost than in the case of a standalone MFI. In case of banks
which have large branch networks, it also allows rapid scale up. In the partnership model,
MFIs may contract with many banks in an arms length relationship. In the service company

20

model, the MFI works specifically for the bank and develops an intensive operational

cooperation between them to their mutual advantage.

The Partnership model uses both the financial and infrastructure strength of the bank to
create lower cost and faster growth. The Service Company Model has the potential to take
the burden of overseeing microfinance operations off the management of the bank and put it
in the hands of MFI managers who are focused on microfinance to introduce additional
products, such as individual loans for SHG graduates, remittances and so on without
disrupting bank operations and provide a more advantageous cost structure for microfinance.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATION
These organizations are classified in the following categories to indicate the functional aspects covered
by them within the micro finance framework. The aim, however, is not to "typecast" an organization,
as these have many other activities within their scope:
Microfinance providers in India can be classified under three broad categories: formal, semiformal,
and informal.

Formal Sector
The formal sector comprises of the bankssuch as NABARD, SIDBI and other regional rural
banks (RRBs). They primarily provide credit for assistance in agriculture and micro-enterprise
development and primarily target the poor. Their deposit at around Rs.350 billion and of that,
around Rs.250 billion has been given as advances. They charge an interest of 12-13.5% but if
we include the transaction costs (number of visits to banks, compulsory savings and costs
incurred for payments to animators/staff/local leaders etc.) they come out to be as high as 2124%.

Semi - formal Sector

The majority of institutional microfinance providers in India are semi-formal organizations
broadly referred to as MFIs. Registered under a variety of legal acts, these organizations greatly
differ in philosophy, size, and capacity. There are over 500 non-government organizations
(NGOs) registered as societies, public trusts, or non-profit companies. Organizations
implementing micro-finance activities can be categorized into three basic groups.
I.

Organizations which directly lend to specific target groups and are carrying out all
related activities like recovery, monitoring, follow-up etc.

21

II.

Organizations who only promote and provide linkages to SHGs and are not directly

III.

involved in micro lending operations.

Organizations which are dealing with SHGs and plan to start micro-finance related
activities.

Informal Sector
In addition to friends and family, moneylenders, landlords, and traders constitute the informal
sector. While estimates of their importance vary significantly, it is undeniable that they
continue to play a significant role in the financial lives of the poor. These are the organizations
that provide support to implementing organizations. The support may be in terms of resources
or training for capacity building, counseling, networking, etc. They operate at state/regional or
national level. They may or may not be directly involved in micro-finance activities adopted by
the associations/collectives to support implementing Organizations.

Commercial banksas Microfinance Vehicles

Commercial banks recently have stepped into the realm of microfinance. They have taken tentative but
very important steps toward distributing Microfinance loans to the poor. One advantage of these
institutions is that they bring in the risks management practices that they regularly use in their
commercial operations risk management practices that they regularly use in their commercial
operations. The other important aspect they bring in is the professional credit appraisal practices that
are used in their normal operations. These important features combined with a mission to provide the
poor entrepreneurs will enhance the social lives and they can run their business effectively with proper
access to credit. In some cases, successful microfinance NGOs have transformed themselves into for
profit commercial banks (BancoSol of Bolivia is a prime example of a microfinance NGO that has
successfully transformed itself into a for-profit commercial bank). This transformation from a not-forprofit institution into for-profit organization has increased the focus of these organizations on financial
self-sufficiency. This transformation has been possible because commercial banks have entered this
arena bringing in key concepts like self-sufficiency, proper credit appraisal and risk management
practices. But there are some issues that have to be dealt with by the banks before embarking on the
Microfinance journey.
They are:
1. Banks Outreach
2. Clarity in objectives
Banks outreach is one of the most crucial aspects that must be critically examined by them before
entering into microfinance sector. One reason for it is that most of the commercial banks have little or
22

no rural presence with rate exceptions such as India, where rural banking was a priority and there is a
significant presence of commercial banks in the rural areas. They have to decide whether to start their
own branches in rural areas if they do not have any or partner with other banks or other microfinance
institutions in order to get a foothold in the rural finance sector. The other issue that has to be resolved
is the clarity in the bank in dealing with its microfinance operations. They have to decide whether it
will be completely independent operation or it will be part of their existing rural banking framework.
For example, ICICI banks microfinance operation is a completely independent operation and it does
not have any link with its commercial banking operation. Once these major issues are sorted out
commercial banks will have enough leverage to approach the microfinance sector with confidence.
Financial Institutions and banks

Microfinance has been attractive to the lending agencies because of demonstrated sustainability and of
low costs of operation. Institutions like SIDBI and NABARD are hard-nosed bankers and would not
work with the idea if they did not see a long term engagement which only comes out of sustainability
(that is economic attractiveness).
On the supply side, it is also true that it has all the trappings of a business enterprise, its output is
tangible and it is easily understood by the mainstream. This also seems to sound nice to the
government, which in the post liberalization era is trying to explain the logic of every rupee spent. That
is the reason why microfinance has attracted mainstream institutions like no other developmental
project.
Perhaps the most important factor that got banks involved is what one might call the policy push.Given
that most of our banks are in the public sector, public policy does have some influence on what they
will or will not do. In this case, policy was followed by diligent, if meandering, promotional work by
NABARD. The policy change about a decade ago by RBI to allow banks to lend to SHGs was initially
followed by a seven-page memo by NABARD to all bank chairmen, and later by sensitization and
training programmes for bank staff across the country. Several hundred such programs were conducted
by NGOs alone, each involving 15 to 20 bank staff, all paid for by NABARD. The policy push was
sweetened by the NABARD refinance scheme that offers much more favorable terms (100% refinance,
wider spread) than for other rural lending by banks. NABARD also did some system setting work and
banks lately have been given targets. The canvassing, training, refinance and close follow up by
NABARD has resulted in widespread bank involvement.
Moreover, for banks the operating cost of microfinance is perhaps much less than for pure MFIs. The
banks already have a vast network of branches. To the extent that an NGO has already promoted SHGs
and the SHG portfolio is performing better than the rest of the rural (if not the entire) portfolio,
microfinance via SHGs in the worst case would represent marginal addition to cost and would often
23

reduce marginal cost through better capacity utilization. In the process the bank also earns brownie
points with policy makers and meets its priority sector targets.
It does not take much analysis to figure out that the market for financial services for the 50-60 million
poor households of India, coupled with about the same number who are technically above the poverty
line but are severely under-served by the financial sector, is a very large one. Moreover, as in any
emerging market, though the perceived risks are higher, the spreads are much greater. The traditional
commercial markets of corporates, business, trade, and now even housing and consumer finance are
being sought by all the banks, leading to price competition and wafer thin spreads.
Further, bank-groups are motivated by a number of cross-selling opportunities in the market, for
deposits, insurance, remittances and eventually mutual funds. Since the larger banks are offering all
these services now through their group companies, it becomes imperative for them to expand their
distribution channels as far and deep as possible, in the hope of capturing the entire financial services
business of a household.
Finally, both agri-input and processing companies such as EID Parry, fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) companies such as Hindustan Levers, and consumer durable companies such as Philips have
realized the potential of this big market and are actively using SHGs as entry points. Some amount of
free-riding is taking place here by companies, for they are using channels which were built at a
significant cost to NGOs, funding agencies and/or the government.
On the whole, the economic attractiveness of microfinance as a business is getting established and this
is a sure step towards mainstreaming. We know that mainstreaming is a mixed blessing, and one tends
to exchange scale at the cost of objectives. So it needs to be watched carefully.

MICRO FINANCE AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Women as micro and small entrepreneurs have increasingly become the key target group for micro
finance programs. Consequently, providing access to micro finance facilities is not only considered a
pre-condition for poverty alleviation, but also considered as a strategy for empowering women. In
developing countries like INDIA micro finance is playing an important role, promoting gender equality
and is helping in empowering women so that they can live quality life with dignity.
The study conducted by FINCA Client Poverty Assessment conducted in 2003 revealed that of the
interviewed clients 81 percent were women, and it was found that food security was 15 percent higher
among their village banking clients than non-clients. The report also showed clients to have 11 percent
more of their children enrolled in school with an 18 percent increase in healthcare benefits. Clients
housing security was reported as 18 percent higher than non-clients. The assessment concluded that
microfinance improved the wellbeing of women clients and their families.
WOMENS EMPOWERMENT AND MICRO FINANCE: DIFFERENT PARADIGMS
24

Concern with womens access to credit and assumptions about contributions to womens
empowerment are not new. From the early 1970s womens movements in a number of countries
became increasingly interested in the degree to which women were able to access poverty-focused
credit programs and credit cooperatives. In India organizations like Self- Employed Womens
Association (SEWA) among others with origins and affiliations in the Indian labour and womens
movements identified credit as a major constraint in their work with informal sector women workers.
a) Feminist Empowerment Paradigm
The feminist empowerment paradigm did not originate as a Northern imposition, but is firmly rooted
in the development of some of the earliest micro-finance programmes in the South, including SEWA in
India. It currently underlies the gender policies of many NGOs and the perspectives of some of the
consultants and researchers looking at gender impact of micro-finance programmes (e.g. Chen 1996,
Johnson, 1997).
Here the underlying concerns are gender equality6 and womens human rights. Womens
empowerment is seen as an integral and inseparable part of a wider process of social transformation.
The main target group is poor women and women capable of providing alternative female role models
for change. Increasing attention has also been paid to men's role in challenging gender inequality.
Micro-finance is promoted as an entry point in the context of a wider strategy for womens economic
and socio-political empowerment which focuses on gender awareness and feminist organization. As
developed by Chen in her proposals for a sub sector approach to micro credit, based partly on SEWA's
strategy and promoted by UNIFEM, microfinance must be:
Part of a sectorial strategy for change which identifies opportunities, constraints and bottlenecks within
industries which if addressed can raise returns and prospects for large numbers of women. Possible
strategies include linking women to existing services and infrastructure, developing new technology
such as labour-saving food processing, building information networks, and shifting to new markets,
policy level changes to overcome legislative barriers and unionization.
Based on participatory principles to build up incremental knowledge of industries and enable women
to develop their strategies for change (Chen, 1996). Economic empowerment is however defined in
more than individualist terms to include issues such as property rights, changes intra-household
relations and transformation of the macro-economic context. Many organizations go further than
interventions at the industry level to include gender-specific strategies for social and political
empowerment. Some programmes have developed very effective means for integrating gender
awareness into programmes and for organizing women and men to challenge and change gender
discrimination. Some also have legal rights support for women and engage in gender advocacy. These
interventions to increase social and political empowerment are seen as essential prerequisites for
economic empowerment.
b) Poverty Reduction Paradigm

25

The poverty alleviation paradigm underlies many NGO integrated poverty-targeted community
development programmes. Poverty alleviation here is defined in broader terms than market incomes to
encompass increasing capacities and choices and decreasing the vulnerability of poor people.
The main focus of programmes as a whole is on developing sustainable livelihoods, community
development and social service provision like literacy, healthcare and infrastructure development.
There is not only a concern with reaching the poor, but also the poorest. Although term 'empowerment'
is frequently used in general terms, often synonymous with a multi-dimensional definition of poverty
alleviation, the term 'women's empowerment is often considered best avoided as being too
controversial and political.
c) Financial Sustainability Paradigm
The financial self-sustainability paradigm (also referred to as the financial systems approach or
sustainability approach) underlies the models of microfinance promoted since the mid-1990s by most
donor agencies and the Best Practice guidelines promoted in publications by USAID, World Bank,
UNDP and CGAP.
The ultimate aim is large programmes which are profitable and fully self-supporting in competition
with other private sector banking institutions and able to raise funds from international financial
markets rather than relying on funds from development agencies. The main target group, despite
claims to reach the poorest, is the bankable poor': small entrepreneurs and farmers. This emphasis on
financial sustainability is seen as necessary to create institutions which reach significant numbers of
poor people in the context of declining aid budgets and opposition to welfare and redistribution in
macro-economic policy.
EMPOWERMENT: FOCUS ON POOR WOMEN
Women have been the vulnerable section of society and constitute a sizeable segment of the povertystruck population. Women face gender specific barriers to access education health, employment etc.
Micro finance deals with women below the poverty line. Micro loans are available solely and entirely
to this target group of women. There are several reason for this: Among the poor , the poor women are
most disadvantaged they are characterized by lack of education and access of resources, both of
which is required to help them work their way out of poverty and for upward economic and social
mobility. The problem is more acute for women in countries like India, despite the fact that womens
labor makes a critical contribution to the economy. This is due to the low social status and lack of
access to key resources. Evidence shows that groups of women are better customers than men, the
better managers of resources. If loans are routed through women benefits of loans are spread wider
among the household. Since womens empowerment is the key to socio economic development of the
community; bringing women into the mainstream of national development has been a major concern of
government. The ministry of rural development has special components for women in its programmes.
Funds are earmarked as Womens component to ensure flow of adequate resources for the same.
Besides Swarnagayanti Grameen SwarazgarYojona (SGSY), Ministry of Rural Development is
26

implementing other scheme having womens component .They are the Indira AwasYojona (IAJ),
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Restructured Rural Sanitation Programme,
Accelerated Rural Water Supply programme (ARWSP) the (erstwhile) Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP), the (erstwhile) Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)
and the JowaharRozgar Yojana (JRY).
MICRO FINANCE INSTRUMENT FOR WOMENS EMPOWERMENT
Micro Finance is emerging as a powerful instrument for poverty alleviation in the new economy. In
India, micro finance scene is dominated by Self Help Groups (SHGs) Bank Linkage Programme,
aimed at providing a cost effective mechanism for providing financial services to the unreached
poor. Based on the philosophy of peer pressure and group savings as collateral substitute , the SHG
programme has been successful in not only in meeting peculiar needs of the rural poor, but also in
strengthening collective self-help capacities of the poor at the local level, leading to their
empowerment. Micro Finance for the poor and women has received extensive recognition as a strategy
for poverty reduction and for economic empowerment. Increasingly in the last five years , there is
questioning of whether micro credit is most effective approach to economic empowerment of poorest
and, among them, women in particular. Development practitioners in India and developing countries
often argue that the exaggerated focus on micro finance as a solution for the poor has led to neglect by
the state and public institutions in addressing employment and livelihood needs of the poor. Credit for
empowerment is about organizing people, particularly around credit and building capacities to manage
money. The focus is on getting the poor to mobilize their own funds, building their capacities and
empowering them to leverage external credit. Perception women is that learning to manage money and
rotate funds builds womens capacities and confidence to intervene in local governance beyond the
limited goals of ensuring access to credit. Further, it combines the goals of financial sustainability with
that of creating community owned institutions.
Before 1990s, credit schemes for rural women were almost negligible. The concept of womens credit
was born on the insistence by women oriented studies that highlighted the discrimination and struggle
of women in having the access of credit. However, there is a perceptible gap in financing genuine
credit needs of the poor especially women in the rural sector. There are certain misconception about
the poor people that they need loan at subsidized rate of interest on soft terms, they lack education,
skill, capacity to save, credit worthiness and therefore are not bankable. Nevertheless, the experience
of several SHGs reveals that rural poor are actually efficient managers of credit and finance.
Availability of timely and adequate credit is essential for them to undertake any economic activity
rather than credit subsidy. The Government measures have attempted to help the poor by implementing
different poverty alleviation programmes but with little success. Since most of them are target based
involving lengthy procedures for loan disbursement, high transaction costs, and lack of supervision
and monitoring. Since the credit requirements of the rural poor cannot be adopted on project lending
app roach as it is in the case of organized sector, there emerged the need for an informal credit supply
27

through SHGs. The rural poor with the assistance from NGOs have demonstrated their potential for
self-help to secure economic and financial strength. Various case studies show that there is a positive
correlation between credit availability and womens empowerment

ROLE OF MICRO FINANACE IN WOMEN EMPOWEMENT

The role of Micro-finance contributing for womens empowerment includes

Economic empowerment
Social empowerment:
Education, skill and training empowerment:
Political empowerment:

28

Entrepreneurship Development in India

There are so many institutes and organizations which are involved in entrepreneurship development
activities and there are people who join these programs as a stepping stone to become entrepreneur. It
is a known fact that so many management institutes are coming up to cater to the growing need of
industries by supplying traditional managers/corporate managers. The scope of this study is to find out
the perception of management students about the entrepreneurship and compare it with those people
Who have become entrepreneur. The researcher feels that this study will reveal the facts which are
important to develop entrepreneurship as a career option among management students. A manager is
one who manages all the resources to match with the organizational needs. In the managerial role
resources are allocated to solve problems and improve the administrative efficiency. The
entrepreneurship is very a old concept according to which anyone who runs business is called an
entrepreneur. The more precise meaning of entrepreneur is; one who perceives a need and then brings
together manpower, material and capital required to meet that need. Entrepreneur is one who
understands the market dynamics and searches for change respond to it and exploit it as an opportunity

29

Successful Indian Women Entrepreneurs

Every corporate environment is said to have a glass ceiling when it comes to women moving up the ladder of success.
However, these go-getters have surely proved this notion wrong by achieving success through sheer hard work and
dedication.
Profiling some of the top 10 women entrepreneurs India has seen
Indra Nooyi
Strong-willed, with an acute acumen for financial strategizing, Nooyi is the CFO and President of PepsiCo.
Her strong acumen for business has helped the company garner as much as 30 billion dollars worth of crucial
deals within the last couple of years. With a Masters Degree in Public Management from Yale University and
Masters in Finance and Marketing from IIM, Kolkata, Nooyi held several senior positions at Motorola and
Asea Brown Boveri before joining PepsiCo.

Naina Lal Kidwa

From being Head of Investment Banking at ANZ Grindlays during 1982-1994 to Vice Chairman JM Morgan
Stanley, Naina Lal Kidwai is one of the most successful and famous Indian businesswomen of today. The
first Indian woman to graduate from the elite Harvard Business School, she is currently Country Head and
Group General Manager HSBC Group India. Apart from working at HSBC, Kidwai has also held other
eminent positions such as that of Global Advisor, Harvard Business School, non-executive director at
Nestle SA and as a member of Governing Board NCAER, Auditor General of India and several other
positions. Naina has received the distinguished Padma Shri award for her contributions in the segment of
Trade and Industry.
Naina Lal Kidwai one of the most successful Indian women entrepreneurs

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is one of the richest women in India studied zoology at Bangalore University
and brewery at Ballarat University. She started her career as trainee brewer at Carlton & United
Beverages in 1974. Four years later she started her own company, Biocon, in her garage with an
investment of Rs 10000. Three issues biotechnology was nascent at the time in India, she was a
woman and her organization had almost nil assets made financial institutions turn down her loan
application. However, with hard work and commitment, Shaw transformed Biocon into one of the
leading biopharmaceutical firms in India

KEY CHANGES IN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN LAST FIVE DECADES

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FIFTIES:
30

Compulsive factors led to the creation of women entrepreneurs.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE SIXTIES:
Women began to aspire but also accepted the social cultural traditions.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE SEVENTIES:
The women in this decade opened up new frontier. They had not only aspiration but ambition.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE EIGHTIES:
Women were educated in highly sophisticated, technological and professional education.
Theybecame equally contributing partners.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE NINETIES:
This was the first time when the concept of best rather than male heir was talked about.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 21st Century:
Jill of all trades
Since the 21st century, the status of women in India has been changing as a result to
mounting industrialization and urbanization and social legislation. Over the years, more and
morewomen are going in for higher education, technical and professional education and their
proportion inthe workforce has also been increased.
With the spread of education and awareness, women have shifted from the kitchen, handicrafts
andtraditional cottage industries to non-traditional higher levels of activities. The Government hasalso
laid special weight age on the requirement for conducting special entrepreneurial trainingprograms for
women to enable them to start their own ventures.
Financial institutions and banks havealso set up particular cells to help women entrepreneurs.
This has rebound the women entrepreneurson the economic scene in the recent years although many
womens entrepreneurship enterprises are
still remained a much neglected field. Though, for women there are quite a lot of handicaps to
enterinto and manage business ownership due to the intensely entrenched conventional state of mind
andstrict principles of the Indian society.

CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN

ENTREPRENEUR IN INDIA
31

Women entrepreneurs face a series of problems right from the beginning till the the enterprise functions. Being a
woman itself poses various problems to a woman entrepreneur, The problems of Indian women pertains to her
responsibility towards family, society and lion work.
The tradition, customs, socio cultural values, ethics, motherhood subordinates to ling husband and men, physically
weak, hard work areas, feeling of insecurity, cannot be tough etc are some peculiar problems that the Indian women
are coming across while they jump into entrepreneurship.
Women in rural areas have to suffer still further. They face tough resistance from men. They are considered as helpers.
The attitude of society towards her and constraints in which she has to live and work are not very conducive.
Besides the above basic problems the other problems faced by women entrepreneurs are as follows:
1. Family ties:
Women in India are very emotionally attached to their families. They are supposed to attend to all the domestic work,
to look after the children and other members of the family. They are over burden with family responsibilities like extra
attention to husband, children and in laws which take away a lots of their time and energy. In such situation, it will be
very difficult to concentrate and run the enterprise successfully.
2. Male dominated society:
Even though our constitution speaks of equality between sexes, male chauvinism is still the order of the day. Women
are not treated equal to men. Their entry to business requires the approval of the head of the family. Entrepreneurship
has traditionally been seen as a male preserve. All these puts a break in the growth of women entrepreneurs.
3. Lack of education:
Women in India are lagging far behind in the field of education. Most of the women (around sixty per cent of total
women) are illiterate. Those who are educated are provided either less or inadequate education than their male
counterpart partly due to early marriage, partly due to son's higher education and partly due to poverty. Due to lack of
proper education, women entrepreneurs remain in dark about the development of new technology, new methods of
production, marketing and other governmental support which will encourage them to flourish.
4. Social barriers:
The traditions and customs prevailed in Indian societies towards women sometimes stand as an obstacle before them
to grow and prosper. Castes and religions dominate with one another and hinders women entrepreneurs too. In rural
areas, they face more social barriers. They are always seen with suspicious eyes.
5. Shortage of raw materials:
The scarcity of raw materials, sometimes nor, availability of proper and adequate raw materials sounds the deathknell of the enterprises run by women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs really face a tough task in getting the
required raw material and other necessary inputs for the enterprises when the prices are very high.
6. Problem of finance:
Women entrepreneurs stiffer a lot in raising and meeting the financial needs of the business. Bankers, creditors and
financial institutes are not coming forward to provide financial assistance to women borrowers on the ground of their
less credit worthiness and more chances of business failure. They also face financial problem due to blockage of funds
in raw materials, work-in-progress finished goods and non-receipt of payment from customers in time.

32

7. Tough competition:
Usually women entrepreneurs employ low technology in the process of production. In a market where the competition
is too high, they have to fight hard to survive in the market against the organised sector and their male counterpart
who have vast experience and capacity to adopt advanced technology in managing enterprises
8. High cost of production:
Several factors including inefficient management contribute to the high cost of production which stands as a
stumbling block before women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs face technology obsolescence due to nonadoption or slow adoption to changing technology which is a major factor of high cost of production.
9.Low risk-bearing capacity:
Women in India are by nature weak, shy and mild. They cannot bear the amount risk which is essential for running an
enterprise. Lack of education, training and financial support from outsides also reduce their ability to bear the risk
involved in an enterprises.
10 Limited mobility:
Women mobility in India is highly limited and has become a problem due to traditional values and inability to drive
vehicles. Moving alone and asking for a room to stay out in the night for business purposes are still looked upon with
suspicious eyes. Sometimes, younger women feel uncomfortable in dealing with men who show extra interest in them
than work related aspects.
11. Lack of entrepreneurial aptitude:
Lack of entrepreneurial aptitude is a matter of concern for women entrepreneurs. They have no entrepreneurial bent
of mind. Even after attending various training programmes on entrepreneur ship women entrepreneurs fail to tide
over the risks and troubles that may come up in an organisational working.
12. Limited managerial ability:
Management has become a specialised job which only efficient managers perform. Women entrepreneurs are not
efficient in managerial functions like planning, organising, controlling, coordinating, staffing, directing, motivating
etc. of an enterprise. Therefore, less and limited managerial ability of women has become a problem for them to run
the enterprise successfully.
13. Legal formalities:
Fulfilling the legal formalities required for running an enterprise becomes an upheaval task on the part of an women
entrepreneur because of the prevalence of corrupt practices in government offices and procedural delays for various
licenses, electricity, water and shed allotments. In such situations women entrepreneurs find it hard to concentrate on
the smooth working of the enterprise.
14. Exploitation by middle men:
Since women cannot run around for marketing, distribution and money collection, they have to depend on middle
men for the above activities. Middle men tend to exploit them in the guise of helping. They add their own profit
margin which result in less sales and lesser profit.
15. Lack of self confidence:

Women entrepreneurs because of their inherent nature, lack of self-confidence which is

essentially a motivating factor in running an enterprise successfully. They have to strive
33

hard to strike a balance between managing a family and managing an enterprise.

Sometimes she has to sacrifice her entrepreneurial urge in order to strike a balance
between the two

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Objective 1:-To study the impact of micro finance in empowering the social economic status of
women and developing of social entrepreneurship.
AmountInCrore/No. in Lakhs
Particular
SHG
Savingswit
h banks as
on
31st
March
Loan
disbursed to
SHGs
during the
year
Loan
outstanding
against
SHGs as on
31st March

Year

Total SHGs

All Women SHGs

% ofWomanGroups

No.

Amount

No.

Amount

No.

Amount

2013-14

69.53

6198.71

53.10

4498.66

76.4

72.6

2013-14

74.62

7016.30

60.98

5298.65

81.7

75.5

2012-13

15.87

14453.3

12.94

12429.37

81.6

86

2013-14

11.96

14547.73

10.17

12622.33

85

86.8

2012-13

48.51

28038.28

38.98

23030.36

80.30

82.1

2013-14

47.87

31221.17

39.84

26123.75

83.2

83.7

Source- NABARD
INTERPRETATION: - According to main objective to know the economic and social development
of women entrepreneurship. Above table show the economic development of women. In 2012-13 loans
disbursed amount to women is 12429.37crore and 2013-14 is 12622.33crore. In 2012-13 SHG Savings
amount to women is 4498.66crore and 2013-14 is 5298.65crore. That clearly is a positive indicator
showing the well-being of women.

34

Objective 2:-To know about relationship between SHGs members, micro finance banks and
entrepreneurs women.( all figures in lacs )AS OF MARCH 31, 2012. SOURCE- NABARD

35

36

INTERPRETATION:It shows the good relationship of women SHGs with SHGs group and banks
since in all the four sample states, the majority of the SHGs supported by the nationalized banks are
exclusive women SHGs

Objective 3:-To study potential hurdles in the developing of women entrepreneurship.

Role of Microfinance Services:1. Do not restrict loan use: - Access to financial services provides the poor with the opportunity to
accumulate assets, to reduce their vulnerability to shocks (such as illness or death in the household,
crop failure, theft, dramatic price fluctuations, the payment of dowries) and to invest in incomegeneration activities. It also enables them to improve the quality of their lives through better education,
health and housing. One of the most important roles of access to credit is that it enables the poor to
diversify their incomes.
37

Microfinance organizations should allow for the fact that microentrepreneurs have a variety of uses for
funds, not only for the activity for which a loan is formally given but also for household operations and
other family enterprises. It would be too risky for the poor, particularly the poorest of the poor, to
invest all their income in a single activity. If the single activity or enterprise failed, the consequences of
this would be much greater than if they had several sources of income. Providers of quality financial
services recognize this and place relatively few restrictions on loan use. Most microfinance
organizations do not monitor client loans to ensure that the loan is being used for its stated purpose
because they recognize that it is part of the survival strategy of poor clients to make an on-going
stream of economic choices and decisions. The clients themselves know how best to manage their
funds.
Example: Kamala Rani's diversified activities (Bangladesh). Kamala Rani is an experienced borrower.
She has taken loans three times. She invested her small, first loan (1,000 taka) in her husband's
business. He trades in bamboo and sells bamboo products in his shop. Kamala also provides labour to
make bamboo mats. When she obtained her second loan (2,000 taka), she used it to make large
containers for storing crops and other products, which she sells fromhome to wholesalers and villagers.
Next she borrowed another 4,000 taka, primarily to buy a cow. She can repay her loan from her profits
from selling milk and from her investment in her husband's business. She still makes mats and other
bamboo products, which she plans to sell at the end of the year, when the price of the mats will go up.
She can take advantage of this increase in the price of the mats because she has other sources of
income to make her weekly loan installment payments. Like other low- income clients, Kamala Ranis
diversified activities enable her to maximize returns from investment. (Kamal, A., Poor and the NGO
Process: Adjustments and Complicities, in 1987-1994)

2. Provide access to financial services, not subsidies:For microenterprises, the most common constraint is the lack of access to working capital to grow their
business. Low-income entrepreneurs want rapid and continued access to financial services rather than
subsidies, and they are able and willing to pay for these services from their profits. Most micro
entrepreneurs borrow small amounts for short-term working capital needs. The returns from their
economic activities are normally sufficient to pay high interest rates for loans and still make a profit.
Micro entrepreneurs value the opportunity to borrow and save with MFIs since they provide services
that are cheaper than those that would normally be available to poor clients or that would be entirely
unavailable to them. Moneylenders charge very high interest rates, often many times the rate charged
by MFIs, and the moneylenders' terms may not be suited to the borrower. Micro entrepreneurs have
38

consistently demonstrated that they will pay the full interest cost to have continued access to financial
services from MFIs.
MFIs cannot afford to subsidize loans. If the organization is to provide loans on an on-going basis, it
must charge interest rates that allow it to cover its costs. These costs tend to be high because providing
unsecured, small loans costs significantly more than loans in traditional banking. The costs to the
institution include operating costs, the cost of obtaining the funds for loans, and the cost of inflation.
MFIs cannot rely on governments and donors as long-term sources of funding. They must be able to
generate their own income from revenues, including interest and other fees. Since the poor seek
continued and reliable access to financial services and are able and willing to pay for it, it is
advantageous to both the institution and the clients to charge interest rates that cover the cost of the
services
Examples: Client demand as an indicator. If clients repay their loans, pay full-cost interest rates and
remain in a programme as borrowers or savers, it is a very good indication that they value these
services. A detailed, independent review of the microfinance activities of the United Nations Capital
Development Fund (UNCDF) in Africa, Asia and Latin America found evidence that poor clients were
willing to pay the interest rates necessary to provide these services. Even when they have to pay the
full cost of those services, they use them and come back to use them again and again. Continued and
reliable access to credit and savings services is what is most needed. Subsidized lending programs
provide a limited volume of cheap loans. When these are scarce and desirable, the loans tend to be
allocated predominantly to a local elite with the influence to obtain them, bypassing those who need
smaller loans.In addition, there is substantial evidence from developing countries worldwide that
subsidized rural credit programs result in high arrears, generate losses both for the financial institution
administering the programs and for the government or donor agencies, and depress institutional saving
and, consequently, the development of profitable, viable rural financial institutions." (Marguerite
Robinson. The Microfinance Revolution: Sustainable Finance for the Poor World Bank, Washington,
2001, pp. 199-215.)
3. Financial services contribute to womens empowerment:Women entrepreneurs have attracted special interest from MFIs because they almost always make up
the poorest segments of society, they have fewer economic opportunities, and they are generally
responsible for child-rearing, including education, health and nutrition. Given their particularly
vulnerable position, many MFIs seek to empower women by increasing their economic position in
society. Experience shows that providing financial services directly to women aids in this process.
Women clients are also seen as beneficial to the institution because they are seen as creditworthy.
Women have generally demonstrated high repayment and savings rates.
MFIs interested in serving women should understand the specific needs of women clients and attract
women as customers. Women often have fewer economic opportunities than men. Women also face
39

cultural barriers that often restrict them to the home (for example, the institution of the veil, or purdah),
making it difficult for them to access finance services.Women have more traditional roles in the
economy and may be less able to operate a business outside of their homes. Women also tend to have
disproportionally large household obligations. Loan sizes may need to be smaller, given that womens
businesses tend to be smaller than men's. They tend to focus on trade, services and light
manufacturing. Women's businesses are often based in the home and frequently use family labour.
Loans to women should allow women to balance their household and business activities, for example,
by not requiring that too much time be spent in meetings and holding meetings in convenient locations.
The gender of loan officers may also affect the level of female participation in financial services,
depending on the social context.
Examples:
Women and empowerment. Regardless of culture or national context, impact assessments have found
positive results for women with access to financial services. For instance, a study on the impact of
microfinance on poverty alleviation in East Africa, conducted by the UNDP MicroSave-Africa
programme, found that participation in a microfinance institution "typically strengthens the position of
the woman in her family. Not only does access to credit give the woman the opportunity to make a
larger contribution to the family business, but she can also deploy it to assist the husband's business
and act as the family's banker - all of which increase her prestige and influence within the household."
Access to networks and markets giving wider experience of the world outside the home, access to
information and possibilities for development of other social and political roles

Enhancing perceptions of women's contribution to household income and family welfare,

increasing women's participation in household decisions about expenditure and other issues and
leading to greater expenditure on women's welfare

More general improvements in attitudes to women's role in the household and community

Many programmes have had negative as well as positive impacts on women. Where women
have set up enterprises this has often led to small increases in access to income at the cost of
heavier workloads and repayment pressures.

Within schemes, impacts often vary significantly between women. There are differences
between women in different productive activities and between women from different
backgrounds.

Positive impact on non-participants cannot be assumed, even where women participants are
able to benefit. Women micro-entrepreneurs are frequently in competition with each other and
the poorest micro-entrepreneurs may be disadvantaged if programmes do not include them.

40

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA

(A CASE STUDY IN ANDHRA PRADESH)
Abstract
In India, entrepreneurship among women is of recent origin. Socio economic
background is an important factor that influences the woman to start their business.
Money is not the sole objective among woman entrepreneurs to enter in to the business.
The studies relating to woman entrepreneurs in rural areas further reveal that training
and awareness regarding different agencies have proved beneficial for women
entrepreneurs in building confidence. Since entrepreneurship development involves
provision of additional channels of funds in the form of working capital and credit,
training, management skill etc., DWCRA with an entrepreneurial development of women
provides all these inputs by considering women as critical to development. This
intervention aims at not only raising the income of rural women of poor households, but
also enabling organized participation of groups in the programme of credit, skill training
and infrastructure support for self employment in groups who cannot take up economic
activities, individually as their own.
41

INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is considered as one of the most important factors contributing to the
economic development of the society. Entrepreneurs have been considered instrumental
in initiating and sustaining socio-economic development. There are evidences to believe
that countries which have proportionately higher percentage of entrepreneurs in their
population have developed much faster as compared to countries, which have lesser
percentage of them in the society. They discover new sources of supply of materials and
markets and establish new and more effective forms of organisation. Entrepreneurs
perceive new opportunities and seize them with super normal will power and energy,
essential to overcome the resistance that social environment offers 2.
Development of entrepreneurship among women is a major step to increase women
participation in the process of economic development. It will speed up economic growth,
and provide employment opportunities for women resulted in improving the economic
independence. Provision of economic opportunities for women can also improve the
social, educational and health status of women and their families. In advanced countries,
there is a phenomenon of increase in the number of self employed women after the
World War II. In U.S.A, women own 25 per cent of all business, even though their sales on
an average are less than two fifths of those of other small business 3. In Canada, onethird of small business is owned by women and in France it is one fifth.
A similar trend is noticed even among the developed nations in Asia. Women constitute
40 per cent of the total workforce in these countries 5. It has been seen that women
outnumber men by at least two times particularly when it comes to starting business in
China. There are over five million women entrepreneurs constituting one-fourth of all the
entrepreneurs in China6. In Japan to a similar trend has been noticed. Unfortunately, the
trend in India does not go along the same lines. The 1991 census shows that the
proportion of enterprises setup and run by women in India was approximately a fraction
of one per cent7.
The total number of women in India is a whopping figure of 526 million. This female
population is larger than the combined total populations of Canada, USA and the Russian
federation. Unfortunately a very small percentage of the woman population belonging
to the elite, educated and upper middle class especially in the cities, has been exposed
to issues on Womens roles, career options and jobs. At the same time women are under
represented in government and decision making positions. At present, less than eight
per cent of parliamentary seats, less than six per cent of cabinet positions and less than
four per cent of seats in High Courts and the Supreme Court are occupied by women less
than three per cent of administrators and managers are women. The not so fortune
sister of the glam doll urban and rural women consumer battle their day with inadequate
wages, poverty, female feticide, sexual harassment, lack of education and job skills, HIV
infection etc.
The emergence of women on the economic scene as entrepreneurs is a significant
development in the emancipation of women and securing them a place in the society,
which they have all along deserved. The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women
have gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic
status in the society. Women are increasingly becoming conscious of their existence,
their rights and their work situations. Today women entrepreneurs represent a group of
women who have broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of
economic participation. Among these reasons for women to run organized enterprises
are their skill and knowledge, their talents and abilities in business and a compelling
desire of wanting to do something positive.
What makes their arrival as well as achievements even more significant and
commendable are the struggles they have to put up, frustrations they have to
experience and the multiple handicaps they have to overcome to emerge as
entrepreneurs at the early stage and subsequently achieving success in business at the
stage of managing their enterprises.
Status of women freedom depends on economic conditions even more than political. If a
woman is not economically free and self-earning, she will have to depend on her husband
42

or someone else, and dependents are never free. These were the ideas of Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who vividly highlighted the importance
of economic independence of women. These views are antagonistic to the laws of Manu
written early in the Christian era which stress the need to control women because of the
evils of female character. The following lines reflect the age-old idea of keeping
women dependent.
A woman is never independent. In childhood a female must be subjected to her father, in
youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons. A woman must never be
independent.
Women are often described as the better half of man. But the actual condition of women
in the world does not tally with this description. In no country have women achieved
equality with men. Of the worlds 1.4 billion poor people it is estimated that nearly 70
per cent are women. Between 75 and 80 per cent of the worlds 30 million refugees are
women and children. Educational backwardness is a major reason of women lagging
behind men. Of the worlds one billion illiterate adults, two thirds are women. Two-thirds
of the 150 million children worldwide who are not in schools are girls. 8
On the other hand history also records that women in Vedic age have played an
important part in religious and social functions. The position of wife was an honored one
as no religious ceremony could be performed by the husband alone. The third millennium
B.C. Harappan and Mohanjodoro culture indicates that Indian women enjoyed a
comparatively high status, which surpassed that of contemporary civilizations in ancient
areas, Mesopotamia or Egypt. The Rugveda too provides evidence to prove the concept
of equality of women with men as regards the access to knowledge, even to the
knowledge of the absolute. There have always been outstanding women who have risen
alone despite the constraints of their time. Unfortunately, due to social, economic and
political changes later on women lost their position in education and other fields.
Economically women became completely dependent on men. 9
Although a lot has been done to ameliorate the condition of womankind, International
Womens Day, which falls on March 8, reminds us every year that much more needs to
be done to ensure a better deal for the female half of the humanist. The fourth world
conference on women held in Beijing in 1995, resulted in agreement by 189 delegations
on a five year plan to enhance the social, economic and political empowerment of
women, improve their health, advance their education and promote their reproductive
rights. Over 100 countries have announced new initiatives to further the advancement of
women as a result of Beijing conference. The 1979 UN convention on the elimination of
all forms of discrimination amongst women, often described as the bill of rights for
women, has now been ratified by 154 countries.
When women move forward, the families moves, the village moves. These words of
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru are often repeated because it is an accepted fact that only when
the women are in the mainstream of progress can any economic and social development
be meaningful.
In India from the very beginning, women have been managers of the kitchen and have
solely dominated the area of household activities. So deep has been the impact of this,
that the general attitude of the people about women entrepreneurs is that they are
makers of pickles, papads, masalas, and other household goods. Today non traditional
enterprises are easily managed by women and are done so excellently with them as the
decision makers. They are flourishing well as leading consultants, publishers, exporters
of machinery, manufactures of electric goods, exporters of garments, designers, interior
decorators and the like.
The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing with the
growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in society. Women are increasingly
being conscious of their existence, their rights and their work situation. And yet the
middle class strata women have accepted their role and are not ready to alter for fear of
a social backlash. Today, woman entrepreneurs represent a group of women who have
broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of economic
participation. Among the reasons for women to run organized enterprises are their skill
and knowledge, their talents and abilities in business and a compelling desire of wanting
to do something positive.
43

Over the last few decades, while women have come forward to establish their own
enterprises, their numbers remain few and far between. The entrepreneurial world is still
male dominated. In developed countries women tend to perform secretarial or low-level
managerial jobs in the corporate sectors indeed, less than five per cent of senior
management portions are held by women in the USA. In developing countries such as
India even in the small-scale sector, less than seven per cent of the enterprises have
been set up by women. But probably what is noteworthy is that women have plunged
into the field of entrepreneurship and have been found effective in emerging social,
economical role. Women had been a manager since long, from the time the concept of
living in a family emerged. She had been an entrepreneur within the four walls where she
was innovative in terms of budgeting with the limited income resources used the waste
material for making some useful products. With the changing role that women accepted
ever since mid- eighties, the role of entrepreneurship amongst women has gained a
considerable importance.
The 1991 Industrial Policy has envisaged special training programmes to support women
entrepreneurs. Accordingly women entrepreneurs are receiving training through
Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPS) conducted by various institutions
and organizations both at central and state levels. The Small Industries Development
Organisation (SIDO), with its field offices all over the country has been carrying out
development programmes for women entrepreneurs and is providing technical schemes
for setting up of SSI units. In view of the changing outlook for the promotion of women
enterprises, the SSI Board in 1991 revised the definition of women enterprises by
omitting the condition of employing 50 per cent of women workers. This provided a boost
to women entrepreneurs to take up business and avail all facilities / concessions as are
applicable to a SSIs. Women in business is considered a recent phenomenon in India.
The fact that almost half the population of this large country comprises of females while
businesses owned and operated by them constitute less than five per cent is a reflection
on social, cultural as well as economic distractions in the decades of development. 12
Indeed, womens participation in economic activity and production of goods and services
is far greater than formal statistics might reveal, since much of it takes place in the
informal sector as also in the households.
As education spread and compulsions for earning have grown more and more women
have started to go out of the homes and opt either for wage employment or self
employment / entrepreneurial career. In case of woman, however, handicaps to entry
into business ownership have been for too many given the traditional, conservative,
orthodox Indian society. The process of breaking many of these shackles has been rather
slow. However, changes have started taking place as far as role of women in economic
development is concerned and strides have been made by women in setting up and
managing business; a fairly large number has graduated out of the initial phase of
going out of the home to work for somebody. Employment to self employment has been
a employment has been a noticeable phenomenon in the emergence of new women
entrepreneurs. Many of them not only own small business but have set up and run
manufacturing enterprises. Which is ultimate in the entrepreneurship movement. And by
doing so successfully, they have unquestionably established the fact that women can be
as capable and successful entrepreneurs as men in business and industry.
And yet, the society at large continues to suffer from a various misconceptions (myths)
apprehensions and suspicions about women entrepreneurs in business and industry. This
is the result of inadequacies of literature about Indian women in business and industry.
The dearth of documentation, information and publications about women entrepreneurs
has allowed a stereo type image of women in business to persist. Typically women have
been portrayed as those undertaking business of predictable lines the papad pickle
manufacturing, knitting and tailoring, readymade garments, herbal, medicines
manufacturing, etc. Indeed, a large number of Indian women are engaged in such
supplementary income generating activities. The base of most such activities has been
home and those have been direct or indirect extensions of the usual household chores
of an Indian woman, something a woman is good at in the kitchen or as a housewife.
But despite these numerous barriers and tangible obstacles women are, entering in to
the field of business in increasing numbers. What makes their arrival as well as
achievements even more significant and commendable are the struggles they have to
44

put up, frustration they have to survive and the multiple handicaps they have to
overcome to emerge as entrepreneurs at the entry stage and subsequently achieving
success in business at the stage of managing their enterprises.
The women entrepreneur of today is neither a rare orchid nor a voiceless heroine with
playback support rather she embodies a compelling urge for self-expression, which needs
encouragement from everyone concerned with the progress of the nation.

STUDIES CONDUCTED AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Studies conducted in Poland highlights that women entrepreneurs are involved in
traditional and non-traditional business. However they are successful because of the
formal training they took before the start of the business. In Jamaica, women have been
involved in areas, which require less capital and extension of household activities.
Household responsibility plays a significant role in choice of economic activity.
Comparative studies of women entrepreneurship in India and U.K. reveals that the share
of women entrepreneur in business is relatively more in U.K. than in India since better
facilities are available to women in U.K. In both the countries family responsibility is the
main concern faced by them.

Woman enterprise
A woman entrepreneur is an adult who owns and runs an enterprise, especially a
commercial one, often at personal financial risk. A recent ILO-Indian study of woman
entrepreneurs gave the definition of womens enterprise as a small unit where one or
more women entrepreneurs have not less than 50 per cent financial holdings.The
concept of women entrepreneurship is becoming a global phenomenon playing a vital
role in the business community. In India women have made a comparatively late entry
into business scenario mainly due to the orthodox and traditional socio-cultural
environment. Although women face various problems in the process of establishing,
developing and running their enterprise, nevertheless, their scope of development is
very high in India, especially in rural areas with more women making development
oriented programme viz. Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas, (DWCRA)
launched in and being implemented in 1982-83. In what follows, an attempt is made to
analyze the success of such a scheme in terms of its survival, growth and development
of women entrepreneurs and identify the problems faced by the women entrepreneurs.

Woman Entrepreneurship in India

Around 50 per cent of Indias population is women. Yet, business spheres such as trade,
commerce and industry, is still considered a male preserve. Entrepreneurial work has
also been a predominantly a mans world in India. This is based on the fact that only
seven per cent of the total entrepreneurs in India are women.
Indian women are in no way inferior to men in all walks of life and they can be as good
entrepreneurs as men in the country. Therefore, it is essential to exploit the potentials of
Indian women. Womens participation in trade, industry and commerce, requiring
entrepreneurship, is still poor mainly because of the problems associated with their
gender roles. Therefore, promotion of entrepreneurship and economic empowerment of
women poses a challenge to the government, funding agencies and non-government
organisations. It is important for these people to focus on the limitations faced by the
women and to plan supporting systems to enhance the women entrepreneurship in India.
Need and importance of women entrepreneurs
It is imperative to note the participation of women in economic activities as selfemployed individuals. Many of the traditional occupations open to women were mainly
based on caste, creed and the nature of self-employment based on the standard of living.
Presently, women are generating employment for themselves in an unorganized sector
and another category of women who provide employment for others.

45

The country needs to mobilize and utilize fully all its resources including human
resources. The participation of women in economic activities is necessary not only from a
human resource point of view but also is essential even from the objective of raising the
status of women in the society. The economic status of the women is now accepted as an
indicator of a societys stage of development and therefore it becomes imperative for
the government to frame policies for development of entrepreneurship among women.
The long-term objectives of the development programmes for women should aim to raise
their economic and social status in order to bring them into the mainstream of national
life and development. For this, due recognition has to be accorded to the role and
contribution of women in the various social economic and political and cultural activities.

Factors influencing women entrepreneurs

The following are the major factors influencing the women entrepreneur.

Economic independence.
Establishing their own creative idea.
Establishing their own identity.
Achievement of excellence.
Building confidence.
Developing risk-taking ability
Motivation.
Equal status in society.
Greater freedom and mobility

The concept of developing women entrepreneurship lays emphasis of the productive

utilization of women labour force to generate income and output. The programme for
developing women entrepreneur would make a dent to alleviate poverty. The Sixth Five
Year Plan for the first time highlighted the problem of women integration in economic
development in India and emphasized need to expand women employment in the
household sector by providing adequate support in the areas of technology upgradation,
training, credit, raw material requirements and development of financing loans. For this
purpose, sincere efforts have been taken under various plans, policies, programmes for
the development of women entrepreneurship since 1990s.
The DWCRA groups (also known as SHGs) is considered as a viable organisation of the
rural poor particularly women for delivering micro credit in order to undertake
entrepreneurial activities. Some of the studies on these groups particularly those
managed by women successfully demonstrated how to mobilize and manage thrift
activities, appraise credit needs, enforce financial discipline, maintain credit linkages with
banks and effectively undertake income generating activities etc.16 These studies also
showed that the poor as a group are quite creditworthy and repayment of loan is quite
satisfactory.

Women Entrepreneurship in AP: A case SHGs

The scheme, Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) launched in
1982-83 (presently called as SHGs), inaugurated an era for systematically organizing
women in groups for providing them opportunities of self-employment on a sustained
basis. Several thousands of rural women from the length and breadth of the country
participate in this programme and they have taken up a number of trades under DWCRA
banner.
46

Since entrepreneurship development involves provision of additional channels of funds in

the form of working capital and credit, training, management skill etc., DWCRA with an
entrepreneurial development of women provides all these inputs by considering women
as critical to development. This intervention aims at not only raising the income of rural
women of poor households, but also enabling organized participation of groups in the
programme of credit, skill training and infrastructure support for self employment in
groups who cannot take up economic activities, individually as their own.

CONCLUSION
The main objective of the scheme is to improve the economic, health, educational and
social status of rural women by providing them assistance and creating employment
opportunities. The specific objectives of the scheme are:
1. To help and promote self-employment among the rural women, who are below the
poverty line, by providing skill training in vocations which are acceptable to the
beneficiaries, by encouraging productivity in their existing vocations and by introducing
new activities hitherto undertaken;
2. To organize the beneficiaries in groups, activity-wise and promote economic and social
self-reliance.
3. To generate income for the rural poor by creating avenues for production of goods and
services;
4. To organize production enhancing programmes in rural areas; and
5. To provide for care of the children of the workingwomen by providing an improved
environment, care and food by establishing crches / balwadis.
The programme called for formation of groups of 10-15 women who could collectively
engage in an activity. One woman amongst the members functions as the group
organizer who helps in the choice of activity, procurement of raw materials, marketing of
products etc.
A revolving fund of Rs. 15,000/- (subsequently increased to Rs.20, 000/-) was made
available to each group for credit and administrative needs. The programme is
implemented by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) at the district level. SHG
is the only programme of its kind, which aims at empowering the rural poor women by
inculcating entrepreneurial skill. It seeks to encourage collective action in the form of
group activities, which are known to work better than individual efforts.
Self-employment is emerging to be a very important source of livelihood for women in
Asia and South East Asia. This is due to paucity of employment opportunities. There is an
additional factor that many types of paid employment are felt to be more suitable to
males than females.

47

RECOMMENDATIONS

Credit is important for development but cannot by itself enable very poor women to overcome

their poverty.
Making credit available to women does not automatically mean they have control over its use

and over any income they might generate from micro enterprises.
In situations of chronic poverty it is more important to provide saving services than to offer

credit.
A useful indicator of the tangible impact of micro credit schemes is the number of additional

proposals and demands presented by local villagers to public authorities.

Globalization will not be allowed to expand the gap between the rich and the poor. Affluent
countries cannot continue to dump aid on needy nations; developing countries must not be

permitted to ignore the needs of their impoverished population.

As the poor are vulnerable it is not sufficient for us just to provide micro credit, but to have a
series of support systems provided at the appropriate time.

Government can contribute most effectively by setting sound macroeconomic policy that provides stability
and low inflation.

48

Conclusion
India is a male dominated society and women are assumed to be economically as well as
socially dependent on male members. The absolute dependence seems to be diluted among the high
and middle class women as they are becoming more aware of personal needs and demanding greater
equality.
Women entrepreneurs faced lots of problems at start-up as well as operating stage like, nonavailability of finance, restricted mobility freedom and having to perform dual role one at home and
other at work. Technological advancement and information technology explosion have reduced the
problem of women entrepreneurs. Along with technological revolution, mental revolution of society is
needed to change the attitude of the society and provide women with democratic and entrepreneurial
platform.
More-over with increasing Government and Non-Government and other financial
institutionsassistance for various women entrepreneurs within the economy there can be significant
increase brought about in the growth of women entrepreneurship process. Still efforts are being made
to coordinate with the enterprise activities of women and providing them utmost financial, morale,
psychological support by various institutions working within the economy and world-wide.
Thus, Women have the potential and the determination to set up, uphold and supervise theirown
enterprises in a very systematic manner. Appropriate support and encouragement from the Society in
general and family members in particular is required to help these women scale new heights in their
business ventures. The right kind of assistance from family, society and Government can make these
Women Entrepreneurs a part of the mainstream of national economy and they can contribute to the
economic progress of India.
Traditionally women have been marginalized. A high percentage of women are among the poorest of
the poor. Microfinance activities can give them a means to climb out of poverty. Microfinance could be
a solution to help them to extend their horizon and offer them social recognition and empowerment.
Numerous traditional and informal system of credit that was already in existence before micro finance
49

came into vogue. Viability of micro finance needs to be understood from a dimension that is far
broader- in looking at its long-term aspects too.
A conclusion that emerges from this account is that micro finance can contribute to solving the
problems of inadequate housing and urban services as an integral part of poverty alleviation
programmes. The challenge lies in finding the level of flexibility in the credit instrument that could
make it match the multiple credit requirements of the low income borrower without imposing
unbearably high cost of monitoring its end use upon the lenders. A promising solution is to provide
multipurpose lone or composite credit for income generation, housing improvement and consumption
support. Consumption loan is found to be especially important during the gestation period between
commencing a new economic activity and deriving positive income.
India is the country where a collaborative model between banks, NGOs, MFIs and Womens
organizations is furthest advanced. It therefore serves as a good starting point to look at what we know
so far about Best Practice in relation to micro-finance for womens empowerment and how different
institutions can work together.
It is clear that gender strategies in micro finance need to look beyond just increasing womens access
to savings and credit and organizing self-help groups to look strategically at how programmes can
actively promote gender equality and womens empowerment. On the other hand, thank to women's
capabilities to combine productive and reproductive roles in microfinance activities and society has
enabled them to produce a greater impact as they will increase at the same time the quality of life of
the women micro-entrepreneur and also of her family.

50

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Saxena, Ranjan, Marketing Management,

Kotler, Philip,.
C.R.Kothari, Business Research methodology, New age publication.
OXFORD dictionary
Entrepreneurship management in commerce (Michael vaz)

MAGAZINES, JOURNALS & NEWS PAPERS:-

1. Business world.
2. Economics Times

Websites:www.timesofindia.com,

www.wikipedia.com,
www.google.co.in,
www.businessmagzine.com
www.scribd.com

www.moneycontrol.com
www.google.com
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www.microfinancefocus.com
www.microfinancesouthasia.net
www.worldbank.org
www.microfinance.com

52