Evaluating the Effectiveness of Government Schemes in Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in India: Evidence from Startup India, Stand-Up India, and Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69968/ijisem.2026v5i3192-209Keywords:
Women entrepreneurship, Startup India, Stand-Up India, Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Financial accessibilityAbstract
Women entrepreneurship in India is very significant in promoting inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The object of the present study was to have understanding about the effect of three Government of India Initiatives namely Startup India, Stand-Up India and Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) on Women entrepreneurship development. A conceptual framework was proposed that was integrated with financial accessibility, institutional support quality and digital and skill readiness as mediator variables and education, rural/urban location, family support and prior business experience as moderator variables. The survey design adopted was quantitative, cross sectional study and 400 women entrepreneurs were surveyed using structured questionnaire. The data were analysed by descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicated that among the four factors government schemes, digital and skill readiness have been confirmed as the very top, followed by financial accessibility and then the quality of the institution have played significant role in development of women entrepreneurship. The moderating variables also impacted the effectiveness of the government interventions. The study not only has unique contributions to entrepreneurship literature with significant theoretical approaches as brought together and also impact to policy formulation for enhancing financial inclusion, institutional facilitation, digital capacity enhancement but also strength of rural entrepreneurship support. The results have important policy implications for the policymakers, financial institutions and entrepreneurship promotion agencies to foster sustainable women’s entrepreneurship in India.
References
[1] Abebe, A., & Kegne, M. (2023). The role of microfinance institutions on women entrepreneurship development. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00285-0
[2] Alom, K., Rahman, M. M., Khan, A. I., Akbar, D., Hossain, M. M., Ali, M. A., & Mallick, A. (2025). Digital finance leads women entrepreneurship and poverty mitigation for sustainable development in Bangladesh. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-025-00471-2
[3] Al-Qahtani, M., Zguir, M. F., Ari, I., & Koç, M. (2022). Female entrepreneurship for sustainable economy and development—Challenges, drivers, and suggested policies for resource-rich countries. Sustainability, 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013412
[4] Amrita, K., Garg, C. P., Raghuvanshi, J., & Singh, S. (2024). An integrated model to prioritize the strategies for women entrepreneurship development to overcome its barriers: Case of Indian MSMEs. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 71, 3964–3978. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2022.3217356
[5] Andriamahery, A., & Qamruzzaman, M. (2022). Do access to finance, technical know-how, and financial literacy offer women empowerment through women's entrepreneurial development? Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.776844
[6] Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., Chowdhury, F., & Desai, S. (2021). Necessity or opportunity? Government size, tax policy, corruption, and implications for entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 58, 2025–2042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00497-2
[7] Balayar, S., Dutta, D. K., & Babbar, S. (2025). Women's entrepreneurship: A systematic review and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115541
[8] Christodoulou, I., Youssef, M. S. H., Wasim, J., Phan, T. T. T., Reinhardt, R., & Nguyen, B. (2024). Breaking barriers: Unveiling motivations, challenges and policy recommendations for women's entrepreneurship in Vietnam. Journal of Asia Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-03-2024-0127
[9] Deepakumari, B., & Savithri, N. (2024). Problems of women entrepreneurs in Tiruchirappalli district. Indian Journal of Information Sources and Services, 14. https://doi.org/10.51983/ijiss-2024.14.2.07
[10] Dewi, R., Eliyana, A., & Anwar, A. (2022). The role of women entrepreneurship antecedents in supporting social and economic well-being. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 20. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.20(2).2022.36
[11] Ebewo, P., Schultz, C., & Mmako, M. (2025). Towards inclusive entrepreneurship: Addressing constraining and contributing factors for women entrepreneurs in South Africa. Administrative Sciences, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15010014
[12] Fauzi, M. A., Sapuan, N. M., & Zainudin, N. (2023). Women and female entrepreneurship: Past, present, and future trends in developing countries. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 11. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2023.110304
[13] Feng, J., & Zheng, W. (2023). Factors influencing women's entrepreneurial success: A multi-analytical approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1099760
[14] Fernández-Guadaño, J., & Martín-López, S. (2022). Gender differences in social entrepreneurship: Evidence from Spain. Women's Studies International Forum. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2022.102663
[15] Ge, T., Abbas, J., Ullah, R., Abbas, A., Sadiq, I., & Zhang, R. (2022). Women's entrepreneurial contribution to family income: Innovative technologies promote females' entrepreneurship amid COVID-19 crisis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.828040
[16] Gochhayat, N., & Rout, S. (2025). Business-government relationship for sustainable development of women entrepreneurship: An analysis of the Indian manufacturing sector. Discover Sustainability, 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01130-y
[17] Gulvira, A., Mussabekova, A., Mambetova, S., Ayaganova, M., & Koitanova, A. (2024). The impact of female entrepreneurship on economic growth in developing and developed economies. ECONOMICS, 12. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2024-0016
[18] Işık, C., Ongan, S., & colleagues. (2025). Women entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124208
[19] Jan, S. Q., Jiang, J., & Iqbal, M. B. (2023). Examining the factors linking the intention of female entrepreneurial mindset: A study in Pakistan's small and medium-sized enterprises. Heliyon, 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21820
[20] Kanth, D., & Sinha, A. R. (2025). Sustainable entrepreneurship and business performance among rural women entrepreneurs: Investigating the influence of entrepreneurial intention, social innovation and government support. Social Enterprise Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-11-2024-0180
[21] Khatri, R. (2022). Women entrepreneurship in Nepalese context: A critical study of its problems and suggestions. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, 9(2), 1–17.
[22] Kitole, F., & Genda, E. (2024). Empowering her drive: Unveiling the resilience and triumphs of women entrepreneurs in rural landscapes. Women's Studies International Forum, 102, 102912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2024.102912
[23] Klimczuk-Kochańska, M., Ogujiuba, K., Naveen, S., Kumar, J., & Panda, I. (2023). Tribal women empowerment through entrepreneurship: Evidence from Mayurbhanj District, Odisha. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, Article 1158770. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1158770
[24] López, T., Rodríguez, M., & Sánchez, P. (2025). Institutional ecosystems and women entrepreneurship: Evidence from emerging economies. Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115604
[25] Martínez-Rodríguez, I., Quintana-Rojo, C., Gento, P., & Callejas-Albiñana, F. (2021). Public policy recommendations for promoting female entrepreneurship in Europe. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 18, 1235–1262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-021-00751-9
[26] Mashapure, R., Nyagadza, B., Chikazhe, L., Mazuruse, G., & Hove, P. (2023). Women entrepreneurship development and sustainable rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe. Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/AGJSR-07-2022-0112
[27] Mashapure, R., Nyagadza, B., Chikazhe, L., Msipa, N., Ngorora, G., & Gwiza, A. (2022). Challenges hindering women entrepreneurship sustainability in rural livelihoods: Case of Manicaland province. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2132675
[28] Naguib, R., El-Gohary, H., & Edwards, D. (2025). Institutional determinants of sustainable women entrepreneurship: A multilevel perspective. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-2025-0187
[29] Ogundana, O., Simba, A., Dana, L.-P., & Liguori, E. (2021). Women entrepreneurship in developing economies: A gender-based growth model. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(Suppl. 1), S42–S72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1938098
[30] Okolo-Obasi, E., & Uduji, J. (2023). Government enterprise and empowerment program (GEEP) and women's performance in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Development in Practice, 34(3), 347–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2023.2178639
[31] Omotosho, A., Mathew, K., Modise, A., & Ayandibu, A. (2024). Advancing women entrepreneurship in a developmental state: An agenda for higher education institutions. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2309743
[32] Prasannath, V., Adhikari, R., Gronum, S., & Miles, M. (2024). Impact of government support policies on entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 20, 1533–1595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-024-00993-3
[33] Raman, R., Subramaniam, N., Nair, V., Shivdas, A., Achuthan, K., & Nedungadi, P. (2022). Women entrepreneurship and sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis and emerging research trends. Sustainability, 14(15), 9160. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159160
[34] Ribeiro, M., Adam, I., Kimbu, A., Afenyo-Agbe, E., Adeola, O., Figueroa-Domecq, C., & de Jong, A. (2021). Women entrepreneurship orientation, networks and firm performance in the tourism industry in resource-scarce contexts. Tourism Management, 86, 104343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104343
[35] Simba, A., Ogundana, O. M., Braune, E., & Dana, L.-P. (2023). Community financing in entrepreneurship: A focus on women entrepreneurs in the developing world. Journal of Business Research, 156, 113962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113962
[36] Srhoj, S., Škrinjarić, B., Radas, S., & Walde, J. (2021). Small matching grants for women entrepreneurs: Lessons from the past recession. Small Business Economics, 59(1), 117–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00524-2
[37] Valque, J., Mendoza, R., & Santos, P. (2025). Women's entrepreneurship, sustainability, and inclusive growth: Emerging evidence from developing economies. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031082
[38] Venugopalan, M., Bastian, B., & Viswanathan, P. (2021). The role of multi-actor engagement for women's empowerment and entrepreneurship in Kerala, India. Administrative Sciences, 11(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11010031
[39] Vorster, S., & Thaba, S. (2025). Exploring funding options for female entrepreneurs in rural areas in South Africa. Administrative Sciences, 15(10), 375. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15100375
[40] Yadav, U., Tripathi, R., Tripathi, M. A., Kumar, A., & Mandal, M. (2023). Evaluation of factors affecting entrepreneurship: A case of Indian women in the handicraft industry. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 489. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01882-w
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Shweta Mehra

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Re-users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as the original work is properly credited.





