Authors:

Alpa Mehta

Abstract:

Introduction: The economic development of India depends heavily on women entrepreneurs. The main obstacle for these businesses consists of maintaining their operations and expanding their reach. Startup India is a government initiative that provides financial and technical support alongside regulatory assistance to encourage entrepreneurship in India. The research evaluates women entrepreneurs' use of these schemes together with their effect on business sustainability. The research evaluates how much entrepreneurs know about schemes and how many businesses use them while studying the effects on business performance, including profitability and resource usage efficiency, and market responsiveness. The study analyzes the relationship between scheme participation, business growth, and long-term sustainability.

Methods: The research adopts a secondary qualitative method. The study collected data from existing literature and government reports alongside case studies. The research utilized published materials to gather information about businesses with female leadership that participated in the Startup India program. The research used thematic analysis to discover regular patterns that emerged from the data regarding the scheme's effectiveness. The research focused on four main themes: funding, mentorship, scalability, and policy support. The study analyzed these themes to determine how the Startup India initiative impacts entrepreneurial sustainability. The research findings will serve as a basis for developing improved policies and better implementation of programs.

Results: The research analyzed 12 secondary sources, which consisted of government reports and policy papers, and journal articles from 2020 to 2024 through thematic analysis. The analysis revealed five main themes, which included mentorship and networking support, as well as funding access and policy support, leadership inclusivity, and scheme adoption barriers. Women entrepreneurs experience better mentorship opportunities and leadership positions through an effective implementation of schemes. Sustainability-focused sectors benefit from improved business expansion through both visible policies and blended financial resources. The research shows that persistent obstacles exist in the form of minimal awareness about schemes, insufficient credit availability, uneven distribution across regions, and insufficient outcome data that separates results by gender. Women entrepreneurs, especially those in Trier 2 and 3 cities, are often unable to acquire the necessary mentorship and funding required for the successful growth of their businesses.

Discussion: Many eligible women entrepreneurs fail to use the Startup India scheme because they face both structural and informational barriers, even though the program brings positive effects to certain aspects of business sustainability. The initiative will maintain restricted long-term effects unless it receives specific improvements.

Conclusion: The research finds that inclusive reforms need to be implemented. The initiative requires better outreach services with simplified applications, decentralized funding systems, and gender-specific monitoring techniques. The policy effectiveness will improve, as well as sustainable and equitable growth for women-owned businesses in India, through addressing these gaps.

Keywords:

Startup India; Women entrepreneurs; Business sustainability; Policy analysis; India

Vol & Issue:

VOL.17, ISSUE No.1, March 2025