Entrepreneurship at the Grass- roots: Developing the Income- generating Capabilities of Rural Women

Abstract

Until recently, entrepreneurship was associated primarily with major contours of business. With the growing accent on economic development, the term has assumed a more expanded connotation to include all efforts directed to push economic frontiers. Seen in this context, experiments to generate additional income for the rural poor must fall within the ambit of efforts to develop entrepreneurship in the countryside. This paper deals with one such experiment by a non-government organisation in one of the states in India.Harsha Kirve is a project officer with Jnana Prabodhini, Pune, and Ajit Kanitkar is on the faculty of the Institute of Rural Development, Anand.The world celebrated the International Year of the Woman in 1985, and the decade witnessed the emergence of a large number of organisations fighting for the cause of women. Scholars and researchers are increasingly drawn to women's issues; a large body of literature has developed around genderrelated themes; and a totally new discipline in social sciences, which can loosely be described as 'studies in women in development' (WID) has taken shape. Promotion of women-owned businesses, skill training for women, or formation of women's groups for easier access to credit and other inputs are some of the efforts which need to be understood and appreciated in the wider perspective of women catching up with men in various walks of life.The objective of this paper is to describe and evaluate an experiment to promote income-generating activities (IGAs) among a group of rural women. As a backdrop for our discussion, we first review the literature relating to women in business.

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