Lack of sufficient funds, responsibilities at home derail women's entrepreneurial dreams: Survey

India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and many experts believe that the country’s women hold the key to unlocking its full growth potential. The question is – do the country’s nearly 600 million women want to step outside their homes and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and if yes, what holds them back.

Britannia Marie Gold, the third largest biscuit brand in India, has found through its Britannia Marie Gold Indian Women Entrepreneurship Survey Report that homemakers do, in fact, hold aspirations of embarking on an entrepreneurial journey and finding financial independence, however, there are many barriers they must cross to get there.

The customised survey was conducted by Nielsen, for Britannia, among 1,267 non-working housewives in cities of Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Asansol, Chennai, and Coimbatore in the age group of 25-45 years belonging.

Key takeaways from the study:

• Nearly half (48 percent) of Indian homemakers had dreams and aspirations to start a business or pursue a hobby to make money when they were young.

• 1 in 2 Indian homemakers had dreams and aspirations to be financially independent when they were young.

• Of homemakers who aspire to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, 69 percent say that the greatest barrier is lack of sufficient funds, 63 percent say its home responsibilities taking up most of their time, 39 percent say its lack of guidance and 36 percent reported that it’s a lack of confidence

• Out of the homemakers who have dreams and aspirations to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, the top types of businesses that they would like to launch are tailoring (36 percent), beauty parlours (28 percent), opening a boutique or shop (26 percent) and starting home tuitions (20 percent).

• When asked what would help homemakers start their own business, 62 percent say it is financial/funding support while 51 percent say self- confidence/ counselling is what they would most need.

• Among homemakers with dreams and aspirations to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, 64 percent say the reason for the same is to gain financial independence while 54 percent say they want to create their own identity.

• Nearly all (92 percent) of Indian homemakers say that it would make them happy to see their daughters and the next generation of women run their own businesses.

• Top reasons why homemakers would be happy to see their daughters and the next generation run their own businesses are: 66 percent say because it would give them more self-esteem, 64 percent say because it would help them gain financial independence and 62 percent say because it would help them create their own identities.