A Study on Problems and Challenges of Women Entrepreneurs in Maharashtra

Abstract Women entrepreneurship is playing a major role in a society undergoing change, employment creation and economic growth in India. In the past few years, women have been actively involved in various businesses and entrepreneurial activities such as start-ups, small industries, retail, services, and home businesses in Maharashtra. Despite their growing economic contribution, women entrepreneurs face several challenges that hamper their growth and sustainability of their businesses. The primary problems faced by female entrepreneurs are financial difficulties, limited availability of credit facilities, family responsibilities, social problems, marketing problems, lack of training and lack of managerial skills. The focus of the current study titled ‘A Study on Problems and Challenges of Women Entrepreneurs in Maharashtra' is to identify and study the major problems which are faced by the women entrepreneurs in Maharashtra. This is a descriptive analysis using both primary and secondary data. Secondary data was collected from books, journals, papers, websites and other research work related to women entrepreneurs and primary data was collected from the women entrepreneurs who were engaged in different business activities on the basis of a standard questionnaire. The study findings indicate that there are considerable managerial, social, financial and marketing related challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the operation of business. A lack of time to balance work and family was also a major concern among female entrepreneurs. The report also reveals that lack of financial resources, lack of proper training and lack of knowledge of government initiatives are some of the bottlenecks facing entrepreneurial growth. The study concludes that women entrepreneurship can be encouraged by social support, financial support, skill development program and facilitating government policies. Promoting women entrepreneurs is very important for sustainable development, women empowerment and economic prosperity in Maharashtra.