Entrepreneurship Challenges and Financial Mismanagement in West Bengal's Slums: A Data-Driven Study

Zenodo Submission: Detailed Description Title: Entrepreneurship and Slum Development in West Bengal: A Financial Perspective Description: This research paper explores the economic challenges faced by entrepreneurs and slum residents in West Bengal, India, highlighting key factors contributing to business stagnation, financial mismanagement, and socio-economic barriers. Despite financial aid programs and government interventions, entrepreneurial growth remains limited, and poverty cycles persist in urban and semi-urban slums due to systemic financial inefficiencies. Through quantitative data analysis, field surveys, and case studies, this study examines: Barriers to entrepreneurship, including political interference, labor inefficiencies, and unauthorized taxation. Financial mismanagement in slums, focusing on spending patterns, alcoholism, gambling, and informal debt cycles. Failures of financial aid programs, such as microfinance institutions and government-backed loans. Behavioral economic trends, showing how financial habits contribute to generational poverty. Policy recommendations, proposing structural reforms to support sustainable economic development and social upliftment. This study provides data-driven insights, policy critiques, and recommendations for financial literacy programs, entrepreneurship-friendly reforms, and urban development strategies. It is particularly relevant to economists, policymakers, urban planners, and social scientists studying poverty alleviation, business development, and economic sustainability in developing regions. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Financial Mismanagement, Urban Slums, Poverty Cycles, Economic Growth, Microfinance, Government Policy, Business Failure, Venture Capital, Behavioral Economics Resource Type: Publication → Report (Best suited for analytical research and policy recommendations.) License Recommendation: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)