women entrepreneurship in nepal

8/13/2019 Women Entrepreneurship in Nepal

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Women Entrepreneurship in

Nepal

Sudeep Parajuli

MBA 3rdSem

Novel Academy


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Introduction

The term Entrepreneur has been defined as

anyone who undertakes the organization and

management of an enterprise involving

innovativeness, risk and independence, as well

as opportunity for profit- Timmons and Spinelli

(2006)


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Women Entrepreneurship in

NepalOf the total population in Nepal (approximately27 million), over 51 per cent are female, yet thenumber of women entrepreneurs is estimated at30,000 (0.12 per cent).

It is difficult to estimate the current number ofwomen entrepreneurs in Nepal, due to absenceof up-to-date statistics and gender disaggregateddata

The statistics do not reveal who actually controlsand runs womens businesses: even thoughwomen may be officially registered as owners ofa business, in frequent cases it is the husband orfather who is operating the business


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Although women entrepreneurs have alwaysbeen common in some ethnic groups, espicially

in Newar, Sherpa and gurung communities, the

idea of women in business has only recently

become more common across the country


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Womens motivations to become

entrepreneurIt is particularly challenging to become anentrepreneur in developing countries, where

women are traditionally regarded as caretakers

of the family, and tends to be the most

improvised in terms of education and financialcapital.

The very fact that women are limited due to lack

of these opportunities gives them a strongincentive to create their own work environments;

to circumvent poverty, and gain confidence,

courage, and independence.


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Access to finance and respect

Access to financial support is critical forsuccessful entrepreneurship for both men andwomen

Collateral, almost always land, is a necessity toobtain a loan from a bank and other lendinginstitutions

From 2007, provisions were made whereby the

law and bylaws stipulate equal rights for bothdaughters and sons to the family property frombirth, without restrictions after marriage. Butbecause of deeply embedded cultural beliefs,daughters are only very rarely given a deed tofamily land, and after marriage they are, in mostcases, not considered at all.


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This inability to furnish collateral due to culturaltradition severely limits their capacity to start theirown business as self-reliant, risk-takingentrepreneurs

Even though daughters have been awardedequal property rights by law, they seldom haveopportunities to exercise the rights, especiallyonce theyre married. In my situation, as a widowtrying to start my business, I had no property

rights from either my own family or my latehusbands family, so Ive had a very hard time tofinance my own business - Aruna, owner of apaper-recycling cottage industry


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It is reported that irrespective of sector orlocation, women in Nepal generally start

business with only one-third the capital available

to men, because of the difficulties women have in

acquiring credit

Though women stated self-reliance and

independence as motivators for venturing out

their own, in the end they have to rely on thesecurities of others to raise their basic capital

requirements


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Aneeta, who owns a small plot in KathmanduValley where she grows vegetables for sale in the

markets in Kathmandu, was sure she could

arrange a loan for herself. But even after

presenting the deed to her land, she was stillasked to appear with her husband.

The bank person discussed this loan with my

husband, hardly included me in the conversation,

and in the end, my husband was the one who

signed the document for my loan. This was really

degrading for me


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Access to formal education

Although womens education and training has

been given priority over the past decade or more

in Nepal, womens literacy remains far below that

of men

The national literacy rate for women is estimated

at 60 percent. It is 80 percent for men

The lack of literacy restricts womens access to

opportunities, limits their abilities to negotiate the

bureaucracies of finance and government, and

often prevents them from effectively voicing theiropinions


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Expanding skills training and

managementIn Nepal, while there are many governmentprogramme- as well as national and internationalNGOs- conducting skills training for women(particularly in rural areas), specific business

management and technical training is not widelyaccessible in either rural or urban settings

Several of the women operating manufacturingbusinesses say that they had only the most basictraining on how to operate the machines for theirbusiness, but they received no training on how torepair the machines, how to mange their staffeffectively, or how to market their goods


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Developing entrepreneur

networking for womenThe ability of women to develop and expand their

business is dependent on financial support and

opportunities to get information about new

markets, suppliers, technology and costs

Women often conduct business within their

comfort zone, dealing with family, friends, and

business people they already know


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With increasing market liberalization andcompetition internally and from abroad, it is

becoming critical that women entrepreneurs are

exposed to a variety of networking systems

While there are already several formal womens

business organizations and informal networking

communities, such as WEAN, supporting each

other, womens business networks are still notwell represented in the various professional

business associations in Nepal


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Providing greater visibility for

women entrepreneursTo bring up rapid visibility in terms of equalparticipation and leadership of the business

sector, it is imperative for government agencies,

private organizations, and women entrepreneurs

themselves, to identify the ways womenentrepreneurs can be more visible

The government should ensure women are in

senior positions at the Ministry of Industry,Commerce and Services, the Ministry of Women,

Children and Welfare, and in other ministerial

departments


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THANK YOU

women entrepreneurship in nepal

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