IMFA Launches Sakhi Seed Initiative for Rural Women

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd. (IMFA) has announced its latest initiative, the Sakhi Seed Initiative, a new grant and mentorship program for empowering rural and nano women entrepreneurs who are unable to secure formal loans due to their weak position in the formal financial system despite having viable business.

It aims to fill the financing gap for women in non-traditional banking systems with catalytic support to early-stage lending. The program will allocate a grant of ₹5 lakh to each of the ten women entrepreneurs who were selected, and provide them with a business plan mentorship program from XIM Bhubaneswar, which will help them to strengthen and scale their businesses.

The Sakhi Seed Initiative is founded on the principle of catalytic capital, which is patient, risk-taking capital to help start-up entrepreneur’s at the most critical and early stage of business development. The program differs from conventional lending programs by targeting those entrepreneurs who have been unable to obtain loans from credit institutions because of lack of collateral, documented credit history or formal business registration.

In rural India, small businesses are a major source of employment for women, who also make up a large portion of their workforce. They frequently do not have access to formal financial systems, however, which prevents them from growing their businesses or operations. IMFA and BIPF hope to offer not just financial support, but also knowledge and guidance in how to create sustainable businesses through this initiative.

Key Highlights:

• ₹5 lakh grants for 10 rural women entrepreneurs, plus mentorship from XIM Bhubaneswar
• Supports women excluded from formal loans due to lack of collateral or credit history
• Combines funding and mentorship to help women build and grow sustainable businesses

The program aims to prove that women who are now not part of the formal credit system can become good entrepreneurs with a combination of capital, mentorship and support of an ecosystem, said Shaifalika Panda, Founder and CEO of the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation.

"The program seeks to build evidence that women who do not currently qualify for formal credit can establish sustainable, growth-oriented businesses when provided with the right combination of capital, mentorship and ecosystem support. Sakhi Seed Initiative has a broader ambition—to create a proof of concept that can influence entrepreneurial finance in India to look beyond collateral and extensive credit history," she said.

For the program to have a greater impact, an advisory board of entrepreneurship, financial and media leaders guide the program. The members are Ajaita Shah, Founder and CEO of Frontier Markets, President of Frontier Innovations Foundation, Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder of Mann Deshi Foundation, Neha Juneja, Co-founder and CEO of IndiaP2P and Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC TV18.

The Future is collaborating with the program. Female Forward platform The knowledge and business school partner will be XIM University, which will provide coaching and capacity building support to the participants in the following areas: Enterprise Planning, Financial Management, Marketing Strategies and Market linkages.

The Sakhi Seed Initiative will provide financial support to women-led businesses, as well as mentoring, and business development assistance, to ensure the businesses are resilient and growth-focused. The program also aims to establish a replicable inclusive entrepreneurial finance model for encouraging wider awareness of the business potential beyond the conventional lending criteria.

This program is a continuation of IMFA and BIPF's mission to encourage women entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development in the rural areas.