A Bird’s Eye View of Women Entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu

This landscaping assessment reviews the entrepreneurship ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises led by women in Tamil Nadu, and provides a granular view of district-wise variations in entreprneuership activity and performance.

Background
In spite of the significant contribution of enterprises run by women to employment and economic output in India, they continue to face a number of barriers to sustainable growth. Commissioned by the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institutite, Tamil Nadu, this study assesses the ecosystem for women-run micro, small and medium enterprises with a focus on the needs of women entrepreneurs, and identifies strategies for creating a more enabling policy environment. It also evaluates the impact of pro-women MSME policies in the state, and ranks Tamil Nadu’s 32 districts based on their entrepreneurial environment.
Approach
808 women entrepreneurs from 32 districts of Tamil Nadu were surveyed via telephonic interviews to gather information on indicators such as the availability of resources required to run their business, their aspirations, key challenges to growth, cultural perceptions, barriers, and so on. A scorecard was developed for each district based on the six key entrepreneurial determinants identified under the OECD-EIP framework including Regulatory Framework, Culture, Access to Finance etc. Each entrepreneur was assigned a score for each of these determinants. These scores were thereafter used to rank districts across a variety of parameters that influence entrepreneurship, and identify trends, in variations in entrepreneurial activity and performance across Tamil Nadu.
Implications
Findings from the study provided valuable insights to will highlight opportunities and barriers for women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu and provide policy recommendations that will support and influence the sustained growth of women led enterprises.

Thematic Area

Small, Growing Businesses and Employment

Project Leads

Mridulya Narasimhan

Location

Tamil Nadu

Partners

Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII) - Government of Tamil Nadu

Status

Completed