Rise in Women Entrepreneurs: Credit Access Soars by 42% to 27 Million, Reports NITI Aayog
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Synopsis
A recent report reveals a significant increase in the number of women in India seeking credit for business ventures, with 27 million women actively monitoring their credit scores, marking a 42% increase year-on-year, according to NITI Aayog.
Key Takeaways
- 27 million women in India are pursuing credit for business.
- 42% increase in women monitoring credit scores.
- Women’s share of self-monitoring rose to 19.43%.
- Non-metro women self-monitoring increased by 48%.
- Women accounted for 35% of business borrowers by December 2024.
New Delhi, March 3 (NationPress) A remarkable 27 million women in India are currently pursuing credit to establish their own business ventures and are proactively tracking their credit scores, as revealed in a report released on Monday, indicating a significant year-on-year growth.
As of December 2024, the number of women engaged in self-monitoring their credit has surged by 42 percent compared to the previous year, reflecting an increase in financial literacy and empowerment, as outlined in the report by NITI Aayog.
The findings indicate that women's participation in the overall self-monitoring demographic rose to 19.43 percent in December 2024, up from 17.89 percent in 2023.
Women from non-metro areas have shown a 48 percent increase in credit self-monitoring, while those in metropolitan regions have experienced a 30 percent rise.
In 2024, states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana contributed to 49 percent of all women self-monitoring their credit, with the southern region leading as the total rose to 10.2 million women.
States in the north and central regions, such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, have recorded the highest compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) of active female borrowers over the last five years, as per the report.
Since 2019, the percentage of women involved in business loan origination has risen by 14 percent, while their share in gold loans has seen a 6 percent increase, with women now comprising 35 percent of business borrowers as of December 2024.
This report has been published by TransUnion CIBIL, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog, and MicroSave Consulting (MSC).
During the report's launch, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, emphasized the essential role that access to finance plays in empowering female entrepreneurs.
He stated, “The government acknowledges that access to finance is a vital enabler for women’s entrepreneurship. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) continues to strive for the creation of an inclusive ecosystem that promotes financial literacy, credit access, mentorship, and market linkages.”
However, achieving equitable financial access necessitates collaborative efforts. The involvement of financial institutions in developing inclusive products tailored to women’s requirements, along with policy measures that target structural barriers, will be crucial in sustaining this momentum.
“To fulfill this objective under the WEP, the Financing Women Collaborative (FWC) has been established. We invite more stakeholders from the financial sector to join the FWC and contribute to this mission,” Subrahmanyam noted.
Anna Roy, Principal Economic Advisor at NITI Aayog and Mission Director of WEP, remarked that fostering women entrepreneurship is a strategic approach to ensuring job opportunities for women entering the Indian workforce.
“This approach is also a viable means for accelerating equitable economic growth. Advancing women’s entrepreneurship could generate job prospects for 150 to 170 million individuals while encouraging greater participation from women in the labor market,” Roy added.
With rising credit awareness and enhanced scores, financial institutions have a significant opportunity to introduce gender-sensitive financial products that cater to the unique needs of women, according to the report.
