The total formal financing gap for women enterprises in India is 73 percent of the total demand. Strikingly 90 percent of the women-owned enterprises in India rely on informal sources of finance just not for seed capital but also for working capital requirements. The facts are hard hitting when focus of financial institutions in the country is shifting towards MSME financing. There are several factors driving this scenario that are discussed in detail in recent IFC’s study on “Improving access to finance for women-owned businesses in India” that was researched and prepared by MicroSave. The study also puts forward recommendations to address these challenges.
The study was conducted and written for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) by MicroSave.