ICT adoption by women entrepreneurs in India: A qualitative study using Focus Group Discussion

Entrepreneurship is a process of risk taking and continuous innovation which adds to economic growth. In the era of digitalization, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) acts as a medium of competitive advantage. It helps enterprises become more efficient and competitive, especially in developing countries, yet only one percent of adults start or operate the business using technology. This paper aims to study the impact of ICT usage on entrepreneurial performance and the challenges they experience in adopting ICT-based practices in business. To get in-depth information about the topic, focus group discussion was organized in three batches with 9,8,9 participants in each batch. The participants were women entrepreneurs who operated their businesses using Information and Communications Technology. The paper finds out that including ICT-based business practices increase profitability and decreases time and cost. The study proposes some recommendations for women entrepreneurs to effectively acknowledge and face these constraints. This paper also discusses how ICT can be leveraged for effective financial management.