Author Description

Self-help groups as already identified are a very important initiative that helps in the upliftment of the rural poor especially women. By organizing into groups of 15 - 20 members, women can generate microfinancing for each other to help in entrepreneurial development. Women use their skills and finance from SHGs to start their small business ventures and earn livelihoods. Women constitute 50 percent of the population and yet the percentage of women living under poverty is extremely high because of societal customs and taboos that stop them from being independent. Rising poverty levels in rural areas motivated rural women to organize themselves into these groups and begin their entrepreneurial journey. The study would look at the SHGs from a holistic point of view and will try to analyze the various strength, successes, weaknesses, and threats faced by such groups in India. The study would also understand how SHGs lead to women's entrepreneurship in India.