Report Highlights Financial Health of SMEs & Women-Owned SMEs

By: WE staff | Thursday, 9 October 2025

• Financial Resilience Institute has published a new report on India's SME and women-owned SME financial health and resilience
• India's SMEs demonstrate excellent financial health and resilience in various indicators

The Financial Resilience Institute, a global leader in financial resilience and well-being, has published its latest report, 'Financial Health and Resilience of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Women-Owned SMEs in India'.

The report shows that SMEs in India are conscious about their financial resilience and display strong financial well-being based on a number of metrics, but it remains challenging for women-owned or women-led SMEs to access financing, therefore creating opportunities for financial institutions and others to provide specific support to that segment.

In the June 2025 study of 409 SMEs with annual revenues of between USD 100,000 and USD 2M, 93 percent of SMEs were willing to learn about, and improve, their financial resilience, and 73 percent of SMEs reported having enough liquid cash or retained earnings to cover six months or more of operational expenses.

Notwithstanding this, almost 76 percent of women-owned SMEs reported three or more challenges in accessing business banking products or services, compared to 68 percent of men-owned SMEs.

Moreover, 42 percent of SMEs indicated that severe weather events had adversely affected their financial health, with women-owned and farm businesses especially hit.

Whereas SMEs tend to rank their lead bank highly, 92 percent feel the lead bank can do more to improve financial health and resilience, especially by delivering custom products and services.

Eloise Duncan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Financial Resilience Institute, added that the research highlights both the resilience of SMEs in India and the potential for financial institutions to better serve them, particularly women-led enterprises, ultimately leading to more economic growth and resilience.