MSME lending platform disburses Rs 2,800 crore worth of loans, one-fifth to women entrepreneurs

Lending platform for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Indifi Technologies, has disbursed around Rs 2,800 crore loans to micro businesses in India, the company announced on Thursday. Furthermore, of the 50,000 small businesses to whom the loans have been disbursed, one-fifth are owned by women. Within this segment, 25 per cent of women entrepreneurs are taking a loan for the first time and 25 per cent of them belong to Tier II, III, and IV cities.
 
The report also highlighted that women across ecommerce and restaurant delivery businesses taking loans is higher than those operating in the retail or offline space by 50 percent. 
 
The MSME sector contributes about 30 per cent to India’s GDP, and 45 per cent to India’s exports and is also the second largest employer of workforce after agriculture, as per data shared by the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often highlighted that this sector will play a key role in helping India become a $5 trillion economy.
 
Alok Mittal, Co-founder, and CEO of Indifi Technologies, acknowledged this development and added, “Customer impact is at the core of our inspiration. We believe MSMEs are a key driver in India’s economic ambitions and we are committed to empowering their true potential.” He added, “The progress we have made so far in driving financial inclusion for underserved MSMEs only strengthens our commitment to bridging the MSME credit gap. We are cognizant that we have only scratched the surface but we are determined to go the distance.”
 
The Gurgaon-based fintech company was started in 2015 to address the credit gap within the MSME sector. Its focus, moreover, has been to give loans to underserved and creditworthy businesses that are often caught in challenges such as locked-in working capital, lack of access, barriers related to digital solutions, and more.
 
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