Making financial inclusion a reality for women entrepreneurs

Every year, International Women’s Day gives us a pause to reflect on the state of gender disparity in our world. And just like the disadvantages women face are a legacy of decades of disenfranchisement and oppression, years of sustained efforts and positive initiatives are required to deliver true gender equality. In India, these disparities manifest themselves primarily in the lack of access to finance and capital for women. According to a study by IFC, the financing gap for women-led MSMEs stood at a whopping Rs. 6.37 trillion in 2014. However, there are private enterprises trying to break this cycle of female disempowerment and lack of capital. And some, like IREP , are giving rise to green shoots of hope.

Breaking Bad Habits

IREP is a social impact-driven NBFC, committed to building a more equitable society through financial inclusion. Extending access to loans and credit facilities to female business owners became a big part of this mission, especially with the launch of their ‘Women Entrepreneurship Campaign’. Under the aegis of this campaign, women entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana were offered business loans at rates up to 4% lower than IREP’s existing interest rates. The company immediately observed a sharp uptick in the number of women availing these attractive business loans to give their enterprises a boost, eventually making up more than half the loans disbursed by IREP in the interim.

In fact, IREP has gone beyond just giving women the means to pursue their ambitions. It also created a platform to celebrate and recognize those who do. The company recently ran an online ‘Women Entrepreneurship Campaign’, where users were invited to share stories of inspiring female entrepreneurs. The best stories won their authors a gift vouchers and hampers from Disguise Cosmetics with all participants receiving exciting freebies too.