With growing cost of living, increasing labour force participation among women, a large number of women have started to depend on micro enterprises for their survival and growth. These micro enterprises are concentrated largely in low income and low productivity activities particularly in petty traders and services. These micro enterprises consist of tea stalls along the highways and roads, provision stores, crafts stores and a host of other services. Economic principles that undergird development programmes for large free market enterprises base their operations on values, projections and motivation to buy. Small and medium scale enterprises focus their operations on profit while micro enterprises on survival.
Micro enterprises have a significant contribution in household economies.
Poor households are often plagued by fluctuations in income and the need for emergency resources. Often the spouse has a job which is insufficient to support the family. Women often contribute to the family income by initiating enterprises. They are managers as their spouses work as labour, driver, clerk and other positions. They supplement the income of the family to meet a variety of needs which involve immediate cash.