A Session On Better Banking For Women Entrepreneurs

Aiming at bridging the gap between banks and entrepreneurs, the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE), a Hyderabad-based non-profit organization working for the welfare of women entrepreneurs, conducted a one-to-one interaction session with banks for entrepreneurs here on Wednesday.

#DigitalErra Thought Corner

More than 100 women entrepreneurs from the city took part in the event. As many as five banks, including SBI, Canara Bank, IDFC, NSIC and SIDBI interacted with the women providing them necessary guidance pertaining to loans and other documentation procedures.

Hassles Faced While Accessing Credit

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Finance is regarded as a life-line for any enterprise, be it big or small. However, women entrepreneurs suffer from shortage of finance on two counts. Also, their access to the external sources of funds is limited.

Speaking to Express, Rupa Rani, Founder chairperson, COWE, Karnataka, said they wanted to create a platform where the women entrepreneurs would be able to directly interact with bankers and get their doubts clarified. “Sometimes the women are told by some representatives about collateral-free loans. However, when they go to the banks, they are told that no such facility exists,” she said adding that the event was also an opportunity for the women to understand the kind of documentation needed for processing the loans.

“They are made to run around several times asking to furnish some document or the other. Sometimes, the fault equally lies with the entrepreneurs who would not have furnished all the necessary details. Eventually the women get discouraged from going ahead with their initiatives,” Rupa Rani pointed out.

Need For More Such Workshop

There is a need to make aspiring women entrepreneurs aware of obtaining financial support such as debt financing, equity investments, grants and non-financial support including incubation, acceleration support, mentoring and technical experts.

Government schemes and programmes dealing with the pain-points of start-ups through direct interaction and support.

Creating a capacity to scale and finding the right people from both banking institutions as well as Women Associations would be extremely gainful.

Conclusion

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The main aim of these workshops is in simplifying the external entrepreneurial ecosystem by enabling ease of doing business with easy access to credit facilities from banks, FIs and MFIs.

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