Satin Creditcare Network to Launch Women-Led AIF Fund to Foster Inclusive Growth

By: WE staff | Thursday, 24 July 2025

• An AIF debt fund focused on enabling access to debt for underserved MSMEs across India with focus on women led enterprises

Reinforcing its long-standing commitment to financial empowerment and inclusive growth, Satin Creditcare Network (SCNL), one of India’s leading microfinance institutions, has announced the launch of an MSME-focused debt fund helmed by women. To be structured as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) under SEBI regulations, the platform is designed to provide vital debt capital to viable but underfunded micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with a strong focus on those based in rural and semi-urban India.  

At a time when access to capital remains a persistent barrier for small enterprises, SCNL’s new fund emerges as an essential, debt-driven solution. Championed by women, with an all-women Board of Directors and investment leadership team, this fund places women at the center of financial decision-making, capital deployment and economic inclusion.

Leading this initiative, Aditi Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, ESG Head, Satin Creditcare, commented on the vision behind this: “This is more than just a fund. It’s a platform for systemic change, by placing women at the helm financially, institutionally, and socially - we are not only unlocking small enterprise potential, but reshaping the future of finance itself.”

The fund will prioritize investments in sectors that are central to grassroots livelihoods, including agri-tech, manufacturing, health-tech, rural services, education and infrastructure. Built on ESG principles and shaped by a gender intentional lens, the fund is not a standalone initiative; it is a direct extension of SCNL’s broader mission of inclusion across the length and breadth of the nation. 

From enabling last-mile borrowers to designing forward-looking financial structures, Satin continues to move beyond intention into tangible, scalable impact and rewriting the narrative around access, equity, and representation in Indian finance. 

Dr. HP Singh, Chairman cum Managing Director of Satin Creditcare, said, “At Satin, inclusion is not a vertical; it’s the lens through which we build everything. This fund is a natural extension of our mission to create financial systems that truly serve the people they’re meant for, by being responsive to their needs, accessible in their contexts and inclusive by design. We are not simply bridging funding gaps, we are intentionally building systems where representation, resilience, and opportunity are built into the core of how capital flows. By entrusting women to lead investment, we are translating our values into action and shaping a more balanced, resilient, and representative economy.”