Mapping the landscape of women entrepreneurs in micro and small enterprises: Trends, themes, and insights through systematic review and text mining

1.1 Success Narratives: the role of role models in women entrepreneurship

The success stories of Indian women entrepreneurs offer powerful narratives of resilience and empowerment. For example, the entrepreneurial journey of Falguni Nayar, founder of Nykaa, exemplifies how women can break conventional barriers and lead successful businesses in male-dominated industries. Nykaa’s rapid growth in the beauty sector not only demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit of Indian women but also highlights the transformative capacity of women-led businesses in India. Nayar’s success story underscores the potential for women to establish scalable and impactful businesses, which, in turn, inspire future generations of women entrepreneurs. These success stories play a critical role in challenging stereotypes and fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. They exemplify how supportive frameworks, such as government policies, financial access, and educational opportunities, contribute to the growth and sustainability of women-owned enterprises (Kumar et al., 2023; Malhan et al., 2021; Tabassum & Nayak, 2021). Moreover, they demonstrate the resilience of women entrepreneurs who, despite facing gendered challenges, are able to innovate and lead successful ventures that contribute significantly to the economy.

This study aims to address the knowledge gap by performing a systematic literature review (SLR) of current research on women’s entrepreneurship in India. This research seeks to deliver a thorough overview of the problems and opportunities encountered by WEs in India through the analysis of empirical studies and the synthesis of relevant results. The study also emphasises geographical disparities and policy ramifications, providing significant insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.

2.1 Determinants affecting women entrepreneurs in MSMEs

Female entrepreneurs encounter a variety of hurdles and possibilities that profoundly impact their performance. Empirical research from many regions identifies shared drivers including educational attainment, financial access, market possibilities, regulatory impediments, infrastructure, and cultural norms (Abiodun & Amos, 2018; Mozumdar et al., 2020; Welsh et al., 2018).

In India, these elements frequently intersect with socio-cultural dynamics, intensifying barriers for women entrepreneurs. Restricted access to capital persists as a substantial obstacle, since numerous women entrepreneurs encounter difficulties in obtaining loans due to entrenched gender biases inside financial institutions. Likewise, insufficient access to markets and technology further constrains their economic expansion. Digital transformation has become a pivotal factor, allowing WEs to surmount conventional obstacles via online platforms. Research indicates that digital transformation and online platforms substantially benefit women’s MSMEs by facilitating access to funding, training, and networks, hence promoting resilience and innovation (Ahl, 2006; Poggesi et al., 2020; White & Gupta, 2020). The significance and effects of these characteristics differ across geographical and economic situations, requiring customized responses.

2.2 Geographical and situational disparities

The socio-economic variety of India fosters a distinctive entrepreneurial environment. States such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka have a greater share of women-led firms attributable to progressive legislation and enhanced access to education and resources. In contrast, states in the North-East, despite their matrilineal frameworks, exhibit diminished entrepreneurial engagement among women. This contradiction highlights the necessity for context-specific study to comprehend the interaction between cultural norms and entrepreneurial results (Shuvam & Mohanty, 2023).

Despite the abundance of global studies on women’s entrepreneurship, there is a notable deficiency of region-specific research, especially in developing economies such as India (Bastian et al., 2018; Panda, 2018). Women-led firms in India encounter distinct hurdles arising from cultural norms, restricted access to resources, and insufficient policy enforcement (Agarwal & Lenka, 2018). Notwithstanding these limitations, positive indicators of expansion in urban and agricultural sectors suggest the emergence of new entrepreneurial dynamics (All India Report of Sixth Economic Census).

These discrepancies also indicate disparities in policy execution. Urban regions exhibit elevated involvement rates among female entrepreneurs, partially attributable to enhanced access to infrastructure and markets. Nevertheless, rural regions are deficient, underscoring the necessity for focused initiatives to rectify regional inequalities.

2.3 Digitalization and its effects

Digital platforms have profoundly altered the entrepreneurial landscape for women. Through the provision of training, mentorship, and financial resources, these platforms empower women entrepreneurs to cultivate creative company models and access wider markets. Digital entrepreneurship has enabled women to overcome conventional obstacles, like restricted mobility and limited access to networks (Shakeel et al., 2020). The amalgamation of digital marketing and e-commerce methods has augmented the competitiveness of women-led firms, especially in areas such as arts and crafts, education, and health.

India’s diverse socio-cultural and economic landscape presents both obstacles and opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Regional variations, such as caste, religion, and geographical location, significantly impact entrepreneurial performance and outcomes. For example, women entrepreneurs in southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu benefit from better infrastructure and government support, leading to more successful ventures. In contrast, women in northern and eastern states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, often face greater barriers, including limited access to education, capital, and markets (Bastian et al., 2018; Panda, 2018). These disparities highlight the importance of crafting region-specific policies and interventions that address the unique challenges women face across India. The studies on women entrepreneurship in India have provided valuable insights into the challenges and motivations of women business owners, there is a clear need for more holistic research that considers the complex interplay of gender, culture, and entrepreneurial outcomes (Mohan Kumar, Yadav & Sahoo, 2025). The existing literature, though insightful, often fails to address the unique socio-cultural factors that influence the entrepreneurial journey of women entrepreneurs. As the Indian ecosystem continues to evolve, there is a pressing need for research that can integrate these factors and contribute to more tailored policy interventions that foster the growth of women-led enterprises.

In this research paper, the authors aim to explore the following research questions:

4.1 Topic modeling

To develop a better understanding of the prominent themes in the 52 articles on Women Entrepreneurs in Micro and Small Enterprises, topic modeling was used to the most commonly used phrases in the compilation. To attain this objective, topic modeling (Nikolenko et al., 2017) was applied to the articles. Topic modeling is an unsupervised machine-learning technique that does not rely on a predefined list of tags or training data produced by humans. We utilized the Genism Python framework for vector space topic modeling (Řehůřek & Sojka, 2011), which uses the Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) algorithm (Blei et al., 2003) to map each article into a set of topics and a set of words for a particular subject.

In this equation, α and β represent Dirichlet distributions, θ and ∅ represent multinomial distributions, and Z is the vector containing all word themes across all articles. W is the vector containing all words from all documents. M number of documents, K number of topics and N number of words. To determine the appropriate subject counts for our 52 articles, we employed two minimum themes and ten maximum topics.

The analysis of the selected studies on women entrepreneurship and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) revealed several key themes, which were grouped into four main categories based on common core ideas (Mo et al., 2015). The themes identified include Women in Entrepreneurship and Gender Roles, Small Business and Women Enterprises, Social Impact of Women Entrepreneurs, and Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs. In this study, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was applied using the Genism Python framework to identify key themes in women entrepreneurship research. Preprocessing steps included tokenization, stop-word removal, stemming, lowercasing, and lemmatization to refine textual data. The hyperparameters were set at α = 0.1 and β = 0.01 to ensure optimal topic sparsity. The coherence score method was used to determine the optimal number of topics, ranging from 2 to 10, based on word co-occurrence patterns. These methodological refinements enhanced topic interpretability, ensuring a systematic and data-driven approach to analyzing trends in women-led micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

The identified themes align with existing research exploring gender and entrepreneurship in small businesses and micro enterprises, especially within the context of women-led enterprises. This study, using LDA, contributes to the growing body of literature on women entrepreneurship by offering a data-driven approach to identifying themes within the field ( Figure 2). The flexibility of LDA in analyzing large textual datasets enabled a deeper understanding of the structural issues and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs in micro and small enterprises (Hechavarria et al., 2019; Tegegne et al., 2024). These findings also echo the work of Molina-Azorín et al., (2012), who highlighted the efficacy of mixed-methods approaches in entrepreneurship research to capture the complex and dynamic nature of women-led businesses.

Figure 2. SPAR-4-SLR Framework.

Source: Author’s own development.

5.1 Annual scientific production

The bar graph depicts annual scientific production from 2000 to 2024 as assessed by the number of papers published each year. The early years, from 2000 to 2004, exhibit negligible productivity, with either no articles or a single article produced each year. From 2005 to 2013, the productivity was consistently low, with sporadic years yielding only one article. A steady rise in scientific output is noted from 2014, commencing with two papers in that year and culminating in four articles in 2017. Between 2018 and 2020, production exhibited minor fluctuations. A major surge happens in 2021, with the publication of 12 papers, the highest output throughout this time span. The output levels out between 2022 and 2024, with six articles released annually. The graph illustrates a gradual onset in the early 2000s, succeeded by consistent growth in subsequent years, culminating in a peak in 2021 and maintained productivity thereafter clearly visible in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Annual Scientific Production.

Source: Author’s own development.

5.2 Year-wise distribution of lda-derived themes on women entrepreneurship (2000–2024)

The bar graph represented by Figure 4 depicts the annual distribution of four LDA-derived topics concerning women entrepreneurship from 2000 to 2024: Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs, Women in Entrepreneurship and Gender Roles, Small Business and Women Enterprises, and Social Impact of Women Entrepreneurs. From 2000 to 2014, minimal research effort is evident, with merely one document covering an issue annually. Following 2015, there is a notable increase in research interest, with substantial peaks observed in 2018, 2022, and 2023. The challenges encountered by female entrepreneurs reached a zenith in 2022, with five papers representing the highest frequency among all themes, but small business and women enterprises exhibited significant activity in 2018 and 2022. Themes include the Social Impact of Women Entrepreneurs and Women in Entrepreneurship and Gender Roles exhibit continuous representation, with notable surges in 2020 and 2023. The graph highlights an increasing emphasis on women’s entrepreneurship, propelled by worldwide initiatives for gender equality and economic inclusion.

Figure 4. Year-wise Distribution.

Source: Author’s own development.

5.3 Key themes in women’s entrepreneurship identified through lda topic modeling

As reflected in Figure 5. a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) study yielded four major themes in women’s entrepreneurship, which are shown in the figure. Topic 1, Women in Entrepreneurship and Gender Roles, explores the influence of gender on entrepreneurship within specific regional contexts, such as Bangladesh. Topic 2, Small Business and Women Enterprises, examines women’s participation in small-scale enterprises and gender dynamics. Topic 3, Social Impact of Women Entrepreneurs, emphasizes their contributions to societal transformation and community advancement. Topic 4, Challenges Encountered by Female Entrepreneurs, examines gender-specific obstacles using case studies. This analysis presents a systematic examination of topics, yielding insights into gender, entrepreneurship, societal impact, and obstacles, thereby impacting research and policy.

Figure 5. Key Themes.

Source: Author’s own development.

Theme 1: Women in entrepreneurship and gender roles

This theme emphasizes the distinctive experiences and roles of women in entrepreneurial endeavours, concentrating on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship. The use of keywords such as “women,” “gender,” and “entrepreneurial” indicates that these subject highlights gender-specific elements affecting women’s involvement in entrepreneurship. The mention of “Bangladesh” suggests a geographical emphasis, possibly examining how the cultural, social, or economic circumstances in nations such as Bangladesh influence the entrepreneurial environment for women. This theme examines the impact of entrepreneurship on the economic and social empowerment of women. Research indicates that women entrepreneurs get enhanced financial autonomy, superior decision-making authority, and elevated societal acknowledgement (Liao et al., 2022).

Theme 2: Small business and women enterprises

This theme centers around women’s involvement in small businesses and enterprises. Keywords such as “small”, “business”, “women”, and “enterprises” highlight the emphasis on women entrepreneurs operating in small-scale or grassroots-level businesses. The second theme examines how women entrepreneurs contribute to micro and small enterprises (MSEs), particularly in developing economies. This revealed that women-owned enterprises significantly contribute to job creation, innovation, and local economic development (Ogundana et al., 2021). Studies have shown that MSEs are essential in fostering entrepreneurship, with women entrepreneurs playing a vital role in creating resilient, community-driven businesses (Raman et al., 2022). This theme aligns with recent findings by Forster-Holt & Davis (2024), who argue that women’s businesses, especially in small enterprises, are fundamental to achieving sustainable development goals in emerging economies.

Theme 3: Social impact of women entrepreneurs

This theme examines the societal contributions of women entrepreneurs, focusing on their role in driving social change and improving community well-being. Keywords like “social”, “evidence”, and “effect” suggest that this topic explores the broader implications of women’s entrepreneurial activities beyond financial outcomes, such as their influence on education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and social mobility. The theme also highlights an evidence-based approach, indicating the use of empirical studies to measure the social impact of women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship provides a transformative platform for women empowerment, particularly in micro enterprises where women have a more significant presence (Kogut & Mejri, 2021). These findings corroborate earlier research by Brush et al., (2019) on the empowerment potential of women in business.

Theme 4: Challenges faced by female entrepreneurs

This theme identifies the barriers and challenges specific to female entrepreneurs, with keywords such as “gender”, “entrepreneurs”, “female”, and “case”. It likely addresses issues such as gender-based discrimination, lack of access to resources, societal biases, and institutional barriers that hinder women’s entrepreneurial efforts. The mention of “case” implies that this theme might include case studies or qualitative analyses to provide detailed accounts of these challenges. This explores the unique barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in MSEs. These barriers include limited access to capital, gender-based discrimination, and a lack of professional networks (Marlow, 2020; White & Gupta, 2020). The difficulties in scaling women-led businesses often arise from structural inequalities and lack of institutional support, especially in micro and small businesses (Ahl, 2006). Recent studies (Agrawal et al., 2023; Bastian et al., 2018; Ghosh, 2024; Vuciterna et al., 2024) emphasize the importance of targeted interventions to address these barriers and promote the growth of women-led enterprises.

5.4 Word cloud

The word cloud represented by Figure 6 illustrates keywords derived from a text corpus, presumably developed using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a method for topic modelling. LDA discerns themes or topics within a document corpus, with each topic defined by a distribution of keywords. The word cloud visually emphasizes these keywords, with the size of each word indicating its frequency or significance within the analyzed text. Terms like “entrepreneurship,” “women,” “business,” and “gender” indicate their prominence within the primary subjects of the corpus. This signifies an emphasis on research domains such as entrepreneurship, gender studies, small and micro firms, and performance and development. For example, words like “women,” “female,” and “empowerment” refer to gender-related issues, whereas phrases like “microfinance,” “small business,” and “economic” refer to small-scale business concerns. The word cloud provides a high-level summary of the thematic focus and an intuitive visualization of the LDA results, making it easy to identify dominating topics and key phrases in the text.

Figure 6. Word Cloud.

Source: Author’s own development.

8.1 Social future implications

According to the research, women entrepreneurs are critical to promoting social transformation and community development. Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) facilitate women’s attainment of financial autonomy, decision-making authority, and social standing. Women-led enterprises address local social challenges, generate employment, and advance social justice, in addition to providing economic advantages. Digital platforms have enabled women entrepreneurs to surmount mobility and market access challenges. Policymakers and stakeholders must priorities digital literacy initiatives for women, particularly in rural and underserved regions. Commemorating and disseminating the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs might contest societal conventions and motivate forthcoming generations. Improving community-based education, healthcare, and poverty reduction initiatives will amplify the impact of women entrepreneurs and foster a more inclusive and fair society.

8.2 Managerial future implications

This research suggests that managerial support for women entrepreneurs necessitates specialized strategies. Programs focused on skill development in management, finance, and technology may assist women in overcoming corporate issues. Women-led firms can enhance market access, operational efficiency, and competitiveness through the utilization of digital tools. Policymakers should implement region-specific strategies to support women entrepreneurs by addressing local socio-cultural and economic factors. Establishing collaborative ecosystems with enterprises, governments, and industry experts can facilitate mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities for innovation and development. These programs assist women-led firms in achieving their maximum potential and fostering sustainable economic development.