Need for Financing and Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the MSME Sector: Evidence from Odisha, India.

This article examines the determinants and challenges of women’s empowerment through micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Odisha, India, using survey data from 256 women entrepreneurs across five regions. It constructs an Overall Empowerment Index (OEI) combining social empowerment (SEI) and economic empowerment (EEI) variables, analyzed via multiple regression and ordered logistic regression models. Key factors positively influencing empowerment include economic variables such as income, savings, asset ownership, enterprise decision-making, and self-employment generation, alongside social variables like social status, leisure availability, business skills, self-confidence, physical mobility, domestic decision-making, family issues, and networking. Major obstacles faced by these women entrepreneurs involve frequent working capital needs, lack of long-term finance, difficulties in obtaining credit, limited financial and technical expertise, and gender discrimination. The study concludes that entrepreneurship through MSMEs significantly enhances women’s economic empowerment more than social empowerment in Odisha, highlighting the need for sustainable financing and supportive policies to address persistent challenges.