By Preeti Bhandary

As women excel in entrepreneurial roles, they skillfully balance their motherhood responsibilities with their careers, embodying both nurturing and authoritative parenting styles. While recognising that each person is unique, some women’s natural inclination towards caregiving contributes to their children’s development. However, it is important to break gender stereotypes regarding career choices. It is essential to evaluate qualifications and expertise rather than solely considering gender. Women have the potential to succeed in any field due to their unique ability to build relationships for longer periods. Hence, the preschool industry could offer a favourable business opportunity for them. Women contribute distinctive expertise and experiences due to their nurturing and empathetic qualities, which could enrich decision-making in India’s education system.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2020-2021 report, women’s total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) in India stands at 12.3%. The report highlights that 231 million women were involved in businesses across the 59 economies studied in the 2018-2019 report. Various organisations and governments acknowledged women’s role in economic growth, individual well-being, and societal progress.

Women entrepreneurs to excel in preschool business

Women entrepreneurs are now contributing to India’s economic progress. They manage both their duties as mothers and business owners with ease. It is worth noting that they account for half of all business owners worldwide and thrive in a variety of industries. Women entrepreneurs have a strategic opportunity to contribute through an integrated educational strategy, as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 prioritises early childhood learning. Women are pioneering the development of tools, founding preschools, running non-profits, producing parenting applications, and entering into ed-tech. Their caring inclinations enable them to bring to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) profession talents such as speech therapy, nutrition counseling, counseling services, e-commerce competence, teaching abilities, and linguistic fluency.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Sixth Economic Census in 2018 reported that women account for approximately 14% of total entrepreneurship in India, which amounts to 8.05 million women entrepreneurs out of 58.5 million entrepreneurs. This statistic underscores the growing presence and importance of women in the entrepreneurial landscape of India.

Challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the education sector

Despite the optimistic portrayal, the reality is that establishing independent preschools is challenging for women in India. Many small towns and cities prefer branded preschools due to consistent quality, standardised curriculum, and the latest educational offerings. A lack of well-trained educators in rural areas and smaller towns also drives this preference for branded options. As a result, numerous women struggle to venture into entrepreneurship and open independent preschools in their communities.

However, modern education platforms are introducing innovative solutions that provide comprehensive preschool management tools. These solutions are proving to be a game-changer for women ‘edupreneurs’ in India, allowing them to balance independent preschool management with their domestic responsibilities effectively. These platforms offer increased profitability and growth opportunities. They equip women-led preschools with access to top-notch resources, such as research-based curricula, daily lesson plans, learning materials, online teacher training, assessment tools, child-tracking apps, and more. This support is instrumental in empowering women to succeed in the early childhood education sector.

Furthermore, implementing the preschool franchise model has allowed women from diverse backgrounds to take the lead in this domain. Therefore, the pioneering efforts in the early childcare learning field are no longer confined to metropolitan areas alone; numerous tiet-2 and tier-3 cities are also witnessing the emergence of women entrepreneurs in early education.

To conclude

Women are increasingly taking up leadership roles both at home and at work. Their capacity to effectively manage emotions, take risks, and take proactive steps has led them to become “edupreneurs” in early childhood education, influencing the brains of future global learners.

The author is co-founder, Little Elly.