TN Govt Scouts for 10 Women Entrepreneurs From 234 Constituencies

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to take its new women entrepreneurship scheme to all 234 Assembly constituencies, seeking to identify aspiring women entrepreneurs and connect them with institutional finance to start or expand businesses.

Under the Vetri Magalir Thozhilmunaivor Membattu Thittam (Successful Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme), eligible women seeking to establish or expand enterprises can avail of loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 crore through the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC).

The loans will carry an interest rate of 9.95 per cent per annum on a diminishing-balance basis, with a repayment period of up to nine years, according to the Industries Department.

As part of the constituency-level outreach, MLAs have been asked to identify 10 promising women from each constituency who have the interest and potential to become entrepreneurs and submit their profiles for consideration. The applications will subsequently be assessed for eligibility and merit before financial assistance is extended.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of the need to widen women's participation in entrepreneurship and ensure that access to formal finance does not remain a barrier for those seeking to start or scale businesses. While Tamil Nadu has a strong industrial base and a large network of micro, small and medium enterprises, access to capital, business support and markets remains important for enabling more women to move from informal economic activity to formal enterprise.

Industries Minister S. Keerthana said the scheme was intended to bridge the financing gap faced by women aspiring to become entrepreneurs.

“There are thousands of women across Tamil Nadu with the ambition, ability and determination to build their own enterprises, but access to capital can often be the barrier between an idea and a business,” she said.

The government said the constituency-wide approach was aimed at identifying potential entrepreneurs beyond major industrial and urban centres and connecting them with institutional finance.

The minister said the objective was not limited to extending credit but to enable women to establish enterprises and generate employment. “Our objective is not merely to provide credit. It is to create pathways for women to become entrepreneurs, employers and contributors to Tamil Nadu’s economic growth,” she said.

With 10 potential beneficiaries being identified from each of the 234 constituencies, the initial outreach could create a pool of up to 2,340 prospective women entrepreneurs for consideration under the programme. However, the actual number of beneficiaries will depend on the eligibility assessment and sanction of loans by the concerned authorities.

The scheme is part of the State government's broader efforts to promote entrepreneurship and improve access to institutional finance, particularly among sections that may face difficulties in securing conventional business credit.