The life of a women entrepreneur has never been easy, thanks to the insurmountable obstacles lying in their way to success. These obstacles limit their experience, opportunities, and capabilities to a significant extent. However, with perseverance and a fightback spirit, one can overcome them and reserve a spot in the club of successful women in business. In this blog post, we have outlined major challenges that are faced by women entrepreneurs and ways to overcome them. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
- Lack of Institutional Support.
Most women-led startups don’t get the social support they require to kick-start their business from families, peers, and immediate ecosystems. Lack of mentorship from the business community is also one of the main challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the country. The case is no different when it comes to institutional support. Since there are no schemes for promoting emotional intelligence in entrepreneurship, many women don’t receive timely guidance or help from authorities. The absence of a proper support network adversely impacts their confidence and ability to take risks.
- Financial Barriers for Female Entrepreneurs.
Many firms and angel investors are reluctant to invest in women-led businesses, while banks and financial institutions consider women less credit-worthy. They are presumed to have a poor level of risk management in entrepreneurship. Moreover, many Indian women don’t have property or assets in their name, which comes up as a problem while applying for collateral loans or private financing.
- Lack of Access to Professional Networks.
Limited access to professional networks is another one of the basic problems of women entrepreneurs in India. According to the Google-Bain survey, female business owners are less integrated with formal and informal networks. As a result, there are limited funding options for women entrepreneurs. The survey further indicates that over 45% of urban small business owners suffer due to insufficient avenues of network development. Consequently, they miss out on opportunities to grow their business, find collaborators and vendors, and build social capital.
- Gender Bias in Business.
Patriarchy conditions both men and women to play certain defined gender roles and gives birth to gender stereotypes. Women are expected to cook, do domestic chores, raise kids, care for the elderly, and the like. Juggling familial and professional responsibilities is a challenge in itself, and even more so when you set out to build a brand. The pressure to stick to traditional gender roles is among the main challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. Often, they are asked to give up entrepreneurship and take up an “easy” profession that helps them focus more on family and kids. What’s more, a woman who chooses her career over other things is looked down upon.
- Lack of Education.
One of the biggest credentials or skills of women entrepreneurs is having prior experience in running a successful business. To supplement the lack of experience in running a business the entrepreneur should have professional experience of working in the relevant industry or a business management degree. Unfortunately in India, the education of women does not get its due importance. This results in many budding female entrepreneurs lacking the education required to run a successful business. As women are getting access to higher education, they are leveling the playing field.
If you are looking for an entrepreneur mentorship, then reach out to Ladies Who Lead. Here, some of the most successful female leaders come forth to help in empowering women in business. Contact us now!
