SEHER Program

Source- This post on the SEHER Program has been created based on the article “Women Entrepreneurship Platform and TransUnion CIBIL Partner to Launch SEHER Program to Empower Women Entrepreneurs” published in “PIB” on 6 July 2024.

Recently, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL have launched the SEHER program.

About SEHER Program

1. Launched by: Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL

2. Aim: SEHER aims to increase financial awareness among women entrepreneurs in India. The program also aims to promote the importance of a good credit history and CIBIL score for easier access to finance.

3. The program helps women understand and manage credit which is crucial for business growth.

4. Key Goals of SEHER:

i) Financial Literacy: Educate women on financial topics, including their CIBIL Rank and commercial credit reports.

ii) Business Skills: Provide resources and training to help women manage and grow their businesses.

iii) Access to Finance: Help women understand how to access and manage credit effectively.

5. WEP’s Role: WEP is a public-private partnership platform incubated at NITI Aayog. It focuses on creating an ecosystem that supports women entrepreneurs.

6. TransUnion CIBIL’s Role: It provides financial insights and credit information. It aims to improve the financial skills of women entrepreneurs.

7. Impact:

i) Business loan demand by women has grown 3.9 times from FY 2019 to FY 2024.

ii) 38% of the 1.5 crore borrowers with a business loan in March 2024 were women.

iii) The portfolio balance for business loans by women grew at 35% CAGR from March 2019 to March 2024.

8.  SEHER will offer personalized resources, financial literacy content, and tools to women entrepreneurs.

Importance of Women Entrepreneurs in India:

i) India has 63 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with 20% owned by women.

ii)  Women-owned businesses employ around 27 million people.

iii)  Accelerating women’s entrepreneurship could create over 30 million new businesses and up to 170 million new jobs.

About Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP):

i)  WEP was established by NITI Aayog in 2018 and became a public-private partnership in 2022.

ii)  WEP supports women entrepreneurs by providing entrepreneurship promotion. access to finance, market linkages, training and skills development, mentoring and networking, and business development services.

About TransUnion CIBIL:

i) TransUnion CIBIL is India’s leading information and insights company.

ii) It provides solutions to enhance economic opportunities and personal empowerment. It serves banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, and insurance firms.

UPSC Syllabus: Economy