Last updated: February 26th, 2020 12:43 PM

Loan for Women Entrepreneurs

The World Bank estimates that about 25 per cent of women hold accounts in banks for the transaction as against cover 45 per cent. This indicates the state of financial services being availed by women in India especially when it comes to availing loans or making small savings. The Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. was opened in 2013 to emphasise on funding for women-centric economic activities. This bank is to focus predominantly on women as financial products consumers. Additionally, the bank also ties up with NGOs to train and inspire women with entrepreneurial skills. Mobilisation of women for training in vocations like toy making, repair works, weaving, driving etc.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank

Bhartiya Mahila Bank was one of the first banks to offer loans especially, for women-centric occupations/ vocations. The other banks that offer loans to women in business are Oriental Bank of Commerce (financing beauty parlours etc), SBI (Stree Shakti Scheme) and Bank of Baroda (Mahila Arthik Sahay Yojana) Mahila bank has a number of schemes catering to specific vocations. It offers BMB Shringaar Loan to assist women to open their own beauty parlour/ spa and for purchase /construction of shop, purchase of tools and equipment and also meeting day to day expenses of a business. For this, a collateral-free loan upto Rs. 1 Crore is provided under the CGTSM scheme. The loan amount is for a period of upto 7 years and carries an interest rate of 12.25%. BMB Annapurna loan is granted to start a food business/ catering service. It is a term loan. The applicant needs to be between 18 and 60 years old to avail the loan. A collateral-free loan of upto Rs. 1 Crore is granted under the CGSTSM scheme. The amount is loaned for a period of upto 3 years with an interest rate of 11.75%. BMB Parvarish loan is granted to start a daycare centre wherein a collateral-free loan of upto Rs. 1 Crore under the CGSTSM scheme. The loan amount is for a period of upto 5 years with an interest rate of 12.25%. The foremost benefit of this scheme is that women as young as 18 can avail the loan. BMB Kitchen Modernisation loan is intended for working women and housewives. It is meant to be availed for the renovation of the kitchen, purchase of electronic items, furniture and utensils to be used in the kitchen. The loan repayment period for the same is 7 years. The applicant needs to be a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 60 years for salaried persons to avail the same. A minimum of Rs. 50000 and can avail a maximum of Rs. 5 Lakhs under this scheme. These interest rates are lower than those offered by competing banks. For example, the OBC loan carries interest rates of 12.50 to 12.75 per cent. Apart from these special schemes, the transaction process is a lot faster but a lot depends on the financial profile and the kind of product/ service. Identity proof in the form of PAN card and address proofs, income tax returns of the last 2 years, company financials and bank account statements of the last 6 months need to be furnished to avail the loans. Apart from the above-mentioned loans, BMB also furnishes retails loans, SME loans, Microloans and loans against property. Any Indian resident student pursuing higher studies can avail the BMB Saraswati Loan, however, they have a special interest rate/ concession for girl students. Girls can get a 1% rebate in the interest rate to encourage more women to pursue higher education.