India is a country with increasingly lower rates of female workforce participation, one of the lowest in the world, which is also ranked in the bottom in World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020. Solving for the problem related to employment would not only bring societal change but would have great economic impact as put forward by the McKinsey Global Institute, who estimate that India could add US$ 770 billion to the annual GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality. Women’s entrepreneurship also faces several barriers in the country, which is also indicated by various relevant metrics. The Sixth Economic Census revealed that only around 14% of entrepreneurs are women. The state of these metrics indicates a need for action to solve for the issue.

This learning lab will seek to provide a space for comprehensive discussion, knowledge sharing and creation. We aim for it to act as a platform for intermediaries who are working to support women entrepreneurs in various capacities in India with the overarching goal of increasing gender equity and equality in India. We will focus on issues related to capacity building of women entrepreneurs, leadership and business development for women, apart from also initiating conversations around developing a relevant gender lens for SGBs.

Goal: Increase gender equity and equality by working towards ensuring women’s full and effective economic participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in economic life.

Outcomes:

1. Adoption and use of a culturally and socially relevant gender lens for SGBs
2. More women-led SGBs
3. More women in entrepreneurial roles in SGBs
4. Ability of women-led SGBs to grow
5. Ability of women-led SGBs to scale up

Outputs

1. Better metrics and solutions for women-led SGBs, including definition with indicators of women SGB leadership and entrepreneurial roles in diversity dominated contexts like India; formal-informal combination business models to motivate women to sustain and grow SGBs; culture-positive (not culture constraints) framework and related contextual social support to be built on for women’s entrepreneurship.
2. Increased gender-sensitivity of entrepreneurship support ecosystem in India which is inclusive of women’s diversity across culture, geography and lived reality/experience.
3. Pipeline of women enterprise leaders is strengthened.
4. Pipeline of women entrepreneurs is strengthened.
5. Financing into women-led enterprises in India is increased.

ANDE staff contacts: Saipriya Salla and Sucharita Kamath