D. Vijaya Lakshmi, Vijaya Rudraraju
Entrepreneurship has been considered to be restricted to only a few business families or selected sections of the society. But it is now well established that entrepreneurship is not the birth right of a particular class of people. It can be developed in any type of individuals by providing the right conducive environment with proper training and other infrastructural support. It is a critical factor for accelerating economic development. In a country like India, its role is more important than that in developed countries, so far as the creation of self-employment opportunities and reduction of unemployment situations are concerned. The present study was undertaken in the city of Visakhapatnam of the state of Andhra Pradesh with objective of enquiring into the biographical factors of the women entrepreneurs and knowing their sources of motivation. This study aims at finding out the socio-economic background of women entrepreneurs to analyze whether it had influenced them to take up entrepreneurship. As a woman entrepreneur has dual roles to play one of a home maker and the other of an entrepreneur she is susceptible to home related and work related conflicts. Moreover, when compared to her male counterparts, she may be prone to distinct problems in operating her enterprise. The study also attempts to find out the conflicts and problems that women are facing as entrepreneurs so that necessary suggestions in this regard are useful for improving the state of entrepreunship in Visakhapatnam, which is a fast developing industrial hub of the state opening may entrepreneurial avenues for women.