ASSIGNMENT

OF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT

TOPIC:WHAT ARE THE ACIEVEMENTS AND CHALLLENGES FACES BY

WOMEN ENTREPRENUER?

&

WHAT ARE THE EXTERNAL INFLUENCES OF ENTREPRENUERSHIP?

Contents

Challenges a Woman Entrepreneur Faces .............................................................................................. 2

1. Problem of Finance: ........................................................................................................................ 2
2. Scarcity of Raw Material: ................................................................................................................ 3
3. Stiff Competition: ............................................................................................................................ 3
4. Limited Mobility: ............................................................................................................................. 3
5. Family Ties:...................................................................................................................................... 3
6. Lack of Education: ........................................................................................................................... 4
7. Male-Dominated Society: ............................................................................................................... 4
8. Low Risk-Bearing Ability: ................................................................................................................. 4

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Achievements Of Woman Entrepreneur ............................................................................................... 5
1.Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, .............................................................................................................. 5
2.Ekta Kapoor-..................................................................................................................................... 5
3. Neelam Dhawan, ............................................................................................................................. 5
4. Naina Lal Kidwai, ............................................................................................................................. 6
5. Indu Jain, ......................................................................................................................................... 6
6.Priya Paul, ........................................................................................................................................ 6
7. Simone Tata, ................................................................................................................................... 6
8.Mallika Srinivasan, ........................................................................................................................... 6
9. Preetha Reddy, ................................................................................................................................ 7
10. Ranjana Kumar, ............................................................................................................................. 7
External Factors That Affect Entrepreneurship . .................................................................................... 7
The Economy....................................................................................................................................... 7
Competition ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Politics ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Customers and Suppliers .................................................................................................................... 8
Laws .................................................................................................................................................... 8

Challenges a Woman Entrepreneur Faces

"You can tell the condition of a Nation by looking at the status of its Women." Jawaharlal Nehru,
India's first Prime Minister.

1. Problem of Finance:
Finance is regarded as “life-blood” for any enterprise, be it big or small.
However, women entrepreneurs suffer from shortage of finance on two
counts.

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Firstly, women do not generally have property on their names to use them as
collateral for obtaining funds from external sources. Thus, their access to the
external sources of funds is limited.

Secondly, the banks also consider women less credit-worthy and discourage
women borrowers on the belief that they can at any time leave their business.
Given such situation, women entrepreneurs are bound to rely on their own
savings, if any and loans from friends and relatives who are expectedly meager
and negligible. Thus, women enterprises fail due to the shortage of finance.

2. Scarcity of Raw Material:

Most of the women enterprises are plagued by the scarcity of raw material and
necessary inputs. Added to this are the high prices of raw material, on the one
hand, and getting raw material at the minimum of discount, on the other. The
failure of many women co-operatives in 1971 engaged in basket-making is an
example how the scarcity of raw material sounds the death-knell of enterprises
run by women (Gupta and Srinivasan 2009).

3. Stiff Competition:
Women entrepreneurs do not have organizational set-up to pump in a lot of
money for canvassing and advertisement. Thus, they have to face a stiff
competition for marketing their products with both organized sector and their
male counterparts. Such a competition ultimately results in the liquidation of
women enterprises.

4. Limited Mobility:
Unlike men, women mobility in India is highly limited due to various reasons. A
single woman asking for room is still looked upon suspicion. Cumbersome
exercise involved in starting an enterprise coupled with the officials humiliating
attitude towards women compels them to give up idea of starting an
enterprise.

5. Family Ties:

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In India, it is mainly a women’s duty to look after the children and other
members of the family. Man plays a secondary role only. In case of married
women, she has to strike a fine balance between her business and family. Her
total involvement in family leaves little or no energy and time to devote for
business.

Support and approval of husbands seem necessary condition for women’s

entry into business. Accordingly, the educational level and family background
of husbands positively influence women’s entry into business activities.

6. Lack of Education:
In India, around three-fifths (60%) of women are still illiterate. Illiteracy is the
root cause of socio-economic problems. Due to the lack of education and that
too qualitative education, women are not aware of business, technology and
market knowledge. Also, lack of education causes low achievement motivation
among women. Thus, lack of education creates one type or other problems for
women in the setting up and running of business enterprises.

7. Male-Dominated Society:
Male chauvinism is still the order of the day in India. The Constitution of India
speaks of equality between sexes. But, in practice, women are looked upon as
abla, i.e. weak in all respects. Women suffer from male reservations about a
women’s role, ability and capacity and are treated accordingly. In nutshell, in
the male-dominated Indian society, women are not treated equal to men. This,
in turn, serves as a barrier to women entry into business.

8. Low Risk-Bearing Ability:

Women in India lead a protected life. They are less educated and economically
not self-dependent. All these reduce their ability to bear risk involved in
running an enterprise. Risk-bearing is an essential requisite of a successful
entrepreneur.

In addition to above problems, inadequate infrastructural facilities, shortage of

power, high cost of production, social attitude, low need for achievement and

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socioeconomic constraints also hold the women back from entering into
business.

Achievements Of Woman Entrepreneur

The Indian women are no longer treated as show pieces to be kept at home.They are
also enjoying the impact of globalisation and making an influence not only on
domestic but also on international sphere.Women are doing a wonderful job striking
a balance between their house and career. Here are a few:

1.Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,

Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd., who became India’s richest
woman in 2004, was educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount
Carmel College in Bangalore. She founded Biocon India with a capital of
Rs.10,000 in her garage in 1978 – the initial operation was to extract an
enzyme from papaya. Her application for loans were turned down by banks
then – on three counts – biotechnology was then a new word, thecompany
lacked assets, women entrepreneurs were still a rarity. Today, her company is
the bigget biopharmaceutical firm in the country.

2.Ekta Kapoor-
creative head of Balaji Telefilms, is the daughter of Jeetendra and sister of
Tushar Kapoor. She has been synonymous with the rage of soap operas in
Indian TV, after her most famous venture ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’
which was aired in 2000 on Star plus. Ekta dominates Indian Television.At the
6th Indian Telly Awards 2006,she bagged the Hall Of Fame award for her
contributions.

3. Neelam Dhawan,
Managing Director, Microsoft India, leads Microsoft India. She is a graduate
from St. Stephens College in 1980,and also passed out from Delhis Faculty Of
Management studies in 1982. Then she was keen on joining FMCG majors like

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Hindustan Lever and Asian Paints, both companies rejected Dhawan, as they
didnot wish to appoint women for marketing and sales.

4. Naina Lal Kidwai,

was the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School. Fortune
magazine listed Kidwai among the worlds top 50 Corporate Women from 2000
to 2003. According to the Economic times, she is the first woman to head the
operations of a foreign bank in India. ( HSBC)

5. Indu Jain,
the multi-faceted lady used to be the Chairman of the Times Group-The most
powerful and largest Media house India has known. Indu Jain is known by
many different identities such as that of spiritualist,humanist,entrepreneur,an
educationalist but most prominently she played the role of the Chairman of
Times Group. Indu Jain is the perfect picture of the successful Indian Woman
entrepreneur.

6.Priya Paul,
she has a bachelor’s degree specialising in Economics from Wellesley College,
USA. She entered her family business and is currently the Chairperson of Park
Hotels.

7. Simone Tata,
has been instrumental in changing a small subsidary of Tata Oil Mills into the
largest cosmetic brand in India – LAKME, synonymous today with Indian
Fashion. She became a part of Lakme during 1961 and has been responsible for
turning the company into one of the biggest brands of fashion in India. At
present she is the Chairperson of Trent Limited, a subsidary of Tata Group.

8.Mallika Srinivasan,
currently the Director of TAFE- Tractors and Farm Equipment, India , was
honoured with the title of Businesswoman of the Year during 2006 by the
Economic Times. She joined the company in 1986 and has since been

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responsible for accelerating turnover from 85 crores to 2900 crores within a
span of 2 decades.

9. Preetha Reddy,
Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, one of the largest healthcare
conglomerates of India, is one of the pioneer business-woman of India in the
segment of Health Care Industry.

10. Ranjana Kumar,

currently Vigilance Commissioner in Central Vigilance Commission, after her
retirement as the Chairperson of NABARD- National Bank For Agricultural and
Rural Development, is a prominent Indian Banker. When the Government of
India appointed her as the Chairperson and Managing Director of The Indian
Bank, she became the first woman to become head of a public sector bank in
India. At that time of her appointment, The Indian Bank was saddled with huge
losses and during her tenure she ensured the turn around of The Indian Bank.

Women like these are an inspiration for all other women who strive to achieve
great heights in their lives. Taking them as our role models each one of us can
be there where they are right now. All we need have is faith in ourselves,
confidence and above all a fixed aim that we need work towards.

External Factors That Affect Entrepreneurship .

External elements are affecting factors outside and under no control of the company.
Considering the outside environment allows businessmen to take suitable adjustments to
their marketing plan to make it more adaptable to the external environment. There are
numerous criteria considered as external elements. Among them some most outstanding
and important factors need to listed are current economic situation, laws, surrounding
infrastructure, and customer demands.

The Economy

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In a bad economy, even a well-run business may not be able to survive. If
customers lose their jobs or take jobs that can barely support them, they'll
spend less on sports, recreation, gifts, luxury goods and new cars. High interest
rates on credit cards can discourage customers from spending. You can't
control the economy, but understanding it can help you spot threats and
opportunities.

Competition
Unless your company is unique, you'll have to deal with competition. When
you start your company, you fight against established, more experienced
businesses in the same industry. After you establish yourself, you'll eventually
have to face newer firms that try to slice away your customers. Competition
can make or break you – look at how many brick-and-mortar bookstores
crashed and burned competing with Amazon.

Politics
Changes in government policy can have a huge effect on your business. The
tobacco industry is a classic example. Since the 1950s, cigarette companies
have been required to place warning labels on their products, and they lost the
right to advertise on television. Smokers have fewer and fewer places they can
smoke legally. The percentage of Americans who smoke has dropped by more
than half, with a corresponding effect on industry revenues.

Customers and Suppliers

Next to your employees, your customers and suppliers may be the most
important people you deal with. Suppliers have a huge impact on your costs.
The clout of any given supplier depends on scarcity: If you can't buy anywhere
else, your negotiating room is limited. The power of your customers depends
on how fierce the competition for their dollars is, how good your products are,
and whether your advertising makes customers want to buy from you, among
other things.

Laws

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The rules and regulations from local government play an integral role in the
development of the company. There are some countries which their laws
prevents the development of some certain industries. That can be a threat to
the company. On the other hand, some industries receive positive and
continuous support from local government via their rules and regulations.
Besides, if the laws allow organization outside the countries invest in local
industries, they will indirectly create an enormous source of financial support
for local business.