Did you know that women entrepreneurs contribute considerably to the Indian economy? Yes, you read it right! As of December 2024, 2.24 crore out of 5.65 crore Udyam-registered enterprises, including UAP units, are owned by women. Women entrepreneurs have broken through numerous hurdles in the last few years, including access to funds at the required time. However, MSME women entrepreneurs still have a lot to learn and experience. According to data shared by the MSME Ministry, 39% of MSMEs registered under the revised MSME definition of 2020 are women-owned. This includes informal micro units exempted from GST, registered through the Udyam portal via the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP).
As with the broader MSME sector, access to formal finance is a key barrier to the growth of women-owned businesses, leading to the majority of the financial requirements being met through informal sources. Seeing the same, several Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) like Kinara Capital are offering special business loans to women designed specially to meet the business-related demands of women-owned businesses.
Challenges Faced by Women-owned MSMEs
- Faster Access to Funds: Business loans for women help address one of the biggest obstacles for women-owned MSMEs—quick access to capital.
- Overcoming Funding Challenges: Despite having strong skills and business potential, women often struggle to secure funding.
- Rural Barriers: Women in rural areas face even greater challenges when starting entrepreneurial journeys.
- Lack of Documentation: Many women are unable to access formal credit due to the absence of documents in their name.
- Stringent Loan Procedures: Traditional bank loan application processes can be overly strict and discouraging for women entrepreneurs.
How do Business Loans for Women Help Women-owned MSMEs Shine?
Financial Inclusion: MSME loans play a key role in helping women become part of the formal financial system. These loans give women access to funds to grow their businesses, expand their reach, and contribute to the economy.
Skill Development: Many MSME loan programs also provide training to improve business and management skills. This helps women run their businesses better, boosts their confidence, and builds strong leadership qualities.
Leveling the Playing Field: With access to funding, women entrepreneurs can compete equally with men. They can upgrade their businesses, use modern technology, and scale up operations to grow faster.
Grow your MSME with collateral-free business loans
Business Loan Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs
There are various business loan schemes for women in India. Some of these are the following:
Schemes by Banks
Some banks offer business loans for women individually, and some collaborate with the government. They provide financial assistance to women-owned startups and existing companies to grow their businesses. A few of these schemes are:
- The Central Bank of India’s Cent Kalyani
- Bhartiya Mahila Bank’s (SBI) Shringaar and Annapurna Loan Schemes
- Canara Bank’s Synd Mahila Shakti
- Bank of Baroda’s (BOB) Shakti Scheme
Schemes by the Government
The government also supports women entrepreneurs in starting new businesses and expanding existing ones. These schemes offer low-interest rates for women. Some of these schemes that are worth mentioning include:
- Annapurna Scheme
- Mudra Yojana Scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana
- Udyogini Scheme
- Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme
Unsecured Business loans are a great solution for small business entrepreneurs to access the capital they need quickly. But unfortunately, in this regard, too, MSME women entrepreneurs face a disproportionate amount of difficulty. According to a report from International Finance Corporation, 90% of the women entrepreneurs have not availed of formal credit from financial institutions like banks. This presents an additional hurdle for women, who already struggle to break through socio-economic barriers to enter a male-dominated area like entrepreneurship. The way to cut through these issues would be to make business loans easily accessible to women entrepreneurs.
NBFCs like Kinara Capital have filled this gap in the market by coming up with specific solutions for women. Kinara’s HerVikas business loan takes away the main debacle for women since they often don’t own assets that can be leveraged as collateral. Kinara makes it easy for women-owned businesses to get a business loan as they realise that seeking loans for women entrepreneurs presents several social barriers and biases.
What is HerVikas Program?
To empower MSME women-owned businesses, Kinara Capital, a leading last-mile lending firm in India, has designed a special program called HerVikas. Through this scheme, Women MSME business owners engaged in the manufacturing, trading and services sector can avail of a 1% discount upfront to scale up their businesses with no additional documentation required.
We are excited to announce that the HerVikas program’s cumulative loan disbursements will exceed INR 1,200 crores by FY25, with INR 700 crores already disbursed and an additional INR 500 crores allocated for FY25.
The HerVikas program is celebrating its 5th anniversary with exciting new benefits to further empower women entrepreneurs and drive financial inclusion. Here are the key benefits:
- 1% Interest Rate Discount for eligible women-owned businesses
- 60-day Repayment Holiday to ease financial stress
- 50% Reduction in Processing Fees to make loans more affordable
- Lowered Business Vintage Requirement: 1-month registration for manufacturing and trading MSMEs
Benefits of HerVikas Business Loans for Women from Kinara Capital:
1. No Need for Collateral
Most women small business owners in India don’t have assets in their name. This makes it difficult for them to acquire formal credit. Kinara’s HerVikas program helps them get sufficient funds without submitting any property collateral. With Kinara’s HerVikas program, women borrowers can receive financial support and more flexibility in handling their business operations without the need for leveraging any assets.
2. Minimal Documentation
Kinara doesn’t require extensive documentation to provide loans for women-owned MSMEs. Minimal documentation helps women entrepreneurs get easy online loan approval. Hence, they can focus on optimum capital utilisation to fulfil their business goals without going through the process of visiting the lender’s office or branch, or the time-consuming documentation procedures.
3. Sizable Sanction up to ₹30 Lakhs
Kinara Capital provides HerVikas Business Loans from ₹1 Lakh to ₹30 Lakhs to registered women-owned MSMEs from Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Union Territory Puducherry.
4. Hassle-free, Online Application Provision
Women-owned MSMEs can easily get HerVikas Business Loans online through Kinara Capital’s myKinara App. It will let them experience a quick and convenient method of acquiring a collateral-free Business Loan with easy approval. They will have the entire sanctioned amount disbursed in their mentioned bank account within 24-hours.
5. Doorstep Customer Service
All customers of Kinara can get doorstep customer services in their preferred vernacular language to make an easy loan application process.
A timely business loan can instantly expand the marketing potential, speed up operations, and increase the profit margins of women-owned MSMEs. Here is a quick guide on how to apply for a business loan for women.
How Do I Apply for a Business Loan for Women from Kinara Capital?
Women MSME entrepreneurs can start the application process for HerVikas business loans for women online with a 1-minute eligibility check on Kinara’s official website or by downloading the myKinara App. Women MSME entrepreneurs can then take the application forward by uploading the documents. Alternatively, a Kinara loan officer will contact them as soon as possible to finish the rest of the requirements in their preferred vernacular language.
Eligibility Criteria for Kinara’s Women-owned Business Loans
The eligibility criteria for HerVikas business loans for women are no different than those for other loans issued by Kinara, other than the requirement that they are fully or partially owned and run by a woman entrepreneur. The following are the criteria MSMEs need to meet to be eligible:
- The MSME business must operate in the trading, manufacturing, or services sector.
- The MSME business must be in operation for 2+ years when they apply for the business loan.
- The total monthly turnover of the MSME should be greater than Rs. 50,000 and less than Rs. 2 crores.
- The MSME business should be a sole proprietorship, partnership or private limited company.
- Both an applicant and a co-applicant are needed to apply for a loan.
Documents Required for MSME Loans for Women
Kinara requires minimal documentation or paperwork to issue collateral-free business loans to women entrepreneurs. Therefore, it makes the application process smooth and easy for women entrepreneurs. Some of the documents required to obtain HerVikas business loans for women entrepreneurs are mentioned below.
- Applicant’s KYC document (PAN card)
- Co-applicants KYC document (PAN and Aadhaar are recommended but not mandatory)
- Business KYC document (Udyam registration, etc.)
- Last 12 months’ bank statements
- GST and ITR documents are optional
Conclusion
Women entrepreneurs are the driving force behind many small businesses in India, but they remain a marginal section of the economy. Women are often overlooked in the business world because of stereotypes about them being less capable than men. They can also face challenges when trying to get loans from banks and other financial institutions because they are perceived to have less experience dealing with money and finance than men do.
This is where Kinara Capital comes into the picture. Kinara Capital is a women-led fintech company encouraging women’s empowerment and providing easier access to capital for small entrepreneurs across India. Kinara is one of the trustworthy lending platforms in India that provides unsecured business loans to women-owned MSMEs. MSME owners can avail of fast and flexible loans from ₹1 lakh to ₹30 lakhs available within 24-hours from this RBI Registered Systemically Important NBFC in India. We also have a dedicated customer support team available between Monday – Friday (9.30 AM – 6.00 PM) at our toll free number 1800-103-2683 for any questions or assistance. This ensures that entrepreneurs can get the help they need throughout the loan process.
FAQs
1. Is it easy for women entrepreneurs to get a Business Loan from Kinara Capital?
Yes, women entrepreneurs can get a big-ticket loan conveniently if you fulfil the eligibility criteria. You can start the 1-minute eligibility check in the myKinara App to determine the business loan eligibility. After that, you can fill in the application form and submit the necessary documents. Once approved, you can get an unsecured business loan for women of up to Rs. 30 lakhs within 24-hours.
2. Do I have to provide security to avail of a business loan for women entrepreneurs from Kinara Capital?
No, if you are a women entrepreneur from the manufacturing, trading, and services sectors, you can avail of the HerVikas loan without pledging any property collateral.
3. What are the steps to apply for Kinara’s business loan for women?
- You can start the application process online on Kinara’s official website or by downloading the myKinara app, with a 1-minute eligibility check.
- Once you clear the eligibility check, you can fill in the application form on the myKinara app or Kinara’s official website.
- The next step is uploading the documents. You can also submit the documents offline. A Kinara loan officer can contact you to complete the rest of the requirements in your preferred vernacular language.
- Once approved, you can wait for the fund to be disbursed into your mentioned bank accounts within 24-hours.
4. What are the requirements to get HerVikas business loan from Kinara?
You can get a HerVikas business loan if your business fulfils the business loan eligibility criteria with a monthly turnover between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 2 crores. Your business should be part of the trading, manufacturing, or services sector. If you are into manufacturing businesses, it should be 1+ years old, and if you are from businesses in trading or services should be 2+ years old.
5. Do I need to visit Kinara’s Branch to take HerVikas Business Loan?
No, you don’t need to visit any branches to apply for a HerVikas loan. The process can be carried out online. If you need any support in the loan application process, Kinara’s Field Officer will visit you at your place of business to provide information and help you with the loan application process.
6. What is the interest rate for a women’s business loan?
The interest rate for women’s business loans varies based on the lender, loan amount, and tenure.
7. What is the repayment period for MSME loans for women?
The repayment period for MSME loans for women depends on the loan amount and lender. Kinara Capital offers flexible tenures, typically ranging from 12 to 60 months, ensuring convenient repayment options.
8. What are some government schemes for women entrepreneurs in India?
Government schemes for women entrepreneurs in India include the Mudra Yojana, Stand-Up India Scheme, and Annapurna Scheme. These programs provide financial support, training, and resources to empower women-led businesses and boost economic growth.
