The Harbinger of Change - Women in MSMEs

By: Anamika Sahu, Managing Editor | Friday, 30 October 2020

We just celebrated Navaratri – the celebration of womanhood and reflects the strength & power, and the love & care they behold within themselves. Though we have been debating and making ways for women to be included in the mainstream today, they were always a part of the major sections of the society. From warfare to business, from ruling regions to managing homes, women had always been the master of their choice. But somewhere then and now, they lost the grip on their efficiencies and some were confined to the four walls. However, much have been done in the recent times to uplift their stature in the society in the recent times though empowering them had been a slogan for long. In the real sense, educating them to providing them the best of the opportunities to make it big in the world of business is what means empowerment. 

Today they are contributing towards nation building through entrepreneurship and MSME being a very promising industry today, they have ventured into starting their own firm. However, promotion of women entrepreneurship is a vital issue for several countries globally. But MSMEs are playing a vital role in the development of women entrepreneurs. Government of India through MSMEs encourage the existing women entrepreneurs in the business sector and also to encourage the budding business of women entrepreneurs.

Last year on the eve of International Women’s Day 2018, Ministry of MSME launched Udyam Sakhi – a network for nurturing social entrepreneurship. Udyam Sakhi creates business models revolving around low-cost products and services to resolve social inequalities and caters to the needs of around eight million Indian women who have started or run their own businesses through its platform. The platform offers entrepreneurship learning tools, incubation facility, training programs for fundraising, providing mentors, one-on-one investor meet, provide market survey facility and technical assistance.

A data by Startup India revealed in 2019 that only 13.76 percent of the total entrepreneurs in India are women, close to nearly eight million as opposed to 50 million male entrepreneurs. But programs like Udyam Sakhi and schemes like Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and development schemes for women, Micro & Small Enterprises Cluster Development Program, Technology Upgradation and marketing development export promotion and others will provide them the much needed maneuver to start their own business.

Organizations like Small Industrial Development Organization, Small Scale Industries Board, National Small Industries Corporation Limited, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ASSOCHAM and others are associated with MSMEs to provide the needed support to the segment. Together these will ensure more women inclusion in the MSME sector whilst running them from the front. Few such success stories will infuse more power to others inflicting them to venture into the world of entrepreneurship thus providing more employment and higher contribution to the economic growth of the nation.