Women constitute just 14% of entrepreneurs, managing 20% of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) among 58.5 million enterprises.

Highlighting the proportion of women entrepreneurs, the article by CNBC TV18 highlighted data from the State of India’s Livelihood Report by Access Publications that said that though the country contributed 3.09% to industrial output and employed 10% of workers, India was placed 57 among 65 for women’s entrepreneurship globally. However, just 2.16% of women participate in early-stage entrepreneurial activities.

The article also highlighted a NITI Aayog study finding that over 99% of Indian MSMEs belonged to the micro sector. Among them, 99% of women-owned enterprises are single-person micro-businesses, with only 17% employing workers, mostly fewer than 6.

A UN Women’s assessment quoted in the report underscored some aspects of women’s entrepreneurship. It revealed that the segment was necessity-driven, concentrated in low-risk segments and fewer sectors that are not too growth-oriented and tap into the local environment that allows them to bypass financial, regulatory, and technical constraints.

Though India is the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, women’s representation remains low, with 35% of employees in startups. There are only 14% of tech unicorns with at least one female founder. The news report also said that 90% of women entrepreneurs relied on informal financing due to formal institutions serving only 10%.

India went from 3,000 startups in 2014 to over around 11,000 in 2020. Yet, women remain under-represented. The number of startups with at least one female founder declined from 17% in 2018 to 12% in 2019.

In 2021, only 5 out of 136 unicorn founders were women and only 14% of tech unicorns have at least one female founder.