SEHER Program Launched to Empower Women Entrepreneurs with Financial Literacy and Business Skills

TransUnion CIBIL data insights indicate that demand for business loans by women has grown 3.9 times in the last five years (FY 2019 – FY 2024).

Today, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL launched SEHER, a credit education program designed to empower women entrepreneurs in India. SEHER aims to provide financial literacy content and business skills, enabling women to access the financial tools necessary for growth and job creation in the country's economy.

The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), a public-private partnership platform incubated at Niti Aayog, strives to create an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in India. SEHER is part of WEP’s Financing Women Collaborative (FWC), a pioneering initiative to accelerate access to finance for women entrepreneurs. The program was inaugurated by Ms. Anna Roy, Mission Director, WEP and Principal Economic Adviser, NITI Aayog, along with key dignitaries including Mr. Jitendra Asati, Director (Financial Inclusion), Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance; Mr. Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA); Mr. Neeraj Nigam, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Ms. Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME; and Mr. Rajesh Kumar, MD and CEO at TransUnion CIBIL.

Ms. Anna Roy highlighted, "A lack of financial awareness is often cited as one of the key roadblocks for MSME development, which is a high priority segment for our country's economic growth. To get timely and better access to finance for business growth, entrepreneurs must gain knowledge on all aspects of finance, including their CIBIL Rank and commercial credit report. WEP aims to empower women entrepreneurs by overcoming information asymmetry and providing support across different pillars such as entrepreneurship promotion, access to finance, market linkages, training and skills development, mentoring and networking, and access to business development services.”

Mr. Rajesh Kumar, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, added: “TransUnion CIBIL is proud to partner with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform on this unique initiative aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs across socio-economic categories, age-groups and geographic locations. Business growth is directly dependent on credit access, credit awareness and financial literacy. We aim to propagate financial knowledge and improve the skills of women entrepreneurs so that they can manage their businesses successfully to achieve sustained growth. This program will also help support India’s USD 5 trillion economy goal as more and more women are empowered to start and grow their businesses profitably.”

Supporting and accelerating women-owned businesses and entrepreneurship

According to the Udyam Registration Portal (URP) of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), India has 63 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, of which 20.5% are women-owned, employing as many as 27 million people. The Ministry also reported that rural areas have a slightly greater share of women-owned enterprises (22.24%) compared to urban areas (18.42%). Estimates suggest that by accelerating women's entrepreneurship, India could create more than 30 million new women-owned enterprises, potentially creating 150 to 170 million more jobs – with women-owned businesses’ contribution to employment generated by URP-registered units at 18.73%.

TransUnion CIBIL data insights indicate that demand for business loans by women has grown 3.9 times in the last five years (FY 2019 – FY 2024). A marked 10% growth in the share of the number of women borrowers holding a business loan was seen during this period. Of the 1.5 crore borrowers with a live business loan in March 2024, 38% were women. The portfolio balance for business loans by women borrowers grew at 35% CAGR during the same period (March 2019 to March 2024). Across other products such as agri-business loans, commercial vehicle, and commercial equipment loans, the share of women borrowers has remained constant at 28% (March 2019 to March 2024), as per the TransUnion CIBIL consumer bureau data.

As women-led businesses grow across geographies, empowering them with quick, easy, and cost-effective access to finance is paramount for their sustained growth. With a focus on credit education, SEHER will offer women entrepreneurs access to personalized resources and tools, including financial literacy content. WEP and TransUnion CIBIL are committed to promoting financial and credit awareness by educating women entrepreneurs across the country about the importance of building a good credit history and CIBIL score to avail easier and faster access to finance.