Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard and Frontier Markets to help women-owned businesses in India. Together, the companies launched the She Leads Bharat: Udyam initiative to help 1 lakh or 1,00,000 women-owned small businesses. The initiative focuses on small businesses in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. These businesses will be able to learn and earn more with the help of the 'Meri Saheli Platform'.
According to a Mint report, 10,000 women from this initiative will be selected to grow their businesses by becoming Airtel Payments Bank Business Correspondents (BCs).
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Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, said, "Taking our commitment forward to empower women in rural India to embark on their entrepreneurial endeavours, we are collaborating with Frontier Markets and Mastercard on She Leads Bharat:Udyam. We take pride to welcome them on board as Business Correspondents, joining hands with our existing network of 50,000 women BCs who play a vital role in taking banking and financial services to underserved rural pockets of the country. We look forward to our journey in building a financially inclusive economy."
As per the report, over 20% of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) are owned and run by women, yet they only receive 5% of the total financing provided by the public sector banks. According to the experts, women in India are often less digitised and receive less training to grow their businesses.
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But if the women entrepreneurs receive the right support, they are more likely to repay credit, hire more women, and share the increased income with their families and communities. Thus, women play a vital role in the growth of an economy and a community.
Ari Sarker, President of Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, "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."
