‘Women Power’ in Renewable Energy The Role of Nested Institutions in Vocational Training of Solar Energy Entrepreneurs in India

Abstract

Conventional myths such as the poor are misfit to manage smart technologies or women-led rural enterprises generally fall through faster than men have since been broken as evidenced by various empirical studies. In the context of solar energy enterprises managed by women particularly in rural or peri-urban areas are much understudied, however, the impact of such women-led entrepreneurial energy-based start-ups has significant personal, social and community level consequential impact. A range of institutional arrangements that support these entrepreneurs starting from identifying, training to building and sustaining of such start-ups are highlighted in this paper. Not only do women collectively run these enterprises but they also help incubate others in their business model. The context of solar energy in rural communities has become all the more important for both a practitioner as well as a theoretical understanding of women entrepreneurship. This research deploys a qualitative method approach that uses both primary and secondary data; this is then put through a lens of systematic thematic analysis for a deeper discussion. The work concludes with an objective to contribute to policy discussions as well as build an empirical knowledge of how women-led solar technology-based enterprises are built, managed, sustained and scaled in rural areas.