Skip to content Skip to navigation

GIZ report showing impact of Covid-19 on women-led businesses

By AT News |

The Covid-19 crisis in India has posed severe challenges to small and growing businesses in the country, widening the pre-existing gender gaps and diminishing considerable developments achieved within the women entrepreneurship ecosystem in the past decades.

In a bid to shed light on the unique and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women-led businesses, GIZ has recently come out with a detailed report. The report titled “Women Entrepreneurs’ Resilience in Times of Covid-19” was based on GIZ’s Project Her&Now.  The Her&Now project is implemented by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and  the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India.

The findings of the report will be based on a study conducted in December 2020. The data will be collated based on interviews of 211 women entrepreneurs operating across a diverse field of sectors.

Speaking about the report, Project Head Ullas Marar says says, “Given that the pandemic is far from being over and there are high possibilities we may have to tackle a third wave and subsequent waves in the near future, it has become imperative to understand the ways in which women-led enterprises (as well as the women entrepreneurs themselves) responded to the pandemic when it began, because we believe a lot of lessons and learnings lie there."

"Keeping that in mind, we have prepared, and are now glad to release the report -- “Women Entrepreneurs’ Resilience in Times of Covid-19” – which we believe will be of great help for the key stakeholders in deriving best practices, learnings and opportunities for the wider ecosystem of women entrepreneurship in India", he added.

The report comprises three main sections: 

Impact of Covid-19 on women entrepreneurs: This section reveals that for most of the women entrepreneurs, their customer demand was being most affected in the aftermath of the pandemic, followed by issues relating to working capital and operational processes. Several entrepreneurs also struggled with accessing the marketplace, retaining employees and receiving supplies in time. A smaller share of the respondents experienced negative impacts relating to inventory.

Responsive measures by women entrepreneurs: This section highlights the key measures that women entrepreneurs took to counter operational disruptions, such as: efforts to market digitally, diversifying distribution channels, adjusting the product/service offering, re-adapting operations or revising the financial model, investing in business development, optimizing the supply chain, revising the pricing strategies, among others. By using either a few or most of these measures, many among the interviewed entrepreneurs were able to turn the Covid-19 induced challenges within their business environment into opportunities, reveals the report.

Conclusion: This section contains six important conclusions that can be drawn from the findings of the report and attempts to outline the optimal way forward for the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. 

Add new comment

Random Stories

Doubts over eviction intention

5 Mar 2017 - 12:16pm | AT News
More and more questions seem to have cropped up on the eviction drive in the name of clearing the government plots in many parts of the state.Prabajan Virodhi  Manch has dared the government to...

Nomination papers valid

29 Jan 2014 - 1:59pm | AT News
All nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls have been found valid on Wednesday. Now all eyes are fixed for February 7.The confirmation came from the returning officers Gauranga Prasad Das after...

Baukhungri festival concludes

13 Apr 2016 - 6:37pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
The fourth Baukhungri festival was concluded with two-day colourful programme scheduled here at Harinaguri, 10km east of Kokrajhar town along the Baukhungri Hill in Kokrajhar district on...

Akhil calls upon people to protest against the CAA unitedly

10 Feb 2020 - 5:43pm | AT News
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity(KMSS)leader Akhil Gogoi has called upon the peiople of Assam to protest against the controversial Citizenship(Amendment) Act unitedly. Gogoi, who was arrested by the...

Other Contents by Author

Goalpara death toll goes up to 19

The death toll in the poll violence in Goalpara district has gone up to 19 with three more people were killed in police firing on Wednesday.Thirteen people have died in police firing and six in clashes between the Rabha Hajong tribe, which is opposing the ongoing panchayat or local elections, and members of other communities. The police said that they had to take resort to firing to disperse the an irate mob of Rabha Hajong people who burnt down villages and attacked government officials. They wanted autonomy in this part of the state and rejects government control. It believes that panchayats or village councils will undermine its own council's authority.Eight columns of the Army,...

Polling in Nagaland; booths in Assam!

In an exercise that is bound to embitter the Assam-Nagaland relationship, a section of local organizations have allege that the neighbouring state has allegedly set up two polling stations along the interstate border in Golaghat and Sivasagar districts. The district administration of Golaghat on Tuesday sent an objection to Nagaland to withdraw the same. Golaghat district administration has conducted a magistrate level inquiry into the allegations and finally sent an objection to the deputy commissioner of Wokha to withdraw their polling booths. On the other hand, Wokha district administration tried to set up a polling booth at Merapani Town Lower Primary School in Golaghat district. But...

15 killed in police firing

At least fifteen people were killed on Tuesday when security forces clashed with a group of protesters who tried to stoop panchayat polling in the Rabha Hasong Council area in Goalpara district.  Details awaited.

Violence-hit polling ends

The third and final phase of panchayat polls are over to be marred by a string of sporadic incidents of violence on Tuesday.Polling began at 7 in the morning to be closed in the afternoon where huge turn out was registered in Dhubri, Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Barpeta, Nalbari.Incidents of arson erupted in the Rabha hasong council areas in parts of Goalpara and Kamrup rural districts,Voters in these areas had to confined to their homes because of the 36 hour long public curfew. Several houses along with poanchayat offices and polling booths were set ablez. Poll candidates were attacked and even a section of polling officials were not spared.

Public curfew hits normal life

A 36 hour long public curfew hits normal life for the second day on Tuesday as Joint Action Committee has called a 'janata curfew' from 7 am till 7 pm on Tuesday opposing the hustings.  People remained indoors, shops and markets kept their shutters down, offices, educational institutions and banks were closed, while vehicles went off the roads.

Arson mars panchayat polls

Arson mars the third phase of panchayat polls in the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council areas of Kamrup (Rural) and Goalpara district on Tuesday.The 36 hour long public curfew has compounded the problem that cripples the normal life in the areas.  Around  eight schools set up as polling booths were torched along with two trucks and market sheds by unidentified miscreants in different parts of the district. Three schools - Hatipar, Machenokhuwa and Sekhapari lower primary schools - were completely gutted in Boko police station area in the morning.  A truck was set ablaze at Khorkhori under Chaygaon police station. Another truck was torched at Bondapara under Boko police station...

Door open for ULFA talks: Gogoi

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that his government has kept the doors open for peace talks with ULFA. But in the same breath, he said that there has to be peace. Talking to reporters in Kolkata on Sunday, he said that there was a ceasefire with ULFA's pro-talk faction and the process is on. He was in Kolkata at attend the prize distribution ceremony of the annual flower show at the Agri Horticultural Society of India.

Goalpara on the boil again

The Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council area in Goalpara is burning over holding of panchayat polls slated for Tuesday. The public curfew will begin from 7 in the morning on Monday which will continue till 7 in the evening on Tuesday.Central paramilitary forces have been deployed in BTAD, Kamrup and Goalpara districts. The army has also been kept on alert in the council area to deal with the law and order situation.The government and state election panel are going ahead with poll mode only to be opposed in the form of arson. Miscreants burnt down many houses and a wooden bridge in the district on Saturday night. On Friday night, the protestors set afire a vehicle of a zonal election officer...

Kokrajhar: 8 MPTF men surrender

Eight Muslim Protection Tiger Force surrendered before police in Kokrajhar district. Led by Hafizur Rahman, area commander of the outfit, the newly form outfit’s militants surrendered before the top police and army officials at Gossaigaon.The surrendering militants gave up three 9mm pistols, two 7.6mm pistols, three handmade rifles, one hand grenade and 14 rounds of ammunition. Notably, the militant group was formed in 2012 during the ethnic violence in BTAD areas.

Trader shot dead in Guwahati

One person was shot dead by his elder brother in Guwahati on Sunday. The fratricidal incident took place at Adabari area in the city over dispute over a piece of land.According to police, accused Sahil Ali attacked his elder brother Siraj Ali in front of his shop and shot dead him at around 8.20 am at Adabari area. Siraj was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. Sahil was apprehended.The two and another brother were involved in a feud over a piece of land in their mother's name since her death some time ago.