Problems for Women Entrepreneurs in Nepal

Abstract

Women, in a patriarchal and orthodox society like Nepal, need to battle with various gender barriers and obstacles in order to bring her ideas to life and create business. This article reviews the possible obstacles that women entrepreneurs face during their journey.

Entrepreneurs are often regarded as national assets that possess the capability of bringing economic reforms in the nation. An entrepreneur can be defined as a person who "undertakes the organization and management of an enterprise involving innovativeness, independence and risk, as well as the opportunity for profit" (Timmons & Spinelli, 2006). Their contribution can result in radical innovations-the ones that can redefine our way of life, and the way we work.  

Entrepreneurship, today, is no longer a gendered phenomenon, thanks to the wave of women empowerment and feminism that has created opportunities and platforms for women to bring their ideas to life and, create and run their business. Entrepreneurship for women is often seen as a journey out of poverty and a march towards equality. Studies have proven that entrepreneurship, in the form of small and medium sized enterprises, can indeed empower, and through time fundamentally transform power relations within a society, making it a place where women can lead (Bushell, 2008).

Despite the recognition of the role of women entrepreneurs in the overall development of the economy of the nation, there are several hurdles that make it difficult for most of the women to convert their concept into reality. In Nepal, embedded structural and socio-cultural constraints challenge women entrepreneurs and make it hard for them to realize their potential as leaders in business (Bushell, 2008).   

The conservative mindset of the families of the patriarchal societies of Nepal is one of the major obstacles for women entrepreneurs. A woman’s life is strongly influenced by her father and husband—as reflected in the practice of patrilocal residence, patriarchal descent, and by inheritance systems and family relations (Acharya, Mathema, & Acharya, 1999). Hence, it is an extremely challenging task to convince the families to allow their female members to start her business.

Legally, the women face discrimination in property rights in Nepal, which limits women in the kind of capital that they can afford to obtain, either in terms of tools, land, or financial credit. This serves to entrap women into doing work on a much smaller scale than they are capable of, limiting their activities to certain kinds of employment, such as cleaning, farming, and small crafts (Rose, 2015). Low wage rate for female employees also attribute to the lack of sufficient capital for them to start their own business.

Another major problem for the women entrepreneurs in Nepal is insufficient government support. There aren't enough opportunities and platforms for women entrepreneurs despite the women empowerment oriented plans and policies of the government. The women entrepreneurs get very little exposure in the market to promote their products and services. Most of the women undertake what is described as 'comfort zone movement'-they tend to operate only among the clients they know. Products are sold to relatives and their friends, and suppliers tend to be people they know through family or other close connections (Timmons & Spinelli, 2006). This not only leads to loss in their businesses, but also discourages them to continue the business in future. Lack of resources and technologies have also contributed to the problems for women entrepreneurs.

Lack of education has also proven to be a major obstacle for women in entrepreneurship. According to United Nations, only 63.9% of the total population of Nepal is literate, and, this includes only 53.1% of female population. This not only limits their knowledge and skills, but also restricts their access to opportunities and leads to inefficiency in their work.

Lack of time is another major obstacle for women in entrepreneurship in Nepal. On average, the female-headed enterprises earn about two-thirds of what male-headed enterprises earn annually, but the working hours tend to be at least three to four hours longer each day for women compared to men, due to the additional responsibilities women have in the home (Bushell, 2008).

Although there are organizations such as the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN), and Business and Professional Women in Nepal that provide professional exchange base for women entrepreneurs and run training program to upgrade their business skills, most of the associations and networks are male dominant and very unwelcoming to women. Women's business is poorly represented in the various business-sector associations where both the leaderships and the memberships tend to be dominated by men (Bushell, 2008).

Women are a significant force in the entrepreneurial world, as they make a noteworthy contribution to the economic development, and women-owned businesses are critical to economic prosperity. The entrepreneurial success of women is dependent on the combination of cultural and structural factors, as well as individual entrepreneurial competencies. Although women entrepreneurship has crossed the stage of transition and it is finally in flight, it still has a long way to go and emerge as a successful business giant.

References

Acharya, M., Mathema, P., &Acharya, B. (1999).Country Briefing Paper-Women in Nepal. Asian Development Bank.

Bushell, B. (2008). Women enterpreneurs in Nepal: What prevents them from leading the sector? Gender & Development, 16 (3).

Rose. (2015, October 19). Retrieved from www.nepalmonitor.org/blog/2015/10/19/accounting-for-womens-work-and-female-entrepreneurship-in-nepal/.

Timmons, J. A., &Spinelli, S. (2006). New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century (6 ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hil.

Writer: Swarnim Singh Adhikari

Editor-in-Chief: Edna Shrestha

Note: This article originally appeared in the print magazine, Management Vision-an opinion based magazine of business and entrepreneurship prepared by the BBA students of People’s Campus.