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Despite access to formal credit continuing to remain one of the biggest barriers for women entrepreneurs in India, MSME fintech Progcap said through it’s ProgShakti initiative it has addressed this issue by increasing credit limits for women borrowers by 105% over time, reflecting stronger credit profiles and expanding business operations.
“One of the biggest challenges for women entrepreneurs has been the traditional requirement of collateral and a male co-applicant in lending systems. Through ProgShakti, we sought to remove these structural barriers by offering unsecured working capital loans that women entrepreneurs can access independently,” said Pallavi Shrivastava, Co-founder, Progcap.
“Our aim is not just to provide flexible credit, but also to support women-led businesses through capacity building via the ProgShakti Development Program,” he added.
As per studies women borrowers face nearly a 19% loan rejection rate compared to 8% for men, often owing to factors such as lack of collateral, limited credit history and structural barriers within traditional lending systems.
According to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), women entrepreneurs face a 35% credit gap compared to 20% for men, highlighting the challenges women-led businesses face in accessing institutional finance.
Recognising this gap, Progcap had launched ProgShakti, an initiative aimed at expanding access to credit for women-led MSMEs and enabling them to grow their businesses independently.
Till date, Progcap said it has enabled more than ₹10,000 crore of credit to women entrepreneurs through the ProgShakti initiative.
“The platform is also seeing strong engagement, with nearly 90% of women borrowers returning for repeat financing, signalling growing trust in formal credit channels,” the fintech said.
“Women borrowers currently account for 17% of Progcap’s overall portfolio, growing at 40% year-on-year, with almost 90%of these entrepreneurs coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets,” it added.
Ghaziabad leads among cities in terms of women borrowers on the platform, followed by Lucknow, Jaipur City, Bengaluru South and Patna for women entrepreneurs accessing credit through ProgShakti.
Published – March 12, 2026 12:16 pm IST
