Latest News | Despite Policy Measures, 83% SMEs Lack Access to Finance: Survey

Mumbai, Sep 17 (PTI) Over 83 per cent of small businesses are unable to access finance despite a slew of measures taken to deepen credit, especially in the wake of the pandemic, as per a recent survey.

The survey by B2B platform Tradeindia also showed that 63 per cent lack technological know-how, domain knowledge and guidance for business loans.

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"Over 83 per cent of SMEs in the country required access to finance and investment solutions," the survey involving 50,000 small and medium enterprises having a revenue of Rs 5-50 crore, said.

Tradeindia's chief executive Sandip Chhetri said the survey has brought some "troubling bits of data". "With such a substantial percentage of businesses still unable to avail financial credit and investment solutions due to technological deficiencies or lack of knowledge, the onus falls on the industry cohorts across various verticals to help them through," Chhetri said. The survey findings come despite the government and other regulatory agencies initiating targeted measures to boost lending to SMEs, which are one of the biggest driving forces for the economy because of the massive employment and activity that they create. The challenges faced by small businesses in accessing credit include lack of knowledge concerning business loan processes, it said, adding majority of them have scarcity of capital owing to restricted access to finance and credit. As many micro-businesses operate in remote and far-flung places, they also lack the essential technical knowledge required to avail of fast-paced digital loans, the report said. Tradeindia said it is conducting a summit to connect SMEs with non-bank lenders and fintechs for helping the former access loans. PTI AA

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)