SURVEY REPORT ON WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS!

NO COUNTRY FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS!!!

Dell survey of 17 nations ranks India 16th, just above Uganda!
For a host of reasons — from poor access to finance and low
use of the Internet to unreliable Networks — India is the not the
best place for women to become entrepreneurs, says a survey by personal computer giant Dell.
This doesn’t surprise Saundarya Rajesh, an entrepreneur herself
and founder-President of Avtar Career Creators and Flexi Careers India, a recruitment firm in
Chennai.
“I am not surprised to find India near the bottom,” she says,
“Women entrepreneurs face two sets of impediments here —
personal and societal; personal,because the qualities associated
with entrepreneurship go
against the conditioning that
women get in our society.
“Societal, because, with very few role model women entrepreneurs, society itself is not very kind to a woman who
wants to strike out on her own.”
Even those who have done reasonably well, she adds, are
those who have a strong spouse and supporting family.
“As a woman entrepreneur, I have always had a standard
question: Did you accomplish this yourself or did your husband or partner help you. The implication being we are not fully capable.
Some have even probed further, especially the finance or commercial part,” says S. Hemamalini, CEO, Live Connections, a recruitment firm.
In the Dell survey of 17 countries,India was ranked 16th, just
above Uganda. The US tops the list, followed by Australia,Germany, France and Mexico,
says the First Gender-GEDI Female Entrepreneurship Index created by Dell.
The index, the company says, provides a diagnostic tool for countries to expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
It shows no single determinant to entrepreneurial success, with the best performing countries
demonstrating success across a wide variety of categories.
The US scored high on indicators for good institutional foundation and a strong entrepreneurial environment.
However, even in the top-performing countries, venture
capital funding is still low. For example, in the US only 3-5 per
cent of venture financing goes to
women-owned businesses.
Other top-ranking countries are Australia (2), Germany (3), France (4) and Mexico (5).
Despite India’s recent economic surge, it was ranked 16th. Other rankings include Japan (12),
Morocco (13), Brazil (14) and Egypt (15) and Uganda (17).
“Increased access to knowledge,networks, capital and technology
is critical if countries are to empower female entrepreneurship and create a culture of success,” Karen
Quintos, chief marketing officer and senior vice-president, Dell,said.
Source: Business Line