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Women Entrepreneurship in India’s Marginalised Communities: What are the Needs of the Hour?

 During the last couple of decades, India has made great strides towards attaining gender equality, but still, when it comes to entrepreneurship, women, especially in marginalised communities, continue to face various obstacles. As it goes without saying that entrepreneurship is one of the keys to empowering Indian women, it is important to address and help them overcome the challenges they face, which also happens to be one of the core focus areas of various NGOs for women in the country. Continuing on the subject, in this article, we will discuss what should be done to promote women entrepreneurship in India's marginalised communities.

Quality Education and Training

First and foremost, in order to empower India’s marginalised women, they must have easy access to quality education and training. Most of the marginalised communities in India lack the education and training necessary for people to achieve their true potential, and bridging the gap, therefore, can go a long way towards helping them become women entrepreneurs. It is important that they have access to quality education and training programs that teach essential business skills such as accounting, marketing, and sales.

Safe and Supportive Work Environments

Every day, Indian newspapers are filled with headlines about women being targeted or discriminated against, just because they are women! As a result, many women in India, especially in marginalised communities, do not take up entrepreneurial roles, often due to safety concerns. Creating safe and supportive work environments, such as women-only workspaces, can help women entrepreneurs feel more secure and enable them to focus on their businesses and develop themselves as successful entrepreneurs.

Easy Access to Capital

Even though personal loans in India are being given out dime a dozen, taking out a business loan may require one to run from pillar to post, and more so if they cannot come up with the collateral asked by lending institutions. The scenario is even grimmer for marginalised women, who are often not even taken seriously when it comes to their entrepreneurial ambitions. To promote women entrepreneurship in marginalised communities, the government, along with NGOs for women, need to focus on microfinance programs that can help women start their businesses.

Networking Opportunities

One of the common reasons businesses fail is that they are unable to form the alliances needed for growth, and India being a largely male dominated society, women often find themselves at the end of the line of networking opportunities. Mentorship and networking opportunities can help aspiring women entrepreneurs learn from successful business owners and make valuable connections. This can be particularly helpful for women in marginalised communities, who may not have access to the same resources and networks as their male counterparts.

Wrap Up

While India is on a steady path of growth and a lot of work is being done by the government and NGO for women in the country to promote women entrepreneurship, a lot of ground remains to be covered. Providing access to capital, education and training, and networking opportunities, and creating safe and supportive work environments can go a long way in bridging the gap. If you too want to make a difference and help the country’s aspiring women entrepreneurs, the simplest way to go about it is donating to a charity working towards women empowerment in India. 

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