A joint survey by DBS Bank India and Crisil said that 65% of self-employed women in Indian metros have not taken a business loan, with 39% relying on personal savings to fund their enterprises. Of the self-employed women who have not availed a loan, 25% have enough savings and 26% worry about high interest rates, it said.

While highlighting that the reliance on personal funds for business operations increases with age, the survey said among self-employed women, 52% of those over 45 years old use their own savings, compared to only 36% of those aged 25-35 years.

Bank loans were the primary choice for those who go for the loans, preferred by 21%. A smaller proportion, around 7%, opt for funding from venture capitalists, angelinvestors, private equity (PE) or fintechs.

The survey further said that the women entrepreneurs often use personal assets for collateral, with 28% leveraging personal property and 25% turning to gold—reflecting their risk-averse approach to investments. As many as 64% of respondents, who use gold as collateral, predominantly invest in safer options like savings accounts and gold.

Self-employed women across India allocate 45% of their investments into savings account and gold. In contrast, 64% of respondents who use gold as collateral predominantly invest in safer options like savings accounts and gold.

The survey report said that at least 39% of women entrepreneurs use cash credit (CC) and overdraft (OD) facilities, followed by corporate credit cards (25%) and property-backed term loans (11%). At least 73% of self-employed women surveyed preferred receiving payments from customers digitally, and 87% used digital methods to pay their business expenses.

“UPI is the most-used mode for both receiving (35%) and paying (26%) business expenses. However, cash remains indispensable for payroll and operational expenses, used by 36% of respondents,” said Pushan Sharma, Director-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence & Analytics. The survey further highlighted that the retirement planning is a key priority, with 66% saving for their own retirement and 38% offering retirement benefits to their employees.