Nadia Sood, Group CEO & Founder at CreditEnable, enabling loans to small and medium businesses, believes being an entrepreneur is like riding a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs which come with stress and elation and sometimes in the same day which further makes it pretty hard to get bored.
Nadia said, “I have been unbelievably lucky to have had excellent investors and mentors who have helped me hone my ideas, challenged my perspective and, most importantly, opened doors for me.”
Opportunities in India
Nadia highlights that only 14 percent of entrepreneurs in India are women. Although there are over 50 million male entrepreneurs, there are only 8 million women entrepreneurs. There is still a long way to go, but this is an opportunity!
India having a consumer population that is larger than the entire US population put together, there is still a huge untapped opportunity for women entrepreneurs to start businesses that deliver products and services that will make a difference to a huge number of women and their families. This will transform the entire economy because of the scale that is achievable in India as compared to other markets. Women shouldn’t shy away; they should rather jump in.
Prospects for Women in the MSME Sector
India having only roughly 3 million women-led businesses, this number is expected to grow. According to her, greater tech disruption and growing emphasis of the government to push digitalisation, entrepreneurial culture is also growing in India and more women are finding new opportunities to grow their business.
She adds, “Moreover, one of the key obstacles for women entrepreneurs is access to finance. Increasingly, however, new innovative solutions are being developed to solve this problem. CreditEnable, for instance, aims to utilise innovative technology to make SME finance more affordable and accessible, and thereby, help to support women-led businesses and promote women’s access to finance.” On an advice she would give to women entrepreneurs, she says, “Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Build a network of both women and men who will support you and challenge your ideas.”
This article is also featured in the March 2021 issue of the Banking Technology magazine.