NEWS  – Women Entrepreneurship Platform and TransUnion CIBIL Partner to Launch SEHER Program to Empower Women Entrepreneurs

HIGHLIGHTS

• Launch Date: 05 July 2024
• Partners: Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL
• Objective: Increase financial awareness among women entrepreneurs in India and aid in accessing and managing credit.

Background

• India’s MSMEs:
  • Total: 63 million enterprises
  • Women-Owned: 20%
  • Employment: 27 million people
• Potential Impact:
  • New Women-Owned Enterprises: 30 million
  • Job Creation: 150-170 million

Objectives and Features

Objectives

• Empower women entrepreneurs with financial literacy and business skills.
• Provide access to financial tools for business growth and employment creation.

Features

• Financial Literacy: Educational content on financial management.
• Credit Awareness: Understanding of CIBIL Rank and commercial credit report.
• Support Pillars:
  • Entrepreneurship promotion
  • Access to finance
  • Market linkages
  • Training and skills development
  • Mentoring and networking
  • Business development services

Current Statistics and Insights

• Women-Owned Enterprises:
  • Greater share in rural areas (22.24%) than urban areas (18.42%).
• Loan Demand:
  • 9X growth in business loan demand by women (FY 2019 – FY 2024).
  • 10% growth in the number of women borrowers holding business loans.
  • 38% of 1.5 crore business loan borrowers in March 2024 were women.
  • 35% CAGR in portfolio balance for business loans by women borrowers (March 2019 to March 2024).
• Other Loan Products:
  • Consistent 28% share of women borrowers in agri-business loans, commercial vehicle, and equipment loans.

Program Goals

• Empower women entrepreneurs with financial tools and literacy.
• Promote credit education and build good credit history and CIBIL score.
• Facilitate easier and faster access to finance.

ABOUT WEP AND TRANSUNION CIBIL

WEP

• Inception: 2018 at NITI Aayog, transitioned to public-private partnership in 2022.
• Mission: Support women entrepreneurs by providing a comprehensive ecosystem.
• Pillars: Entrepreneurship promotion, access to finance, market linkages, training and skilling, mentoring and networking, and business development services.

TransUnion CIBIL

• Role: Provides actionable information and insights to foster trust in the economy.
• Customers: Banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, insurance firms, MSMEs, corporate and individual consumers.
• Mission: Create economic opportunities and personal empowerment through financial solutions.