Barriers To Entrepreneurship Among Muslim Women: A Factor-Analytic Study of Dewas District, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Women's entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as an important pathway for income generation, economic agency, employment creation and inclusive local development. Yet women's entry into and continuation in entrepreneurship are shaped by access to finance, knowledge, markets, family support, social acceptance, institutional services and business capabilities. These constraints may be particularly complex when entrepreneurship is examined within a specific social and community context. This study investigates perceived barriers to entrepreneurship among Muslim women in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Primary data were collected from 100 respondents using a structured questionnaire containing 31 potential barrier statements measured on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure, Bartlett's test of sphericity, Parallel Analysis, and Principal Axis Factoring with Varimax rotation were employed. The 31-item scale demonstrated excellent overall internal consistency (α = .941). The KMO value was .875 and Bartlett's test was statistically significant (χ² = 1854.350, df = 465, p < .001), confirming the suitability of the data for factor analysis. Parallel Analysis supported a three-factor solution. The retained dimensions were labelled (1) Individual, Psychological and Socio-cultural Constraints, (2) Business, Managerial and Social-Environment Constraints, and (3) Financial and Institutional Constraints. The strongest individual perceived barrier was lack of awareness about financial assistance/limited financial literacy (M = 2.06), followed by documentation requirements (M = 2.13), credit-score requirements (M = 2.15), interest rates (M = 2.20), and loan procedures (M = 2.21). Lack of motivation had the highest mean (M = 3.16), indicating comparatively weaker endorsement as a barrier. The findings therefore suggest that women's entrepreneurial participation in the study area should not be explained primarily by lack of motivation. Instead, financial capability, institutional access, business preparedness, family conditions and socio-cultural environment appear to form an interconnected constraint structure. The study contributes localized evidence to the literature and offers implications for financial institutions, government agencies, training providers and community-level organizations.