A project report on

“Women as a Leader - Entrepreneur ”

Submitted by

Vivek j. Dharade

Roll No. - 12

M.COM. part-1I

University of Mumbai

Under the guidance of

Prof. sudha subramanian

M.L.dahanukar college of commerce dixit road vile parle (east) Mumbai 400 057

Academic year 2013-14

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DECLARATION

I, Ms. Vivek Jayram Dharade studying in the M.COM – I I (management) in

the academic year 2013-14 at M.L. Dahanukar college of commerce vile parle

(east) hereby declare that I have completed the project titled “ Women as a

leader Entrepreneur ” as a part of the course requirement of Master of

commerce part II studies of University of Mumbai.

I further declare that the information presented in this is true and original to the

best of my knowledge.

Date:

Place: MUMBAI Vivek j. Dharade

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ACKNOWLDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to my project

prof. sudha subramanian , M.L.Dahanukar college of commerce for instilling

confidence in me to carry out this study and extending valuable time, without

which it would have not been possible to undertake and complete this project.

I also thanks to extend my appreciation to the management staff of my

college for the kind co-ordination and support .Last but not the least my

colleagues for their valuable comments and suggestions for making this a

cherishable experience to me.

Vivek Jayram Dharade

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Table of Contents

Contents Page No.

1. Introduction……………………………………………………..…....5

2. History……………………………………………………………......6

3. Traits of Women Entrepreneurs in India……………………….........7

4. Key Changes in women Entrepreneur……………………………….9

5. Role of women as an Entrepreneur:……………………………........10

6. Functions of Women Entrepreneurs:………………………………...11

7. Successful Leading Business Women in India………………… …..12

8. Chanda Kocchar, Executive Director, ICICI Bank……………….....12

9. Shikha Sharma  Managing Director, CEO, Axis Bank……………..15

10.Ekta Kapoor ,Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms…………………....16

11.Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, ……………………………...18

12.Ravina Raj Kohli founder and Executive director of job corp………..19

13.Ritu Kumar ,Fashion Designer…………………………………..…….21

14.Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Joint MD, Kinetic Engineering…………….2315.Women Entrepreneurs and Their Problems……………………..…….24

16.Need of study the women entrepreneurship……………………..…….28

17.Essentials of Women entrepreneurship………………………………..2918.Limitations………………………………………………………..……3119.Recommendations……………………………………………….…….34

20.Conclusion………………………………………………………..……36

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INTRODUCTION

In the era of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization along with on going IT

revolution, today’s world is changing at a surprising pace. Political and Economic

Transformations appear to be taking place everywhere—as countries convert from

command to demand economies, dictatorships move toward democratic system, and

Monarchies build new civil institutions. These changes have created economic

opportunities for women who want to own and operate businesses.

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

the reasons for women to run organized enterprises are their skill and knowledge, their

talents, abilities and creativity in business and a compelling desire of wanting to do

something positive. It is high time that countries should rise to the challenge and create

more support systems for encouraging more entrepreneurship amongst women. At the

same time, it is up to women to break away from stereotyped mindsets.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are a significant part of the global expedition for

sustained economic development and social progress. Due to the growing industrialization,

urbanization, social legislation and along with the spread of higher education and awareness,

the emergence of Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost

all countries.

In former days, for Women there were 3 Ks- Kitchen, Kids, Knitting, then came 3 Ps-

Powder,Pappad, Pickles and now at present there are 4 Es- Electricity, Electronics, Energy,

Engineering . Indian women had undergone a long way and are becoming increasingly visible

and successful in all spheres and have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional

activities.

Today’s women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope

up with market need and are flourishing as de signers, interior decorators, exporters,

publishers, garment manufacturers and still exploring new avenues of economic participation.

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It is perhaps for these reasons that Government Bodies, NGO’s, Social Scientists,

Researchers ‘and International Agencies have started showing interest in the issues related to

entrepreneurship among women in India.

Women entrepreneur’s explore the prospects of starting a new enterprise; undertake

risks, introduction of new innovations, coordinate administration & control of business &

providing effective leadership in all aspects of business and have proved their footage in the

male dominated business arena.

This report focuses on the concept of woman entrepreneurs in India; their traits in

business, the problems faced by them when they set up and make some suggestions for

future prospects for development of Women Entrepreneurs.

HISTORY

Entrepreneurship has gained currency across the sphere and female- entrepreneurship hasbecome an important module. India is one of the fastest emerging economies and the importance of entrepreneurship is realized across the gamut.

“Women Entrepreneurship” means an act of business ownership and business creation that empowers women economically increases their economic strength as well as position in society. Women-entrepreneurs have been making a considerable impact in all most all the segments of the economy.

“Women Entrepreneur” is a person who denies the role of their personal needs to participateand be accepted economically independent. Strong desire to do something positive is a high-quality women entrepreneur who contributes to the position values of family and social life.

“An enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum financial interest of 51% of capital and giving at least 51% of the employment generated by the enterprise to women.” - Government of India Statistics.

According to economists ," A women entrepreneur is a confident, innovative and creative woman capable of achieving economic independence individually or in collaboration generates employment opportunities for others through initiating establishing and running an enterprise by keeping pace with her personal, family and social life.

According to Medha Dubhanshi Vinze,” a women entrepreneur is a person who is an

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enterprising individual with an eye for opportunities and an uncanny vision, Commercial acumen, with tremendous perseverance and above all a person who is willing to take risk with the unknown because of the adventures spirit she possesses.”

In the words of Former President APJ Abdul Kalam "Empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation."

Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru has remarked “When women move forward, the family moves, the village moves and the Nation moves.”

Women Entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of economy of of the world. Their willingness for the future is apparent in their growing confidence, in their strengths and in their desire to seek different forms of work in order to achieve a new balance between work and home. Thus a women entrepreneur is one who starts business and manages it independently and tactfully takes all the risks, accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women, who is capable contributing values in both family and social life and is one who faces the challenges boldly with an iron, will to succeed.

Traits of Women Entrepreneurs in India

Women are ambitiousA successful woman entrepreneur is dreadfully strong-minded one, has an inner urge or

drives to change contemplation into realism. Knowledge from her previous occupancy as an employee, relying on educational qualifications or lessons learnt from inborn business, she is ready to grab opportunities, sets goal, possess clear vision, steps confidently forward and is ambitious to be successful. Every successful woman entrepreneur is truly determined to achieve goals and make her business prosper. Thorough knowledge of the field is indispensable to success. She comes with new innovative solutions to old problems to tide over issues.

Women are confidentA successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to learn from

others, search for help from experts if it means adding value to her goals. She is positive in nature and is keener to take risks. A winning woman entrepreneur uses common intelligence to make sound judgments when encountering everyday situations. This is gleaned from past experience and information acquired over the years. It is essential not to get aggravated and give up when you face obstacles and trials. The aptitude to explore uncharted territories and take bold decisions is the hallmark of a successful woman entrepreneur. A successful woman usually loves what she does. She is extremely fervent about her tasks and activities. Her high energy levels motivate her to contributeimmensely towards building, establishing and maintaining a prosperous business.

Women is open and willing to learn

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A successful woman entrepreneur keeps side by side of changes, as she is fully conscious of the importance of evolving changes. She is ahead of her competitors and thrives on changes. She adapts her business to changes in technology or service prospect of her patrons. She is inquisitive, concerned to learn and accommodative to innovations.

Women are cost consciousA successful woman entrepreneur prepares pragmatic budget estimates. She provides cost

effective quality services to her clients. With minimized cost of operations, she is able to force her team to capitalize on profits and gather its benefits.

Women values cooperation and allegianceA woman has the ability to work with all levels of populace. She is keen on maintaining

associations and communicates evidently and efficiently. This helps her to negotiate even responsive issues without difficulty. She is sympathetic to people around her and have good networking skills that help her to get better contacts and utilize opportunities.

Women can balance home and workA successful woman entrepreneur is good at balancing varied aspects of life.

Her multitasking aptitude combined with support from spouse and relatives enables her to bring together business priorities with domestic responsibilities competently and efficiently.

Women are aware of her legal responsibility to the social orderA successful woman entrepreneur is eager to share her achievement with the society. She

is dedicated to assist others and enjoys her liability.

Women focus on their PlansWomen Entrepreneur’s plan their work and work with plan. Set long-term and short-term

goals and take consistent action in moving toward them.

Women are ResourcefulWomen entrepreneurs take advantage effectively coordinating the available factors andresources such as mentoring, training and coaching and build a strong base of education, training and experience which can help lead to success.

An effectual Women Entrepreneur requires certain additional essential qualities, which can be listed as follows.

Innovative thinking and farsightedness. Often relatively comfortable with ambiguity, uncertainty and risk. Quick and effective choice making skill. Strongly influence events (or self-efficacy). Strong determination. Have high levels of work motivation. Preparedness to take risks. Characterized by high levels of social competence and social intelligence Accepting changes in right time. Has an ability to build relationships and to connect with others on a social and

interpersonal level

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Access and alertness to latest scientific and technological information. Single-minded and devoted to their unique passions. Efficient execution of decisions imposed on them. May judge ambiguous business conditions in more positive, enthusiastic, and

optimistic terms. Clear vision and ambition on the improvement of family and children. Takes advantage of resources such as mentoring, counselling and other small business

development assistance. Patience and bearing the sufferings on behalf of others. Has some blend of critical analytical thinking, creativity, and practical

implementation of ideas. Ability to work physically more at any age.

Many women have these traits but they never got a platform to showcase their talents and forthis reason they don't know their real abilities. Matching the basic qualities required for entrepreneurs and the basic characters of Indian women reveal that, much potential is available among the Indian women on their entrepreneurial ability. This potential is to be documented, brought out and exposed for utilization in productive and service sectors for the progress of the nation.

KEY CHANGES IN WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FIFTIES: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. They became 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

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mounting industrialization and urbanization and social legislation. Over the years, more and more women are going in for higher education, technical and professional education and their proportion in the workforce has also been increased.

With the spread of education and awareness, women have shifted from the kitchen, handicrafts and traditional cottage industries to non-traditional higher levels of activities. The Government has also laid special weight age on the requirement for conducting special entrepreneurial training programs for women to enable them to start their own ventures.

Financial institutions and banks have also set up particular cells to help women entrepreneurs. This has rebound the women entrepreneurs on the economic scene in the recent years although many women’s entrepreneurship enterprises arestill remained a much neglected field. Though, for women there are quite a lot of handicaps to enter into and manage business ownership due to the intensely entrenched conventional state of mind and strict principles of the Indian society.

Role of women as an Entrepreneur:

Considering the flow of women entrepreneurs in the traditional industries, it is oftencriticized that the women entrepreneurship is engaged only in handloom and handicraft and in the non-traditional term, now their aspect have broaden into new line like hotel line, Xeroxing, Beauty Parlour business, incense stick making, candle making etc.In the last decade, there has been a remarkable shift it emphasizes from the traditional industry to non-traditional industry and services. Based on this concept, some important opportunities are being identified, considering the socio-economic, cultural and educational status and motivational level of women entrepreneurs, particularly projects with low investment, low technical know-how and assured market are suggested for them such as production of soaps, detergents, ready- made instant food products including pickles, spices, papad, manufacturing of woollen goods, beauty parlour business, typing centre, job contracts for packaging of goods and distribution and household provision etc.

At present they are:

Creative: It refers to the creative approach or innovative ideas with competitive market. Well-planned approach is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the entrepreneurial opportunities. It further implies that women entrepreneurs have alliance with clued-up people and constricting the right organization offering support and service.

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Quality to working hard: Innovative women have further ability to work hard. The creative ideas have to come to a fair play. Hard work is required to build up an enterprise.

Determination: Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfill their dreams. They have to make a dream transferred into an idea enterprise.

Ability and desire to take risk: the desire refers to the willingness to take risk and ability to the proficiency in planning making forecast estimates and calculations.

Profit earning capacity: she has a capability to get maximum return out of invested capital.

Functions of Women Entrepreneurs:

A Woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in establishing anenterprise

Functions for establishment of an enterprise Idea generation and screening Determination of objectives Undertaking a risk and handling of economic uncertainties involved in business. project preparation Product analysis Introduction of innovations, imitations of innovations. Form of business Co-ordination, administration and control. Raising funds Supervision and leadership. Procuring men, machine and materials and operations of business.

In nutshell, women entrepreneur are those women who think of a business enterprise, initiate it, organize and combine the factors of production, operate the enterprise, undertake risk and handle economic uncertainties involved in running a business enterprise.

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Successful Leading Business Women in India

Chanda Kocchar, Executive Director, ICICI Bank

In India's male dominated banking sphere, Chanda Kochhar carved a niche for herself. This

was no easy task. In her career which extends to over three decades of experience, she

remained strong willed and alert. Her determination to make it to the top only grew from year

to year. Kochhar's career growth can be traced along with the expansion of the bank over the

past several years. She never stuttered in her growth and was one of the few who kept up with

the aggressive development run of ICICI bank. It was her sharp strategic planning which

made the ICICI bank the 'Best Retail Bank in India' for five consecutive years. As per Forbes,

It's no wonder then that she has been ranked 20th amongst the most powerful women in

business and in the world. Read on to find out more about how Chanda Kochhar made it to

the top of the corporate pile. 

Career

In 1984, after her masters, Chanda Kochhar joined 'The Industrial Credit and Investment

Corporation of India Limited' or ICICI Limited as a management trainee. In her initial years

in ICICI, she handled project appraisal and monitoring and various projects in

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Petrochemicals, Textile and Cement and Paper. In 1994, she became the Assistant General

Manager and was promoted to the post of Deputy General Manager in 1996. She headed the

Infrastructure Industry Group of ICICI. In 1999, she was promoted as the General Manager

and became the head of ICICI's 'Major Client Group' which handled relationships with the

top 200 clients of the organisation. In 1999, she started handling the Strategy and E-

commerce divisions of ICICI. Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI began its retail business in

2000 and in the next five years, became the biggest retail financer in India. In 2001, she

became the executive director of ICICI bank. In April 2006, she was appointed as the Deputy

Managing Director of ICICI bank and managed the corporate and retail banking business of

ICICI bank. From October 2007 to April 2009, she was the Chief Finance Officer (CFO),

Joint Managing Director (JMD), and the official spokesperson of ICICI. She was also the

head of the Corporate Center of ICICI bank, the director of the ICICI group of companies,

Chairperson of ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company and ICICI Investment

Management Company Limited. Chanda Kochhar also held the positions of Vice-

Chairperson of ICICI Bank UK and ICICI Bank Canada and the position of Director of ICICI

International Limited and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited. In May 2009,

she was appointed as the Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of ICICI bank

for a term of five years. 

Contributions 

Chanda Kochhar was a part of the core team when ICICI decided to set the ICICI Bank 1993.

In 2000, when the organisation decided to develop its wings, she decided to keep the bank

open for twelve hours in a day when other banks were open for four to seven hours a day. She

was also one of the bankers who came up with electronic banking and installed 2000 ATM

machines all over India. Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI was awarded the 'Best Retail

Bank in India' in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2002, the bank was given the 'Excellence in

Retail Banking Award'. 

Legacy 

Chanda Kochhar is one amongst the two women who is the head of an Indian domestic bank.

Joining the ICICI bank as a management trainee, she was instrumental in making ICICI bank

the largest retail financer in India. She is an inspiration to women all over the world. 

Awards And Accolades 

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'Retail Banker of the Year' (Asia - Pacific region) by The Asian Banker, 2004

'Business Woman of the Year' by The Economic Times, 2005

'Rising Star Award' for Global Awards by Retail Banker International, 2006 

Featured in the list of '30 Most Powerful Woman Leaders' in business for 8 consecutive years

from 2002 to 2010

'Transformational Business Leader of the Year' by All India Management Association, 2010

Ranked 10th in the Fortune's List of 'Most Powerful Women in Business', 2010

Ranked 92nd in the Forbes List of 'Most Powerful Women' in the world, 2010

'Outstanding Woman Business Leader of the Year' award by CNBC TV18, 2010'

Ranked 11th in the List of 'Top 50 Woman in World Business' by the Financial Times, 2010

Padma Vibhushan, 2011

Timeline 

1961 - Born in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. 

1982 - Completed her graduation and pursued cost accountancy. 

1984 - Joined 'The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited' or ICICI

Limited.

1994 - Became the Assistant General Manager of ICICI bank. 

1996 - Became the Deputy General Manager.

1999 - Took over as the General Manager and became the head of ICICI's 'Major Client

Group'.

2000 - ICICI began its retail business under Kochhar's leadership.

2001 - Became the executive director of the ICICI bank.

2006 - Appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI bank.

2009 - Appointed as the Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of ICICI bank.

2011 - Awarded Padma Vibhushan.

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Shikha Sharma  Managing Director, CEO, Axis Bank

Career 

Shikha Sharma started her career with ICICI, India's largest financial service provider in

1980. She joined ICICI right after graduating from IIM, Ahmadabad. In her 28 year

association with ICICI Group, she set up various businesses. In 1992, she set up ICICI

Securities which is a joint venture of ICICI and J.P. Morgan. She started setting up various

group businesses for ICICI which included investment banking and retail finance. In 1995,

she moved to ICICI Securities and was deputed to J.P Morgan. In 1997, she rejoined ICICI as

the General Manager in charge of Strategic Planning and Development. In 1998, she became

the Managing Director of ICICI Personal Financial services. Shikha Sharma also served as

the Director of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company till April 2009 and was the

Independent Director of ACC limited December 2006 to May 2009. She is the Chief

Executive Officer, Managing Director of Axis Bank Limited and Chairperson and associate

Director of Axis Asset Management company Limited since June 1, 2009. 

Contributions 

Shikha Sharma made ICICI Prudential what it is today. It is the organization she built from

scratch; the leading player in the life insurance business .In her 28 year old association with

the ICICI Group, she was instrumental in setting the foundation for the bank's personal

financial services business. Here, she also launched an innovative micro insurance cover of 1

dollar a month for poor people in India. In December 2008, under her leadership, ICICI

Prudential commanded a market share of 13 %. 

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Awards and Accolades 

'Woman Business Leader' by CNBC TV18, 2007

'Business Woman of the Year' by Economic Times, 2009

Ranked 89th in the list of 'World's 100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes magazine, 2010

Timeline

1980: Shikha Sharma started her career with ICICI as a project officer. 

1992: Set up ICICI Securities which was a joint venture of ICICI and J. P Morgan. 

1995: Moved to ICICI Securities and was deputed to J.P. Morgan. 

1997: Rejoined ICICI as the General Manager in charge of Strategic Planning and

Development. 

1998: Became the Managing Director of ICICI Personal Financial Services. 

2009: Became the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director of Axis Bank Limited and

Chairperson and Associate Director of Axis Asset Management Company Limited.

Ekta Kapoor ,Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms

Born: June 7, 1975

Achievement: Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms; Awarded with Ernst & Young (E&Y)

Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001. 

Ekta Kapoor can be aptly called as the reigning queen of Indian television industry. The

serials produced by her company Balaji Telefilms are a great hit with the masses and are

dominating all the major T.V. channels in India.

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Born on June 7, 1975, Ekta Kapoor is daughter of former Bollywood superstar Jeetendra and

sister of current Bollywood hero Tusshar Kapoor. Ekta Kapoor did her schooling from

Bombay Scottish School and later on joined Mithibai College. She was not interested in

academics and on the advice of her father ventured into TV-serial production at the age of 19.

And soon she changed the face of Indian television industry and completely dominated it. 

Today, Ekta Kapoor is the creative director of Balaji Telefilms. Her company has produced

more than 25 serials and each one is being shown, on an average, four times a week on

different television channels. Ekta Kapoor's serials have captured the imagination of masses.

She broken all previous records of TV serial production and popularity in India. Her most

famous television venture has been "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" which began in 2000

and is still leading the TRP ratings in India. Her other famous serials include "Kahaani Ghar

Ghar Ki", "Kahiin To Hoga", "Kavyanjali", "Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa", "Kasamh Se", "Kahin

Kisii Roz", "Kasautii Zindagi Kay", "Kkusum", "Kutumb", "Kalash", and "Kundali".

For her entrepreneurial skills and achievements Ekta Kapoor was awarded with Ernst &

Young (E&Y) Star

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Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, popularly known as Lijjat, is an Indian women's

cooperative involved in manufacturing of various fast moving consumer goods. The

organisation's main objective is empowerment of women by providing them employment

opportunities. Started in the year 1959 with a seed capital of Rs. 80[2], Lijjat has an annual

turnover of around Rs. 6.50 billion (over 100 million USD) in 2010, with Rs. 290 million in

exports.[3] It provides employment to around 42,000 people. Lijjat is headquartered

in Mumbai and has 67 branches and 35 divisions all over India.

Lijjat is primarily a cottage industry, urban by its origin, that has spread to the rural areas.  It

is considered as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives by women that is

identified with female empowerment in India.

tup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001.

Lijjat Role in women empowerment

The growth of the Lijjat is often seen in the larger canvas of women and their empowerment.

The organisation has undertaken various efforts to promote literacy and computer education

for member-sisters and their families. A literacy campaign for sisters began through literacy

classes at Girgaum on 18 June 1999. Later, the managing committee decided to start such

classes in all its branches.  From 1980 onwards, Lijjat started giving Chhaganbapa Smruti

Scholarships to the daughters of the member-sisters.

The member-sisters used their organisation as a medium to promote their and their families'

welfare. In the Valod centre they set up an educational and hobby centre for the rural women.

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Orientation courses in typing, cooking, sewing, knitting and toy making as well as other

courses like child welfare, first aid and hygiene were taught.  The first ever pucca (tarred)

road in Valod to be built and inaugurated in 1979 was with the help of the Lijjat, Valod

branch.

In 1979, Lijjat teamed up with UNICEF to organise a seminar in Mumbai on "Child Care and

Mother Welfare", as part of the International Year of the Child celebrations.  In October

1984, Bhadraben Bhatt represented Lijjat at the UNESCO sponsored international workshop

on "The role of women in the assimilation and spread of technological innovation" held

at NITIE, Powai. Alkaben Kalia represented Lijjat at the national level meeting on women

convened by the National Commission on Self Employed Women.

At the behest of Mother Teresa, the member-sisters also took part in some activities of Asha

Dhan, an institution to care for destitute women.

Lijjat member-sisters also tried to start a co-operative bank, but the effort was not very

successful. .

Once the Channel 9 story ended unsuccessfully, Raveena started her own production

company - Sundial, which she envisioned as a multimedia company that would begin by

being a production house. Hardly had she set up her company and team, than yet another

challenge came her way and this was the mother of all challenges. This time it was huge.

Rupert Murdoch wanted Raveena to take an English brand and convert it into a Hindi brand

in 11 months.

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"It was a sheer challenge for me to take up the Star News job. The moment somebody says -

She can't do it. I HAVE to do it. The more people throw the brickbats, the more I was

determined to make it happen. It did not bother me," says Raveena, who faced a lot of

negative remarks on taking up the assignment.

When she joined, Star News did not have "a nut, a bolt, a person, a building, a network, a

piece of footage, a camera… Nothing!" Her mandate was to create a news centre, bureaus,

hire the team, train, orient, create programming and the backend and be on air within 11

months.

And the rest as they say is history. She joined Star News on 15 April and on 31 March the

next year, the channel was on air - one full day before the deadline!!

"I am somebody who doesn't regret anything. The reason I took Star News is because I

realised that if I hadn't taken it, I would have regretted it because it was a very difficult thing

and it was going to evoke the maximum amount of bile, froth, hatred and jealousy. For me it

was important to do something that was difficult to do and I did it to the best of my

capability," she says.

Many people misunderstood her motives for taking this job. A lot of journalists reacted

saying, "Who is this woman pretending to be a journalist?" But on Raveena's part, there were

no pretensions of being a journalist. "I am a writer and a multimedia person and I was

brought in there because I am a set-upper and Murdoch brought me into Star because he

knew I could deliver. And I delivered. It took one year after that for the operations to settle

and I always knew I had to move on because I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had made that

decision in the year 2000," she clarifies.

Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea told her, "Raveena, you will have to grow the skin of a

crocodile." And she did.

Post her taking up the assignment, it was reported in the media that she was the replacement

for Prannoy Roy. "It was utter nonsense. My job was to hire a good editor and an editorial

team, whether I hired the right one or not is not the issue. I accept jobs, projects and

challenges," she says.

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Ritu Kumar ,Fashion Designer

Ritu Kumar is credited as being one of the first Indian designers who was catalytic in

bringing a contemporary idiom to several ancient skills and has been a strong force in

marketing them to a dynamic modern India. Over the years, Ritu Kumar’s work as a

fashion designer has shown a progression, which has matured beyond textile crafts.

She has a unique ability to evolve with each collection into creative styling,

translating textures and embellishments into refreshingly new and contemporary

silhouettes, making her work particularly relevant from India’s fashion point of

worldview.

While Ritu Kumar’s forte lies in traditional Indian clothes that draw heavily on the

textile and embroidery heritage of India, she has also evolved another style for the

young buyer, a collection that in her words has “redefined traditional handwriting to

meet the changing needs of the new generation.” The inspiration of these garments is

basic Indian motifs, prints and embroideries but with the usage of a wide range of

western silhouettes mingled with Indian styles.

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Awards and achievements

Padma Shri Award 2013, the country's fourth highest civilian award for her exceptional and

distinguished service in the field of fashion, textile and craftsmanship.

Achievement Award at the L’oreal Paris Femina Women’s Awards 2012.

Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini award for her achievements and contribution in the field of

fashion.

"Chevalier des arts et des lettres” (knight of the order of arts and letters) bestowed by the

French government for her contribution to Indian textile crafts, and traditional

techniques.

Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kingfisher Group of Industries in 2000.

Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1998.

The Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award 1998 by the PHD - Chamber of

Commerce.

Delhi Women of the Decade Achievers Award 2013 for Excellence In Fashion Retail by

the ASSOCHAM Ladies League

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Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Joint MD, Kinetic Engineering

Joint Managing Director of Kinetic Engineering Ltd, she is the in charge of the Company's

overall business developmental activities. She is also very well performing the role of the

Director of Kinetic Motor Company Limited and Kinetic Marketing Services Limited. Well,

we are talking about Sulajja Firodia Motwani. In this article, we will provide you with the

biography of Sulajja Firodia Motwani, who has made an incredible contribution in making

the firm reach heights of success.

She is a fitness person, who is very conscious about her health. She is very particular about

carrying out one or the other activity for keeping fit and active. She has always been

enthusiastic about sports, especially badminton. She has played badminton on the national

level. She is also very fond of pursuing adventurous sports like skiing & scuba diving. She

tries to spend as much time as possible with her five year old son Sidhant. Read on to know

the complete life history of Sulajja Firodia Motwani.

Prior to joining Kinetic Company, Sulajja worked for a period of four years with a well

known investment analytics company, BARRA International, based in California. She has

been an active participant in setting the operations of the company in India. Throughout her

studies, she has been a rank holder. She has always cleared exams with merit. Her name

appeared in the toppers list in the SSC examinations and HSC examinations. She graduated

from the Pune University. Thereafter, she went to the United States for pursuing further

studies. She is an MBA degree holder from the reputed Carnegie Mellon University at

Pittsburgh.

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She is an epitome of boldness and courage. With her strong determination and courage, she

has been able to establish a niche for the firm in the business world. The Company has

witnessed tremendous expansion during her tenure. From being a mere moped manufacturer,

today, it has set its foothold in the industry as a manufacturer offering a complete range of

two wheelers right from mopeds, scooters to motorcycles. 

Kinetic is also working in partnership with Hyosung Motors of South Korea. This major

collaboration has led to the launching of the most popular Kinetic Aquila and Comet. These

motorcycles are very much in demand. Sulajja has played an active role in plotting the course

of action for the Kinetic Company. For her great job, she has received many accolades. She

has been called upon to deliver speech in a number of public forums. 

"India Today", a well known magazine honored her by presenting her with the title of

business "Face of the Millennium". It ranked her among the top twenty five business

entrepreneurs of the country. She was presented with the Society Young Achiever's Award

for Business in the year 2002. The same year, she was chosen as the "Global Leader of

Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum. In the year 2003, the Institute of Marketing and

Management bestowed her with the award for excellent performance as the woman CEO. She

also received the Young Super Achiever Award from the leading magazine "Business Today"

in 2003.

sume more important leaders – Entrepreneur

Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director, Shriram Investments Ltd

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Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Lalita D Gupte, Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank Naina Lal Kidwai ,Deputy CEO, HSBC Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Priya Paul, Chairman, Apeejay Park Hotels Rajshree Pathy, Chairman, Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd Ranjana Kumar ,Chairman, NABARD Renuka Ramnath, CEO, ICICI Ventures Ritu Nanda, CEO, Escolife Shahnaz Hussain, CEO, Shahnaz Herbals Sharan Apparao, Proprietor, Apparao Galleries Simone Tata, Chairman, Trent Ltd Zia Mody, Senior Partner, AZB & Partners

Women Entrepreneurs and Their Problems

Women entrepreneurs face many hurdles. Societal support is a key determinant in

entrepreneurial establishment. The most common problem, which a woman faces, is the non-

cooperation from her husband or close family members. Majority of the time the family

members do not motivate them. Besides they face other problems like mobility constraints,

dual responsibility, low managing ability, risk-bearing ability etc. They don’t lack managerial

skills but they have less promotional ability, which they need to improve upon.

Scarcity of raw material and finance are another problem faced by the women entrepreneurs.

The standard of technology used by the women entrepreneurs is qualitatively low; they are

poor in technical know-how. Transportation difficulties, improper power supply and

telecommunication are some of the other problem faced by them. Marketing problem is the

biggest problem faced by women entrepreneurs.

25

There are some umpteen problems faced by women at various stages beginning from

their initial commencement of enterprise, in running their enterprise. Their various problems

are as follows:

Arrangement of Finance: -

For every business undertaking Finance is said to be the “life blood”, whether it is

large,medium or small enterprise. Women entrepreneurs face the problems of

shortage of finance on two important bases. Firstly, women do not in general have

property on their own names to use that as collateral securities for obtaining

loans/funds from banks and other financial institutions. Thus their access to

external sources is very limited .Secondly, obtaining the support of bankers,

managing the working capital, lack of credit resources are the problems which still

remain in the male’s domain.

Shortage of raw-materials:-

Women entrepreneurs encounter the problems of shortage of raw-materials and

necessary inputs. On the pinnacle of this, is the high prices of raw materials, on

one hand and getting raw materials at minimum discount rates are the other.

Cut-throat Competition:-

Lot of the women entrepreneurs have imperfect organizational set up to drive in a

lot of money for canvassing and advertisements. They have to face severe

competition from organized industries. They have also 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.

Lack of education and prevalent levels of illiteracy amongst women: -

In India, around (40%) of women are still illiterate. Illiteracy is the root cause of

socioeconomic barriers or hurdles. Due to lack of Knowledge of latest

technological change, know-how and education creates problems before women to

set up competitive enterprises.

26

Family Conflicts:-

Women also countenance the conflict of performing of home role as they are not

available to spend enough time with their families. Because in India, mainly a

woman’s duty is to look after her children and manage the other members of the

family. In business they have to spend long hours and as a result, they find it difficult

to meet the demands of their family members and society as well. Their incapability

to attend to domestic work, time for education of children, personal hobbies, and

entertainment adds to their conflicts.

Marketing Problems:-

Women entrepreneurs incessantly face the problems in marketing their products. It is

one of the core problems as this area is mainly dominated by males and even women

with adequate experience fail to make a dent. For marketing the products women

entrepreneurs have to be at the mercy of middlemen who pocket the hunk of profit.

Although the middlemen exploit the women entrepreneurs, the purging of middlemen

is tricky, because it involves a lot of running about. Women entrepreneurs also find it

difficult to capture the market and make their products popular.

Lack of self-confidence and optimistic attitude amongst women: -

Nowadays most of the women are suffering from one major problem of lack of self-

confidence, determination, physically powerful outlook, hopefulness etc. They are

always panic from committing mistakes while doing their piece of work, more over

there is limited initiative of taking risk and bearing uncertainty in them. Thus all these

psychological factors often obstruct their path of achieving success in the area of

enterprise.

High cost of production:

High cost of production undermines the efficiency and adversely affects the

development of women entrepreneurs. The installation of new machinery during

expansion of the productive capacity and like similar factor dissuades the women

entrepreneur from venturing in to new area. Government assistance in the form of

27

grant and subsidies to some extent enables them to tide over the difficult situations.

However, in the long run, it would be necessary to increase efficiency and expand

productive capacity and thereby reduce cost to make their ultimate survival possible,

other than these, women entrepreneurs also face the problems of labour, human

resources, infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack of family support,

mistrust etc.

Need of study the women entrepreneurship

The main purpose or objective of 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.

Essentials of Women entrepreneurship

28

Women entrepreneurship development is an essential part of human resource

development. The development of women entrepreneurship is very low in India, especially in

the rural areas. Entrepreneurship amongst women has been a recent concern. Women have

become aware of their existence their rights and their work situation. However, women of

middle class are not too eager to alter their role in fear of social backlash. The progress is

more visible among upper class families in urban cities.

This paper focuses on women entrepreneur. Any understanding of Indian women, of

their identity, and especially of their role taking and breaking new paths, will be incomplete

without a walk down the corridors of Indian history where women have lived and internalized

various role models. The paper talks about the status of women entrepreneurs and the

problems faced by them when they ventured out to carve their own niche in the competitive

world of business environment.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are an important part of the global quest

for sustained economic development and social progress. In India, though women have

played a key role in the society, their entrepreneurial ability has not been properly tapped due

to the lower status of women in the society. It is only from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78)

onwards that their role has been explicitly recognized with a marked shift in the approach

from women welfare to women development and empowerment. The development of women

entrepreneurship has become an important aspect of our plan priorities. Several policies and

programmes are being implemented for the development of women entrepreneurship in

India. 

There is a need for changing the mindset towards women so as to give equal rights as

enshrined in the constitution. The progress towards gender equality is slow and is partly due

to the failure to attach money to policy commitments. In the words of president APJ Abdul

Kalam "empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women

are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as

their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good

society and ultimately a good nation."

When a woman is empowered it does not mean that another individual becomes

powerless or is having less power. On the contrary, if a women is empowered her

competencies towards decision- making will surely influence her family's behavior.

29

In advanced countries, there is a phenomenon of increase in the number of self-

employed women after the world war 11. In USA, women own 25% of all business, even

though their sales on an average are less than two-fifths of those of other small business. In

Canada, women own one-third of small business and in France it is one-fifth.

Women Entrepreneurship in India

States No of UnitsRegistered

No. of WomenEntrepreneurs

Percentage

Tamil Nadu 9618 2930 30.36Uttar Pradesh 7980 3180 39.84Kerala 5487 2135 38.91Punjab 4791 1618 33.77Maharastra 4339 1394 32.12Gujrat 3872 1538 39.72Karnatka 3822 1026 26.84Madhya Pradesh 2967 842 28.38Other States & UTS 14576 4185 28.71Total 57,452 18,848 32.82

LIMITATIONS

I found out that Women entrepreneurs face following limitations:-

30

1. The greatest deterrent to women entrepreneurs is that they are women.  A kind of

patriarchal – male dominant social order is the building block to them in their way

towards business success. Male members think it a big risk financing the ventures run

by women.

2. The financial institutions are sceptical about the entrepreneurial abilities of women.

The bankers consider women loonies as higher risk than men loonies. The bankers put

unrealistic and unreasonable securities to get loan to women entrepreneurs. According

to a report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization , "despite

evidence that women's loan repayment rates are higher than men's, women still face

more difficulties in obtaining credit," often due to discriminatory attitudes of banks

and informal lending groups.

3. Entrepreneurs usually require financial assistance of some kind to launch their

ventures - be it a formal bank loan or money from a savings account. Women in

developing nations have little access to funds, due to the fact that they are

concentrated in poor rural communities with few opportunities to borrow money. The

women entrepreneurs are suffering from inadequate financial resources and working

capital.  The women entrepreneurs lack access to external funds due to their inability

to provide tangible security. Very few women have the tangible property in hand.

4. Women's family obligations also bar them from becoming successful entrepreneurs

in both developed and developing nations. "Having primary responsibility for

children, home and older dependent family members, few women can devote all their

time and energies to their business" .The financial institutions discourage women

entrepreneurs on the belief that they can at any time leave their business and become

housewives again.  The result is that they are forced to rely on their own savings, and

loan from relatives and family friends.

2.

5. Indian women give more emphasis to family ties and relationships. Married women

31

have to make a fine balance between business and home. More over the business

success is depends on the support the family members extended to women in the

business process and management. The interest of the family members is a

determinant factor in the realization of women folk business aspirations.

6. Another argument is that women entrepreneurs have low-level management skills. They

have to depend on office staffs and intermediaries, to get things done, especially, the

marketing and sales side of business. Here there is more probability for business fallacies like

the intermediaries take major part of the surplus or profit. Marketing means mobility and

confidence in dealing with the external world, both of which women have been discouraged

from developing by social conditioning. Even when they are otherwise in control of an

enterprise, they often depend on males of the family in this area.

7. The male - female competition is another factor, which develop hurdles to women

entrepreneurs in the business management process. Despite the fact that women entrepreneurs

are good in keeping their service prompt and delivery in time, due to lack of organisational

skills compared to male entrepreneurs women have to face constraints from competition. The

confidence to travel across day and night and even different regions and states are less found

in women compared to male entrepreneurs. This shows the low level freedom of expression

and freedom of mobility of the women entrepreneurs. 

8. Knowledge of alternative source of raw materials availability and high negotiation skills

are the basic requirement to run a business.  Getting the raw materials from different souse

with discount prices is the factor that determines the profit margin. Lack of knowledge of

availability of the raw materials and low-level negotiation and bargaining skills are the

factors, which affect women entrepreneur's business adventures.

9. Knowledge of latest technological changes, know how, and education level of the person

are significant factor that affect business. The literacy rate of women in India is found at low

level compared to male population. Many women in developing nations lack the education

needed to spur successful entrepreneurship. They are ignorant of new technologies or

32

unskilled in their use, and often unable to do research and gain the necessary training .

Although great advances are being made in technology, many women's illiteracy, strucutural

difficulties, and lack of access to technical training prevent the technology from being

beneficial or even available to females . According to The Economist, this lack of knowledge

and the continuing treatment of women as second-class citizens keeps them in a pervasive

cycle of poverty . The studies indicates that uneducated women donot have the knowledge of

measurement and basic accounting.

10.  Low-level risk taking attitude is another factor affecting women folk decision to get into

business. Low-level education provides low-level self-confidence and self-reliance to the

women folk to engage in business, which is continuous risk taking and strategic cession

making profession. Investing money, maintaining the operations and ploughing back money

for surplus generation requires high risk taking attitude, courage and confidence. Though the

risk tolerance ability of the women folk in day-to-day life is high compared to male members,

while in business it is found opposite to that.

11.  Achievement motivation of the women folk found less compared to male members.  The

low level of education and confidence leads to low level achievement and advancement

motivation among women folk to engage in business operations and running a business

concern.

12.  Finally high production cost of some business operations adversely affects the

development of women entrepreneurs. The installation of new machineries during expansion

of the productive capacity and like similar factors dissuades the women entrepreneurs from

venturing into new areas.

RECOMMENDATIONS

On the basis of the aforesaid problems faced by women entrepreneurs and various

other problems too, there is a provision of a number of Strategies for promoting

33

women entrepreneurship to overcome these problems. Such solutions or remedies can

be well understood as under:-

Promoting entrepreneurship among women is especially important to tackle the

problems of under employment and unemployment in the society.

Education has been instrumental in increasing the participation of women in

entrepreneurial activities. The formal education not only helps in acquisition of

requires knowledge for a job, which demands non-traditional skills but also imparts

knowledge about the different occupational opportunities. Good academic

background makes women confident in dealing with problems in business in an

effective manner. Although it is a fact that entrepreneurship is not a special preserve

for the educated but in the case of women already burdened with many social

pressures, education is a powerful tool in breaking down the barriers to successful

Entrepreneurship. Thus education is a liberating force and barriers of caste and class,

smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances.

There should be an incessant attempt to motivate, give confidence, inspire and assist

women entrepreneurs.

Government should provide better educational facilities and schemes to women folk.

There should be continuous monitoring, improvement of training programmers,

practical experience and personality development programmes to improvise their

over-all personality standards.

Establishment of proper training institutes for enhancing their level of work-

knowledge, skills, risk-taking abilities, enhancing their capabilities. Training Centers

should provide training to prospective women entrepreneurs free of cost and

Entrepreneurship Development Programme should be much more practical oriented.

Inculcation of self-confidence amongst women that they can also run a business

should be one of the prime motives of these programmes.

34

Potential women entrepreneurs should be exposed to different types of emerging

opportunities.

Housewives should be motivated to learn additional income.

A women entrepreneur should herself set up an example by being successful and

should act as a role model. Since children have a tendency to emulate their parents,

the resultant effect would be automatic.

Establishment of proper training institutes for enhancing their level of work-

knowledge, skills, risk-taking abilities, enhancing their capabilities.

Finance is sine-qua-non for any enterprise. The banking system is not sufficiently

responsive to social banking needs and has not been able to deal with barriers that

hinder women from using or gaining access to credit. Adequate arrangements must be

made for the supply of credit facility at concession rate for the women entrepreneurs

in view of their growing needs.

Creating provision of micro credit system and enterprise credit system to the women

entrepreneurs at local level.

A Women Entrepreneur's Guidance Cell should be set up to handle the various

problems of women entrepreneurs all over the state.

Positive attitudinal change in the society recognizing the role of women as

entrepreneur may lead to the development of appropriate environment in which

women will be able to exploit their entrepreneurial talents.

Offering seed capital, up-liftmen schemes, women entrepreneurs fund etc. To

encourage them economically.

35

To extend confessional rates facilities and schemes for women entrepreneurs to

prosper in the field of enterprise.

Thus by adopting the following aforesaid measures in letter and spirit the

problems associated with women can be solved.

CONCLUSION

India is a male dominated society and women are assumed to be economically as well as

36

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, non-availability 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 institutions assistance 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 their own 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.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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A Reflection of the Indian Women in Entrepreneurial WorldGoogle.co.in

www.indianmba.com

www.asia entrepreneurship journal.com

www.academicjournals.org

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