It is undeniably a fact that women in India have possessed the entrepreneurial ambitions since ages. Especially in the state of Arunachal Pradesh where women exercise more freedom in comparison to some of the under privileged parts of India, women have always been around venturing into the various business areas and showing their expertise.

Travel to any part of the state, one will find several women taking up the profession of butchers, farmers, bamboo sellers, weavers, ornaments sellers, dairy farm owners etc. With the advent of urbanisation, womenfolk of the state have realised the importance of economic independence and have started to enter the competitive world of business. Owing much to the rich traditional and cultural heritage, women entrepreneurs of the state have turned the traditional skills into their livelihood by setting up home-based businesses and earning by doing what they have been doing for ages. Emergence of the digital world has further boosted up the female entrepreneurship in the state via e-commerce especially during the times of adversity like the pandemic. With greater number of choices available to women now, the female entrepreneurs have started experimenting in the non-traditional areas too and have set up their own small successful enterprises.

Impediments

There are notable impediments that hindrances the empowering of women as the entrepreneurs. One of these is the broader gender gap in the economic participation and opportunity. While the state provides equal access to education, lack of proper guidance and poverty may result in the discouragement of women to use their acquired skills and join the workforce. The budding entrepreneurs, especially the ones from the rural regions are to be availed the proper guidance and better finance and networks. Safe working environment is also to be ensured so that women entrepreneurs would not face uncomfortable situations while traveling from home to the workplace. Last but not the least is the much needed support from the families and social circles. People in the quest to get a government job beat the bushes for years in vain. Social acceptance of entrepreneurship as a career option would enable more of these women to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions.

A helping hand

In order to empower women as entrepreneurs in the state, Government of India has launched various schemes in support. The ministry of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) under its various schemes is empowering women in the state to build up economically for self-sustenance. Another notable mention is the MEDP (Micro Enterprise Development Programme) launched by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). It was recently in Miao on 1^st August of 2021, this scheme was launched for Food Processing and Bakery in order to empower the rural women entrepreneurs to earn income for self-sustenance. Government initiatives as such helps in providing much needed support to the budding women entrepreneurs to generate sustainable income as well as join the competitive workforce in the state.