The survey was conducted during the course of a three-year BYST Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme to set up profitable businesses in Chennai, Pune, and Delhi NCR, aimed at boosting entrepreneurship. The programme was conducted from February 2019 to August 2022.
As a result, by the end of the incubation period in August 2022, the key skills (banking and entrepreneurship) substantially improved for about 93% women entrepreneurs.
“Public sector banks like State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India and others are extremely happy to welcome loan applications of BYST assisted, under-privileged entrepreneurs who are well-trained, KYC compliant and duly scrutinised by our expert panel before submission to the banks. Branch managers are assured our applicants come with bankable proposals and are in a strong position to sustain their businesses with free mentorship for two years,“ says Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan, Founding and Managing Trustee of BYST, whose organisation works with seven nationalised banks.“These entrepreneurs after attending months of training programmes are well mentored and are therefore safe for banks to give loans to," Venkatesan added.
The outreach target was to groom 450 women entrepreneurs, whose average age was 34 years and household income was less than ₹2 lakhs per annum, to set up businesses in three cities, including the NCR region. A connected goal was to generate direct and indirect employment for 10,350 workers.
Among others, BYST also leverages government schemes such as MUDRA and CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) and helps its budding entrepreneurs prepare bankable proposals for loan disbursal on easy terms.
At least 94% of all beneficiaries found the process smooth because of a detailed explanation of the steps by the BYST team. Requiring detailed documentation and complex financial jargon proved challenging for only 6% of the beneficiaries.
94% of the beneficiaries found the process of availing of a business loan with a BYST partner bank smooth. Banking partners believe that women entrepreneurs are most likely to save money and repay collateral-free loans. 97% of the beneficiaries had not defaulted on loan repayments, a positive social habit.
