Being an entrepreneur is difficult when you are a woman attempting to establish a brand in a male-dominated industry. Currently, men account for 86% of Indian entrepreneurship, which presents numerous hurdles as there are larger mountains to scale.

Confidence is one of the most critical characteristics that every female entrepreneur should have. If you want to breach the glass ceiling, you must believe in your abilities and talents. However, the most common issue experienced by female entrepreneurs was the difficulty in raising capital. They say that this difficulty is primarily the product of gender bias, just like any other workstation.

What are the Government Funding Schemes For Women Entrepreneurs?

Governments at the national and state levels have developed funding packages for female entrepreneurs. To encourage women to start small businesses and employ their abilities, the government gives a few loans in India:

1. Annapurna Scheme.

The State Bank of Mysore offers this initiative to women entrepreneurs starting a food catering business to sell packaged meals, snacks, and so on. This loan requires a guarantor in addition to the business assets provided as collateral security. The maximum amount awarded is ₹50,000, to be repaid in monthly installments for 36 months.

2. Women Entrepreneurs’ Package for Stree Shakti:

The majority of SBI branches provide this program to women who have participated in the state-run Entrepreneurship Development Programs (EDP) and control 50% of a company or business. When a loan amount exceeds ₹2 lakhs, the initiative additionally provides a lower rate of interest by 0.50%.

3. Business Loan offered by Bharatiya Mahila Bank

With loans against property, MICRO loans, SME loans, and retail sector loans, this loan serves as a support network for aspiring female entrepreneurs. Under this loan, the maximum loan amount is ₹20 crores. Furthermore, a loan up to ₹1 crore can be obtained without the need for collateral security.

4. The Dena Shakti Plan

Dena Bank offers this program to female entrepreneurs that work in manufacturing, retail, microcredit, agricultural, or small business and need financial support. The maximum loan amount for housing, education, and retail commerce is ₹20 lakhs.

5. The Udyogini Plan

With the help of this program, Punjab and Sind Bank is able to offer flexible terms and low credit rates to women entrepreneurs operating small businesses, retail stores, and agricultural. For women in the 18–45 age range, the maximum loan amount under this scheme is ₹1 lakh.

6. The Cent Kalyani Plan

The Central Bank of India offers the programme to assist women in launching new businesses, growing current ones, or making changes to already-existing ones. Women working in village and cottage industries, micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, self-employment, retail commerce, agriculture and related fields, and government-sponsored programs are eligible to apply for this loan. Under the initiative, the maximum amount that can be awarded is ₹100 lakhs.

7. Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme.

The Punjab National Bank launched this plan to help women entrepreneurs in small-scale companies by providing them with soft loans that they can repay over a 10-year period. The highest amount awarded under this scheme is ₹10 lakhs, and the interest rate depends on market rates.

8. The Mudra Yojana Scheme for Women

The Government of India’s plan is for individual women who wish to create small new ventures and firms, as well as groups of women who want to start a venture together.

If the loan is approved, you will be handed a Mudra card, which acts similarly to a credit card but has a maximum of 10% of the loan amount.

9. Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana Scheme.

The Oriental Bank of Commerce offers this scheme to women who singly or jointly own 51% of a private firm. Loans of ₹10 lakhs to ₹25 lakhs for small-scale enterprises do not require collateral security and have a 7-year repayment duration.

10. Trade-related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development

The TRADE plan attempts to empower women by financing projects, offering specific training and counseling, and gathering data. The proposal calls for a government subsidy of up to 30% of the entire project cost, as determined by financial institutions. Even so, these institutions would fund the remaining 70%.

Non-governmental funding scheme for female entrepreneurs.

One of the most significant challenges that female entrepreneurs encounter when beginning a business is obtaining finance. Government-initiated women-centric policies can assist close the gap between institutional lending and the financial needs of female entrepreneurs. Currently, there are a few nongovernmental platforms in India that are:

1) Saha Fund

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has authorized Saha Fund as the country’s first women-focused venture capital fund. They intend to invest not only in female-founded firms, but also in those where women hold senior management positions and in those that produce products and services for women. To uncover and harness the market’s untapped female talent, Saha Fund invests in startups in e-commerce, social media, mobile, cloud, analytics, education, healthcare, analytics, food tech, and digital platforms.

2. Women Entrepreneurs of India

Women Entrepreneurs India assists women in starting new enterprises based on their abilities, interests, and skills, as well as expanding their existing firms. Furthermore, they work to educate, teach, support, and motivate women entrepreneurs all throughout India by providing new business ideas, startup finance opportunities, marketing support, and mentor relationships.

3) SonderConnect

SonderConnect aspires to build a pipeline of high-potential female entrepreneurs and help them scale by linking them with investors and providing access to a powerful global network. They assist women in their business journey toward self-government. They also help people succeed in their endeavors by providing thorough, expert-led mentoring programs.

4. Her Money Talks.

HerMoneyTalks is India’s first financial services marketplace for women. They seek to connect women to financial institutions and facilitate credit for women. They also connect women to financial institutions and specialists, hence facilitating financial services and credit for women in India.

5. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding, while not widely used, is a wonderful way to raise funds. However, there are two approaches to this: reward-based or through equity. In the first instance, you send a product or service from your company in exchange for the money given. In terms of equity, you give the ‘lenders’ a stake in your company, i.e. they buy your company’s stock.