Despite entry to formal credit persevering with to stay one of many largest obstacles for women entrepreneurs in India, MSME fintech Progcap stated by way of it’s ProgShakti initiative it has addressed this problem by growing credit limits for women debtors by 105% over time, reflecting stronger credit profiles and increasing enterprise operations.
“One of the biggest challenges for women entrepreneurs has been the traditional requirement of collateral and a male co-applicant in lending systems. Through ProgShakti, we sought to remove these structural barriers by offering unsecured working capital loans that women entrepreneurs can access independently,” stated Pallavi Shrivastava, Co-founder, Progcap.
“Our aim is not just to provide flexible credit, but also to support women-led businesses through capacity building via the ProgShakti Development Program,” he added.
As per research women debtors face practically a 19% mortgage rejection charge in comparison with 8% for males, typically owing to elements comparable to lack of collateral, restricted credit historical past and structural obstacles inside conventional lending programs.
According to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), women entrepreneurs face a 35% credit hole in comparison with 20% for males, highlighting the challenges women-led companies face in accessing institutional finance.
Recognising this hole, Progcap had launched ProgShakti, an initiative geared toward increasing entry to credit for women-led MSMEs and enabling them to develop their companies independently.
Till date, Progcap stated it has enabled greater than ₹10,000 crore of credit to women entrepreneurs by way of the ProgShakti initiative.
“The platform is also seeing strong engagement, with nearly 90% of women borrowers returning for repeat financing, signalling growing trust in formal credit channels,” the fintech stated.
“Women borrowers currently account for 17% of Progcap’s overall portfolio, growing at 40% year-on-year, with almost 90%of these entrepreneurs coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets,” it added.
Ghaziabad leads amongst cities when it comes to women debtors on the platform, adopted by Lucknow, Jaipur City, Bengaluru South and Patna for women entrepreneurs accessing credit by way of ProgShakti.
