Unveiling Empowerment: Evaluating Entrepreneurial Effectiveness of Self-Help Groups in Murshidabad and South 24 Pargana

Year : 2024 | Volume : 13 | Issue : 02 | Page : 23 33
    By

    Sukanta Saha,

  • Nibedita Dey,

  • Jhimli Ghosh,

  • Suchetana Kundu,

  1. Guest Faculty, Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal,, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  2. Senior Content Writer, Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  3. Student, Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal,, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  4. Student, Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal,, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Self-help groups (SHGs) have played an essential role in the socio-economic upliftment of society, especially in West Bengal over the last decades. Analytically discussing gender dimensions in the SHGs, this paper scrutinizes the efficiency of the two districts, namely, Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas considering certain parameters. Based on the analysis of the parameters of the empowerment indicators and socio-economic effects of the SHGs, the paper explains to what extent women are disadvantaged with respect to their economic, social, managerial, entrepreneurial, and cultural rights. The study assesses the SHG performance on financial, marketing, political, and social through cross-tabulation between and within the selected districts. For this, certain social parameters have been approached such as participation in household management and decisions about major purchasing activities including decisions regarding financial aspects, personal loans, and investment due to the essence of entrepreneurship development. On the basis of secondary data collected from different trustworthy references and primary data collected from field surveys, it has been evident that the establishment of the SHGs to empower women’s financial, entrepreneurial, and social insights has played a pivotal role. The study also identifies the barriers that minimize the effectiveness of the SHGs on empowerment, entrepreneurial opportunities, and marketing abilities among disadvantageous rural women and provides a set of recommendations that could increase the efficacy of the SHGs in helping women achieve their socio-economic liberty as well. The study establishes the fact that even though the SHGs are effective in promoting women’s socio-economic empowerment, there is a need to go further in addressing some key issues such as access to credit facilities, information about and connections with the market including providing appropriate training for them.

Keywords: Self-help groups (SHGs), financial literacy, women empowerment, socio-economic development, microfinance

[This article belongs to Research & Reviews : Journal of Statistics ]

How to cite this article:
Sukanta Saha, Nibedita Dey, Jhimli Ghosh, Suchetana Kundu. Unveiling Empowerment: Evaluating Entrepreneurial Effectiveness of Self-Help Groups in Murshidabad and South 24 Pargana. Research & Reviews : Journal of Statistics. 2024; 13(02):23-33.
How to cite this URL:
Sukanta Saha, Nibedita Dey, Jhimli Ghosh, Suchetana Kundu. Unveiling Empowerment: Evaluating Entrepreneurial Effectiveness of Self-Help Groups in Murshidabad and South 24 Pargana. Research & Reviews : Journal of Statistics. 2024; 13(02):23-33. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjost/article=2024/view=202894


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Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 13
Issue 02
Received 20/11/2024
Accepted 29/11/2024
Published 05/12/2024
Publication Time 15 Days
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