ЁЯСНЁЯСНЁЯСНЁЯСНЁЯСНWomen empowerment vis a vis MSMEs

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Invest in Women, Accelerate progress
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It is abundantly clear that if economies, nations, neighborhoods, and communities wish to thrive, financial services providers must focus on women. Let me start by asking a question. Do you know how many women there are in the world? 3.95 billion. With India and China ranked 1st and 2nd in the тАШmost populousтАЩ category, the number of women in these two countries alone comprise approx.1.3 billion. With approx. 36.3% of Indians deemed urban, a median age of 28.2, and approx. 28% of women in the age group of 20-49 (Source 1), combined with various other socio-economic factors, including the oft-repeated Internet penetration of around 48%, high adoption, and increase in smartphone usage, it would seem but natural that women would be a natural target segment for financial services providers, fintech companies, NBFCs, and other allied businesses. The truth is… Numbers donтАЩt lie. As per the тАШIndia Inequality Report 2022тАЩ less than 32% of India own a mobile phone (Source 2). The report goes on to say that women have handsets that donтАЩt cost much, arenтАЩt as sophisticated, and more importantly, owning a mobile device in many households is a decision taken by a man. In rural India, *Internet subscribers number less than 34 per 100, according to the report. Despite disheartening numbers, there are other factors that weave a compelling narrative for women. MSMEs contribute 45% to IndiaтАЩs exports and 30% to the GDP. 20.37% of MSME owners are women (Source 3). Why do women-led businesses form only 10% of the gross loan portfolio of most financial services providers (Source 4)? Lack of access to credit, solutions, tools, and resources that have focused only on the largely male consumers are some of the oft-cited reasons. Cultural biases, gender biases, fewer asset holdings in their name, and lack of a formal тАШcreditтАЩ score or credit history, are several such factors that are barriers to women being financially included, and financially independent.
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Fintech’s can forge a new path
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Technology can create a level playing field for everyone. Banking and financial services providers can leverage technology as a solution and different channels as mediums for delivery. Better outreach, and improvement of financial awareness through digital literacy programs, can lower the barriers to important information for understanding and decision-making. For example, a womenтАЩs empowerment group like SEWA (Self Employed WomenтАЩs Association) uses pre-recorded messages relayed over a voice call or through WhatsApp. Relevant and important information through SMS reminders can also be an important use of mobile technology. Digital banking through platform solutions like FINTAP by FIA can prove to be easy to use, convenient, safe, and fast. Checking a bank account, or withdrawals and deposits become so much easier with the aid of Bank Sakhis or CSP-operated banking kiosks, or doorstep banking, services that encourage women to walk towards financial independence.  Bank sakhis often act as financial advisors, urging women to think of their childтАЩs education or health and promote investments into Government security schemes, digital gold with an investment as low as Rs.10/-, or even inform them of loans available for a business, agriculture, or other investments.  Meanwhile…We all know that women contribute significantly to the well-being of families, societies, and even business. The ascent of women entrepreneurs in almost every business vertical is a vindication of the fact that women can do better when they are provided the right impetus. Mint, in a recent article, states that the AMFI annual report for 2022-2023 reveals 27.50 lakh women investors joined the mutual fund landscape in the last three years, Female Labour Force Participation Rate in the country has improved significantly by 4.2% in 2023 and now stands at 37%. (Source 5) Strategies to target women must include:  Leveraging AI-powered technology to min business intelligence that can help customize products and services to cater to women.Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a great level-playing platform that can bridge the urban/rural divide and facilitate women-led businesses to make significant headway.Develop comprehensive women-centric skilling programs with the help of NSDC and its various arms to create a woman-friendly ecosystem to develop skills, awareness, or entrepreneurship among other skills.  Mobile banking can increase access to financial products such as health, life, and livestock insurance, lowering the barrier to access which can make significant inroads into womenтАЩs financial inclusion.Improve social protection which acts as a critical safety net during crises, allowing women to benefit from cash transfers, food security, and several other Govt. schemes that are essential to help them break the cycle of poverty, education, and opportunity.Collaborate with organizations such as SEWA that not only provide women with a platform for their skills but are also working on their digital training. Easier access to credit can embolden women to foray into the world of business, get credit, or loans, and achieve financial goals. Studies reveal that loan delinquency among women is much lower than in men тАУ 5.2% as compared to 6.9%. (Source 6)While the share of women borrowers may show an uptick, the fact remains that out of 600+ million females in India, we still have only about 13% of women willing to borrow money (Source 7). With an increasing number of women getting better education, economically aware, and financially independent, businesses cannot afford to ignore them. After all, it is a multi-billion-dollar revenue opportunity that businesses, fintechs, etc. cannot afford to ignore. As we approach International WomenтАЩs Day, whose theme coincides with what I have been advocating – Inspire Inclusion.  Sources:Source 1 – ESCAP
Source 2 – Hindustan Times on Oxfam Report&*
Source 3 & 4 – IDR – Making Digital Financial services work for women by Kalpana Ajayan
Source 5 – Live Mint – Women in Finance: How to overcome challenges holding female participation back
Source 6 – Live Mint тАУ Women pip men in matters of lending credit profile
Source 7 – Economic Times – International WomenтАЩs Day тАУ Healthy Growth in Women Borrowers by Anushka Sengupta

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