A typical rural women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) is a good example of capacity building for prospective entrepreneurs. It aims at enabling the members with no educational, industrial or entrepreneurial background to become selfdependent and self-reliant by developing and enhancing their decision-making capacity and instilling in them the strength and confidence for solving their problems. The present study attempts to empirically identify the role behavior profile and traits of SHG women entrepreneurs and to give suggestions to strengthen the force of entrepreneurship among SHG women in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India, by analyzing 240 respondents from two revenue divisions. The findings of the study reveal that the traits and role behavior profile of women entrepreneurs improved after their joining the SHGs.

The term ‘entrepreneurship’ is gender-free. Therefore, it is not an easy task to define a ‘women enterprise’ or a ‘women entrepreneur’. The Ministry of SSI and ARI, Government of India, defined a women enterprise as “SSI units/industry-related services or business enterprises managed by one or more women entrepreneurs in property concerns, or in which she/they individually or jointly have a share capital of not less than 51% as partners/shareholders/ directors of private limited company/member of cooperative society.” This definition is only a guideline for granting incentives and benefits to women by the state and central government.

For the purpose of this study, enterprises in which women have participation in capital and effective control over management are termed as ‘women enterprises’. All women working independently, self-employed in proprietary concerns, active partners in partnership firms, board members in women industries cooperative societies and directors in a company are termed as ‘women entrepreneurs’. The criterion is only whether they have effective participation in ownership and control.

Entrepreneurship Development Journal, Impact, Ministry of SSI, ARI, Government of India, Self-Help Groups, Women Entrepreneurship, Self-Help Group (SHG), ‘entrepreneurship’, ‘women enterprise’, ‘women entrepreneur’,