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Running a Smooth Business: Working Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

by Sonal Shukla

Imagine you’re a woman entrepreneur who is running your MSME business. But one day you hit a pause in your business functioning due to lack of sufficient cash reserves, you find it difficult to pay your employee wages, electricity bills, operational cost etc. You also don’t have anyone close to you to help with funding to get out of this situation, what could you do to get out of this situation to save your business from failing?

That’s where working capital comes in. Working capital is the money your business needs for everyday things like buying supplies, paying workers, and covering rent until you get paid by your customers. Just like having enough air in your tires, having enough working capital keeps your business running smoothly.

Here’s why working capital financing is especially important for women entrepreneurs:

No Hitches: Working capital helps avoid delays. You can buy what you need, pay your workers on time, and keep things moving without any bumps in the road.
Growth Opportunities: Need to buy more inventory or take on a bigger project? Working capital gives you the extra push to grab those opportunities and grow your business.
More Profit: Managing your working capital well can help you save money. You can buy supplies in bulk and negotiate better deals with vendors. This means more profit in your pocket!
Level Playing Field: The advantage that puts your competitors above you could be reduced when you are financially strong as your business could function how it wants to.
Peace of Mind: For every MSME owner it is important to have a peace of mind which helps them put their focus on what matters the most for further growth.

Now, getting access to working capital can sometimes be tricky, especially for women entrepreneurs. Here are some common challenges:

Land and Property: Banks often ask for land or property as a guarantee for loans. This can be difficult if things like houses are traditionally owned by men in your family.
Paperwork Maze: Applying for business loans can involve a lot of paperworks to be submitted and could be time consuming and frustrating at the same time for the borrower and lender.
Unconscious Bias: Sometimes, people might not take a woman’s business idea as seriously.
Hidden Options: Most of the women oriented support funds are not talked about or advertised enough that you wouldn’t be aware of various schemes for women business owners.
Credit History: For a newcomer in the business landscape a credit history would be non-existent and would be a roadblock in getting capital from most of the lenders in the market.

The good news is, there are many initiatives to help women entrepreneurs get the working capital they need:

Women-friendly Loans: Banks and other institutions are now offering business loans for women entrepreneurs, often with lower interest rates and easier application processes.
Simpler Applications: More and more loan applications are moving online and becoming less complicated.
Mentorship and Training: Programs are available to teach you about finance, business skills, and how to present a strong loan application.
Government Help: Many governments offer programs with loan guarantees, lower interest rates, and tax breaks for women-owned businesses.

Conclusion

Remember, working capital is a powerful tool to help your business thrive. By understanding the challenges and the support available, you can overcome the hurdles and keep your business pedaling forward. Since NBFCs are ready to give out working capital to business owners without needing collateral and are known to have little to no paperwork involved in the process an MSME should consider NBFCs as their preferred source of capital.

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