Share of women in credit rising boosted by digital platforms

MUMBAI: Women borrowers now account for Rs 76 lakh crore of credit, or 26% of total system credit in 2025, marking a near five-fold rise since 2017 and signalling a structural shift in India’s credit landscape.

A joint report by TransUnion CIBIL, Niti Aayog’s WEP, and MicroSave Consulting said women are moving from being passive beneficiaries to active drivers of credit demand. The number of women availing formal credit grew at a CAGR of 9% between 2017 and 2025. Outstanding credit for women rose 4.8 times in this period compared with 2.9 times growth in overall credit. “The number of women availing formal credit in India has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% between 2017 and 2025, underscoring their increasing engagement with the financial system. Outstanding credit for women borrowers has grown 4.8 times since 2017, compared with 2.9 times for total credit, indicating a significantly faster expansion. In recent years, the growth of digital infrastructure has facilitated easier onboarding, faster loan processing, and improved access to information,” said Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion Cibil.

Women’s share in retail loan originations rose to 27% in 2025 from 24% in 2022, reflecting broad-based growth across segments. Their share in housing loan originations increased to 69% from 63% over the same period, indicating a rise in asset ownership and participation in financial decisions. In consumption credit, women’s share rose to 19% from 16%, while in gold loans it increased to 37% from 36%. The share of new-to-credit women borrowers in retail credit rose by 10 percentage points to 38% in 2025, showing expansion into previously unserved segments.

“At Niti Aayog, we recognize that access to finance is a structural enabler of women’s economic participation. Through platforms such as the Women Entrepreneurship Platform and the Financing Women Collaborative, we are working to strengthen ecosystem coordination,” said Nidhi Chhibber, CEO, Niti Aayog.

The report said rising access to credit is translating into greater economic participation. The number of women with active business-purpose loans grew at a CAGR of 31% over the past three years, indicating a shift towards enterprise activity. Digitisation has reduced turnaround time, with same-day approvals in consumption loans rising to 45% in 2025 from 34% in 2022. Around 19% of active microfinance borrowers now hold individual retail or commercial loans, suggesting a move towards more complex financial products.

The report outlined measures to expand participation further. It said lenders should use digital transaction data such as UPI histories for underwriting, especially for borrowers without collateral. It called for strengthening last-mile digital capability through collectives and peer networks to build trust. It recommended lifecycle-based financial products that combine savings, credit, and literacy, with a focus on women under 35. It also said expansion should be supported by better risk segmentation and use of alternative data to bring unserved women into the system while maintaining portfolio quality.



The report said the ecosystem should track progression metrics such as graduation rates and multi-product holding instead of focusing only on disbursement volumes. It also called for vernacular and voice-enabled digital models and integration of non-financial support such as market linkages to help women-led businesses scale.
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