True growth of a country is impossible without recognizing the women workforce. Each day more and more women are taking charge of their careers, even choosing to start businesses by themselves.
At such times, the government, banks, and private finance companies are introducing new schemes to support them. This article will look at all such schemes that provide small business loans for women in 2024.
The most popular business loans for women entrepreneurs are listed below -
Sl. No. | Loan Provider | Loan Amount | Interest Rates | Beneficiaries | Link for Application |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Rs.10 Lakh - Rs.1 Crore |
The lowest applicable rate of that bank for that category, not to exceed MCLR + 3% + tenor premium |
SC/ST or women entrepreneurs |
||
2 |
- Shishu: Up to Rs.50,000 - Kishor: Rs.50,000 - Rs.10 Lakhs - Tarun: Rs.10 Lakhs Rs.10 Lakh. |
Deregulated, banks charge reasonable rates within the overall RBI guidelines. |
Everyone |
||
3 |
Up to Rs.3 Lakh |
Competitive, subsidized, or free for special cases |
Women entrepreneurs (especially from the rural and underdeveloped areas) |
Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation Udyogini loan page |
|
4 |
Rs.1 Lakh to Rs.5 Crore |
Starting from 12% p.a. |
Everyone |
||
5 |
Rs.2 Lakh to Rs.10 Crore |
MCLR +1.15% to MCLR + 2.40 |
Women entrepreneurs |
||
6 |
Up to Rs.10 Lakh |
0.50% concession for Priority sector enterprises and 0.25% for non-priority sector enterprises. |
Women entrepreneurs |
||
7 |
Up to Rs.100 Lakh |
Up to Rs.10 Lakh - concession in ROI = MCLR + 0.25%; from Rs.10 Lakh to Rs.100 Lakh - MCLR + 0.50%. Additional Interest concession of 0.25% if the account is rated by an external agency. |
Business-women |
||
8 |
Rs.10 Lakh to Rs.5 Crore |
As per prevailing guidelines of the Bank linked to RLLR of the Bank. |
Women entrepreneurs |
||
9 |
- Up to Rs.1 Crore (for service enterprises) - Up to Rs.2 Crore (for manufacturing enterprises) |
0.25% concession on the applicable interest rate |
Women entrepreneurs |
||
10 |
Rs.0.10 Lakh to Rs.4 Lakh |
Repo + Spread (3.60%) |
Members of Self Help Groups |
||
11 |
Up to Rs.10 Lakh |
Approximately 9.80% |
Women entrepreneurs |
||
12 |
Rs.23,000 to Rs.50,000 |
21% - 28% |
Women entrepreneurs |
Please note that these numbers are subject to change at the lender’s discretion.
The Government of India has come up with many schemes that help women get funds for starting or expanding a business. Some of the popular government business loan schemes are:
This scheme is run under the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for financing small business loans for women and SC/ST. Some features of this scheme are listed below -
This scheme is for the manufacturing, servicing, or trading sector
One can get bank loans between Rs.10 Lakh and Rs.1 Crore
At least 1 SC or ST or female entrepreneur must get the loan per bank branch
The eligibility criteria for this scheme are -
Candidate should be SC/ST and/or women entrepreneurs
Candidate should be above the age of 18
In case the enterprise has multiple owners, at least 51% of the shareholders or controllers should be of the above-mentioned category
Loans applicable only for greenfield projects, i.e., the first venture of the beneficiary
Candidate should not be a defaulter in any bank or financial institution
The scheme is available in all commercial bank branches, and can be availed by -
Directly contacting the bank branch
Contacting the Lead District Manager
Visiting the SIDBI Stand-Up India portal
If applying through the portal, you can follow these steps -
Step-1: Visit the portal, click on ‘Register’, and answer the questions on the registration page.
Step-2: The portal will classify you as a ‘Trainee Borrower’ or a ‘Ready Borrower’. You will also get feedback on your eligibility.
Step-3: You can then choose to register and log in. Post this, you will be taken to the main dashboard.
This scheme was launched on 8th April 2015 to provide loans to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. This scheme is not just for women and everyone can avail of it.
But, if you are searching for ‘startup business loans for womens’, this might be a good option for you as business-women make up a good portion of the beneficiaries.
The funds of the Mudra loans are classified into 3 broad categories -
Shishu – This category covers loans up to Rs.50,000.
Kishor – This category covers loan amounts between Rs.50,000 and Rs.5 Lakh.
Tarun – This category covers loans from Rs.5 Lakh to Rs.10 Lakh.
The objective is to give the highest priority to Shishu loans and then to Kishor or Tarun loans.
Here's the eligibility criteria for a MUDRA loan -
Candidate should be an Indian citizen
Candidate should have a business or a business plan
The business should be non-farm related
The business may belong to either the manufacturing, processing, trading, or service sector
To apply for a MUDRA loan, you can follow these guidelines -
Loans can be availed from any bank branch, Non-Banking Financial Company, or Monetary Financial Institution
Application forms or kits can be downloaded from the MUDRA official website
Loans may also be applied online through the UdyamiMitra portal
Note: There are no middlemen engaged by MUDRA and candidates are advised to keep away from persons posing as Agents or Facilitators of PMMY/MUDRA.
The Udyogini scheme was started especially for women entrepreneurs from the rural and underdeveloped areas. Here are some features about the Udyogini scheme -
Under this scheme, subsidized loans are provided to women
The maximum amount of loan that can be availed under this scheme is Rs.3 Lakh
All women are eligible but special preference is given to widows, destitute, and specially-abled women
Any business that falls under the Small Scale Industries like fishing, sewing, bakery, library, poultry, dairy can be started under this scheme
After the loan has been sanctioned, training is provided for 3- days under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP). After completion of the training, the money is released.
The eligibility criteria for applying for a loan under this scheme are listed below -
Candidate’s family income should be less than Rs.1,50,000 for women belonging to general and special category
Age of the candidate should be between 18 and 55 years
Applying for ‘startup business loan for womens’ is a simple process as you can approach the bank branches that offer loans under the Udyogini Scheme. For more information, you may visit this Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation Udyogini loan page.
This is an initiative of the SIDBI that is not especially for women but can be a great help to all entrepreneurs. This website allows businesses to avail of funds in a hassle-free manner. Some features of this scheme are listed below -
It is a website where you can apply for all the government scheme loans in one place
The loan gets approved within 59 minutes
The whole process takes not more than 1 week
Loan amounts starting from Rs.1 Lakh to Rs.5 Crore can be availed from the same website
The entire process of applying to PSB Loans is extremely simplife and user-friendly. You can follow these steps -
Step-1: Visit the PSB Loans in 59 minutes website
Step-2: Register using your name, mobile number and email ID
Step-3: Post registration, you can select your funding requirements as 'Business Loan'
Step-5: After selection of fund requirement, choose the scheme you want to apply under and provide required details
Just like the government, many banks have their own schemes for women entrepreneurs. Here is a list of a few ‘startup business loan for womens’ offered by various banks -
This is a scheme for women entrepreneurs initiated by the Union Bank of India and can be availed at all of their branches. Here are some important features of the scheme -
These are term loans that can be availed for purchasing, constructing, or renovating a business premise
This loan can also be utilized for purchase of new plant, machinery, or working capital requirements
The loan amount that can be availed is between Rs.2 Lakh and Rs.10 Crore
A loan under this scheme is exempted from any processing fee till Rs.2 Crore
For loans above Rs.2 Crore, there will be a 50% concession on the processing fee
The eligibility criteria for this scheme are listed below -
If it is a Self Help Group (SHG), it must have an Udyam Registration
The MSME or SHG applying for the loan should be owned and managed by women
If the MSME is not owned by an individual, minimum 51% of the shareholder should be women
To apply for small business loans for women under the Union Nari Shakti Scheme, you can directly walk into the nearest Union bank branch. For more details about the scheme you can refer to the Union Nari Shakti page on the Union Bank of India website.
In order to encourage and empower women to start their own business and be involved in income generating activities, PNB has rolled out this scheme. Here are some features related to this scheme -
Under this scheme, preference will be given to women who are SC/ST/BPL card holders
Women who are trained in R-SETIs/Skill Development Institutions/any training institute will be preferred
Loans can be availed up to a maximum of Rs.10 Lakh, in the form of either term loans or overdraft facility
The loan money can be used for setting up a new unit, expanding, or modernizing an existing unit
The loan amount may also be used for acquisition of fixed assets, like plants, machinery, equipments, furniture, or fixtures
An MSME or an individual who meets these criteria are eligible for taking a loan under this scheme -
Candidate must be a female entrepreneur or if an enterprise is not owned by an individual, minimum 50% of the financial holding should belong to women
Candidate should not be a defaulter to any bank or financial institution
Candidate or enterprise should not be availing a loan under a government sponsored scheme
To apply for a loan under the PNB Mahila Udyami Scheme, you can directly walk into your nearest PNB bank branch. For more details about the scheme you can refer to the PNB Mahila Udyami PDF on the PNB website.
Looking for ‘startup business loan for womens’ by the Central Bank of India? The Cent Kalyani Scheme for business-women is initiated by the Central Bank of India, whose details you can find below -
Women entrepreneurs can take a loan under this scheme to start a new project or expand or modernize their existing unit
There is no processing fee for loans under this scheme
The loans can be availed for a maximum of Rs.100 Lakh
Any woman entrepreneur who has a running business, or wants to start a business is eligible to apply for a loan under this scheme.
Their profession should be classified as a micro/small enterprise, i.e they should be engaged in manufacturing and/or service activity, like handloom, handicraft, food-processing, garment making etc.
Candidates may also be professionals or self employed, for eg., doctors, chartered accountants, or trained in art/craft, etc.
They may also be transport operators, like three wheeler, or four wheeler operators
Retail trade, education and training institutes, or Self Help Groups are not eligible for loans under this scheme
To avail a loan under this scheme, you can walk into any Central Bank of India branch or contact the Women Entrepreneur Cell no 022 66387777. For more details on the scheme, you may also visit the Cent Kalyani page on the Central Bank of India website.
The Canara Mahila Vikas is one of the small business loans for women rolled out by the Canara Bank. Some details about the scheme are listed below -
The loan amount can be used for purchasing/constructing of business premises, machinery, equipment, or vehicle for business use
The loan can also be used as working capital requirements for MSMEs including retail traders
The amount can be availed as both working capital and term loan
The loan amount that can be sanctioned under this scheme is from Rs.10 Lakh to Rs.5 Crore
Candidates can avail a concession of up to 50% upon the upfront/processing fee
All women entrepreneurs are eligible to take a loan under this scheme to grow their business. Here are the eligibility criteria -
If the loan is being availed by a non-individual, a minimum of 51% share capital or units should be held by women
In case of an existing business, it should have completed 2 years of business operations as well as a satisfactory track record with their existing banker
If the loan is being availed by a new business, the bank should have satisfactory market opinions on the prospect of the project
The minimum consumer CIC scores from any empanelled credit bureaus should be 650
This loan can be directly availed from any branch of Canara bank. For more information about this scheme, you can take a look at the Mahila Vikas Loan page on the Canara Bank website.
The IOB SME Mahila Samridhhi scheme is from the Indian Overseas Bank for the empowering of businesswomen. Here are some details about this scheme if you are looking for ‘startup business loan for womens’ -
The loan can be taken to set up a factory/business premises, which can either be a manufacturing or service enterprise qualifying under Micro or Small enterprises
The loan money may also be utilized to upgrade the existing unit and purchase of equipment, machineries, computers, etc.
The loan can be sanctioned either in the form of term loan for fixed assets or cash credit for working capital
Manufacturing enterprises can get a loan of up to Rs.2 Crore
Service enterprises can get a loan of up to Rs.1 Crore
The processing charges will be Rs.200 per Lakh, which can go up to a maximum of Rs.20,000
The eligibility criteria for this loan are mentioned below -
Candidate’s age should be between 21 to 50 years
The candidate should be qualified (minimum Graduate), and candidates with technical qualification will be given preference.
Candidates may be professionals, who are working in any field
A Proprietorship Concern or a partnership with women in the lead, as well as Private Limited companies with a woman as the Managing director / Director in a key position are eligible
Existing units fully managed by a woman entrepreneur are also eligible under the scheme
The candidate should be KYC compliant
The candidate should not be in the RBI defaulters list
The candidate’s CIBIL report should be satisfactory
This loan can be directly availed from any branch of the IOB. For more information about this scheme, you can take a look at the IOB SME Mahila Samridhhi PDF on the Indian Overseas Bank website.
The Indian Bank launched their new product, IND MSME Sakhi, that is one of the small business loans for women. to encourage women who own small businesses. The top features of this scheme that aims to encourage women are as follows -
This loan can be availed by individual women who are members of a Self Help Group
The loan amount can be used to set up manufacturing, servicing, or trading units
The loan amount under this scheme can be between Rs.0.10 Lakh to Rs.4 Lakh
There will be no processing charges under this scheme
The eligibility criteria for applying for a loan under this scheme are listed below -
Candidates should be members of a Self Help Group
Candidates should have a satisfactory repayment track record for 2 years
Candidates may have availed 2 rounds of finance from an SHG and repaid both (the second might be running)
The candidate’s age should be between 18 and 65 years
To avail a loan under this scheme, you can walk into any branch of the Indian Bank. You can also apply online by going to the IND MSME Sakhi Loan page and clicking on the ‘Apply for Loan’ button.
The UCO Roop Sangam is an initiative of the UCO Bank for women entrepreneurs. Some features of this scheme are as follows -
This loan can be availed in the form of a term loan or a cash credit
The maximum credit that can be availed under this scheme is Rs.10 Lakh, out of which working credit should not exceed Rs.3 Lakh
The eligibility criteria for the UCO Roop Sangam scheme are listed here -
Candidate should be an individual owner of a unit, or, the maximum ownership in a firm should be that of women
Candidates should be in the age bracket of 20 to 60 years
A prospective candidate should preferably have working skill or experience in the intended field of business
You can easily apply for a loan under the UCO Roop Sangam by visiting a UCO Bank branch. To know more about this scheme, you can visit this page on the UCO Bank website.
The IDFC First Bank has their own scheme for encouraging women entrepreneurs, known as the Sakhi Shakti Loan. This is another one of the small business loans for women whose features are mentioned below -
This loan has credit and savings solutions, simple documentation, and doorstep services that can be availed with it
The loan amount that a candidate can get under this scheme is from Rs.23,000 to Rs.50,000
Any woman entrepreneur with any basic identification, such as an Aadhaar card, is eligible for a Sakhi Shakti Loan.
Since the IDFC First Bank gives doorstep service for this loan, you can get in touch with any field officer to apply for this loan. You can also visit your nearest bank branch for the same. For more details you can visit the Sakhi Shakti Loan page on the IDFC First website.
If you want a quicker loan, or instant money to invest in your business, you can consider moneyview personal loans. We offer instant online personal loans that can be used for starting off or expansion of your business.
Some features of the moneyview personal loans are as follows -
You can check your eligibility for a moneyview personal loan in just 2 minutes
You can get a loan amount ranging from Rs.5,000 to Rs.10 Lakh
These loans are collateral free, which means, you won’t have to pledge any asset or arrange a guarantor
Interest rates are affordable, starting from just 10% per annum
The process of application is completely paperless
You can repay the loan in easy installments, that can be anywhere between 3 months to 5 years
Even if you have a CIBIL or Experian score as low as 650, you are eligible for this loan
Once your loan application is filled, your loan amount gets disbursed within 24 hours, in most cases
The eligibility criteria for a moneyview personal loan is very inclusive. If you are looking to use it as a business loan and are self-employed, the criteria are -
Your age must be between 21 and 57
Your monthly in-hand income must be minimum Rs.15,000
Your monthly income must be credited directly to your bank account
Your minimum CIBIL or Experian score must be 650
You can apply for a moneyview instant personal loan in just 4 easy steps. Take a look at them -
Step-1: The first step is to check your eligibility. You can do it on the moneyview website in just 2 minutes.
Step-2: Next, you need to select the loan amount and the tenure, based on the options provided to you.
Step-3: Upload all the relevant documents so that they can be verified.
Step-4: After the documents have been verified, sign the loan agreement. Once that is done, the loan amount will be credited to your bank account within 24 hours in most cases.
Today, more than 20% of the MSMEs in India are owned by women. The government as well as the banks are eager to empower and encourage more women to step into their entrepreneurial shoes.
Even for a private limited company, or a non-individual owned company, if more than 50% of the stakeholders are women, you are eligible for these schemes. These schemes are easy to avail, and are often subsidized by the government.
And in case, you need some extra cash instantly to invest in your business, you can always consider moneyview instant personal loans. Remember, if you get a loan from us in March, you can enjoy our special #ZeroEMIOffer as part of our Women’s Day celebrations!
For more details, you can visit our website or download our app!
Yes, business loans can be taken for new businesses as well as established businesses. But all schemes might not be available for all types of businesses. You can get in touch with the concerned bank for more details.
It depends on the type of loan you opt for. If your loan is a secured loan, you may need collateral and a guarantor for your business loan. In most cases, you will be able to get a bigger loan if it is a secured loan.
How much time it will take for a loan to get sanctioned will completely depend on the scheme as well as your paperwork. You can always opt for PSB Loans and get a loan within 59 minutes.
The interest rate on a business loan will depend on the loan amount and your credibility as a borrower. Interest rates on business loans start from 7.95% and may go up to 22.50%.
There are many government schemes that prioritize women entrepreneurs. Even banks encourage women to grow their businesses. But in the end the ease of getting a loan will depend on the following factors -
Thank you. Your feedback is important to us.