Women entrepreneurs are encountering significant financial challenges despite business ownership growth. According to a comprehensive survey of 450 women entrepreneurs across Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Pune, 85% faced problems in getting loans from public sector banks and 60% had issues accessing financial services including loans, savings accounts, insurance and working capital. The credit gap in India's MSME sector is estimated at around ₹30 lakh crore, with women entrepreneurs being the least served segment. Many women are unable to grow their businesses due to lack of formal loans, documentation and ownership of collateral, as reported by the survey findings.
According to Business Standard analysis of ASUSE data for January-December 2025, women's business ownership has shown significant growth, with women owning 16.2% of businesses in the national capital Delhi and accounting for 13% of the workforce. However, this growth remains concentrated in informal sectors, as reported by Business Standard. Informal economies built around trade rather than manufacturing and services exclude women the most, with women accounting for less than 20% of the workforce in the eight most trade-dependent cities surveyed. The data reveals remarkable correlations between women's enterprise presence and employment across India's 46 million-plus cities, with cities like Greater Visakhapatnam showing 31% business ownership and 42.5% workforce participation, while Surat records 43.2% business ownership and 41.4% workforce participation. Srinagar figures at the bottom with 9.9% business ownership and 10% workforce participation.
Despite business ownership growth, significant gender disparities persist in employment and compensation. As reported by Business Standard, female labour workforce participation has climbed to an eight-year high of 27.2% across India's 46 million-plus cities, rising from 19.8% in 2018. However, this gap extends to earnings, with women earning ₹7,000 monthly for salaried positions compared to ₹17,000 monthly for self-employed women. According to Business Standard, this data shows that gender discrimination remains prevalent in 21st century India. The optimism implicit in the ASUSE data should not suggest a dynamic change in women's participation rate, as the gender divide remains distressingly wide despite the improvement from previous years.
By early 2026, over 3.39 crore women entrepreneurs had registered on the Udyam portal, representing almost 38% of the total number of MSMEs registered in India. These enterprises are helping to create jobs, incomes and local economic growth across the country. Success stories demonstrate the transformative impact of proper support systems. Priyanka Chavan of Maharashtra grew a small salon to a beauty academy with an annual turnover of ₹60 lakh through training and mentoring. Andhra Pradesh's Balimidi Aruna developed a traditional sweets business, employing 15 women, by providing mentoring and support. These cases highlight that lacking entrepreneurial intent is not the problem, but having limited access to financial resources and institutional support.
The data suggests that expanding women's access to credit is crucial for inclusive economic growth, as reported by Business Standard. However, previous policy interventions like the Bharatiya Mahila Bank failed due to lack of proper planning and customized lending norms. The bank, inaugurated in November 2013 and merged with SBI in April 2017, disbursed just ₹192 crore to women borrowers compared to ₹46,000 crore through SBI's exclusive women branches. Government efforts like Udyam Registration, Mudra loans, Startup India, Stand-Up India, PSB 59 Minutes Loan Portal, ONDC, and India's Digital Public Infrastructure have enhanced access to formal business ecosystems. However, experts emphasize that the next step should be making credit more readily available, increasing flexibility in credit models, mentoring-based finance, and improved cooperation among banks, financial technology firms, development institutions and civil society organizations.
