Indian workforce prefers to be entrepreneurs: Survey

New Delhi: Entrepreneurial ambition among the workforce is highest in India, with 56 percent of respondents in a survey indicating that they are considering leaving current jobs to start their own business.

According to the Randstad Workmonitor survey, 83 percent of the Indian workforce would like to be an entrepreneur, higher than the global average of 53 percent.

"A stable business environment, market oriented reforms like raising of FDI caps, implementation of GST, and key initiatives like Make in India and Digital India are fostering a new aspiring and ambitious Indian," Randstad India MD & CEO Paul Dupuis said.

He further said a robust SME ecosystem driven by aspiring entrepreneurs has historically seen higher growth for the formal sector, and has a knock-off effect on the evolution of other companies in the ecosystem.

The workforce in the age group of 45-54 years (37 per cent) are hesitant to start their own business as compared to the workforce in the age group of 25-34 years (72 percent) and 35-44 years (61 percent).

Around 86 percent of the survey respondents indicated that the ecosystem to run a startup was favourable in India and 84 percent said the Indian Government actively supports new startups in the country and provides a favourable entrepreneurial climate.

Regarding workplace preference, MNCs are the most favoured employers for Indian workforce as 84 percent respondents said they prefer to work for a multinational firm.

Around 76 percent of the workforce from India stated that they would like to work for a startup, whereas 69 percent indicated that they would prefer to work for a small or medium enterprise or a privately managed company, the report added.

The Randstad Workmonitor covers 33 countries around the world. The study is conducted online among employees aged 18- 65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not self-employed).