Another International Women’s Day has gone by but we are far from making progress when it comes to finding the right funding schemes for women entrepreneurs! Why is it so important?
India has over 28 lakh women-led businesses, which still accounted for only 12% of MSMEs and startups in India. According to this news piece by Live Mint, over 45% of women-led enterprises in India shut shop during COVID. How can these businesses make a comeback?
In this blog, we will share 5 top non-Government funding schemes for women entrepreneurs that actually help not just monetarily, but with any assistance required to start and grow their business.
Contents
- 1 5 funding schemes for women entrepreneurs in 2022
- 2 SonderConnect for Women entrepreneurs
- 3 HerMoneyTalks funding scheme for Women
- 4 ICICI Bank Scheme for rural women
- 5 Women entrepreneurs India scheme
- 6 Bank of Baroda’s Shakti Scheme for Women
- 7 Bonus: The ONE Government Scheme All Women Entrepreneurs Need
5 funding schemes for women entrepreneurs in 2022
SonderConnect for Women entrepreneurs
An entire organisation that is dedicated to empowering female small business owners? Yes! SonderConnect supports women entrepreneurs setting up their business with expert coaching, access to a network of investors, leaders and other entrepreneurs.
SonderConnects funding schemes for women entrepreneurs involve seed-funding through different mentors in the industry.
Look up Sonder Connects Schemes here
HerMoneyTalks funding scheme for Women
HerMoneyTalks gives women entrepreneurs the financial power they require to set up their business. They conduct Financial empowerment Tests to help women understand their basic finance decision-making skills.
We went LIVE with Nisary M, Founder of HerMoneyTalks to know more about smart investing and how women-led businesses can flourish post a pandemic. Join our online business community to watch the webinar!
ICICI Bank Scheme for rural women
ICICI bank may be a private bank, but it offers several funding schemes and loan options for rural women. The programme provides unsecured loans to women-led groups and helps them in starting or expanding their own businesses.
Through this programme, the Bank aims at promoting entrepreneurship among rural women and helping them earn sustainable livelihoods.
Check out the funding scheme here
Women entrepreneurs India scheme
Women Entrepreneurs India is a funding and growth venture started for women entrepreneurs, by other women! The startup funding support from this organisation gives women a helping hand in establishing a business that fits into the market and stands above the competition.
This support system is also extended towards women entrepreneurs who are planning to upscale their existing business, especially those who got affected by COVID.
Bank of Baroda’s Shakti Scheme for Women
The Shakti Scheme from Bank of Baroda supports women entrepreneurs active in a wide range of sectors including agriculture & allied activities, retail trade, microcredit, education, housing as well as enterprises in the direct/indirect finance, manufacturing and services sectors.
The maximum ceiling on the loans being offered differs based on the sector that your business falls under. The loan is offered with no processing fee and a rebate of 0.5% on loans up to Rs. 5 lakh.
Bonus: The ONE Government Scheme All Women Entrepreneurs Need
The Government’s NITI Aayog has launched a Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) for providing an ecosystem for budding & existing women entrepreneurs across the country. SIDBI has partnered with NITI Aayog to assist in this initiative.
As a funding and growth accelerator, WEP is built on three pillars- Iccha Shakti, Gyaan Shakti & Karma Shakti
- Iccha Shakti seeks to motivate aspiring entrepreneurs to start their business
- Gyaan Shakti offers knowledge and ecosystem support to women entrepreneurs to help them consider entrepreneurship
- Karma Shakti offers hands-on support to entrepreneurs in setting-up and scaling up businesses
Check out the full scheme here
Looking to attract investors? Go online!
A recent report on micro VCs in India showed that funding comes easy to those entrepreneurs who set up a business online. Post the pandemic, several businesses took to creating eCommerce platforms.
The best way to set up an online platform is to create an online store that offers inbuilt tools to accelerate growth. How to set up an eCommerce platform quick enough for a micro VC to notice? Opt for our affordable, easy-to-set online store. You can sign up here and take the guided tour to set up a premium online store for just ₹8/- day!
