Women Empowerment: Overview

Women's empowerment is defined as fostering women's self-esteem, ability to make their own decisions, and right to affect societal change for themselves and others. It's linked to female empowerment, a basic human right that's also critical to establishing a more peaceful and prosperous world. Female empowerment is frequently associated with various periods in the history of the women's rights movement in Western countries.

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There are three waves to this movement. Suffrage was a major aspect of the first, which began in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The sexual revolution and the position of women in society were part of the 1960s' second wave. The 1990s are commonly regarded as the start of third-wave feminism.

Principles of Women’s Empowerment

• Building a senior leadership team of enterprises for gender equality
• Treat everyone fairly in the workplace respecting and advocating non-discrimination and human rights
• Ensure the health happiness and safety of all workers men and women
• Promote education training and career development for women
• Implement supply chain marketing  and business development to empower women
• Defending equality through community initiatives and advocacy
• Measure and publicly report  on progress towards gender equality

Government Schemes for Women Entrepreneur in India

A female entrepreneur can be defined as a woman or a group of women starting organizing and running a business.

Government of India- “A woman entrepreneur is defined as an enterprise owned and controlled by a woman having a minimum financial interest of 51 cents of the capital and giving at least 51 percent of the employment generated in the enterprise to women.”

Women entrepreneurs run more than a third of all businesses in the world. There has been a surge in female entrepreneurship in India as a result of economic success, improved access to education, urbanization, the expansion of liberal and democratic culture, and social recognition. In India, special incentives and initiatives have been established to support the growth of female entrepreneurs. Startup India and Standup make a unique case for encouraging women to pursue their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. Indian businesswoman Kiran Muzumdar Shaw President and CEO of Biocon Limited has received many coveted corporate and civic awards such as the Padma Shri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005) for her outstanding contributions to the industry her identity for health care and medicine. Other famous Indian businesswomen include figures like Vandana Luthra, Ekta Kapoor, Naina Lal Kidwai, and more. 

Why Women Become Entrepreneurs?

• To become financially self-sufficient
• To start up their own business
• To make a name for themselves in society
• To succeed in their endeavors with excellence.
• Help boost their self-assurance
• To improve one’s risk-taking abilities.
• To assert one’s equality in society.

There are 9 Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs in India.

Annapurna Scheme:

This loan is for women in the food catering industry that is just starting out with their small enterprises. The loan enables these women entrepreneurs to use it for capital needs such as purchasing equipment and utensils, establishing trucks, and so on. Women can sell packaged food items and snacks under this plan, which is one of the most typical companies that women entrepreneurs look into and thrive at because it is something that housewives have been doing for a long time and are used to. This increases their sales because they now have access to more finance and new products to help them launch their business than they could previously. The scheme has a lending ceiling of Rs. 50,000.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan:

This banking plan was designed in the first place to help women and their enterprises on a wide scale. Women have dabbled in a variety of industries and are continuously striving for success. This bank was founded with the goal of empowering women economically. This source has a borrowing limit of Rs.20 crore.

Mudra Yojana scheme:

It is a Government of India project that aims to improve the status of women in India by offering business loans and other support so that they can become financially independent and self-sufficient. They will be handed Mudra cards, which function like credit cards and have a withdrawal limit of 10% of the loan amount when the loan has been approved. This program offers numerous different sorts of plans according to on the type of business, the extent of expansion, and the loan goal. The government’s lending limit under this scheme is Rs. 10 Lacs.

Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana Scheme:

The system is aimed at women who hold 51% of equity individually or collectively as owners. This is a very good opportunity for these stakeholders to help grow their business and add to the growth of their field. This program requires no collateral while offering an incentive with interest rates up to 2%. The payback time is flexible up to 7 years, and the maximum loan amount is Rs. 25 lakhs.

Dena Shakti Yojana:

The program is also geared towards female entrepreneurs but is limited to agricultural retail manufacturing small business or microcredit organizations. Under RBI limits maximum limits for female beneficiaries are also provided based on the industry in which they are developing or planning to open a business. The maximum loan amount is Rs.20 lakhs.

Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana:

Also known as PMRY it is one of the best programs for female entrepreneurs both socially and financially. The goal of this program is to create skills-based self-employment through female entrepreneurs and smart workplace minds used for monetary independence. The program covers both urban and rural areas and has been developed through a number of changes regarding costs eligibility and funding limits. Loan support can be up to 15% of project cost with an upper limit of Rs 12500 per borrower as a restriction. The program is applicable to all types of enterprises in the industries, trade, and service sectors. The age limit is 35 years, and the maximum loan amount for a business is Rs. 2 lakh, while the maximum loan amount for service and industry is Rs. 5 lakh.

Udyogini Schemes:

This initiative encourages women to be self-sufficient and assists them in self-development by providing them with the necessary financial resources. This initiative supports aspiring female entrepreneurs by providing loans and low-interest rates in comparison to the private sector's soaring rates, as well as being a reliable source of credit. Only individuals with a family income with less than Rs. 40,000 per year are eligible. They offer loans in the commercial and service sectors in particular, with a ceiling of Rs. 1 lakh.

Cent Kalyani Scheme:

The scheme is targeted at both new businesses and people that aim to grow and expand; the sole specific emphasis is on the scheme being for ladies Entrepreneurs. Retail trade, education and training, and self-help groups don't seem to be eligible for the scheme. The eligible categories are given well with the foundations on their website. This loan may be a collateral-free loan yet as zero processing fees. The chosen eligible categories of business women can take the loan and expand their business through these schemes for girl’s entrepreneurs. Under this scheme, the loan limit is Rs. 100 Lakh.

Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme:

This programme tries to close the equity gap. It encourages MSMEs and small-business ventures in a variety of industries to expand and succeed. This also stimulates the rebuilding of SSI units that have been ruled inoperable but are still salvageable. The debtor is allowed ten years to repay the loan, with a maximum loan amount of Rs. ten lakhs.

Top Challenges Faced By Women Entrepreneurs

Indian women have defied decades of tradition to establish a position for themselves in the commercial world. Their corporate careers have provided them both financial security and the opportunity to demonstrate their management abilities.

However, entrepreneurship propelled her forward and gave her the strength to set an example for the rest of the globe. There are currently about 8.05 million women entrepreneurs in India. It accounts for roughly 14% of the Indian corporate sector. Aside from that, according to current data, over 79 percent of women-owned businesses are self-financed.