Exploring the passion to profit among small scale women entrepreneurs for B cities in India

Abstract

Women entrepreneurship in B-cities in India is a dynamic yet under researched setting of intersectionalities of traditional limitations and emerging digital opportunities. This study is an exploration of how women entrepreneurs with small ventures such as selling food and handicrafts or providing digital services navigate and occupy their socio-cultural and institutional limitations in transforming personal passion into a business. It aims to explore how women entrepreneurs utilize cultural and institutional support, challenges encountered in the process of monetizing passion-led enterprises, and the extent to which digital platforms offer increased market access and promote growth and in a competitive environment. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from a stratified purposive sample of 200 women entrepreneurs across sectors of food, handicraft, digital services, and fashion. Quantitative data were analyzed utilising correlation, regression, and t-tests. The results show a significant positive correlation between cultural/institutional support & entrepreneurial support and development. Monetization and growth appear to be moderately impeded due to socio-cultural and financial constraints. Digital platforms, particularly WhatsApp Business and Instagram, are found to promote customer access and entrepreneurial development and growth while digital literacy knowledge gaps are a concern. In conclusion, determining the transition from passion to profit is influenced by the motivation of the personal entrepreneur, their social networks, institutional context, and digital skill. This study highlights the need for localized, policy, and capacity building in respect of the digital landscape to develop an inclusive support system that empowers, supports, and develops women entrepreneurs in urban India in the non-metropolitan context