Women no longer taking a backseat in running a business: HP Singh, Satin Creditcare Network

Nevertheless the biggest hurdle they confront is the collateral on the basis of which the commercial and large-sized banks do not extend a free hand in terms of credit guarantees, says HP Singh, Satin Creditcare Network.


International Women’s Day is just a few days away. But we really do not need a specific day to celebrate women and their growth story in India? What is the current status of women entrepreneurs in India and the reality behind the numbers that are coming up?
Women are actively taking a leading role in the economic development, as also setting up their entrepreneurial journey. Considering the Udyam portal registrations from FY21 to FY22, there has been an increase of about 3.69 lakh women who have actually registered on the Udyam portal. In the rural space, they are involved in the small businesses which cater to cottage industries, agriculture and agri-related industries such as cattle farming, dairy farming, vegetable vending or anything across there. Nevertheless the biggest hurdle they confront is the collateral on the basis of which the commercial and large-sized banks do not extend a free hand in terms of credit guarantees.


Also, where microfinance is extended to women in the rural system i.e. finance is provided without the collateral, women are coming to the forefront and running their family businesses or the businesses that are run on their own. So, as against the earlier instance where women used to take a backseat in running the business, they have come forward in a significant way and that is the real change that has happened.


Where is the count of women entrepreneurs increasing? Is it urban cities or rural areas, tier II, tier III towns as well?
It is increasing everywhere. In the urban space, there are varied sectors where women are making a notable presence, especially startups. Also, there are about six lakh crore MSMEs and 20% which equates to about 1.23 lakh crore MSMEs are being administered by women entrepreneurs directly or indirectly. In the rural space, women are chiefly running agri-related businesses, while in the urban sphere they are involved in the non-agri businesses.


There is still a huge gap when it comes to women being provided the requisite financial and funding support. But what about women acknowledging the fact of having the financial knowledge and the financial freedom working on that particular path. Have things changed on that front?
There is also a drastic change on that front with the internet and the technology set up now in place. Today, women in the rural region too know what their EMIs are against their loan, what is the IRR, the difference between the principal repayment and the interest etc. Also, the advent of mobile phones have further enhanced their financial literacy.


Also, now the entire process has come online such as submission of KYC, other documentation etc., which has hastened the process of generating credit loans as against the earlier times. Furthermore, they have learned new payment methods and can hence make cashless payments using wallets and UPI. So, all the digital payment methods have been adopted by them and are being extensively used.