Sustaining Women Entrepreneurship through Inculcation of Competencies: An Analysis of Interventions in Odisha

Abstract

Competencies are quintessential to the development of entrepreneurship. Notwithstanding the debate, whether the entrepreneurs are born or made, inculcation of right dosage of competencies in right time plays a major role in converting prospective into entrepreneurs. This holds true even in case of women entrepreneurs, who there wise have a glaringly low rate of success across the country. Various steps undertaken by the Central and State Governments to kindle the spirit of women entrepreneurship has either yielded similar or no result owing to plethora of structural, familial and operational factors. Of all, the most ignored are the Competencies, lack of follow-up and measures to address the gaps. Studies on the past initiatives and interventions give one an idea that, though there is gradual shift of focus of well-intentioned interventions from capital to marketing, developing new products to motivation, identifying new opportunities to addressing inadequacies, yet the core area of developing competencies is grossly missing. Amidst this backdrop, the paper attempts to find out various competencies required and its role in motivation, success or failure of women entrepreneurs residing in Kandhamal, an underdeveloped district and Khurda, developed district of Odisha. Since competencies vary with perceptions, socio-economic conditions and geographical regions, this paper also analyses the level of focus that the programmes had on instilling competencies among women with regard to their age, family background, marital status and education. This is done to see if it has any influence on the sustenance of women entrepreneurs.