M.com Project for Subject +_

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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…………….23
15.Women Entrepreneurs and Their Problems……………………..…….24
16.Need of study the women entrepreneurship……………………..…….28
17.Essentials of Women entrepreneurship………………………………..29
18.Limitations………………………………………………………..……31
19.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 has
become 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 participate
and 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 ambitious
A 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 confident
A 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 conscious
A 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 allegiance
A 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 work
A 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 order
A 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 Plans
Women 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 Resourceful
Women entrepreneurs take advantage effectively coordinating the available factors and
resources 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 for
this 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 are
still 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 often
criticized 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 an
enterprise
 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.

21. 21
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.

22. 22
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

23. 23
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

24. 24
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.
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.

25. 25
sume more important leaders – Entrepreneur
 Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director, Shriram Investments Ltd
 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.

26. 26
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.
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: -

27. 27
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.
 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.

28. 28
 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
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.

29. 29
Essentials of Women entrepreneurship
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

30. 30
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.
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 Units
Registered
No. of Women
Entrepreneurs
Percentage
Tamil Nadu 9618 2930 30.36
Uttar Pradesh 7980 3180 39.84
Kerala 5487 2135 38.91
Punjab 4791 1618 33.77
Maharastra 4339 1394 32.12
Gujrat 3872 1538 39.72
Karnatka 3822 1026 26.84
Madhya Pradesh 2967 842 28.38
Other States & UTS 14576 4185 28.71
Total 57,452 18,848 32.82

31. 31
LIMITATIONS
I found out that Women entrepreneurs face following limitations:-
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

32. 32
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
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

33. 33
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
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.

34. 34
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
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.

35. 35
 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.
 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.

36. 36
 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.
 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.

37. 37
CONCLUSION
India is a male dominated society and women are assumed to be economically as well as
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.

38. 38
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 A Reflection of the Indian Women in Entrepreneurial World
Google.co.in
 www.indianmba.com
 www.asiaentrepreneurshipjournal.com
 www.academicjournals.org