Promotion of Entrepreneurship through Women-run Self-Help Groups

Self-help groups (SHGs), predominantly led by women, are anticipated to play a pivotal role in advancing gender equality, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and poverty alleviation within rural areas. Recognising this potential, both the Indian government and various state governments have implemented an array of policy interventions and initiatives over the years to promote livelihood generation and micro-entrepreneurship through SHGs. These initiatives encompass programs such as the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme by NABARD, DAY-NRLM, and various skill training programs. Despite the prevalence of SHGs actively involved in providing microfinance to their members, a significant number of SHG members do not engage in commercial activities, either collectively or individually. This reluctance persists despite the ongoing efforts made through policy interventions. This paper identifies the factors that motivate SHG members to embark on entrepreneurial endeavours and establishes correlations between these factors and the growth of SHGs. Researchers employed a mixed research methodology, conducting a survey among SHG members in the Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh and conducting a policy analysis to identify existing gaps. For the survey, a stratified random sampling technique was employed to identify specific SHG members within predefined strata. The research team conducted interviews of SHG members engaged in entrepreneurial activities and SHGs not engaged in any entrepreneurial activity. Statistical tools such as correlation coefficients were applied to analyse the survey data. Subsequently, the research findings were scrutinised to formulate recommendations for policy interventions aimed at more effectively promoting entrepreneurship among rural women.