Women’s entrepreneurship refers to the process through which women identify business opportunities, mobilise resources, establish and manage enterprises, take risks, and generate income and employment. A woman entrepreneur may operate a small household enterprise, a self-help group, a micro-enterprise, a start-up, a manufacturing unit, a service business, or a large corporation. Women’s entrepreneurship is therefore not limited to business ownership; it also involves decision-making, innovation, leadership, control over resources and participation in economic activities. From the perspective of Gender and Development, women’s entrepreneurship is particularly important because it connects economic empowerment with changes in gender relations, household decision-making, social status and access to productive resources. In India, women constitute a significant part of the population but their participation in formal economic activity and entrepreneurship remains below their potential. Women entrepreneurs are increasingly visible in sectors such as food processing, handicrafts, textiles, retail, education, health services, information technology, beauty and wellness, agriculture-related activities and digital businesses. Government programmes, microfinance, self-help groups, digital technologies and expanding educational opportunities have created new possibilities. However, women entrepreneurs continue to face interconnected economic, social, institutional and cultural barriers. One of the primary challenges is limited access to finance. Starting and expanding a business requires capital for land, machinery, raw materials, technology, marketing and working capital. Women frequently have less ownership of property and other assets that can be offered as collateral for institutional loans. Financial institutions may also perceive women-owned enterprises as smaller or riskier businesses. As a result, women often depend on personal savings, family members, informal lenders, microcredit or self-help groups. Although these sources can support small enterprises, they may not provide sufficient capital for technological upgrading or expansion. The gender gap in financial access therefore restricts women’s ability to move from subsistence enterprises to sustainable and growth-oriented businesses. Closely related to finance is the problem of ownership and control over productive resources. In many Indian