NGO-Driven Empowerment of Rural Women Entrepreneurs: Empirical Evidence from Virudhunagar District

Abstract

This study investigates the role played by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in empowering rural women entrepreneurs within the Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu, India. Rural women, who frequently face socio-economic barriers such as limited access to finance, inadequate training, and restricted market linkages, represent a significant yet underutilised segment of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. NGOs have increasingly stepped into this space, offering programmes that span microfinance facilitation, capacity building, networking opportunities, and market access interventions. Despite the growing presence of these organisations, there remains a notable gap in the empirical literature regarding the measurable outcomes of such interventions on women's entrepreneurial empowerment at the district level. A quantitative research design was adopted for this study. A total of 385 rural women entrepreneurs were selected through stratified random sampling across five taluks in Virudhunagar District. The findings reveal statistically significant associations between NGO participation and the dimensions of women's entrepreneurial empowerment. Women who actively engaged in NGO-supported programmes demonstrated markedly higher levels of financial independence, enhanced business skills, stronger social networks, and greater confidence in entrepreneurial decision-making. Regression analysis confirmed that the degree of NGO participation was a significant predictor of overall empowerment, even after controlling for age, education, and prior business experience.