With industrialization, urbanization and a change in the educational pattern, the Indian society is gradually undergoing progress, and increasing number of women are coming forward, apart from seeking employment of challenging nature, to take up self-enterprise. These days, many women entrepreneurs either by their own interest or in order to earn a living and to support their family, have come forward to take up challenging opportunities like entrepreneurship. Despite the problems relating to managerial and financial aspects, lack of cooperation from the family and a host of other problems that women entrepreneurs face in their journey on this path, they still dare to take up this challenging job in the present era, thanks to the initiating and enterprising nature of the women. Against this backdrop, an attempt is made in the present study to evaluate the growth and performance of selected women entrepreneurs in Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu, India.

All over the world, entrepreneurship is regarded as the key factor in overcoming the barriers that women face and the basic tool for empowering women and bringing them on to the main path of development. In the words of former president A P J Abdul Kalam, “Empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured”. Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation. Women’s development is considered as an important approach to raise the level of productivity and to break the vicious cycle of poverty. These factors not only improve the physical wellbeing of the individuals, directly but also enhance their productivity and ability to contribute to the national income.

Women constitute around half of the population. They are regarded as the better half of the society. Empowerment gives power to women in various spheres to have control over the circumstances of their lives. It includes both control over resources and ideology, greater self-confidence that enables one to overcome any problems. Empowerment of women is critical not only for their own welfare but also for the development of their family and community at large. India envisions a future in which Indian women are independent and self-reliant and this is evident in the present scenario where our honorable president herself enjoys an enviable position compared to others in many other countries. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women, who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life (Aravind and Renuka, 2001). Several policies and programs are being implemented for the development of women entrepreneurship in India.

Entrepreneurship Development Journal, Microenterprises in India, Micro, Financial Services, Small and Medium Enterprise, Indian Economy, Microentrepreneurial Ventures, Social Development, Women Entrepreneurs, Sociocultural Traits, Indian Culture, Performance Measurement, Organizational Traits.