ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE IN PROMOTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF VINDHYACHAL MANDAL

Abstract [English]

The concept of ‘micro loans’, created by Muhammad Yunus, changed the lives of millions of Bangladeshis and earned himself Nobel Prize. He even started granting loans to beggars. He had the idea that when beggars are going from house to house to beg, they can also go from house to house offering something, a product. Micro Finance is growing as a powerful instrument for poverty alleviation in the new economy. A majority of the microfinance programmes has come up with the clear goal of reducing poverty and empowering women. In addition, an increasing number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) prefer women members as they believe that they are more responsible and trustworthy. Microfinance programs like the Self Help Bank Linkage Program in India have been progressively promoting for their positive economic impact and the belief that they empower women The SHG Programme has come up with a new system of saving and lending that is group lending and liability as a way of delivering microfinance to its predominantly female members. Research has shown that investing in women offers the most effective means to improve health, nutrition, hygiene, and educational standards for families and consequently for the whole of society. Thus, a special support for women in both financial and non-financial services is necessary. Many leading public and private sector banks are offering schemes exclusively designed for women to set up their own ventures. Even the unorganized sector has been heading into microfinance movement. The present work is an attempt to study the role of microfinance as an effective instrument in promoting women entrepreneurship in India.