Being a Woman Entrepreneur

The lack of female-owned property and access to funds

Most property is handed down to the sons. It means that women rarely have the assets they need to apply for a substantial loan. While there have been changes in the associated laws in recent years, this is still a limiting factor.

The highly biased finance industry felt that women were less creditworthy. However, how this conclusion came to be is a question.

Education

While this is improving, traditionally, less importance has been given to women’s education in the family. While this may not tie a woman’s hands, it can be a limiting factor in terms of access to knowledge and information.

Furthermore, parents still find it hard to let young women decide what they want to study and where.
Finance is something that can be solved with a few grand schemes from the government.

Government Initiatives and Programs for Women Entrepreneurs

Annapurna Scheme

If you are looking at starting a small-scale food catering service, this scheme provides loans of up to INR 50,000. While this isn’t a lot, it is a great start, and you can purchase some much-needed equipment.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan

This program offers a much more substantial amount. The banking scheme gives women up to INR 20 crores.
This is ideal for women who are venturing into large enterprises or looking at expanding their businesses. This scheme helps small entrepreneurs begin a start-up for women.

Mudra Yojana Scheme

This loan, an initiative by the Central Government, has an upper limit of INR 10 lakhs. The loan is deposited into a person’s Mudra account, and they are given a Mudra card, which allows them to withdraw 10% of the loan at a time.

Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana Scheme

If one woman or a group of women own 51% share capital or more of a business, they are eligible for this scheme. The loan offered adds up to INR 25 lakhs with a low interest of 2%. While it allows entrepreneurs seven years to repay the debt, it also does not require collateral. This is ideal for women who are looking to expand their ventures.

Dena Shakti Scheme

This is a program for women entrepreneurs who run businesses in agriculture, manufacturing, and retail or have small enterprises or microcredit organizations. The loan limit is set at INR 20 lakhs and can help boost business.

Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana

It is an ideal loan for aspiring entrepreneurs as the loan enables women entrepreneurs to improve or acquire skills and encourages self-employment. The loan is available across industries, and business loans of up to INR 2 lakhs are available. Those in the service sector or industries can apply for up to INR 5 lakhs.

Cent Kalyani Scheme

This is a scheme for women entrepreneurs looking to start a new business or expand an existing one. It has a substantial offering of up to INR 100 lakhs. The loan does not require collateral and does not attract processing fees. There is an eligibility criterion, and those involved in retail, education, training, and self-help groups cannot apply.

Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme

This loan aims to enable medium- to small-scale enterprises and small-scale industries. It helps to revive small-scale industries that are on the verge of collapse or have already collapsed but could be revived with a bit of financial injection. The loan limit is only INR 10 lakhs. However, the repayment period is ten years.

Conclusion

There are a host of other programs for women entrepreneurs and states with start-up policies for women. The main concern is that there is a lack of transparency. It means that while these programs exist, they aren’t necessarily empowering women entrepreneurs as they should.

Numerous organizations are working to create awareness and enable women to access these loans and schemes. Many states are proactive in offering these loans and schemes. The State and Central Governments have also placed guidelines for banks to follow when these loans are inquired about.

The information is available. Ask your bank manager about these schemes and go with as many questions as you can to make sure you find the scheme that best fits your needs.

India has come a long way, and women are becoming more involved in the world of business. People must be aware of these programs for women entrepreneurs.

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