Only 14% of Entrepreneurs in India are Female, finds New Report

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 18 January 2024

According to the State of India’s Livelihood Report by Access Publications, Indian female entrepreneurs are underrepresented where only 2.16 per cent of them take part in the initial phases of their entrepreneurial journey. Even though the Indian workforce has provided prominent female entrepreneurs, women at large only contribute 3.09 per cent to the industrial output and employ 10 per cent of the Indian workforce. India is ranked 57th out of 65 nations in the world for female entrepreneurship.

India's female entrepreneurs make up only 14 per cent of the country's 58.5 million enterprises, while they manage 20 per cent of these enterprises. A recent study by NITI Aayog found that over 99 per cent of Indian MSMEs are in the micro sector, where over 99 per cent of women-owned businesses are individual businesses with only 17 per cent hiring employees, which is less than 6. It further indicates that scaling their businesses and generating employment opportunities are major challenges for Indian women entrepreneurs.

UN Women's report reveals that women's entrepreneurship is necessity-driven, low-risk, and seeks for the local environment to avoid any constraints. Despite India's startup ecosystem ranking at 3rd position, women's representation remains low, with only 35 per cent of startup employees and 9 per cent of startup founders in 2018.

India's tech unicorns have seen a decline in female founders, with only 14 per cent having female founders, and 90 per cent relying on informal financing. India's start-up scene has grown significantly from 3000 in 2014 to 11,000 in 2020, but women remain underrepresented, with only 12 per cent of unicorn founders in 2019, and only 14 per cent of tech unicorns having at least 1 female founder in 2021.