Airtel Payments Bank partners with Frontier Markets, Mastercard to support 1 lakh women-owned businesses

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small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) constitute 20% of all MSMEs yet receive only 5% of the total financing provided by public-sector banks. According to the experts, women in India are often less digitized and receive less training to build their businesses. However, when properly supported, women entrepreneurs are more likely to hire women, more likely to repay credit and more likely to share increased income with their families and communities, serving as core drivers of inclusive economic growth.

“More women entrepreneurs are coming into India’s workforce and adding energy to the economy. When these business owners can access credit and digital tools, they can keep expanding and become more resilient. That’s good for their families, employees and communities.

That’s what inclusive growth is all about," said Ari Sarker, President Asia Pacific, Mastercard. According to the aforementioned firms, the She Leads Bharat:Udyam programme will bring together the private sector, social enterprise, and philanthropy in the banking, financial services, and insurance sector to demonstrate a digital-first model designed to unlock ways for women-owned small businesses to increase their incomes. Frontier Markets will implement the program and leverage its cadre of Saral Jeevan Sahelis—women entrepreneurs—to identify and onboard women-owned small businesses onto their Meri-Saheli platform.