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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM66174
Volume:
10 |
7 |
Jul 2026
Pages:
1-7
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
MBA Student,
Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mysuru
Assistant Professor
Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mysuru
Women entrepreneurs in India remain central to the country's economic growth story, yet their businesses consistently underperform relative to their potential. A wide body of research has looked at the financial, social, educational, and infrastructural obstacles they face, but most of this work examines each barrier on its own, without accounting for how they interact — or how factors like age, education, and location shape the way these barriers are experienced. This study attempts to close that gap. Drawing on data from 64 women entrepreneurs, multiple linear regression was used to test the relationship between these barriers and business growth. The resulting model accounted for 32.9% of the variance in growth outcomes (R² = 0.329), and financial barriers stood out as the only statistically significant predictor. In other words, access to capital and credit appears to matter far more than social, educational, or infrastructural factors when it comes to whether these businesses actually grow. This has a fairly direct implication for policy: interventions built around training, mentorship, or digital skills are unlikely to move the needle much unless they're paired with real improvements in access to finance. The study adds India-specific empirical evidence to the broader conversation on gender and entrepreneurship, and points toward where support efforts might be better directed.
KEYWORDS
The study found that financial, social, educational, and infrastructural barriers collectively have a significant relationship with business growth among women entrepreneurs (R² = 0.329, F = 7.223, p < 0.001), leading to rejection of H₀₁. However, this relationship was positive rather than negative, and only the Financial Barrier was individually significant. This suggests barriers don't simply hold back growth — rather, growing businesses may naturally encounter more visible barriers, especially around financing. Financial access thus emerges as the most critical and actionable factor for supporting women-led business growth.
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Publication Date
7/18/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research work.
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