Sanjay Dalmia promotes Women Entrepreneurship for India’s Economic well-being

Over the last few years, there has been a major increase in the number of women entering the economic wave. Walking shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts, these women are taking the world by storm, and how!

Ace entrepreneur Sanjay Dalmia, chairman of Dalmia Group reckons women entrepreneurship as one of the most important sources of economic growth in the country.

“Women entrepreneurship is potent enough to make a major contribution to the economic well-being of the family, community and the country as a whole,” he says.

With women becoming all the more cognizant about their role and economic status in the society, there has been a focus on their hidden entrepreneurial potential. Women in India are making inroads into the traditionally male-dominated sphere of business.

The country has a large pool of women entrepreneurs who are fiercely ambitious, and have made a mark for themselves in India as well as abroad. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of SBI bank, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, and Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media Ltd, are just to name a few.

Breaking the stereotypes and fighting the stigma of the Indian society, these women have set the perfect precedent. However, in spite of the progress, women entrepreneurship in India still has a long way to go. Women entrepreneurs still represent a minority of all the entrepreneurs.

As per the National Sample Survey Organisation, only 14% of business ventures in India are being run by women entrepreneurs. The survey also showed that majority of these women-run businesses are on a small scale. It clearly holds a mirror to the hindrances that are not allowing women to excel and break on through to the other side.

According to a report by Kauffman Foundation, women entrepreneurs are more likely to start their business at roughly half the rate of men. It is mainly during the prime business formation years, between the age of 35 and 44 years. There are a number of reasons which create this imbalance. Women entrepreneurs face more issues when it comes to starting their own business as compared to their male counterparts.

“Women entrepreneurs bring unique abilities to entrepreneurship, like a more systematic approach towards taking risks, not being overconfident and not putting their employees at risk. And if the economy expects to increase the number of jobs, more women have to start their own businesses,” the Kauffman’s researchers say.

Sanjay Dalmia, chairman of Dalmia Group deems women entrepreneurship as a major medium for empowering women. “In a number of cases, women are not aware of the potential they harbour within themselves. Right mentoring and guidance is all what they need to be motivated and realize their capabilities,” he says.

With the successful women entrepreneurs evolving as mentors, there can be a major positive change in the perceptual challenges faced by the aspiring women entrepreneurs, suggests Sanjay Dalmia.

“This can certainly help in eliminating the roadblocks in the entrepreneurial journey of women,” he adds.