Providing access to productive credit to women microenterprises, India

• Aug 4, 2025
• 1 min

Women entrepreneurs in India face systemic barriers in accessing credit and support from formal financial institutions. These challenges limit their ability to grow businesses and earn stable incomes. Despite their potential, many lack access to large enterprise loans and have limited awareness of available credit options. Complex loan processes and documentation further discourage them from approaching banks. As a result, many continue to depend on informal, high-cost sources of finance with little protection.

To address these challenges, MSC designed and scaled an enterprise loan product for SHG women entrepreneurs in Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The initiative aimed to empower low-income women entrepreneurs by linking them with formal financial systems and building their capacity to run sustainable businesses.

We designed credit products tailored to the needs of SHG-led microenterprises and worked to streamline financial processes within participating institutions. It forged strategic partnerships with financial service providers and government stakeholders to enable the flow of need-based, affordable credit. MSC also supported the formalization of women-led enterprises and implemented targeted capacity-building initiatives to enhance their financial and business management skills.

By May 2025, the initiative enabled over 75,000 SHG-led microenterprises to access formal credit and resulted in loan disbursements exceeding USD 66 million. It significantly improved women’s access to enterprise finance, strengthened their ability to manage and grow their businesses, and contributed to advancing financial inclusion across underserved rural communities.

The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.