Since the launch of the Startup India initiative by the Government of India on 16 January 2016, the growth of start-ups and new-generation enterprises has been remarkable. However, the number of women participating in entrepreneurship activities has been relatively less when compared to the number of their men counterparts, for a variety of reasons. Women’s participation in economic activities is about 25% while they constitute over 48% of the Indian population. India’s rank is 113 out of 135 countries in the index of gender inequality in workforce. According to Global women entrepreneurs leader report 2015, India was ranked 29th out of 31 countries. Similarly, World Bank’s India Development Report 2018 said that India has one of the lowest female participation in the workforce globally, with a rank of 120 among 131 countries.
Considering the above dimensions and ground realities, there is an urgent need to design institutional strategies to promote an ecosystem for women entrepreneurship in general and women ‘Agripreneurship’ in particular, both of which are essential for the integrated development of India.
Agripreneurship is a synthesis of agriculture and allied sectors with entrepreneurship to generate commercially viable products/ services and high-value business processes. Agripreneurship comprises the creation, development, nurturing and expansion of agribusiness enterprises in agri-based and its allied sectors, which include entrepreneurial interventions of agri-tech, farming, and marketing of agri-products in organised business practices, moving away from the unorganised sector. Agripreneurs are similar to entrepreneurs in any other sector.
Women entrepreneurs, and especially women agripreneurs, represent the fastest growing category of entrepreneurship world-wide and India is no exception to this in recent years. Women play a vital role in the integrated development of agriculture and allied sectors while adding considerable value to the transformation of society by silently adding fuel to the robust growth of rural economy. Like in every other sector, the scope for women agripreneurship has been growing and is witnessing an upward growth trend. At present, women in India comprise about 14% of agri-business owners. According to various estimates and surveys, more than one-third (1/3) of the total agri-rural start-ups are being managed by women agripreneurs, who are setting new benchmarks for viable and profitable business enterprises, especially in the last two decades.
There is unlimited scope for women agripreneurs, especially because 70 of agriculture and allied activities are predominantly managed by women. It only requires a concerted effort and an institutional support mechanism, apart from access to quality training, funding opportunities, marketing network, e-commerce platforms, innovative approach to take products to target customers, etc.
Women are expected to dominate the workforce and leadership positions in India in the coming decades, and this trend is similar in case of women agripreneurs. As per a recent report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a trust established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, more than 30 million additional women-owned business enterprises are expected to create about 150-170 million jobs by 2030. It can be said that the economic outlook is very favourable for women as a consequence of this enabling ecosystem of women entrepreneurs and women agripreneurship.

The writer is a research scholar at Department of Commerce, CT University Punjab. [email protected]

Luqman Ahmed Wani