Ivory Tower: Unlocking women’s potential to lead, innovate will drive inclusive growth

Untapped potential of young women and their reliance on traditional credit forms the need for their greater empowerment in the country. Unlocking their potential to lead and innovate will drive inclusive and sustainable growth, transforming their aspirations into achievements.

This is the conclusion of a report released by NITI Aayog this month on the role of women in India’s financial growth story. The Report, titled ‘From Borrowers to Builders”, has been prepared by Transunion CIBIL WEP and Microsave Consulting.

This report examines the evolving role of women in India’s economic growth, focusing on their untapped potential and the systemic barriers they face. Women constitute nearly half of India’s population but contribute only 18% to the GDP.

The key findings of the report are that women are reshaping the economy, from farms to boardrooms and from small-scale industries to tech startups, increasingly stepping into roles as creators, innovators and decision-makers across diverse sectors. From self help groups (SHGs) in rural areas to tech-enabled entrepreneurs in urban centres — the narrative is one of resilience in the face of systemic barriers. This report has found that there is a steady rise in women borrowers as women seeking credit grew three times between 2019 and 2024, reflecting increased demand among female borrowers. About 60% of women borrowers availing credit are from semi-urban or rural areas. Women under 30 years, account for only 27% of retail credit uptake by women, compared to 40% for men.

It further states that women participation in credit origination has seen notable growth in recent years. Since 2019, their share in business loans and gold loans has increased by 14% and 6% respectively. By 2024, 42% of loans availed by women were for personal finance, a slight increase from 39% in 2019. While the credit supply to women in business sectors has improved, the majority of loans availed by women continue to be against gold — 36% of all loans availed by women in 2024 were gold loans vs 19% of loans availed in 2019.

The report also found that there is a rise in credit monitoring and awareness. As of December 2024, 27 million women borrowers in India have monitored their credit information report and score with CIBIL. While this is an encouraging trend, this must continue for women to progress from participants to leaders in India’s economic story. The findings underscore women’s growing economic participation and financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas.

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