Dr. K. Aparna, Journal of Management Research and Analysis (JMRA) Available online at http://jmraonline.com ISSN: 2394-2770, Impact Factor: 4.878, Volume 05 Issue 04, December 2018, Pages: 320-321 Homepage: http://jmraonline.com, Email: jmraeditor@gmail.com Page 320 SUCCESS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA 1 Dr.K.Aparna 1 (Asst. Professor, Dept. of Business Management, Telangana University, TS) Abstract: Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. An initiation to start a new activity is the path to success. First step towards a beginning is half success. Forethought to start a venture for sustainable livelihood will be the initiation to start any enterprise. Owing requisite skills is important to begin with. Indian women of 1950s with only an idea without financial resources took a decision which they never think would make them one day to be in the list of successful stories of women entrepreneurs. Though its origin is in urban area, it has spread to the rural areas. It is the story of seven Gujarati women who started preparing ‘papad’ in the year 1959 with a borrowed capital of Rs.80. Today they rose to the heights of Rs.6.5 billion turnover. They are providing employment to around 43000 people. This, they could achieve where usually the Indian society perceives women in business as a risky proposition. This initiation is considered as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives by woman, which is identified with female empowerment in India. Key Words: Women Entrepreneurs, India, Success. I.INTRODUCTION The idea to start a venture so as to create a sustainable livelihood will be the initiation to start any enterprise. The origin of the word ‘entrepreneur’ comes from the French verb ‘entreprendre’, which means ‘to undertake’. Owing requisite skills is important to begin with. Indian women of 1950s with only an idea without financial resources took a decision which they never think would make them one day to be in the list of successful stories of women entrepreneurs. It is the story of women who started preparing papad in the year 1959 with a borrowed capital of Rs.80. Today they rose to the heights of Rs.6.5 billion turnover. Though its origin is in urban area, it has spread to the rural areas. This they could achieve where usually the Indian society perceives women in business to be a risky proposition. As per International Labour Organizations Global Employment Trends 2013 report it is observed that the Women-owned businesses account for only 20 percent of the total registered businesses in India and usually operate at a relatively smaller scale of operations. The participation of women in business in urban areas is less than the participation rates recorded in rural areas. As per the report, India stands 120 th out of the 131 countries surveyed in terms of female Labour Force participation. There is a consistent decline in Female Labour Force participation in the past decade, from 37 percent in 2004 to 27 percent as of 2014. The Challenges of Rural Women Entrepreneurs The likely challenges such as inadequate finance, ability to raise loans, marketing of products at the point of inception are in front of women from rural areas who aspire to take up entrepreneurship as their livelihood. Working hours as a parent, safety and security concerns will add at a later stage. In addition to these, low level of literacy rate, poor knowledge of maintenance of accounts, responsibility of elders at home and health issues aggravate the whole issue. II.A SUCCESS STORY A cottage industry with name ‘Lijjat’ (In Gujarati it means –tasty) has started in the year 1959 by seven Gujarati women from Mumbai. With a borrowed capital of Rs.80, they took over a loss making papad making venture. Purchased raw material and assembled other equipment and started to prepare and sell papads to local known merchant. With the name of Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, a Indian women’s cooperative rose to the heights of Rs.6.5 billion turnover as on today. They are making exports to the extent of Rs.290 million. Today they are providing employment to around 43000 people. It has its headquarters in Mumbai with 81 branches and 27 divisions all over India. This initiation is considered as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives by woman, which is identified with female empowerment in India. After remarkable success with their papads, Lijjat set in motion producing other products like khakhra in 1974, masala in 1976, vadi, wheat atta, and bakery products in 1979. In the 1970s, Lijjat set up flour mills in 1975, printing division in 1977 and polypropylene packing division in1978. The group also initiated some unsuccessful ventures such as cottage leather in 1979, matches and agarbattis in 1979. Their journey in 20 years (From 1959 to 1979) has unsuccessful projects as well. Exports Lijjat started exporting its products with the help of merchant importers in the foreign countries like United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, Thailand, and other countries.