Jaipur: In a boost to women-led businesses, fintech firm Progcap said its ProgShakti initiative witnessed 105% surge in credit limits for women entrepreneurs, with Jaipur emerging as one of the leading centres of growth. The programme is expanding access to credit in Tier 2 and Tier 3 MSME markets, where access to formal credit has historically been limited. Progcap’s co-founder Pallavi Shrivastava said, “One of the biggest challenges for women entrepreneurs has been the traditional requirement of collateral and a male co-applicant. Through ProgShakti, we sought to remove these barriers by offering unsecured working capital loans that women can access independently.” Studies show loan rejection rates for women hover around 19%, compared to 8% for men, often due to lack of collateral and limited credit history. According to SIDBI, the credit gap for women entrepreneurs stands at 35%, underscoring the systemic challenges. tnn
