Women Entrepreneurship Day is being celebrated from 2014 on 19th November and is being now acknowledged and celebrated by more than 144 countries that signifying the importance of gender equality.

India as a country does not lack any less energy from women folks who had been participating in agricultural activities if not as a leader but as a workforce in the fields. Every market anywhere in India we can witness women folks selling daily goods on the roadside. It is now a few decades we have seen women are getting involved in family businesses, lone shops and now modern semi-urban lifestyle has given rise to work from home ‘small office home office’ concepts where women are taking up businesses ranging from the bakery, boutique, beauty salon, tailoring, distribution network, financial, insurance, education etc. Many northeastern states showcase traditional workforces where women take a lead role in commercial activities particularly in Manipur, Meghalaya, and almost in all the NE states where women are active in handloom activities.

How do we accelerate the women’s entrepreneurial process? I would point out two factors that need attention and policy decision. As a society, we can focus on our changing lifestyle if we can work on these two factors namely encouraging women folks in business by financial institutions and incorporating an entrepreneurial mindset from the school level in line with the New Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020).

The financial institution should encourage women entrepreneurs by creating single-window lower interest credit with a special focus on SMEs or micro-businesses. These will help change the mindset of a family where entrepreneurship can be considered as a professional and career option for a girl child.

The NEP 2020 advocates internship from the school level itself and it can create a huge impact on the young mind if it can inculcate an entrepreneurial mindset in a girl child. The training, culture, and skillset development towards entrepreneurship will lead to a movement that can create a balanced society.

Indian families still today worry about a girl’s marriage. Imagine an idea where a girl is married off with some financial security in the form of a business unit of her own that is making profits already! Nothing could be bigger social security than a successful businesswoman for a family. Let’s encourage an entrepreneurial mindset in our girl child…