Women Entrepreneurship in Nepal

Women entrepreneurship is the process of creating new venture by women through risk-taking, innovating and managing for rewards. It refers to women in independent business.

The process of entrepreneurship is common to both man and women. It is only the gender that distinguishes the women entrepreneurship from men entrepreneurs. However, women stand as a special focus group for entrepreneurship development. They differ in terms of motivation, business skills and occupational background.

Difference between Men and Women Entrepreneurs. 

Characteristics	Men Entrepreneurs	Women Entrepreneurs
Motivation	Achievement, Independence to be his own boss	Achievement, Independence to do it alone, discipline
Departure Point	Dissatisfaction with present job	Frustration with present job
Sources of Funds	Personal assets and savings, banks, friends	Personal Assets and savings, personal Loans
Occupational Background	Experience in manufacturing, finance, technical areas	Administrative experience in service
Background	Firstborn child, degree in business or engineering, age 25-35	Firstborn child degree in liberal arts; age 35-45
Support Group	Friends, professionals, business associates, spouse	Friends, spouse, family women groups
Types of New Venture	Manufacturing and construction oriented.	Service-oriented in a market niche
Personality	Opinionated and persuasive	Flexible and tolerant

In USA, women start new ventures at three times the rate of men. They account for 70 percent of all new businesses. They own 8.5 million small businesses which employ 17 million peoples.

Problems of women Entrepreneurs

1. Poor Access to Finance

Women Entrepreneurs lack adequate capital. They usually rely on personal assets and savings for start-up capital. Their access to external source of finance is limited. Generally, women lack ownership of property for use as collateral to get bank loans. In most developing countries properties are inherited by sons.
• Banks and financial institutions consider women as less creditworthy. They lack track record in financial performance. They also lack education and knowledge to get bank loans. Women Entrepreneurs generally rely on loans from close friends and relatives to start new ventures.

2. Lack of Skills and Experience

Women lack skills and experience in manufacturing, construction and technical areas. They generally possess administrative experience. This limits their entrepreneurship to service-related ventures, such as beauty clinics, boutiques, florist, education, consulting public relations etc. Illiteracy among women is widespread. Women tend to study liberal arts in schools and colleges. Lack of appropriate education has been a major stumbling block for the growth of women entrepreneurship. Women lack knowledge about business know-how and marketing. This has adversely affected their capacity to take risks.

3. Business Relationships

Women find limited opportunities for developing business relationships. It takes time and effort to get acceptance in male- dominated groups and networks.

4. Low mobility of Women

Compared to male, female tend to be less mobile. Traditionally, the place of women was confined within the four walls of home. In most developing countries, women cannot travel alone in faraway places. The male-dominated offices look at women entrepreneurs with skepticism and humiliating attitude. Poor mobility discourages women to become entrepreneurs.
• Women are relatively new in entrepreneurial roles.
• Women have remained confirmed to traditional trades which can be run from homes,, such as papad, pickle and powder (spices). Arts and crafts have also attracted to women.

5. Family Pressures

In many societies, the main role of women is to look after the household and bring up children; this role prevents women to devote time and efforts for new venture. In male- dominated societies, husbands do not allow their wives to start business or employment. This prevents economic independence of women. Family pressures have retarded the growth of women entrepreneurs. In Nepal's joint family system, family ties are strong. Family and social pressures are strong for women to remain confined to household chores. Strong social and family ties provide little time for entrepreneurial activities to Nepalese women.

6. Other General Problems

Other Problems of General Nature, which constrain women entrepreneurship, are:

1. Lack of Infrastructure: They can be in terms of power, roads, communication, water and industrial parks. Institutional support systems do not treat women as a special target group.
2. Stiff Competition in the market: Women entrepreneurs lack resources to promote their products. They also lack knowledge and information about marketing. Marketing presents a serious problems for women entrepreneurs.
3. Raw Material Shortage: Scarcity of raw material needed for art-and-craft-oriented enterprises run by women has constrained women entrepreneurs.
4. Legal Constraints: Too many laws and regulations discourage women to enter into new ventures. Women feel uncomfortable in dealing with bureaucracy.

Credit of this article goes to Dr. Govinda Ram Agrawal