TN govt to help aspiring women entrepreneurs with new loan scheme

Chennai, Sep 28
Women seeking to start or expand businesses in Tamil Nadu can apply for loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 crore under a new state scheme aimed at improving their access to institutional finance.

The government has asked MLAs to identify 10 prospective women entrepreneurs in each of the state’s 234 Assembly constituencies for the Vetri Magalir Thozhilmunaivor Membattu Thittam. That could produce an initial pool of 2,340 prospective applicants.

The loans will be provided through the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC). They will carry an annual interest rate of 9.95 per cent, calculated on a diminishing balance, and borrowers will have up to nine years to repay them.

Legislators have been asked to identify women in their constituencies who have the potential to start an enterprise and are interested in seeking finance. They will submit the prospective applicants’ profiles to the industries department for scrutiny.

Officials will then assess eligibility and other criteria before shortlisting candidates for support under the scheme.

The identification exercise is intended to draw applicants from across Tamil Nadu, including areas beyond its major cities and established industrial centres.

An MLA nomination will not automatically qualify a woman for a loan. Industries and Investment Promotion Minister S. Keerthana said a shortage of capital often stood in the way of women who wanted to turn business plans into functioning enterprises.

Many had the ambition and ability to run their own ventures but struggled to obtain the funds needed to get started, she said in a press release.

Keerthana said the government’s aim went beyond extending credit. It wanted women to have a route into entrepreneurship, create jobs and contribute to the state’s economy, she said.

Reaching potential applicants in every constituency was part of that effort. The scheme also covers women who already run a business and want to expand it.

Applicants seeking expansion funds will also undergo scrutiny before loan amounts are decided.

The size of the loan available to each selected woman will depend on the assessment of her proposal and the applicable lending criteria. The government has not specified in the announcement when MLAs must submit the names or when selected applicants can expect their loans to be sanctioned.