Three founders, four employees, three advisors, one consultant, two interns- clearly our tribe is growing. Our all-hands meetings are intense marathon affairs, hustling to be agile and in execution mode and yet the need to stop and iterate as we learn along the way. Our network of partners is growing, partners who have been generous in sharing knowledge, time and effort. In the next couple months we are set to launch reports, get a grand challenge going and explore place models focused on our mission of catalyzing Mass Entrepreneurship.
Last month we launched a study on urban women homepreneurs. GAME, in collaboration with ZS Associates India Pvt. Ltd. as the knowledge partner, undertook a targeted study on urban women homepreneurs, in order to get a better understanding of the segment, and to inform collaboration and solutioning to help drive business growth. We probed 3 areas in particular a) What was the Motivation behind starting the business b) What challenges did they face c) What is the support sought. Women in India own and run far fewer businesses than in other countries. In addition, the female labour force participation rate in India is now amongst the lowest in the world, having slipped dramatically in the last 20 years to ~23% in 2018 as per World Bank data, with urban areas being lower that rural. Socio-cultural pressures and home care duties have resulted in a significant proportion of young women being out of the labour force, yet they are well positioned to spend a part of their day on a home-based nano-enterprise. These enterprises can flourish when women have recourse to the right support and interventions. The study findings have been shared below in the “Insights” section in this month’s Newsletter.
We also have an interesting viewpoint from our guest columnist, Uthara Narayanan, Chief Changemaker and Managing Trustee, Buzz India.