Number of women seeking business loans tripled in last 5 yrs: Cibil report

The number of women borrowers grew at a CAGR of 15% during this period, that of male borrowers by 11%; share of women rose from 25% in 2017 to 28% in 2022

The number of women seeking loans to build their own businesses tripled over the past five years, credit research firm TransUnion Cibil said in a report on Monday. The study added that the number of women borrowers grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent during this period. That of male borrowers was up 11 per cent.

“Our most recent analysis shows rapid growth in credit uptake by women across India’s rural and semi-urban geography. The share of women borrowers has increased from 25 per cent in 2017 to 28 per cent in 2022,” TransUnion Cibil said in the report.

The report, however, put things in perspective, mentioning that out of about 454 million adult women, only 63 million were active borrowers. It said that credit access for women, which denotes the percentage of borrowers to the total adult population, has grown from seven per cent in 2017 to 14 per cent in 2022.

“This data emphasises the huge potential for lenders to provide credit access to women across India, empowering them while driving financial inclusion,” the report stated.

The report also stated that women have a better risk profile than men, with 57 per cent of women borrowers having a score of prime or above compared with 51 per cent of male borrowers.

“Insights on the type of credit products availed by women reveal that consumption-led credit products like personal loans and consumer durable loans are gaining popularity among women borrowers,” it said.

The substantial increase in number of women seeking business loans is a reflection of the growth of women-led startups in India, the report stated. During this period (2017 to 2022) the share of women in over-all business loan portfolio has increased to 32 percent from 20 percent, it added.