Women-Owned businesses in India: Current scenario and future prospective Dr.Smt. Sharma Ranjana Associate Professor, Department of Management. Sri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Technology & Science (Sgrrits), Sri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun Online published on 2 April, 2019. Abstract Lending to women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as a distinct segment is still unexplored when compared to lending to MSMEs in India. Due to a lack of segmental focus and, perhaps, due to a higher perception of risk, formal financial institutions have made little effort to better understand this segment. There is a lack of awareness among bankers of the potential business opportunity presented by this segment. One reason for this is the lack of data that would help present a business case to target this emerging sector. In cases where formal institutions have created women-MSME targeted credit schemes, lack of awareness and limited outreach (especially in rural areas) has meant that the impact is limited. This paper takes a look at the state of access to finance for small women entrepreneurs and how the issue could be addressed. This paper also addressed the key characteristics of womenowned businesses and discusses the major issues confronting women owned MSME entrepreneurs. It focuses on lack of financing as a barrier to growth and success. The subsequent two chapters focus on assessing market opportunities by estimating demand-supply gap in access to finance for women entrepreneurs and details global best practices in financing women-owned enterprises Top Keywords Women-owned businesses, micro, small and medium enterprises, finance gap, micro-finance, government scheme. Top |