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Chapter VII: Constraints and Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs _______________________________________________________________

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Women Entrepreneurship in Tertiary Sector in Indore District

CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

INTRODUCTION:

A large number of women are entering into entrepreneurship in some form or

the other. The drive to pursue entrepreneurship is due to the immense passion and

certain compulsions. Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economic

development of a nation. Women’s skills, knowledge, talents, abilities and desire of to

do something for themselves and their children or family are some of the reasons for

the women to become entrepreneurs. According to World Bank, investing more in

women enterprises rather in men reduces the inequalities and poverty and thereafter

ensures the economic development of a nation. The government has also offered a

variety of programmes for women entrepreneurs in the recent past.

But, the challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs are growing

rapidly. In India, although women constitute the majority of the total population, but

the entrepreneurial world still seems a male dominated one, which exposes women

entrepreneurs to often face some major constraints in running their enterprise

successfully. Many women entrepreneurs are either housewives or illiterates or a fresh

graduate with no previous experience of running a business enterprise. As compared

with Western nations, Indian women have more inhibitions towards enterprising

(Ghosh and Roy, 1997). These features have made their job more difficult. With

changing time in globalized and competitive era, women entrepreneurs are now

confronted with many barriers which have often prevented them to develop their

enterprises. The problems and constraints experienced by women enterprise have thus

resulted in restricting and inhibited the expansion of women entrepreneurship.


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Attempt has been made in the following pages to scrutinize the relevant

literature focusing on the constraints and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

Are the constraints and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs confined to their

business competencies? Or it is Socio-economic barriers or market oriented risks or

motivational barriers or gender sensitive obstacles or lack of financial

assistance/resources or lack of training or knowledge or any other barrier which stands

as a big challenge for them in their entrepreneurial development?

There is little doubt that female entrepreneurship is affected by a complex blend

of micro-level and macro-level variables (Bruin et al., 2007).Lee-Gosselin and Grise

(1990) found that the most common start-up problems seem to be lack of capital.

Barwa (2003) found that women face additional handicaps due to the prevailing social

and cultural gender-based inequalities and biases. For instance, the barriers that

women entrepreneurs face are magnified in view of their limited access to formal

education, ownership of property, and social mobility. Other aspects include business

experiences, limited knowledge of marketing strategies, weak business associations,

lack of networking facilities, and poor access to education and training programmes.

In a study by Karim (2001) on women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, financial

problems was the most common to be faced by their women entrepreneurs, particularly

so in rural areas. Competition, procurement of quality raw materials, and balancing

time between the enterprise and the family were ranked as major start-up problems.

Hookimsing and Essoo (2003) identified four main obstacles faced by women

entrepreneurs - the hassle of getting permits, the lack of market, the ability to raise

capital and not being taken as seriously as men. A study by Soyeon Shim and Eastlick

(1998) identified 10 business problem areas: sales and profit forecasting; obtaining

lines of credit; capital management; working capital management; pricing strategies;

customer database management; short-term business planning; labour cost analysis;

managing debt; and gender problems. Many researchers feel that tension between

personal lives and career pursuits is the most significant problem that women

entrepreneurs face (Belcourt, et al, 1991, Lee-Gosseling & Grise, 1990, Neider,

1987). Neider (1987) found in a study on female entrepreneurs that tension between


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personal life and career was a major problem for these women. Malika Das (2001)

indicates that there may be both similarities and differences between the experiences

of women from the developing world and the developed world.

Winn (2004) inspects certain decision making factors and socio-personal

constraints for development of women entrepreneurship. He emphasises on

business/family interface for overcoming the barriers that women entrepreneurs face

as they pursue their careers. Jamali (2009) examines various constraints and

opportunities affecting women entrepreneurship and clearly illustrates the relevance

of micro- and macro-level factors in entrepreneurship to manage the complexity of the

women entrepreneurship in any particular context. Sarbapriya and Ishita (2011)

while discussing the status and problems faced by women entrepreneurs, emphasized

on significant differences between women entrepreneurs and the men entrepreneurs

on ground of perseverance, potentiality and ability to work hard, as well as the abilities

specific to emotional intelligence. Goyal and Parkash (2011) opine that despite the

promise of giving equal opportunity to the Indian women, the government sponsored

development activities have benefited only a limited section of women. The

beneficiaries have been mainly the urban middle class women. Lathwal (2011)

identifies the major problems of women entrepreneurs in Delhi. He concludes that a

majority of women belonged to business families and business environment helped

them to get prepared mentally. Kumbhar and Kumbhar (2011) also discuss several

problems faced by women entrepreneurs like start up finance, access to technology,

management and marketing skills and lack of confidence. The emphasis is been on

development of women enterprises through Self Help Groups. Behara and Niranjan

(2012) highlight the motivating and de-motivating factors of women entrepreneurship

in Indian context and also suggest the way of eradicating these hurdles. Kumari, S

(2012) while analysing different problems and challenges faced by women

entrepreneurship in India state that it’s high time for women to come out of the

drudgery of housework and express their creativity and entrepreneurship.


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Government has been making every effort, yet the breakthrough can be

achieved by giving equal opportunities to them at par with men. Kumbhar, V (2013)

discusses the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in rural India. Lack of balance

between family and career obligations, lack of freedom to take financial decisions,

absence of direct ownership of the property, lack of awareness of various operational

aspects and capacities, low ability to bear risk, dealing with male workers, being non-

familiar with financial institutions, lack of self-confidence, lack of professional

education, mobility constraints and lack of interactions with externalities are major

problems of women entrepreneurship development in India. Mehta and Mehta (2011)

emphasizes on creation of a favourable atmosphere to increase self-employment for

women. He further states there are bright prospects for rural women entrepreneurship

in India. Choudhary and Rayalwar (2011) have raised the issue of giving equal

opportunities to women entrepreneurs as men. He further states that Indian rural

market embeds unique opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

In context of the above literature, an attempt has been made to analyse various

constraints faced by the women entrepreneurs in Indore District in detail under two

heads-

A. Constraints in Starting an Enterprise.

B. Constraints in Running an Enterprise


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A. CONSTRAINTS IN STARTING AN ENTERPRISE:

The study elicited a number of problems which were faced by the women

entrepreneurs in the urban and semi-urban background. Although they hailed from

different backgrounds and family set-ups, but still the problems which they faced were

not very different from each other. One of the primary aims of the present study was

to understand how women entrepreneurs were able to start their enterprise. It

highlights various barriers and obstacles which these women entrepreneurs faced

while initiating their enterprises. This is illustrated in the Table: 7.1

Raising the Funds:

One of the important challenges which women entrepreneurs faced in the study

region was of raising the funds for the initiation of their venture. This problem was

more prominent among (87.06%) rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs as they

lacked information relating to the banks and financial organizations who could help

them in the above said. They have to arrange for funds to start the business by

borrowing or taking loan. The savings which they have is often insufficient to start the

venture. This way they start raising their dependency on private moneylenders in

villages. On the contrary the females from Indore city were not very high in number

(28.24%). In their case, education played an important role in making the females

aware of the facilities provided by the banks and the government for their benefit. The

Banks and the financial institutions are active in the semi-urban area also but here the

women entrepreneurs are either ignorant or hesitant to approach them.


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*Multiple Responses

Figures in parenthesis indicates percentages

TABLE: 7.1

CONSTRAINTS IN STARTING AN ENTERPRISE

S.N. Constraints Urban Rural/ Semi-

Urban

Total

No. % No. % No. %

1. Raising Capital 48 28.24

(8)

74

87.06

(1)

122

47.84

(2)

2. Lack of awareness and

adequate knowledge

31 18.24

(12)

25 29.41

(10)

56 21.96

(10)

3. Lack of

Entrepreneurial skills

78 45.88

(1)

57

67.06

(2)

135 52.94

(1)

4. Lack of Computer

literacy

43 25.29

(9)

02 02.35

(13)

45 17.65

(12)

5. Lack of proper advice

and guidance

39 22.94

(10)

37 43.53

(8)

76 29.80

(9)

6. Lack of family support 63 37.06

(3)

32 37.65

(9)

95 37.26

(5)

7. Finding right Contacts

for support

50 29.41

(6)

44 51.76

(5)

94 36.86

(6)

8. Combining work with

family

67 39.41

(2)

47

55.29

(4)

114 44.71

(3)

9. Insecurity and lack of

self Confidence

57 33.53

(4)

49

57.65

(3)

106 41.57

(4)

10. Gender Biasness and

non-acceptance

49 28.82

(7)

39 45.88

(6)

88 34.51

(8)

11. Lack of adequate

premise

56 32.94

(5)

38 44.71

(7)

94 36.86

(7)

12. Others 32 18.82

(11)

21 24.71

(11)

53 20.78

(11)

13. No Obstacles 17 10.00

(13)

03 03.53

(12)

20 07.84

(13)


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Lack of Entrepreneurial skills:

With respect to possession of soft skills and managerial skills between rural

and urban entrepreneurs, data clearly elucidates that there exists a substantial

difference with respect to the above mentioned skills. The majority of women

entrepreneurs both in urban as well as semi-urban areas (52.94%) have lacked the

entrepreneurial skills relating to administration, marketing, accounts, public

relations etc. The proportion of such women is much higher amongst the rural/semi-

urban entrepreneurs (67.06%) as against their urban counterpart (45.88%).Women in

urban areas are marked ahead of their rural counterparts in this context. The possession

of soft skills as well as managerial skills has very strong linkages with the level of

education of the respondents. This is one of the prime factors which have given distinct

edge to the urban women entrepreneurs. The reason for this was the lack of education

amongst the semi-rural females in comparison to the urban women. The study also

disclosed that these females were not exposed to activities where they could have

gained confidence and become aware of the surroundings. More or less they were

pushed into the entrepreneurial work due to circumstantial needs.

This is very sad to note that majority of women entrepreneurs in rural areas

were not even sent to schools by their parents. This has come up as a big hindrance in

their capabilities of starting their enterprises. This in fact calls for bridging the gap by

virtue of imparting suitable training programs which inducts learning among them with

their comfort level.

Combining work with Family, Insecurity &Lack of Self-confidence:

One of the vital obstacles faced by the women entrepreneurs was combining

work with family (44.71%). As an individual the women entrepreneurs have some

personal constraints besides having business challenges. They face many such

obstacles which they have to overcome on their own. If any woman desires to start a

business venture she has to be confident of the risk which she will be taking in it. The

fear to bear the risk should be dominated by her passion to be an entrepreneur. A

woman entrepreneur should keep in mind that she has to bear the risk of loss, time

and her efforts. This is the obstacle which she needs to overcome all by herself.


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An important obstacle which was faced by the women entrepreneurs was

insecurity & lack of self-confidence that they will be able to do justice to their

venture and at the same time manage the family also with equal sincerity and

dedication. The majority of women entrepreneurs both in urban as well as semi-urban

areas have faced problems relating to insecurity & lack of self-confidence. The

proportion of women entrepreneurs with insecurity & lack of self-confidence

accounted to around 42%.The proportion of such women is much higher amongst the

rural/semi-urban entrepreneurs (57.65%) as against their urban counterpart

(33.53%).This insecurity was also because of insufficient support from the family and

gender issues which they faced at many places. In the semi-urban/ rural areas it was

predominantly seen that the females were responsible for all the household work

irrespective of the fact that they were into business.

Lack of Family Support:

Confidence to step out of the four walls of the house is an important aspect

which the women entrepreneur needs to possess. Her confidence level makes her to

start the business venture. A constant fear of failure in doing justice to their venture

and at the same time managing the family with equal sincerity and dedication often

puts tremendous pressure on women entrepreneurs thus affecting their efficiency and

zeal to perform. This insecurity is further aggregated because of insufficient support

from the family (37.26%) which they face at many places. The family support was

an important reason for many females to avoid stepping into the entrepreneurial

venture.

Gender Biasness and Non Acceptance:

Gender biasness (34.51%) has always been a big obstacle in the path of the

female entrepreneurship. There has been biasness in our society from years infinite

relating to the issues concerned with females. The women entrepreneurs till date are a

victim to Gender biasness. It may be the case of education, rights, property, business

or any other issue. The females are always ignored by the male dominating society.

People who have daughters do not prefer to include her in the family business thinking


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that she is incapable and secondly will be married to a third person. They prefer to

partner their sons in the family business even if he is not efficient enough to handle it.

They are often a victim of the male dominating society whenever they try to

prove their worth. Initiating a business enterprise is not whole heartedly accepted by

their male counterparts in most of the cases even in current era of advanced civilization

where our Constitution gives equal rights to women folk. If a lady in a family moves

out to do some business or any activity to support her family, this often becomes a

prestige issue among few castes in our country. Thus initiating a business enterprise

by a woman is a big challenge even in this twenty first century. This biasness in the

thought process is a big obstacle in her growth as a successful entrepreneur.

Lack of Awareness and Adequate Knowledge:

Lack of awareness and adequate knowledge of the work or the related activities

is another obstacle which is often faced by the women entrepreneurs in smooth

functioning of various activities in their venture. The proportion of such women

entrepreneurs accounts to around 22 per cent. They need to upgrade themselves from

time to time by attending training programs or workshops to enhance their knowledge.

Some women enter into the business with the help of a friend or a family member but

they themselves possess little knowledge of the work done. During study, we have

come across many women entrepreneurs who in fact had a very meager idea about the

enterprise before initiating it. This is one of the reason that lack of knowledge about

business operations often creates hurdles for them while running their enterprises later

on and they are not able to cope up with the day to day activities. Therefore, it becomes

important for them to have sufficient knowledge of the work which they are doing.

Finding Right Contacts for Support:

Finding the right contact was another important issue which was an important

constraint for the female entrepreneurs. (36.86%).The proportion of women facing

problem is much higher amongst the rural/semi-urban entrepreneurs (51.76%) as

against their urban counterpart (29.41%). The females of the rural/semi-urban area

were unaware of the contact persons who could help them in expanding their work.


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The urban women were comparatively better off in this regard. One of the most

prominent reasons which we found was the same as mentioned earlier that is education.

The women entrepreneurs from the urban area were exposed to the NGOs, business

houses and other organizations which were available to guide and help these women

with their ventures.

Lack of Proper Advice and Guidance:

Lack of proper guidance and advice (29.80%) to initiate and move ahead in

their entrepreneurial venture was seen more among rural/semi-urban females (43.53%)

in comparison to the urban ladies (22.94%). The higher illiteracy level among semi-

urban/ rural women and lack of interest and time among the urban entrepreneurs could

be the reasons for this. The females often felt reluctant or hesitant to approach people

for further direction and guidance. At times, they were also unaware about whom to

approach to seek right guidance. There are government institutions present both in the

urban and semi-urban/ rural regions who are ready to provide entrepreneurial

guidance. These females were not aware and at times were not confident of

approaching them.

Lack of Computer Literacy:

Computer literacy (17.65%) was also one of the important obstacles which

were faced by the women entrepreneurs of the urban area which they said could have

helped them in smooth functioning of various activities in their venture. The reason

for lack of computer education which the urban ladies gave was that they were

educated to start the venture but did not receive any technical training or education to

handle the computer comfortably. However, this problem was seen in a negligible

number among the rural/ semi-urban women entrepreneurs.


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Lack of Adequate Premise:

A substantial number of females 36.86% were those who faced an obstacle of

proper/adequate premises or space to initiate their business. They did not have

sufficient funds to hire the premises and at home there was no vacant space to start the

venture. There were activities which could be handled by them in the space available

at home once they were free from the household chores. On the other hand, females

staying in joint families were not able to arrange for vacant space due to the number

of members in the house. The amount of concentration and dedication which was

required for a particular work also could not be given in a large family. This problem

was more prevalent among rural/ semi-urban women entrepreneurs (44.71%).

There were hardly few women entrepreneurs in both the backgrounds who did

not face any obstacle while starting a venture. They had full support from their family,

no worry of funds and someone to guide and help them in establishing and growing

their entrepreneurial venture.

An attempt is made in the following pages to analyze the severity of various

constraints and problems faced by women entrepreneurs in Urban and Semi

urban/rural areas. Do Urban and Semi urban/rural women entrepreneurs face the

similar kind of constraints and problems? Do they differ significantly with respect to

various constrains faced by them in starting their enterprises? This will help us in

identifying the focal issues of development and designing the right kind of strategies

for development of women enterprises in urban and as well as in semi urban/ rural

context. For this purpose, many hypotheses are framed (Table: 7.2) to test whether the

major constraints faced by urban and semi urban/ rural entrepreneurs differ

significantly?


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In order to test these hypotheses, the weighted Arithmetic mean score of each

constraint and its standard deviation with respect to the opinion sought of urban as

well rural/semi-urban was calculated by using likert scale technique. The results of

these tests are illustrated in Table: 7.3

TABLE: 7.2

Hypotheses with respect to various constraints faced by women entrepreneurs

in stating their enterprises

Hypothesis

(H0)7.1:

Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally confront with the

problem of raising capital for starting the enterprise.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.2:

There is no significant difference in Entrepreneurial Skills of Urban and

Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs in the district.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.3:


problem of maintaining balance between work and family in the district.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.4:

Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from

the problem of Lack of family support while starting their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.5:

Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions in Indore

district equally suffer from finding right Contacts for the venture.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.6:

Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from

Insecurity and lack of self Confidence in staring an enterprise

Hypothesis

(H0)7.7:

Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions in Indore

district equally suffer from adequate premises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.8:


problem of Gender biasness while starting their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.9:

Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs suffer from lack of

information/ knowledge about business enterprises.


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The various entrepreneurial constraints faced by women entrepreneurs in urban

and rural/semi-urban areas have been highlighted in Table: 7.1. The information was

collected from the women entrepreneurs about the intensity of the problems on a 5

point scale from very satisfactory (5) to very severe (1). The mean scores were

calculated (Table: 9.3) for each problem faced by these women.

TABLE: 7.3

Test of Significance for difference between the means scores of various

constraints while starting their enterprises

S.

N.

Factors URBAN SEMI-URBAN Test of Significance

No. Mean S.D No. Mean S.D Z

Value

Result*

at α=5%

1. Raising Capital 48 3.24 0.76 74 1.74

0.32 12.94 (H0)7.1

Significant*

2. Lack of

Entrepreneurial

skills

78 2.21

0.25 57

1.85

0.22 8.86 (H0)7.2

Significant*

3. Combining

work with

family

67 1.95

0.24 47

2.01

0.21 1.42 (H0)7.3

Insignifican

t

4. Lack of family

support

63 2.24

0.53 32 2.66

0.43 4.15 (H0)7.4

Significant*

5. Finding right

Contacts for the

venture

50 2.57

0.48 44 2.23

0.29 4.21 (H0)7.5

Significant*

6. Insecurity and

lack of self

Confidence

57 2.36

0.57 49

1.96

0.19 4.99 (H0)7.6

Significant*

7. Lack of

adequate

premise

56 2.50

0.19 38 2.55

0.18 1.30 (H0)7.7

Insignifican

t

8. Gender

Biasness and

non-acceptance

49 2.29

0.13 39 2.48

0.11 7.42 (H0)7.8

Significant*

9. Lack of

awareness and

adequate

knowledge

31 2.87

0.25 25 2.77

0.24 1.52 (H0)7.9

Insignificant


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The problem of arranging finance to start the enterprise is more severe among

rural women (Mean Score 1.74) as compared to urban women entrepreneurs (Mean

Score 3.24). The rural women also lacked entrepreneurial skills (Mean Score 1.85) as

compared to urban women entrepreneurs with mean score 2.21. This was followed

with insecurity and lack of self Confidence among rural/semi-urban women

entrepreneurs (Mean Score 1.96), combining work with family (Mean Score 2.01),

finding right Contacts for the venture (Mean Score 2.23), gender biasness and non-

acceptance (Mean Score 2.48), lack of adequate premise (Mean Score 2.55), lack of

family support (Mean Score 2.66) and lack of awareness and adequate knowledge

(Mean Score 2.77) in that order.

On the other hand, women entrepreneurs in urban areas suffered the most when

it came to combining work with family (Mean Score 1.95), lack of entrepreneurial

skills (Mean Score 2.21), lack of family support (Mean Score 2.24) and gender

biasness and non-acceptance (Mean Score 2.29). This was followed with insecurity

and lack of self Confidence among urban women entrepreneurs (Mean Score 2.36),

lack of adequate premise (Mean Score 2.50), finding right Contacts for the venture

(Mean Score 2.57), and lack of awareness and adequate knowledge (Mean Score 2.87)

in that order. Urban women with mean score of 3.24 were much comfortable as

compared to their rural counterpart (Mean Score 1.74) in the study region.

Intensity of Retardation in Starting an Enterprise:

The results depict that of major constraints, raising capital, lack of

entrepreneurial skills, lack of family support, finding right Contacts for the venture,

Insecurity and lack of self Confidence and gender biasness are found significant. It

means that these constraints differ significantly among urban and rural women

entrepreneurs. In other words, the degree of retardation hits urban and rural women

entrepreneurs with varying intensity. The intensity of retardation among women

entrepreneurs at urban as well as rural/ semi urban areas has been illustrated in Table:

7.4. The intensity of retardation shows to what extend the initiation of entrepreneurial

venture by women entrepreneurs in the district is jammed by above mentioned factors,

which are proven to be significant.


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TABLE: 7.4

Intensity of Retardation among women Entrepreneurs

while starting their Enterprises

The study clearly illustrates that raising capital to start the enterprise is the

biggest challenge for rural women entrepreneurs. Scarcity of capital creates around

65% of intensity of retardation for initiating an enterprise in rural areas. With limited

avenues of income and employment creation, raising capital is a big challenge for rural

women in the district. This is followed with Lack of Entrepreneurial skills with

intensity of retardation equal to 63.00%, caused mainly by lack of education and

knowledge among rural women. Insecurity and lack of self Confidence is another

factor with intensity of retardation equal to around 61%, which is also a big challenge

for women entrepreneurs in the rural/ semi-urban areas of Indore district for

entrepreneurial development. Finding right contacts for starting the venture is another

troublesome factor, which often impedes the initiatives of rural women to start their

venture. It’s intensity of retardation among rural entrepreneurs stand at 48.60%.

Gender Biasness and Non acceptance is another worrying factor with intensity of

retardation equal to around 50% among rural women.

On the other hand, the degree of retardation differs among urban entrepreneurs.

Lack of Entrepreneurial skills and Lack of family support with respective intensity of

retardation being equal to 56% and 55%, pose a big challenge for urban women to

S.N Constrains found Significant URBAN RURAL

1. Raising Capital 35.20% 65.20%

2. Lack of Entrepreneurial skills 56.00% 63.00%

3. Lack of family support 55.20% 46,80%

4. Finding right Contacts for the venture 48.60% 55.40%

5. Insecurity and lack of self Confidence 52.80% 60.80%

6. Gender Biasness and Non acceptance 54.20% 50.40%


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initiate their enterprises. The majority of women entrepreneurs are not trained to

possess the entrepreneurial skills relating to administration, marketing, accounts,

public relations etc. Even in current era of advanced civilization where our

constitutions gives equal rights to women folks, initiating a business enterprise is not

whole heartedly accepted by their male counterparts in most of the cases. If a women

in a family, even in an urban environment moves out to indulge in any economic

activity, in many cases this is taken as an act against the prestige of the family. Thus

lack of support by spouse or other male family members in initiating a business

enterprise is a big challenge and obstacle in her efforts to take up entrepreneurship as

a career option. This is followed with gender biasness with intensity of retardation

equal to 54.00%, caused mainly by male dominating society. The insufficient support

from the family and gender issues often caused insecurity & lack of confidence

(52.80% of intensity of retardation) among women entrepreneurs to initiate their

enterprises.


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B. CONSTRAINTS IN RUNNING AN ENTERPRISE:

A number of obstacles or constraints arise before the women entrepreneur when

she steps in the competitive world. Facing them bravely and then starting her own

business is commendable on her part. As the business proceeds, she comes across

several other obstacles which slower her process of work and often demoralize her. It

is observed that women entrepreneurs not only face problems while initiating a venture

but continue to do so once they start functioning. There is a difference in the constraints

and the problems which they face before entering into a venture and the problems

which they face later.

The problems which the lady entrepreneurs face in staring their enterprises have

been discussed in Table: 7.1. The study tells us that crossing all hindrances and

obstacles the women entrepreneurs are able to start their business. A different set of

problems await them once they are running a venture. These women entrepreneurs

have to run and grow their business in a very competitive world which is mainly

dominated by male society, who since ages have been the main bread earners in the

family and thus are very experienced in their business pursuits. Thus the challenges

ahead of a woman entrepreneur in running and growing her business enterprises are

very distinct and difficult, in order to make a stand for herself in the business world.

Table: 7.5 help us to understand some of the hindrances which the females face while

running a venture.

Inadequate Finance and Working Capital:

The most important problem which any woman entrepreneur faces is the

arrangement of adequate finance. Around 59% of women entrepreneurs have

struggled in the district to arrange adequate finance to run their enterprises. The

scarcity of working capital is noticed more among rural/semi-urban women

entrepreneurs (84.71%) as compared to their urban counterpart (46.47%).

A woman takes a bold step to enter into the business world and then to face the

inadequacy of funds is very discouraging. Funding (Working Capital) has always been

an important hindrance in running the venture by women entrepreneurs. Once the


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females are able to start a venture after arranging the finances, the problem is not over.

They often have to face shortage of liquidity in their finances to cover the operational

costs. At times when the business receives a positive response and the demand rises,

the female entrepreneurs are not able to cater to the demand due to shortage of funds.

The women from the urban background are slightly better placed as they are aware of

the option of taking a loan from the Banks or other financial institutions. Whereas, the

semi-urban women are often hesitant to approach the banks for finances and often

depend upon their savings or borrowings. They often fail to make arrangement of

liquid money. By and large, be it an urban female or a women entrepreneur from semi

urban/ rural region, arranging finance is an important constraint which at times delays

the progress of their enterprises.

Lack of Administrative Skills:

Managing the household is much different from administering the business

activities. Around 36 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district are reported to

lack the necessary administrative skills to run their enterprises. The proportion of such

entrepreneurs is much higher among rural/semi-urban women (44.71%) as compared

to urban women (31.18%).

The women entrepreneurs face many problems in managing the day to day

activities in the business place. They often come across difficult employees and

customers too. Handling the employees and getting the work done from them to the

maximum is not easy when these ladies have male employees working under them.

These women entrepreneurs are able to handle the tantrums of their difficult employees

with experience and patience. In the initial years of the business, it becomes important

for them to establish their venture and earn a name in the market. This requires timely

delivery of work with quality. Here, the administrative skills of the females come into

light.


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Table: 7.5

CONSTRAINTS IN RUNNING AN ENTERPRISE S.N. Main Obstacles in Running

an Enterprise

Urban Semi-Urban Total

No. % No. % No. %

1. Finance and Liquidity

79 46.47 72 84.71 151 59.22

2. Work-life balance and

Time management

50 29.41 36 42.35 86 33.73

3. Lack of Administrative

Skills

53 31.18 38 44.71 91 35.69

4. Lack of spouse/Family

support

52 30.59 32 37.65 84 32.94

5. Lack of training

opportunities

60 35.29 48 56.47 108 42.35

6. Dealing with male

counterparts ( Gender

issues)

59 34.71 41 48.24 100 39.22

7. Mental & Physical Stress

62 36.47 54 63.53 116 45.49

8. Tough competition

73 42.94 62 72.94 135 52.94

9. High cost of production

49 34.71 34 40.00 83 32.55

10. Procurement and refilling 43 25.29 30 35.29 74 29.02

11. Travelling and Mobility

problem

41 24.12 29 34.11 70 27.45

12. Marketing Problems 50 29.41 32 37.65 82 32.16

13. Lack of expertise &

decision making

57 33.53 40 47.06 97 38.04

14. Location of the enterprise

55 32.35 40 47.06 95 37.25

15. Transport bottlenecks

53 31.18 41 48.24 94 36.86

16. Pricing Problem

53 31.18 43 50.59 96 37.65

17. Lack of skilled workforce

47 27.65 31 36.47 78 30.59

18. High rate of interest

33 19.41 32 37.65 65 25.49

19. Day to day problems at

workplace

27 15.88 23 27.06 60 23.53

20. Constant fear of failure

45 26.47 32 37.65 77 30.20

21. Lack of awareness about

Government Schemes.

67 39.41 63 74.12 130 50.98

22. Others

33 19.41 16 18.26 49 19.22

23. No Obstacles

13 07.65 02 02.35 15 05.88


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Work-life Balance and Time Management:

Managing time between their family and the work is also another important

factor which becomes difficult for the women. Around 34% of women entrepreneurs

in the district are reported to struggle to maintain a work-life balance and manage time

to run their enterprises. In the initial months the venture requires more attention and

time of the entrepreneur. The women entrepreneurs have to make a stand in the market

and position themselves. This often requires late hours of working and concentration

at work. The women have to take care of their household responsibilities also and at

times find it difficult to make a choice. Some females are staying in joint families and

have to fulfill their duty towards the elders of the family also.

Work-life balance and Time management is of utmost importance for the

females who have to balance between their family and the work place. A woman

entrepreneur has to take care of her responsibilities as a mother, wife and daughter-in-

law also. At the same time she is the Boss at her work place. There are several

occasions where her physical presence is required at both the places. It becomes

difficult for her to prioritize between the situations. In most of the cases the

responsibilities towards the family are chosen and the work is affected. If she delays

any particular activity, the whole schedule of the day is disturbed which in turn affects

her performance in the business. She often utilizes her time on holidays and her visits

to the market become multipurpose. When the time is not managed, it affects her work

which requires supervision or personal care. This happens with almost all the women

entrepreneurs who are staying in a nuclear family or are a single parent. The children

have always been their responsibility which they have to take care even if they are at

work or are sick. The growing responsibility of the family, children and at times in-

laws is to be handled simultaneously with the rising demand of the work place.

Thus running an enterprise by a woman under the circumstances often becomes

a very challenging job. As the enterprise grows, it requires more time, money, efforts

in order to position itself better in the market. The women have to manage both the

places so that they can benefit in their work. Time management is therefore a big


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challenge for women entrepreneurs. Time constraint is to be handled carefully in order

to do justice to the business as well as the household responsibilities.

Lack of Spouse/Family support:

Around 33 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district are reported to lack

the necessary spouse/ family support to run their enterprises. Spouse/family support is

of utmost importance for the women entrepreneurs in order to position them.

Balancing the business activities with the household responsibilities is only possible

for a woman entrepreneur with the family support.

If it is a nuclear family then the support of the spouse and the children is very

important. On the other hand the females belonging to a joint family look forward to

the support from their in-laws and other family members. A woman entrepreneur needs

to fulfill her family responsibilities in such a way that there is full support from the

members of the family. In the beginning of the venture, everything seems to be bright

and happening but as the time passes things change. With the passage of time the

venture starts demanding more time and dedication. It is this phase where the support

of the family/spouse is required. Most of the women entrepreneurs face a problem

from the family side when they are not very supportive. This does hinder the working

of the females and often have to compromise at the work front.

Lack of Training Opportunities:

Training in enterprise development not only makes women entrepreneurs

skillful but also provides them more opportunities to do better and expand their

enterprises. Training in the particular activity related to any entrepreneurial venture

helps the enterprise to grow in a smooth manner. It is a very unfortunate aspect to note

that around 56 per cent of rural/ semi-urban women and 35% of urban women in the

district have reported lack of training opportunities. The lack of training opportunities

is a severe setback for their entrepreneurial development in this region.

Lack of education and ignorance of the facilities offered by the government

affects the performance of the females. They are not able to give their 100 % in the

work due to lack of training. On top of it if activities require some strategic planning


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or expansion program, the untrained female entrepreneurs are not able to do justice to

their work.

The study assisted to identify that most of the ladies did not receive any formal

training for their business. A very few women entrepreneurs in urban areas have taken

some formal/informal training for their respective enterprises before or after the start

of business, however the proportion of such women in rural areas is almost negligible.

This is one of the prominent factors for lack of success among the enterprises run by

women in rural areas.

The women entrepreneurs in the study region seem to have learnt the intricacies

and the strategies with the hit and trial method. They are not reported to go to any

vocational schools or attend any workshops which could have helped them to perform

better. The reason which they gave was unawareness of such courses or no family/

external support for such training programs. They were of the view that if they had

gone through any training programs it would have certainly helped them to enhance

the output in the venture. Lack of awareness and complexity of multiple roles played

by such women entrepreneurs thus put them in difficult situation.

Dealing with Male Counterpart:

Dealing with the male counterpart during the various dealings whether it is

sales, purchase, marketing or any other business activity is not easy. As it is a man’s

world, the men find it difficult to accept a lady as their boss or accept the proposal

which she gives. The ladies here have to be perfect in their ideas and work so that they

do not face any non-acceptance from the males. At times even if they have better ideas

still they face rejection from their male counterparts for no valid reason at all. The men

could not accept the females to stand before them and compete. To our surprise, around

48 per cent of rural/ semi-urban women and 35% of urban women in the district have

often faced non-acceptance from their male counterparts.

According to these women entrepreneurs, the males were not ready to accept

the females to stand before them and work on similar lines. Business deals, material

supply, order for products etc. are all affected when it comes to a lady entrepreneur.


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They would often try to disrupt their working and create hindrances in their way. In

many cases, the lady entrepreneurs also faced non-acceptance from the domestic front.

Their family members specially the males of the family were not ready to digest the

fact that the ladies were earning and stepping out of the house.

Mental & Physical Stress:

It is observed during the study that mental and health stress was an issue of and

concern for women entrepreneurs in the study area. It is really disheartening to observe

that around 46 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district often confront with the

problem of mental and physical fatigue & stress while running their enterprises. More

number of women have reported this problem in rural/semi-urban areas (63.53%) as

compared to urban counterpart (36.47%).

Health is such a thing which can affect the working of any person, be it a male

or a female. The women entrepreneurs who need to take care of dual responsibilities

of their business and the household are often affected with ill health. Their health is

very important for their business as well as the household. A woman when sick is not

able to do justice to her business and is often irritated for petty things. The business

suffers and so does the house. The entrepreneurial activities which require them to be

always on the move often result in fatigue and stress.

Physical stress in managing and coordinating with the day to day activities

often lowers the output and quality of these females. They not only face physical stress

but also go through mental pressure to maintain a balance in work and family life.

As the venture expands or is trying to position itself in the market, both mental and

physical stress increases. This at times makes the females feel low and the work starts

to suffer.

Women entrepreneurs have to play multiple roles as of an entrepreneur, a

mother, a daughter, a wife, a cook, etc. To play all these roles efficiently, they

experience a lot of strain and often undergo mental stress and physical trauma. The

majorities of respondents have reported high levels of stress and stress related illness

and maximum said that establishing balance between enterprise and home affairs was


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their main cause of stress. At the same time, some, especially the urban entrepreneurs

confessed that their own careless attitude and changing life style , many a times led

to this situation. The ventures in which they are to be seated for a lot of time caused

health issues due to lack of movement and exercise.

Tough Competition:

Competition is another important obstacle which is faced by the women

entrepreneurs. Around 73% of rural women entrepreneurs and 43% of urban women

have struggled to counter tough competition in the market. This competition can be

related to product/service price, availability, packaging, marketing tactics or upgraded

technology. The females who have just started the venture and their production are not

on a large scale, they are unable to compete on the price front. Cut-throat competition

with other group of men and established self-sufficient entrepreneurs is another

problem faced by women entrepreneurs. They do not have a proper organizational set-

up to pump in a lot of money for canvassing and advertisements. Thus they have to

face a stiff competition with the men entrepreneurs who easily involve in the

promotion and development area and carry out easy marketing of their products with

both the organized sector and their male counterparts. Such a competition ultimately

results in the insolvency of women entrepreneurs.

Tough competition, especially in urban areas in the industry with big brands is

another factor which often disrupts the working of the female entrepreneurs. The

competition which they face against their product or service is often from big brands

and even from the locals. This competition faced is related to advertisement, price,

packing, quality or brand. The competitor may also be into mass production and thus

enjoys economies to scale. This leads to low cost of production and thus lower price.

Not only can the price, the latest trends in marketing can also be adopted by the

competitors whom may not be possible for the women entrepreneur to afford.

Whatever may be the reason but this competition often does have a negative impact

on the smooth functioning of their business.


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High Cost of Production:

Around 33 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district have faced the

problem of high cost of production while running their enterprises. Majority of the

women entrepreneurs engaged in tertiary sector in the district had small scale ventures.

Their capital, premises, raw material etc. were small in quantity. The output was

obviously small which gave rise to higher cost of production. The operating costs

on rent, electricity, labor could not be cut down. They were unable to curtail the

expenditure in order to lower the production cost. On the other hand, economies of

scale were also not possible due to many constraints. The limited means of financial

resources thus often led to higher cost of output. All these factors combined together

often retard the growth of their enterprises.

Travelling and Mobility Problems:

As the times are moving ahead at a fast pace the methods of business are also

changing. The females who are in the business venture need to move about in order to

crack better deals. Incapability to move becomes a hindrance for the females whether

it is related to transport or accessibility of the market. They are often dependent on

paid transport or their spouse to move around for the various deals of their business.

Such kind of obstacles often hinders the smooth working of the entrepreneurial

venture. Around 28 % of women entrepreneurs in the district, have faced the problem

of mobility and travelling while running their enterprises. Travelling for their business

is thus a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district. Travel for their

business, no matter even if it was for a day, leaving the business in reliable hands in

their absence was an important obstacle to them. At times the responsibilities towards

the family were a big hindrance to leave the station and go out for business deals. It

could be a business deal or replenishing the goods in their venture.

Procurement and Refilling:

Procurement and replenishing the goods is another important hindrance,

especially for women entrepreneurs of the district. Around 35% of rural/ semi-urban

women and 29% of urban women in the district have often faced the problem of


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procurement and refilling their stock. The women entrepreneurs who were into trading

of various goods had to move out to refill their items. This is in fact a tedious task for

women entrepreneurs to look for a vendor who would provide them with the material

at a reasonable price. To crack a deal with the suppliers where they had to procure the

raw material for their venture at the right place on a reasonable price, is not an easy

task. The females are often not comfortable and confident to talk to the men suppliers.

Taking the help of a broker/agent for the procurement of raw material is also not very

profitable at times. Many were getting the stuff through transportation but there were

few who brought it themselves. Therefore, the procurement and refilling stock at right

time is a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district.

Location of the Enterprise:

Approximately 37% of women entrepreneurs are reported to be unsatisfied

from the location of their enterprises. This problem is more prominent among rural

entrepreneurs (47.06%). In the study area also due to many impelling factors, majority

of women entrepreneurs are found engaging in their business operations from their

home premises.

The entrepreneurs often set up their enterprise where they can get the premises

on a cheaper cost so as to invest less in the infrastructure. The location of the working

place is reported as a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district. As

observed, some of the women entrepreneurs have put up their workplace in the out

skirts of the city/ hometown where they could get the premises on a cheaper cost. This

further leads to problems like safety of the female workers. During festival seasons,

the work demands more time input from all the employees. At this juncture safety of

the workplace matters. Working late hours and moving in bad weather condition

affects the business and efficiency of the female employees as well as the owner.

Under the circumstances, it is suggested to have location of the premises easily

approachable by the vendors, suppliers and employees. It should be well connected

with local transport so that anyone and everyone can reach there easily. Commutation

time should be always less so as to avoid fatigue to the employees.


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Marketing Constraints:

Another important factor which is connected to the location of the premises is

the marketing of the product/service. This is inter-related to the location of the

enterprise. If the working place or the production unit is far away in the outskirts of

the city, the woman entrepreneurs are definitely going to face marketing problems.

The delivery of the product to the customers, the meetings with the clients etc. all will

be not easy. Another side of the marketing problem of the women entrepreneurs is the

lack of knowledge of strategies which could ease to market the product. The questions

which women entrepreneurs are unable to handle are, Where to sell? Who to sell and

How to sell?? These questions often hinder the best of produce to be marketed.

As many as 32% of women entrepreneurs are found suffering from the problem

marketing of their product/service. Exploring new places and venues for sale of their

product was a difficult task for the women entrepreneurs. They were confined to their

own outlet and did not have much idea or time to look for better places which may be

profitable. Exhibitions and market areas during festivals and occasions often prove to

be beneficial for the business. Majority of women entrepreneurs in the district were

unable to explore such places.

Lack of Expertise &Decision Making:

Any business enterprise, how big or small it may be, its success and growth

depends on timely and appropriate decision making process involved in running it. It

is in fact discouraging to observe that around 47% of rural and 34% of urban women

entrepreneurs have failed to involve themselves in suitable decision making process

while running their enterprises. This clearly reflects that most of these women

entrepreneurs lack insight and therefore are not able to take appropriate and timely

business decisions. Lack of training programs and professional education becomes a

hindrance for them to be strategic in their decision making power and thus the business

often suffers. Although with time, experience and maturity, these females gradually

learn and are able to take suitable decisions but in the initial stages they are often not

very wise. This fear of failure often leads to doubt in their minds which leads to delay

in taking decisions. The fear and doubt arises from lack of education and training


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programs which they are often not able to undergo. The incomplete knowledge about

their venture creates doubts and this leads to slow decision making. This often gives

rise to failure and losses. It becomes like a vicious circle where the women folk start

becoming hesitant to take part in any business. This leads to their lack of confidence

and then hesitant of stepping in any business venture.

Transportation Bottlenecks:

The success of any business also depends on the efficiency of the transport

system available and used. Around 48% of rural/ semi-urban women and 31% of urban

women in the district have often faced the problem of adequate transportation services

available to them while running their enterprises.

The procurement of the raw material, machinery, delivery of finished goods or

samples, all need to be on time. The delay in any of this affects the goodwill and

reputation of the enterprise. The women entrepreneurs in the early stages of their

business are not able to afford faster means of transport. At times their goods are not

delivered on time due to the slow means of transport. This further affects their business

deals and activities. Thus the bottlenecks in the transport system used by women

entrepreneurs often put them in a disadvantageous position.

Pricing Problems:

Approximately 38% of women entrepreneurs in the district have struggled to

get the right price of their product in the market. This problem is more prominent

among rural entrepreneurs (50.59%) as compared to their urban counterpart (31.18%).

The smooth running of an enterprise often faces competition on the grounds of lower

price of the product introduced in the market by the competitors. In order to survive in

the industry and retain their position in the market, the women entrepreneurs are thus

forced to reduce the price of their products often at a loss. This forced reduction of

price and loss from the production front is a great setback to the business revenue.

Thus the low priced strategy adopted by women entrepreneurs further makes their

survival difficult in their business pursuits.


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Lack of Skilled Workforce:

Another important obstacle which the women entrepreneurs face is the lack of

skilled workers due to low remuneration paid by them to the employees. Around

30% of women entrepreneurs in the district have faced this problem. The enterprise

which requires skilled labor or workers need to pay a higher amount to retain them in

the enterprise. This becomes difficult for the ladies who have started their venture on

a small scale and have to pay more in order to take the services from the skilled

employees. The low remuneration fails to attract the expert and experienced

employees for work. The naïve and not so experienced workers are available on low

remuneration and they are not able to deliver quality work. This is proving to be a big

hindrance in the growth of their enterprises in the district.

High Rate of Interest:

Most of the women entrepreneurs have initiated their business after taking a

loan from the Banks or the financial institutions. They have to pay a large sum as

interest towards it. At times, paying a high rate of interest every month on the capital

taken becomes a block for the growth and overall running of the business. This

problem of high rate of interest is experienced by around 26% of women entrepreneurs

in the district. The problem of paying high rate of interest is more prominent among

rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs (37.65%) in the district. Paying higher rate of

interest is really very painful for women entrepreneurs to manage when their revenue

generation is not very high.

Day to Day Problems at Workplace:

The working environment is also an important determinant for the employees

to perform better. No matter even if you pay a high remuneration but if the working

place lacks the basic amenities, the employees will not be happy working there. The

output of the workers is affected and their quality also deteriorates. In order to optimize

the output of the workers it is important of the women entrepreneurs to arrange for a

congenial and comfortable working place. This at times is not available and the output

suffers. Day to day problems at workplace, as reported by around 23% of women


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entrepreneurs during the study had often posed a big challenge to these women

entrepreneurs to run their enterprises smoothly.

Lack of Awareness about Government Schemes and their Rights:

It is really astonishing to observe that more than half of the women

entrepreneurs (50.98%) in the district have reported to be unaware about various

Government Schemes and their rights. The problem seems more severe among rural/

semi-urban women entrepreneurs (74.12%) as compared to urban entrepreneurs

(39.41%). This is really a setback for the institutional efforts to promote women

entrepreneurship for their socio-economic upliftment.

Lack of awareness, often leads to inadequate knowledge of the business being

done. When the women entrepreneurs are not very comfortable about the business

operations they are engaged into, they not only lack confidence but are also unaware

of the facilities which they can avail of. The government has introduced several

schemes for the women entrepreneurs but Lack of awareness has served as a hindrance

in availing benefits from all such schemes. Lack of awareness about their rights and

the facilities &benefits available for them, are few of the important obstacles which

these women entrepreneurs need to overcome as soon as possible. Realizing their

strengths and making use of it is the biggest challenge which the women entrepreneurs

need to face.

Fear of Failure:

Constant fear of failure (30.20%) in running an enterprise is another obstacle

which has often troubled women entrepreneurs. There is a tremendous pressure as

these women entrepreneurs enter into entrepreneurship against all odds. The survival

against all internal as well as external pressures becomes a very difficult proposition

and often develops a fear of failure among such women entrepreneurs.

It was really pleasing to find such women entrepreneurs (19.22%) during the

study that did not face any obstacle while running a venture. This could be because

they had full support from their family, no worry of funds and someone to guide and

help them in running and growing their entrepreneurial venture. Also they may be


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experienced enough to take some strategic decisions at right times while running their

enterprise.

An attempt is made in the following pages to have a comparative assessment of

variation in various constraints and problems faced by women entrepreneurs in Urban

and Semi urban/rural areas. This will help in assessing any significant difference, if it

exists, between Urban and Semi urban/rural women entrepreneurs with respect to

major constrains faced by them in running their enterprises. Do Urban and Semi

urban/rural women entrepreneurs face the similar kind of constraints and problems?

Do they differ significantly with respect to various constrains faced by them in running

their enterprises? This will help in designing the right kind of strategies for

development of women enterprises in urban and as well as in semi urban/ rural context.

For this purpose, the following hypotheses are framed (Table: 7.6) to test whether the

constraints and problems faced by urban and semi urban/ rural entrepreneurs differ

significantly?


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Table: 7.6

Hypotheses with respect to various constraints faced by women entrepreneurs

in running their enterprises

Hypothesis

(H0)7.10:

Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from the

problem of working capital and shortage of liquidity for running the

enterprise.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.11:

Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally face the Cut-

throat competition in running their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.12:

Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally face

Mental& Physical Stress while running their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.13:

Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions are not

exposed to adequate Training & development programs.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.14:

Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions faced

the problem of Gender biasness while running their enterprises.

Hypothesis

((H0)7.15:

Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally lack in

decision making skills while running their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.16: Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs do not differ

significantly in possessing administrative skills for running business.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.17: Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions equally

enjoy the family support while running their enterprises.

Hypothesis

(H0)7.18: Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs are equally aware

of various Government Schemes and their rights.

In order to test these hypotheses, the weighted Arithmetic mean score of each

constraint and its standard deviation with respect to the opinion sought of urban as

well rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs were calculated by using likert scale

technique. The results of these tests are illustrated in Table: 7.7


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The various entrepreneurial constraints faced by women entrepreneurs while

running their enterprises in urban and rural/semi-urban areas have been highlighted in

Table: 7.5. The women entrepreneurs were asked to respond their opinion about

TABLE: 7.7

Test of Significance for difference between the means scores of various

constraints while running the enterprises

S. N. Factors URBAN RURAL/

SEMI-URBAN

Test of Significance

No. Mean S.D No. Mean S.D Z

Value

Result*

at α=5%

1. Finance and

Liquidity

79 2.21 0.23 72 1.65

0.27 13.65 (H0)7.10

Significant*

2. Cut-throat

competition

73 2.37

0.33 62

2.74

0.23 7.64 (H0)7.11

Significant*

3. Mental & Physical

Stress

62 2.45

0.12 54

2.49

0.17 1.44 (H0)7.12

Insignificant

4. Lack of Training

programs

60 2.57

0.27 48 2.49

0.18 1.84 (H0)7.13

Insignificant

5. Dealing with male

counterparts

(Gender issues)

59 2.37

0.31 41 2.59

0.21 4.23 (H0)7.14

Significant*

6. Lack of expertise

& decision

making

57 2.87

0.29 40

2.27

0.27 10.45 (H0)7.15

Significant*

7. Lack of

Administrative

Skills

53 2.32

0.42 38 2.21

0.19 1.68 (H0)7.16

Insignificant

8. Lack of

spouse/Family

support

52 2.57

0.48 32 2.98

0.42 4.11 (H0)7.17

Significant*

9. Lack of awareness

about Government

Schemes and their

rights

67 2.74

0.28 63 2.26 0.11 13.01 (H0)7.18

Significant*


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various constraints on a 5 point scale from very satisfactory (5) to very severe (1). The

mean scores are illustrated (Table: 7.7) for each problem faced by these women.

The problem of arranging finance to run the enterprise is more severe problem

among rural women (Mean Score 1.65) as compared to urban women entrepreneurs

(Mean Score 2.21). The rural women also lacked severely in administrative skills (

Mean Score 2.21) while running their enterprises as compared to urban women

entrepreneurs with mean score 2.32. This was followed with lack of awareness about

Government Schemes and their rights with mean score of 2.26 among rural women

entrepreneurs. Illiteracy among rural women must have contributed for this lack of

awareness. The other problems faced by rural women in running their enterprises

mainly include lack of expertise & decision making (Mean Score 2.27), mental&

physical Stress (Mean Score 2.49), lack of Training programs (Mean Score 2.49),

gender biasness while dealing with male counterparts (Mean Score 2.59), cut-throat

competition (Mean Score 2.59) and lack of family support (Mean Score 2.98)in that

order.

On the other hand, women entrepreneurs in urban areas suffered most severely

with the problem of arranging finance to run the enterprise (Mean Score 2.21),

followed with lack of entrepreneurial skills (Mean Score 2.32), Cut-throat competition

(Mean Score 2.37) and gender biasness and non-acceptance (Mean Score 2.37). This

was further followed with mental & physical Stress (Mean Score 2.45),lack of family

support (Mean Score 2.57), gender biasness while dealing with male counterparts

(Mean Score 2.57), lack of awareness about Government Schemes and their rights

(Mean Score 2.74) and lack of expertise & decision making (Mean Score 2.87) in that

order in the study region.

Intensity of Retardation in Running an Enterprise:

The results depicts that major constraints like Finance and Liquidity, Cut-throat

competition, lack of family support, gender biasness, lack of expertise & decision making

and lack of awareness about Government Schemes and their rights are found

significant. It means that these constraints differ significantly among urban and rural


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women entrepreneurs. In other words, the degree of retardation hits urban and rural

women entrepreneurs with varying intensity. The intensity of retardation while

running enterprises among women entrepreneurs at urban as well as rural/ semi urban

areas has been illustrated in Table: 7.8, which shows to what extend the following

factors creates hindrance while running the entrepreneurial venture by urban women

entrepreneurs in the district.

TABLE: 7.8

Intensity of Retardation among women Entrepreneurs

while running their Enterprises

The study clearly illustrates that finance and managing liquidity while running

an enterprise is the biggest challenge for rural women entrepreneurs in the district.

Lack of finance creates around 67% of intensity of retardation in rural areas (Table:

7.8). With limited opportunities of income creation, managing funds for running their

enterprises is a big challenge for rural women in the district. This is followed with lack

of awareness about Government Schemes and lack of expertise & decision making

with intensity of retardation equal to around 55% each. The lack of awareness about

various schemes of the Government and failure to take business decisions are mainly

caused by lack of education and disintegration of rural women with urban communities

S.N Constrains found Significant URBAN RURAL

1. Finance and Liquidity 55.80% 67.00%

2. Cut-throat competition 52.60% 45.20%

3. Dealing with male counterparts

(Gender issues)

52.60% 48,20%

4. Lack of expertise & decision making 42.60% 54.60%

5. Lack of spouse/Family support 48.60% 40.40%

6. Lack of awareness about Government

Schemes and their rights

45.20% 54.80%


__________________________________________________ 258


for various social reasons. Biasness while dealing with male counterpart is another

disturbing factor with intensity of retardation at 48% among rural women, which often

obstructs the growth of their ventures.

While estimating the intensity of retardation in urban areas, it was noticed that

the women entrepreneurs severely face the liquidity crunch while running their

enterprises. Like rural entrepreneurs, managing finance is the biggest challenge for

these women entrepreneurs in the district. It creates around 56% of intensity of

retardation in urban areas. Cut-throat competition and dealing with male counterparts

with intensity of retardation being equal to 52.60% each pose a big challenge for urban

women for running their enterprises. The degree of retardation with regard to gender

issues is higher among urban women as compared to rural women. This could be due

to the reason that an urban woman quite often has to interact with male stakeholders,

many of them still don’t accept her as a business woman and at times give her a

nefarious treatment. This is where her problems begin as woman entrepreneur. The

lack of family support is another worrying problem among urban entrepreneurs with

intensity of retardation being equal to 48.60%. It is also disheartening to observe that

around 34% of urban women entrepreneurs have failed to take timely and adequate

decisions while running their enterprises. This is reflected in their intensity of

retardation which measured to 42.60%. This could be due to lack of training programs

and vocational education, which often create hindrance for them to take appropriate

business decisions. This leads to lack of their confidence which results into business

venture to suffer.


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CONCLUSION:

The study has helped us to understand the innumerable constraints which the

women entrepreneurs of our research area have faced. As we have mentioned above

they are broadly categorized in two parts. The problems while initiating the venture

and the problems while running a business. The women entrepreneurs of both the areas

faced the constraints of similar nature. The percentage was definitely different but the

nature of the problem was more or less the same.

The basic and foremost requirement of starting a venture is the raising of funds.

This has been the biggest hindrance for the semi-urban women to start their venture.

Similar was the case of possessing entrepreneurial skills where the urban women

entrepreneurs were much more comfortable as compared to their rural counterpart.

Illiteracy has been the main cause of the various constraints which the rural women

faced. Low confidence level and poor communication skills are some of the aspects

which need to be improved and polished in the rural women entrepreneurs. The rural

women were fortunate to enjoy family support as they basically hailed from joint and

large families.

The study elicited that there was similarity in the constraints faced by the

women entrepreneurs of both the areas while running a business. The problem of

finance being the foremost and competition being the second on the list. Cut-throat

competition in the urban market was seen at a higher level along with poor

family/spouse support. This was due to the reason of nuclear families and a wide range

of products and substitutes available in Indore region. The rural women entrepreneurs

faced the issue of expertise and decision making. They were not exposed to any kind

of technical training program, neither were aware of the government schemes which

would have helped them in their venture. It is important to create awareness amongst

the rural women about the training programs run by the government. They also need

to be guided and advised at regular intervals for the smooth functioning of their

enterprise.


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