Government Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs

Women Empowerment Schemes

Govt schemes for Women entrepreneurs aims at providing ladies with the capital they require for starting small businesses. India, being a country of opportunities has witnessed an up rise of women entrepreneurs. Women have become a part of various industries life food, travel, beverages, beauty and the like and making their mark in the same. Despite patriarchy and less social support which were major roadblocks in their journey towards success, women entrepreneurs have successfully entered the lesser explored sectors and have managed to build successful businesses.

Among the employed, a vast portion is of self-employed people. Self-employment offers benefits of working on own terms and conditions. The flexibility feature of self-employment appeals women. Ladies who wish to extend their roles beyond household duties can seek self-employment opportunities. There are no set age and experience criteria for self-employment. Any woman can choose to be a self-employed individual. Knowledge and expertise do count however these do not become stiff candidate assessment parameters. Women can start any work they think they will be able to deliver and continue learning in the process.

Business loan for women in India is being extended under relaxed terms and conditions. The government of India provides such relaxed schemes for women. These schemes are different from others and with specific benefits that they offer. The details are as follows:

Annapurna scheme business loan for women

Annapurna business scheme offers loans to women for starting and running food and catering businesses. The loan under Annapurna business scheme can be availed from the Bhartiya Mahila Bank and the State Bank of Mysore. Loans up to amount Rs 50,000 can be availed with repayment tenure of 3 years. Annapurna Scheme Business loan is secured loan and needs collateral backup. Loan interest rates are applied on market rates basis.

Also Read: Find The Right Investor For Your Startup.

Stree Shakti scheme business loan for women

Stree Shakti business loan for women scheme is available through the State Bank of Mysore. Under the Stree Shakti scheme business loan up to Rs 50 lakh can be availed if borrower has 50 % stake in business. The bank extends business loan for women at 0.5 % interest rate concession for loans above Rs 2 lakhs.

Oriental Mahila Vikas Yojna Business loan

The loan is extended by the Oriental Bank of Commerce. Borrower should have 51 % stake in business. The bank makes business loan available to women at interest rate rebate of 2 %.Collateral free loans can be availed up to Rs 10 lakhs for business units and up to Rs 25 lakhs for SSIs. The repayment term is within 7 years.

Dena Shakti scheme Business loan

The bank extends business loan for women at concession of 0.25% on interest. Loans up to Rs 20 lakhs can be availed for education, retail and housing sector businesses. Loans up to Rs 50,000 can also be availed under micro credit scheme of the bank.

Business loan under Udyogini scheme

Business loan for women under Udyogini scheme is offered by Punjab and Sindh Bank and Karnataka State Women’s development corporation. Udyogini schemes loans are offered under several categories.

Also Read: Start a Business with Low Investments.

Micro credit loans up to Rs 1 lakh can be availed by women in 18-45 age groups with family annual income less than Rs 45000. Women in reserved categories like widows, destitute, disabled, SC/ST can avail the lesser between 30% subsidized loan or Rs 10,000 subsidy. Women in general category can avail lesser between 20 % subsidized loan or Rs 7500 subsidy.

Business loan under Cent Kalyani scheme

Business loan for women under the Cent Kalyani scheme offers collateral and guarantor free loans up to Rs 1 crore. The interest rates are based on markets. Women borrowers are not charged processing fee.

Mahila Udyam Nidhi scheme

The Mahila Udyam Nidhi scheme extends business loan for women up to Rs 10 lakhs. The repayment tenure of loans is within 10 years with 5 years moratorium period. The loan under the scheme is available through the Punjab National Bank.

Business loan under Mudra scheme

The Mudra scheme is a popular scheme by the government for fuelling startups. Mudra scheme for women extend start up loans at concessional terms. Mudra loans can be availed under Shishu, Kishore and Tarun plans for amounts up to Rs 50000, 50000 to 5 lakhs and 5 lakhs to 50 lakhs respectively.  Mudra loans are security free up to Rs 10 lakhs loan requirement.

Women entrepreneurship platform by NITI AAYOG

The women entrepreneurship platform by Government of India, NITI AAYOG is national platform for aspiring and established women entrepreneurs. The platform has at present 5000 registered women entrepreneurs who benefit from partnerships and availability of committed funding of more than US $ 10 million.

Also Read: Tips to Organizing your Business Finance.

Government awards for women entrepreneurship

Apart from loans and subsidy schemes the government also awards women entrepreneurs based on entries and rankings. The table below lists the awards that the government gives to successful women entrepreneurs:

 Novel business ideas for women

Women can start businesses in the traditional fields like Agri business, retail, food, personal care, beauty, interior design, organic food, and in novel fields. Novel fields are recognized by government for contribution to environment and society. Pro-environment and pro society business idea plans get priority funding from government schemes and awards rankings. Few examples of novel fields in which women can start businesses include the following:

• Renewable energy
• Waste management
• Green technologies
• Employment generation businesses
• Green interior decoration/Urban forestry