Challenges of Women Entrepreneurs in the Fashion Industry: A Study in Kolkata

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs are a remarkable group of individuals who defy societal norms and explore new opportunities for economic engagement. They possess a strong drive, creativity, and innovation, along with a deep desire to succeed independently. These women are breaking barriers in entrepreneurship and bringing forth ingenuity and fresh ideas when starting and running their businesses. Similarly, the fashion industry presents significant entrepreneurship opportunities, given its landscape filled with numerous small players competing in the fashion market. This study focuses on exploring the challenges and hindrances faced by women entrepreneurs, specifically those involved in the fashion industry. This study has adopted a qualitative research design which was exploratory in nature. The respondents were engaged in the study through purposive sampling and the sample size for this study consists of 50 respondents. The data was collected through in depth interview till the saturation point was reached. The major findings shows that the women entrepreneurs face challenges like managing competition, building networking and marketing, physical security and marketable credits etc.