IIMA's CIIE.CO collaborates with RBIs Innovation Hub to Support Women-Owned MSMEs gain access to Credit

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 23 August 2023

The Reserve Bank of India's subsidiary Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and IIM Ahmedabad's startup incubator CIIE.CO has partnered for this year's Swanari Techsprint 2023 program. Swanari Techsprint by RBIH is an annual program that provides a forum for conceptualizing, developing, and supporting the technological innovations that improve women's access to utilize the quality of financial services in India. The program is accepting registrations by 11 September 2023.

The participants who will win can get a chance to participate in a paid Proof of Concept (POC) with the private sector lender HDFC Bank and to make a pitch for pre-seed funding at CIIE.CO. The selected start-ups will also be provided access to networking and mentorship opportunities through CIIE.CO.

According to Supriya Sharma, leads the Research Function of CIIE.CO, less than 20 per cent of MSMEs are led by women entrepreneurs. Through this collaboration, the significant barrier to access to capital for women who want to launch their ventures will be cured.

There are a number of programs run by RBIH which develop solutions to particular problem statements. Techsprint aims to reduce the gender gap by supporting creative digital STP (straight-through process) and will provide solutions specifically for female entrepreneurs.

According to a study conducted by Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State in the MSME Ministry presented to the Parliament, 19.43 per cent of more than 2 crore businesses registered in the Udyam registration portal were owned by women.

Kisan Credit Card loans up to Rs 1.6 lakh per borrower, Dairy Loans, Personal Loans, and Home Loans through the pilot of the RBIs Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit, launched by RBIH.