Digital Infrastructure as a Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study from Karnataka

Although women entrepreneurs play an important role in economic development, they still continue to face financial, structural, and socio-cultural barriers in their journey towards growth. This study identifies opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Karnataka, focusing on how digital infrastructure influences their business scaling and sustainability by also bringing into light their struggles and challenges by using qualitative approach-in-depth interview of nine women entrepreneurs across various sectors for the same. The findings suggests that gendered barriers such as, restricted access to finance, workplace partiality, and societal expectations, remain major challenges. Despite these challenges, digital infrastructure has become a significant tool for progress allowing women entrepreneurs to expand their businesses through social media, digital payment systems, e-commerce, and automation tools. However, the gap in digital literacy exists, making it difficult to utilize all available resources fully. To overcome these challenges, women entrepreneurs adopt strategies such as business diversification, building strong connections, mentorship, and learning digital skills. These strategies not only help them to stay strong in entrepreneurial activities but also ensure to long-term economic success. The study finds that while digital tools provide new opportunities for women entrepreneurs, targeted policy interventions, financial support, and digital literacy programs are needed to close existing gaps.