The PMFME Empowerment Dividend: An Institutional-Capability Framework for Women Micro Food Entrepreneurs

Author

Veena G. Sarathi , Dr. Sudha K


Abstract

 Purpose. Women’s micro food enterprises may receive several forms of government assistance, but programme receipt does not by itself explain how women convert support into enterprise capability, institutional participation and empowerment. This paper develops the PMFME Empowerment Dividend Framework (PEDF), linking PMFME Policy Support, Entrepreneurial Capability, Formal Enterprise Integration, Women’s Empowerment and Enterprise Sustainability, with Institutional Responsiveness as a boundary condition. Design and approach. The paper follows an integrative conceptual review of peer-reviewed literature and official PMFME and Government of India sources covering women’s entrepreneurship, empowerment, resource-based theory, dynamic capabilities, institutional theory, social capital and enterprise sustainability. Findings. The framework proposes that PMFME support becomes more consequential when women can understand, combine and apply financial, technical, training, infrastructure and institutional resources. Entrepreneurial Capability is proposed as the first conversion mechanism, Formal Enterprise Integration as the institutional participation stage, Women’s Empowerment as the agency-oriented outcome and Enterprise Sustainability as the longer-term outcome. Originality/value. The paper introduces the idea of an empowerment dividend and distinguishes programme support from the entrepreneur’s capability to use that support. It also treats institutional responsiveness as a specific boundary condition rather than as another independent variable. Five postulates are developed for future CB-SEM, PLS-SEM and longitudinal research on women-led micro food processing enterprises in India.



Keywords

PMFME, women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial capability, formal enterprise integration, women’s empowerment, institutional responsiveness, enterprise sustainability



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References


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