Nurturing Rural Women as Entrepreneurs: Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) Based Case Evidences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25175/jrd/2025/v44/i1/172950Keywords:
Entrepreneurs, Rural Women, Self-Help Groups, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society, PalashAbstract
This study examines the dynamics of rural women’s entrepreneurship in Jharkhand (India), emphasising the role of the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). With merely 0.68 per cent of rural women entrepreneurs nationwide situated in Jharkhand, the report highlights a primary developmental necessity. Data was obtained from 521 Rural Women Entrepreneurs (RWEs) across six districts of Jharkhand, using a qualitative study design supplemented by five illustrative case studies. The analysis informed by the Resource-Based View (RBV) framework demonstrates that both tangible resources (such as access to micro-credit, training and digital platforms) and intangible resources (including empowerment, peer support and social capital) are essential for enterprise sustainability and growth. JSLPS interventions, including the Palash brand, SHG federations and market access through trade fairs and internet platforms, have facilitated women’s move from informal employment to empowered entrepreneurship. The case studies, encompassing bakeries, soap production, incense manufacturing and handicraft businesses, underscore context-specific issues and adaptive tactics such as digital onboarding, communal ownership and skill development. Despite infrastructural and societal challenges, these businesses demonstrate scalable, replicable, and robust forms of grassroots entrepreneurship. The study indicates that a tailored, locally integrated and digitally inclusive support structure is essential for promoting RWEs. It proposes that forthcoming interventions incorporate institutional collaborations, policy changes and multi-sectoral frameworks to fully capitalise on rural women’s entrepreneurial potential and convert them into catalysts for inclusive and sustainable development.
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