Introduction

Women-led entrepreneurship in India has been gaining momentum, fuelled by policy interventions, financial inclusion efforts, and startup-culture spread beyond metros. Still, despite improvement, large gender gaps persist — in access to funding, number of active women entrepreneurs, and in growth rates. Recent data gives us a clearer picture of where schemes have succeeded, where progress is lagging, and what can be done to accelerate change.

This article explores:

• Recent statistics (2024-2025) on women’s participation in startups and MSMEs;
• Updates in key schemes (StartUp India / SISFS, PM Mudra Yojana, SIDBI etc.);
• Emerging trends & challenges;
• Recommendations.

Recent Statistics: The State of Women-led Startups & MSMEs

Some of the key metrics in 2024-25:

• There are over 7,000 active women-led startups in India, making up about 7.5% of all active startups.
• Total funding raised by women-led tech-startups has cumulatively crossed USD 26.4 billion to date.
• In 2024, women-led startups raised approximated USD 930 million across ~136 deals, up from ~USD 480 million across 118 deals in 2023 — a growth of ~94% year-on-year in absolute value.
• Under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), since its launch in April 2021, ₹227.12 crore has been approved for 1,278 women-led startups.
• Under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), ₹24.6 crore in loans have been guaranteed for women-led startups.

In the MSME / microenterprises space:

• Under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), over 52 crore loan accounts have been sanctioned since its inception (2015-16 to FY25). Women account for roughly 68-70% of these loans.
• The total amount disbursed under Mudra is over ₹32.6 lakh crore since 2015.
• For women beneficiaries, the average loan size has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% to reach about ₹62,679 in FY25; the incremental deposits by women have similarly grown (~14% CAGR) to about ₹95,269.

Other metrics:

• Of the total ~1,52,139 startups recognised so far under StartUp India, ~73,150 startups have at least one woman director.
• Under the StartUp India scheme, via Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), 149 women-led startups got investment of roughly ₹3,107.11 crore (latest reported) through selected AIFs.

Key Schemes & Recent Developments

Let’s look at how certain schemes are doing recently, particularly those aimed at women entrepreneurs.

1. StartUp India / SISFS / CGSS / AIFs

• Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) continues to be one of the main instruments for early-stage grants / seed funding. As noted, ₹227.12 crore has been approved for 1,278 women-led startups since SISFS inception.
• The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) has guaranteed ₹24.6 crore in loans for women-led ventures. This shows relatively modest scale in guarantee support compared to the requirement (the guarantees are often small, and relatively few startups may be taking advantage).
• Under Startup India, the Fund of Funds for Startups Scheme (FFS) reserves 10% of the quantum for women-led startups. This policy continues to remain in effect.

2. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)

Some of the more striking numbers:

• Of the 52 crore Mudra loan accounts, women beneficiaries constitute about 68-70%.
• Total disbursement since 2015 is over ₹32.6 lakh crore.
• Average loan size per woman has increased to ~₹62,679 in FY25, growing at ~13% CAGR.
• Deposits / incremental savings or related financial participation by women also increased in parallel.

So PMMY is arguably the scheme with the largest reach among women-led microenterprises. But note: though the number is large, many of these are very small loans (Shishu / Kishor categories) implying small scales of enterprise, often home-based or with limited growth potential directly via Mudra alone.

3. SIDBI & Other Institutional Supports

While direct numbers for SIDBI’s schemes particularly reserved for women (e.g., Mahila Udyam Nidhi) are less widely published in recent data, some indicative updates:

• SIDBI’s scale is increasing: its net profit rose by 19.5% in FY25, reaching ₹4,811 crore, and the balance sheet has crossed ₹5.68 lakh crore as of 31 March 2025. This suggests institutional strengthening, which could improve its ability to deliver on schemes targeting women entrepreneurs.
• The Government via StartUp India and through AIFs has induced investment in women-led startups totaling ₹3,107.11 crore in 149 startups from selected AIFs. As mentioned above, this involves institutional investors with oversight (sometimes under or via SIDBI-associated or supported vehicles).

Overall, while direct data for SIDBI’s women-only loan programmes is not fully up to date in public sources, its financial health and institutional expansion make it a stronger potential lever.

Emerging Trends & Interpretation of Data

From the recent figures, some trends (positive and concerning) become evident:

Positives

• Growth in absolute funding for women-led startups: The nearly 94% growth in funds raised by women-led startups between 2023 and 2024 shows increased confidence / visible potential in this segment.
• High uptake in PMMY by women: With ~70% of loan accounts under Mudra scheme held by women, financial inclusion is being achieved at large scale.
• Increasing average sizes: The loan size per woman under Mudra rising shows that women are not just applying for the smallest tiers but gradually moving to larger categories (Kishor, Tarun).

Challenges / Areas of Concern

• Decline in tech startup funding in some sub-segments: According to Tracxn, funding for tech startups co-led by women dropped ~25% year-on-year in 2024.
• Relatively small share of guarantee and seed funding: Though SISFS and CGSS provide important support, the amounts guaranteed or seed-funded remain small compared to the scale of business needs. Large scale growth and scaling require much more capital.
• Geographical/sectoral skew: Many women-led startups are concentrated in metro / Tier-1 / Tier-2 cities. Rural areas often lag due to weaker infrastructure, mentorship, markets, digital connectivity etc. (While official data on this is limited in recent sources, it is repeatedly flagged in qualitative reports.)
• Potential drop in momentum: Even with increases in number of startups, some reports say that women-led tech startup funding is volatile and may be trending downward in certain sub-disciplines / years.

What Recent Data Suggests for Policy Makers & Support Institutions

Given this mix of progress and concerns, the updated data points to several policy implications:

1. Scale up seed and guarantee funding: Seed grants (like under SISFS) and guarantee schemes (CGSS) should be expanded, in both quantum and geographic reach. Low initial capital is often the biggest hurdle for women to test ideas.
2. Focus on growth / scale tiers: As loan sizes increase and women move to Kishor/Tarun categories in Mudra, complementary supports (mentorship, market access, operations, growth-capital) are required to help these microenterprises cross into small businesses / MSMEs with higher turnover.
3. Support tech-sector women founders: The drop in funding for tech startups co-led by women is worrying. Policies might need to include special incentives (matching funds, tax sops, equity co-investment, easier VC regulations) for women in deep tech / software / AI / healthtech etc.
4. Reduce friction & paperwork: Despite schemes being robust on paper, many women entrepreneurs (especially in semi-urban/rural areas) find documentation, bank requirements, guarantors, and lack of awareness to be bottlenecks. Simplification, digital onboarding, local facilitation centres can help.
5. Strengthen institutional capacity: Bodies like SIDBI, MSME departments, Startup India, State MSME cells etc., need greater resourcing, outreach, and monitoring so that scheme budgets translate more reliably into outcomes in less accessible parts of India.
6. Better data collection & monitoring: More granular, gender-disaggregated data (by state, by rural vs urban, by sector, by quantum of funding) will help identify where gaps exist and enable course-correction. Some of this is being done, but still patchy.

Recommendations & Suggestions

Based on recent variation in data, here are actionable recommendations for various stakeholders:

Stakeholder	Suggested Action
Central Government / Finance Ministry / DPIIT	Increase budget allocations for seed/guarantee schemes targeted at women, perhaps with higher thresholds in certain underrepresented states; integrate matching grants for women in tech sectors.
SIDBI and other financial institutions	Design more women-friendly loan products with minimal collateral, faster approval processes; partner with local women’s organisations, NGOs, SHGs to reach remote women entrepreneurs.
State Governments / MSME Departments	Set up or scale up incubation and mentorship centres specifically for women in smaller towns; tie state scheme disbursements to startup-ecosystem centres; ensure awareness campaigns in regional languages.
Private Sector / Investors	Promote female founder cohorts; venture funds with mandates to allocate certain % to women; corporates to sponsor accelerator programmes for women; inclusion of women in investor panels.
Women Entrepreneurs / NGOs / Community	Build networks, peer support; use government portals; improve business plan quality; seek out AIFs, seed funds; mentor other women; share best practices.

Conclusion

The most recent data (FY25) suggests meaningful progress: women are increasingly accessing credit through Mudra, more women-directed startups are being recognised, and funding to women-led startups has grown in many segments. Yet challenges remain — especially around scale, volatility in tech funding, local access, and converting small enterprise activity into high-growth business.

Schemes like Mudra, StartUp India (SISFS, CGSS, FFS) have been central to this progress. But unlocking India’s unattended potential in women entrepreneurship requires not just schemes, but strong implementation, better data tracking, more capital, and systemic support (networks, mentorship, market access).

If current rate of growth is maintained and policy adjustments are made to reduce bottlenecks, India can move significantly closer to gender-balanced entrepreneurship — with benefits for economic growth, innovation, and inclusive development.