Vizag leads India in women-powered small businesses

Visakhapatnam: While many Indian cities continue to grapple with low female workforce participation, Visakhapatnam is quietly setting a new benchmark. The port city has emerged as a national leader in women’s economic participation, with women driving both employment and entrepreneurship in its vast network of small businesses.According to the latest National Statistics Office (NSO) data, the city houses about 1.42 lakh unincorporated businesses, employing more than 2.06 lakh people. It also stands out for having the highest share of women workers in the country, accounting for 42.51% of its workforce. This is far higher than in cities such as Delhi (13.5%), Mumbai (23.6%), Bengaluru (30.5%), and even Surat (41.39%). Women also own 30.65% of these small businesses in Vizag, underlining their significant role not only as workers but also as entrepreneurs.When compared with the broader Andhra Pradesh profile, Visakhapatnam also performs better on several entrepreneurial indicators. The 30.65% share of female-owned proprietary establishments in Vizag is higher than the state average of 27.38%. Likewise, proprietary and partnership firms account for 87.99% of establishments, compared with the state average of 85.77%. At the same time, the proportion of establishments employing hired workers stands at 10.79%, closely matching the Andhra Pradesh average of 10.46%.

The data further shows that this informal economy in Vizag is largely driven by self-employment and family-run businesses. Only 10.79% of establishments employ hired workers, which means nearly 89% are run solely by owners or their family members. By comparison, around 40% to 43% of businesses in cities such as Srinagar, Hyderabad, and Delhi rely on hired labour. Consequently, hired workers account for just 24.77% of the unincorporated workforce of Vizag city.According to the NSO report -- titled ‘Urban Unincorporated Enterprise Landscape: ASUSE 2025 - Insights from Million-Plus Cities’ -- which covered all the 46 million-plus cities in the country, services sector forms the backbone of Vizag’s informal economy, accounting for 54% of all establishments. Manufacturing contributes 24%, while trade accounts for the remaining 22%, indicating that service-oriented activities generate the largest share of small businesses in the city.Another distinguishing feature is the business ownership pattern. Proprietary and partnership firms account for 87.99% of establishments in Vizag, compared with 100% in cities such as Faridabad, Indore, and Kanpur. This suggests that Visakhapatnam has a relatively larger presence of alternative organisational forms, including self-help groups, cooperatives and trusts, which also contribute to economic activity and employment.Economically, the sector demonstrates a balanced performance. The average gross value added (GVA) stands at about Rs 2.63 lakh per establishment and Rs 1.81 lakh per worker. While worker productivity remains below that of major economic centres such as Delhi and Bengaluru, it is higher than in cities such as Agra and Varanasi, indicating that Vizag compares favourably with several regional peers.The compensation paid to hired workers is also broadly in line with productivity levels. Annual emoluments average around Rs 1.5 lakh per hired worker in Vizag city, reflecting a relatively balanced wage structure within the informal sector.