| SMART JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDIES |
VOL. 22 |
NO. 2 |
PAPER 5 |
DOI: 10.34293/2321-2012.2026.0002.5 |
BRIDGING FUNDING GAP: EVALUATING AN AI-POWERED PLATFORM TO ENHANCE DIGITAL LITERACY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-EFFICACY AMONG WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA |
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| P. Madhavi*, P. Roopa**, N. Sree Rajani** and Addagatla Divija*** |
| * Assistant Professor in Economics, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam
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| ** Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam
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| *** Research Scholar in Economics, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam
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| Women are the cornerstone of inclusive and sustainable economic development. However, for numerous women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban India, accessing government funds is still a challenge. Although numerous schemes are available, complex processes and low levels of digital literacy among women act as a deterrent. This paper evaluates a bilingual, AI-based platform called womenbizsupport.com, designed to bridge the gender gap in business by offering a simplified means to access information on funding. It matches women entrepreneurs to appropriate schemes, helps them understand the eligibility criteria, and guides through the application process. A total of 310 women in Tirupati District attended this structured training programme, followed by an evaluation prior to and subsequent to the training. The findings revealed improvements in digital literacy, KYC documentation, awareness of funding schemes, and preparation of structured business plans. The results also revealed that closing the gap between the policy intentions and access to finance requires managed development of skills. |
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