India’s next credit boom may not be driven by traditional segments, but by women stepping up as borrowers, entrepreneurs, and business builders. A segment once on the margins is now becoming central to the country’s formal lending story.
According to NITI Aayog, women today account for ₹76 lakh crore, or 26% of India’s total credit market. This momentum is being fuelled by rising financial literacy, greater product awareness, and growing financial independence, bringing nearly 45 crore credit-eligible women into the fold. Between 2017 and 2025, credit penetration rose from 19% to 36%, with loan volumes expanding 4.8 times and 16 crore women entering formal lending.
The real shift, however, lies in how credit is being used. While retail loans remain dominant, the fastest growth is in business lending. The share of business-purpose loans has increased from 16% to 25%, with borrower numbers growing at 31% annually and balances rising 7.5 times since 2017, signalling a move from consumption-led borrowing to enterprise creation.
Shalinee Mimani, CRO of Godrej Capital notes, “Empowering women with the right mix of access to credit and capability building is essential to unlocking their full entrepreneurial potential. The focus must be on enabling scale, building confidence and creating pathways for long-term financial resilience.”
Digitisation is accelerating this transition. Same-day approvals have increased from 34% to 45%, while NBFCs are becoming preferred lenders due to their speed and flexibility, especially for first-time borrowers.
As more women move from accessing credit to
building enterprises, they are not just driving growth, they are reshaping the
future of India’s credit economy.