Entrepreneurial behaviour of rural women in Raha sub-division, Nagaon district, Assam: An empirical analysis

Rural women entrepreneurship serves as a core engine for agrarian transformation and sustainable economic development. This empirical study evaluates the socio-economic characteristics and multidimensional entrepreneurial behaviour profiles of 100 rural women entrepreneurs purposively sampled across four active villages (Raha, Kachua, Fakoli, and Balikatia) in the Raha sub-division of Nagaon district, Assam. Primary data collected via a structured, face-to-face interview schedule were analyzed using percentage metrics, frequency analysis, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation coefficients. The descriptive analysis indicates that a significant majority of the respondents belong to the middle-age tier (44.0%), hold secondary education credentials (38.0%), and participate primarily in handloom weaving (24.0%) and dairy farming (22.0%) sectors through Self-Help Group (SHG) microcredit networks. The cumulative Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index revealed that 55.0% of the surveyed individuals exhibit a medium level of overall entrepreneurial behavior, with a composite mean score of 2.15 (SD = 0.58). Inferential statistical mapping exposed highly significant, positive correlations between entrepreneurial behavior and institutional training exposure (r = 0.68), as well as formal education level (r = 0.62). Conversely, a negative correlation was observed between chronological age and risk orientation (r = -0.31). Inadequate institutional credit access (72.0%) and structural marketing barriers (65.0%) were identified as the primary operational constraints limiting capacity expansion. The paper concludes with targeted policy recommendations focusing on strategic SHG-bank linkages, decentralized storage infrastructure, and targeted digital marketing integration to build resilient, women-led micro-enterprises in the northeastern region of India.