'Lack of sufficient funds biggest barrier for prospective women entrepreneurs'

Lack of sufficient funds is the biggest barrier for prospective women entrepreneurs while home responsibilities largely come in the way, says a survey of 1,267 non-working housewives in Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Asansol, Chennai and Coimbatore in the 25-45 year age-group.

"Of the homemakers who aspire to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, 69 per cent said the greatest barrier was lack of sufficient funds, 63 per cent said home responsibilities took up most of their time, 39 per cent said it was lack of guidance and 36 per cent reported that it was a lack in confidence," according to a customised study conducted by Nielsen for biscuit major Britannia.

Of the homemakers who had dreams and aspirations to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, the top types of businesses that they wanted to launch were tailoring (36 per cent), beauty parlours (28 per cent), opening a boutique or shop (26 per cent) and starting home tuitions (20 per cent).

Among homemakers with dreams and aspirations to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, 64 per cent said the reason was to gain financial independence, while 54 per cent said they wanted to create their own identity, the survey said.

Asked what would help homemakers start their own business, 62 per cent said it was financial/funding support, while 51 per cent said they needed self-confidence or counselling the most.

Significantly, nearly all -- 92 per cent -- of Indian homemakers surveyed said that it would make them happy to see their daughters and the next generation of women run their own businesses.

The top reasons for this were: Sixty-six per cent said because it would give them more self-esteem, 64 per cent said because it would help them gain financial independence and 62 per cent said because it would help them create their own identities.

Indicative of the barriers prospective women entrepreneurs face, an overwhelming 48 per cent had dreams and aspirations to start their own business or pursue a hobby to make money, when they were young", while 1 in 2 homemakers had dreams and aspirations to be financially independent when they were young.

"Homemakers are constantly caught up in the daily responsibilities of looking after family and too often, their own ambitions fall by the wayside. The new generation of homemakers, however, seek to ensure their personal interests do not take a back seat," said Ali Harris Shere, VP (Marketing), Britannia Industries Ltd.

"This research study proves our observations and identifies barriers -- financial support, guidance and confidence -- that we want to help address through the company's My Start Up initiative that fuels homemakers to go ahead and launch their own ventures, contributing to their families and the overall economy," Shere added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)