A future led by women entrepreneurs
Dear Readers,
“I am very capable of kicking a tall person in the head with a roundhouse. But I am working on my defence,” Adena Friedman told Bloomberg Markets in 2017. Soon after she became the first female boss of the global exchange Nasdaq. A black belt in taekwondo, she believed in only one thing: “You can be anything”.
Friedman said, “What I really hope is that young women realise anything is possible. You can be a CEO of a company if you want to be, or become an astronaut. In financial services, there is nothing that limits you from reaching the top of an organisation,”
I don't know why but, honestly, whenever someone spoke about women leadership or women entrepreneurs, I always wondered how courageous and focused Friedman must be... Of course, there are other female writers and leaders whom I admire, from Margaret Mitchell to Indira Gandhi, but on the occasion of International Women’s Day while writing about women entrepreneurship I am just referring to Friedman, a respected business figure.
The Current State of Women Entrepreneurs
We are too late to do diversity planning in India. Aren't we? But it’s better late than never. After Company Act amendments made it mandatory, there has been a significant pickup in the appointment of women on boards of Indian companies, however much needs to be done. While India Inc is struggling to fill the gender gap in top management, the startup world is showing promise with several women making a mark. Perhaps their numbers are not very large but they are surely rising.
Currently, 11 of 17 sectors in India have less than 20 per cent women employees. Banking has 26 per cent and financial services 19 per cent. The IT sector consists of the highest 34 per cent of women in its ranks, according to Sustain Labs Paris, which collects data on various sustainable aspects at India’s top 200 companies. While CIEL HR, a staffing firm, says there are three women for every 10 employees in India Inc, only one makes it to the leadership of 10. Perhaps, India Inc is not showing a rosy picture when it comes to women empowerment, but startups certainly do.
According to a report by Google and Bain & Company, about 13.5-15.7 million enterprises, about 20 per cent of the total, in India are owned by women. This figure was 14 per cent a decade back.
A report by IT and BPO industry body Nasscom and consultant Zinnov says India’s 18 per cent of startups are led by at least one woman founder or co-founder. Out of this, the number of unicorns and potential unicorns was around 36 in 2022.
The data on startups is scattered and difficult to round off but there are approximately 27,000 startups in India, which means about 18 per cent or around 5,000 startups are led by women. The report also found that between 2019 and 2022, about 17 per cent of investment deals in India were by startups with women leaders.
The Rise of Women Founders
Notably, q few fintech firms are working dedicatedly for women, offering them personal loans, helping them build wealth and financing their entrepreneurial dreams as well. The numbers are small compared to the women population but the journey has begun.
Mann Deshi Foundation, India’s first bank for women, has strengthened rural women entrepreneurs with finance and skills development. It has given Rs 500 crore in aggregate financing to 90,000 women and helped set up more than 50,000 micro businesses.
The Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub (RBIH), a subsidiary of RBI, has launched its first-ever program ‘Swanari’ to bring every woman into the fold of the mainstream Indian economy. Swanari means Swa-Nirbhar (Self Reliant). Under this initiative, RBIH wants Indian women to access credit seamlessly.
Kinara Capital, an NBFC, has launched ‘HerVikas' program for women entrepreneurs. It has allocated Rs 400 crore for FY24 and disbursed collateral-free business loans to more than 4,305 women entrepreneurs under the scheme.
The need for credit in the women segment is also growing. According to CRIF HighMark Credit data research company, retail loans by female borrowers have gone up (by value) from 25.3 per cent as of December 2021 to 26 per cent as of December 2022.
Nykaa, MobiKwik, Shopclues, Yatra Online Inc, Zivame, MamaEarth, Salt, Lxmi, Basis, Kaleidofin, Upstox, Rebalance and many more startups have women as founders or co-founders.
The Future of Women Entrepreneurs
While the startup numbers look more promising compared to India Inc, a lot more support is needed. There is a rise of women investors in the stock market, which means the focus on building wealth is increasing. Last year the proportion of women investing in the stock market increased to 24 per cent from 16 per cent. The male-to-female ratio on the Zerodha app is 84:16.
It's hard to say when the gender gaps will be bridged. But I believe it will happen faster than we can predict as the ecosystem is changing. ESG, equality and gender diversity are the talk of the town today and firms are looking for women-led businesses. In fact, many companies have allocated a proportion of their funds specifically to women-led firms. Also, due to the adoption of hybrid and work-from-home culture in the post-Covid world, there is a hope that more women will join the workforce. This would boost women entrepreneurship as well.
And then, once we are there, it will be all about leadership and not just women. Like Friedman said, “I would like to be known as a great leader, not as a great women leader,”
To encourage our female readers and viewers we have filed a number of articles showcasing and celebrating the achievements of women in finance, click here to read them.
Apart from this, I am adding here the top five stories of the week that you shouldn't miss.
If you have any thoughts or feedback, please feel free to share them with me at amol.dethe@timesinternet.in.
Happy Reading,
Amol Dethe
Editor
ETBFSI
Chief Financial Officer
1yVery good article. Thk You, Editor Ji