Financial Management: A Case Study of Women Entrepreneurs in Visakhapatnam District

Small & Medium Enterprise sector (SME'S) had been the back bone of the Indian economy. SME's in India Employ's close to 40% of India's workforce and contributes 45% to India's manufacturing output, SMEs play a critical role in generating millions of jobs, especially at the low-skill level. The country's 1.3 million SMEs account for 40% of India's total exports.

Although they employ 40% of India's workforce, they only contribute 17% to the Indian GDP. Why? Too many firms stay small, unregistered and un-incorporated in the unorganized sector. This could be they can avoid taxes and regulations. The reason behind such a slow growth process as per the latest Indian economic survey is that "The firms have little incentive to invest in upgrading skills of largely temporary workers or in investing in capital equipment, ".

Women entrepreneurship in India has stood the test of time, however, majority of these women driven enterprises had showed marginal growth signs. Given this slow growth amongst women entrepreneurs, this research aimed to consider the financial management strategies adapted by women entrepreneurs.

The study identified challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in managing business finances, the challenges they are exposed in, financial management (lack of training in financial management, need to cater attention towards family needs, lack of confidence in financial management skills). The study also emphasized on the need for providing financial management skills, that helps in development and or improve the entrepreneurial abilities amongst women entrepreneurs which in turn would enable them in enhancing their future business prospects and growth. The research concludes that, entrepreneurs should be made aware that enterprise survival and growth are futile without appropriate financial management and should seek for proper training and investment management in order to help them to effectively utilize their financial resources.