In today’s world, women entrepreneurs play an essential role in uplifting economic and social growth and have gained very significant importance as well. Moreover, women-led businesses play an integral role in creation and innovation, job creation and improving the level of poverty, encouraging women to join businesses as well as it’s an emerging revolution, especially in India. That is why women entrepreneurs face various challenges like lack of capital access, lack of resources, lack of training in businesses, some societal barriers, lack of supervision, etc. Considering this, various governments in the world, especially in India, have introduced various types of women entrepreneurs’ schemes and programs with the aim of empowering and encouraging women entrepreneurs and women who are willing to do independent businesses. These schemes will provide financial assistance, training, education, and mentorship to help women succeed in business ventures.
This article will discuss and explore the major schemes of government for women entrepreneurs and their impact and benefits on women.
Major Government Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs in India
1.Mudra Yojana under PMMY (Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana)
The Mudra Yojana is one of the very significant schemes that aims to provide collateral-free loan amounts to micro and small-level enterprises, which also include women entrepreneurs. Under mudra yojana, the loan amount is divided into three segments as follows:
(a) Shishu: Up to ₹50,000
(b) Kishor: ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh
(c) Tarun: ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh
This scheme has given priority to the women entrepreneurs, and it also provides low interest rates to the women borrowers. With the help of this scheme, many women have been able to start their own independent businesses, such as beauty salons, handicrafts, tailoring units and many more. The main focus feature of this scheme is that women can easily secure loans without collateral, which will help them to access finance with ease.
2. Stand-Up India Scheme
This scheme basically focused on encouraging and promoting entrepreneurship to women and women who belong to marginalised groups or communities, such as Scheduled castes (SC) and Scheduled tribes (ST). This scheme was launched in 2016; it provides bank loans between the range of Rs.10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore for the purpose of setting up greenfield enterprises. This scheme empowered the women to establish the medium -scale businesses and also can create the employment opportunities within their communities and groups.
3. Bhartiya Mahila Bank (BMB) Loans
Bhartiya Mahila Bank was established to address the financial needs of women entrepreneurs, but eventually, BMB merged with the State Bank of India (SBI), and its schemes for women entrepreneurs continue to provide benefits for aspiring women entrepreneurs. There are some prominent loans include:
– Shringaar: It aims to offer loans for women to start beauty parlours or boutiques.
– Annapurna: It aims to offer loans for women to start food and catering businesses.
4. Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)
It’s a digital initiative launched by NITI Aayog, it was basically designed to provide the support and promote women entrepreneurs. This digital platform aims to provide finances, mentorship, and required resources for entrepreneurship. It helps women connect with various mentors and industry experts digitally and encourages women entrepreneurs to share their experiences and opinions.
5. Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme
This scheme was launched by the Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI), which aims to provide financial support to women for starting or expanding their businesses. It offers loans at very low interest rates and provides flexibility in repayment to reduce the financial burden on women borrowers.
6. Udyogini Scheme
The aim of the udyogini scheme is to provide financial support to women entrepreneurs who come from rural and underprivileged backgrounds. It provides loans at a low interest rate or without interest as well to women who belong to economically weaker sections (EWS). This scheme also encourages self-reliance among rural areas women through small-scale businesses such as dairy farming, handicrafts, and retail businesses as well.
Impact of These Schemes on Women Entrepreneurs
- Increased financial inclusion: The feature availability of collateral-free loans enabled women, especially women from rural and underprivileged backgrounds, to access the benefits of formal financial systems.
- Employment Generation: Due to these schemes, women-led businesses help create jobs for other women and boost economic growth and gender equality.
- Skill Development: Many of these schemes provide skill training and mentorship, which helps to make women technologically advanced after getting the technical knowledge that is required to run their businesses successfully.
- Reduction in gender gap: Women entrepreneurs are breaking societal and traditional barriers and also challenging traditional and cultural norms, leading to high-level participation in the growth of the economy.
- Contributing to Innovation: Women bring various and novel perspectives to entrepreneurship, which results in innovative and unique products and services.
Conclusion
Government schemes are playing a crucial role in empowering and encouraging women to pursue entrepreneurship and boost economic growth, as well as breaking societal barriers like gender inequalities. By providing assistance in the areas of finance, skill development, technology, and mentorship, these schemes enable women to realize their entrepreneurial strength and potential.
It’s very important to increase awareness about these government schemes and promote financial knowledge among the people with the help of various digital platforms and advertisements. The information about these schemes should be made easily available on the government website and other platforms. The government should also initiate a campaign to raise awareness about such schemes. Women entrepreneurs are contributing to businesses in a fruitful manner and also leading social and economic transformation and making their empowerment the list of national priorities.
With the continued efforts of the government and their schemes, private sector and society, women entrepreneurs are growing well in the field of business and will lead the way towards more success and a more inclusive and prosperous economy.
