Mumbai, Mar 25: CRIF India has launched ‘Credit Goes to HER’, a community initiative aimed at strengthening women’s leadership, learning and influence across India’s credit ecosystem.
The initiative emerges at a time when women are playing an increasingly significant role in India’s formal credit economy. Insights from CRIF High Mark’s latest Women’s Day Credit Trends analysis show that women-led business loans have grown by 61.1%, while women now account for 41% of all new-to-credit borrowers, up from 33% two years ago.
Women are also demonstrating strong credit behaviour, recording lower delinquency levels compared to men and showing a growing appetite for long-term asset creation through larger home and auto loans. Their presence is particularly strong in secured credit segments, where they account for nearly half of all gold loans and over a third of education loans.
Despite these trends, women remain underrepresented in the decision-making spaces where credit policies, products and risk frameworks are designed. ‘Credit Goes to HER’ seeks to address this gap by creating a platform that brings together professionals from across lending, risk, analytics, NBFCs, fintech and policy to strengthen women’s participation in shaping the future of credit.
As part of the launch, the initiative convened senior leaders from across the BFSI ecosystem for a keynote address and two panel discussions focused on leadership, inclusion and responsible credit design. The keynote was delivered by Shanti Ekambaram,Former Deputy Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The discussions brought together prominent voices from the sector, including Srishti Sethi, Bhargavi Sridharan and Shalinee Mimani, with the sessions moderated by Vishakha Piplani and Nisha Poddar.
Designed as a sustained industry platform, the community will host knowledge sessions, mentorship opportunities, masterclasses and collaborations with industry bodies to support leadership development and encourage more inclusive thinking in credit design.
As part of its broader commitment to strengthening the credit ecosystem, CRIF is also investing in early talent development through its CSR programme in partnership with the BFSI Sector Skill Council of India. The initiative is training 2,500 B-school students in credit fundamentals, with a strong focus on encouraging more young women to explore careers in lending, risk and analytics.
Through ‘Credit Goes to HER’, CRIF India aims to create a collaborative platform where knowledge, leadership and representation can grow together, helping shape a more inclusive and resilient credit ecosystem.
