Impact of Financial Acumen on Economic Penetration among Micro-Entrepreneurs: A Study of Bilaspur City

Abstract

Micro-enterprises make up a sizable portion of the local economy, especially in developing tier-II cities where small businesses play a major role in creating jobs and advancing the local economy. However, they frequently find it difficult to achieve sustainable business growth due to limited financial capability. The current study looks at how financial acumen   affects micro-entrepreneurs' ability to grow their businesses in Bilaspur City, Chhattisgarh. The study's objectives are to measure the degree of financial acumen, gauge the degree of economic penetration, and ascertain whether financial acumen   has a major impact on business growth.

The study uses a descriptive and inferential design based on primary data gathered from micro-entrepreneurs in the food, retail, services, and small manufacturing sectors using a structured questionnaire. While economic penetration was measured in terms of growth in sales, assets, market reach, and overall development, financial acumen   was measured through dimensions like financial knowledge, financial skills, financial attitude, and digital financial practices.

The results show that economic penetration is positively and statistically significantly impacted by financial acumen. Higher levels of business growth and operational improvement are exhibited by entrepreneurs with superior financial knowledge and management skills. The study comes to the conclusion that microenterprise development is significantly influenced by financial acumen   and emphasizes the necessity of bolstering financial education programs to improve the sustainability of entrepreneurship.

The study comes to the conclusion that financial acumen   plays a significant role in the growth of microenterprises and emphasizes the necessity of bolstering financial education programs to improve the sustainability of entrepreneurship in local economic contexts.