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Farida, a 36-year-old widow, lives in a small village in Kutch, Gujarat, with two daughters. She feeds her family by growing vegetables in her vegetable garden and supports them financially by working as a housekeeper in neighboring houses. To supplement her income, she opened a small retail store to sell groceries. However, with growing competition in her community, Farida’s customer base began to shrink, making it increasingly difficult for her to sustain her business, eventually forcing her to go out of business.
Without capital to procure products to sell resulting in unstable cash flow, Farida was unable to continue her business even though she qualified to apply for financial aid, namely an Aadhaar card and PAN card, as well. as RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana) health insurance and savings account. She did not want to opt for a government right – adapted to the needs of women like her – because she was not sure of her ability to repay the loan and did not know the terms.
Unfortunately, Farida’s situation is not unique in this regard. Many micro and small businesses run by women face cash flow challenges during their growth trajectory and are unable to get by without help. To this end, the government, along with grassroots organizations, have established regulatory, promotional, credit and advocacy institutions to train, protect, represent and provide financial resources to women entrepreneurs and their businesses, such as women entrepreneurs. direct income transfers, social protection, informal sector employment benefits, gender-responsive income social security, extended unemployment benefits, tax breaks and childcare allowances.
In Farida’s case, state-level programs such as the Udyami Mitra program, Start-Up Gujarat or the Ghardivda bank financing program for women living below the poverty line, would have enabled her to be part of the most large ecosystem of female entrepreneurship in the State; gain an overview of the different programs that could benefit his micro-enterprise and, therefore, benefit from low-interest loans (which could be repaid in realistic installments). However, due to information asymmetry, poor access to details about government rights, and women-centered loans and policies, Farida was unable to support herself.
Recognizing that women play a crucial and central role in the development of India’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) sector, several programs and grants specifically aimed at women entrepreneurs have also been introduced by the government, for example, the National Mission for Women Empowerment, Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY), Entrepreneurship Development Programs (EDP), Management Development Programs and Women Development Corporations (WDC).
However, the gap lies in the lack of knowledge of the very existence of the device or program, of how it can access it and be of benefit. Today, there is an urgent need to educate women entrepreneurs in semi-urban and rural areas about the various government-led initiatives that can provide their businesses with timely financial support.
According to a study conducted by LEAD, Krea University (with a sample of 2,083 women in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha), only 54% of women were aware of the Covid-19 relief measures introduced by the government, as against 76% of men. This is further corroborated by the EdelGive Foundation’s “Landscape Study on Female Entrepreneurship”, where only one percent of women have benefited from government programs. This is mainly due to the fact that only 11 percent are aware of the existence of programs, of which 21 percent have requested them, and less than a third, i.e. 29 percent, have managed to gain any benefit from the programs.
It was also found that women entrepreneurs with the requisite knowledge were reluctant to access the financial assistance made available through government-run plans, programs and programs, such as Farida. There are many reasons for this: many think they will not be able to repay the bank, or they think they will not be given a loan, because they have no collateral in the form of tangible assets. that belong to them, or in their Name. In addition, many of them do not have the required identification documents and feel that the process of obtaining it is too cumbersome.
This clearly highlights the urgent need for women to be part of entrepreneurship networks, through which they can seek and access information that will enable them to support or develop their businesses. In addition, the coordinated efforts of stakeholders across the system – especially grassroots organizations – to ensure adequate dissemination of information and linkages between programs, will ensure that strategic interventions reduce the awareness gap at different levels. semi-rural and rural.
Additionally, presenting women with the vast contours of the ecosystem will provide them with examples of women who have received tangible benefits from programs delivered at the national, state and hyperlocal levels. Finally, community mobilization through local and non-profit self-help groups is essential to provide relevant and timely information, which can help women entrepreneurs in the documentation process involved in using the different programs. With this, the lack of information, asymmetry and disproportionate impact will certainly diminish, heralding a new paradigm for an equitable, resilient and self-reliant India.
The writer is executive chairman of the EdelGive Foundation
