A Study of Women Entrepreneurship in SMEs in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The contribution of SMEs to employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a Sri Lanka is significant. In countries, with high levels of income, the SME sector contributes to 55 percent of GDP and 65 percent of total employment. In Sri Lanka, there is recent rise to lower middle-income country status. Also there is greater potential for Sri Lanka to benefit from this sector. SME sector accounts for more than 90 percent of industry in Sri Lanka. The employment of SME sector is dropped from 29 percent to 19 percent and value addition from 11.3 percent to 4.9 percent during 1983 - 1996.Women’s entrepreneurship is especially significant in the context of moving Sri Lanka towards becoming an “Upper Middle Income” country, as female-operated SMEs could well cater to the demands of the rising middle class. Out of the total number of employers in Sri Lanka, only 10 percent are women, which is 0.9 percent of total population according to the census of 2011.Women seek entrepreneurship for many reasons so this paper focuses on identifying the problems unique to women entrepreneurs in setting up the business. Some women start a business on their ideas, innovations and employment experiences,but they faceso many obstacles which make them frustrated with demanding and inflexible work environments. In spite of all these, they have overcome and succeeded in SME.