Financial empowerment of women is emerging as one of the strongest levers for building a resilient and inclusive Indian economy. By equipping women with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to participate in financial ecosystems, we unlock not only individual prosperity but also sustainable community growth.
This vision drives Hitesh Kaneriya, Co-Founder of Kuberjee, a women-led rural fintech platform that is redefining financial inclusion at the grassroots. Growing up in Meswan village in Gujarat, Hitesh personally experienced the challenges of accessing formal finance, which shaped his lifelong mission to bridge this gap. After successfully building ventures in ERP, digital payments, and automation, he returned to his roots to create Kuberjee — a platform that empowers thousands of self-help group women to become certified financial agents, delivering doorstep banking, credit access, and digital market linkages.
In this guest column, Hitesh shares insights from Kuberjee’s journey and explores how women-led fintech models are transforming rural economies through sustainable “Finpowerment.”
The Rise of Finpowerment: Building Sustainable Financial Market Linkages for Rural India Through Women-Led Platforms
Rural India, home to nearly 65% of the country’s population, continues to be underserved by formal financial systems. While the government has taken significant steps through initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar-enabled Payments, and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), the last-mile challenge remains. In many villages, especially in remote and tribal belts, banks are miles away, digital literacy is low, and women — who form the backbone of agricultural and household economies — remain excluded from financial decision-making.
This is where women-led fintech platforms are driving a quiet revolution. By empowering rural women as community-based financial agents, these platforms are bridging gaps not only in financial inclusion but also in livelihood creation and market linkages. This concept of “Finpowerment” — financial empowerment through women-led community networks — is proving to be a sustainable blueprint for rural India’s growth.
The Structural Gaps in Rural Finance
Despite India’s fintech boom, rural markets face systemic barriers:
- Low digital footprint: Most small farmers and women lack transaction histories, making them invisible to banks and NBFCs.
- Trust deficit: Villagers often hesitate to engage with formal institutions or outsiders.
- Infrastructure gaps: Patchy internet, low smartphone penetration, and distant bank branches hinder access.
- Gendered exclusion: Women, who constitute one-third of the agricultural workforce, rarely hold land titles or collateral, further limiting access to credit.
As a result, over 30% of rural households still depend on informal moneylenders at high-interest rates, perpetuating cycles of debt and poverty.
Women-Led Platforms as Catalysts of Change
Community-led fintech models have emerged as a powerful solution. Platforms like Kuberjee and others have demonstrated that local women can act as trusted intermediaries between formal finance and rural households. Known as BC Sakhis (Banking Correspondent Sakhis), these women are trained, certified, and equipped with digital tools to deliver services at the doorstep.
Their role spans:
- Banking and Utility Services: AEPS withdrawals, bill payments, and remittances addressing daily needs.
- Advisory Services: Promoting Hospicash insurance, gold savings, and investment products.
- Credit Facilitation: Helping farmers access cattle loans, used vehicle loans, and agri-input financing.
- Market Linkages: Supporting micro-entrepreneurs and artisans with ONDC onboarding and digital commerce training.
These women are no longer just service providers — they are seen as “Banking Didis” or “Digital Sarpanchs”, trusted leaders driving change in their villages.
Quantifiable Impact: Data Speaks
The impact of women-led financial inclusion is tangible:
- Over 4,000+ women agents are active across Gujarat and nearby states.
- They serve 10lakh+ rural families across 5,000+ villages.
- The network processes over ₹150 crore in Gross Transaction Value (GTV).
- On average, a BC Sakhi earns between ₹8,000–₹15,000 per month, creating stable livelihood opportunities.
- A single agent saves her community thousands of kilometers of travel every month by providing doorstep banking.
Most importantly, every transaction creates a digital footprint — a foundation for future access to affordable loans, subsidies, and insurance.
Learning from the Ground: The Role of Savings in Credit Access
One of the biggest lessons has been the role of small digital savings in cultivating credit readiness. For example:
- Gold savings via digital platforms have become a culturally relevant way to introduce rural women to formal finance.
- These savings accounts create transaction histories, helping farmers qualify for cattle loans or agri-equipment financing in the future.
- Women farmers, often excluded due to lack of land titles, now build creditworthiness through these micro-savings and advisory-led investments.
- This approach of “Save small, qualify big” is reshaping how rural communities prepare for formal credit.
Building Market Linkages for Sustainability
Financial inclusion cannot exist in isolation — it must tie into income generation and commerce. Women-led fintech models are expanding into market linkage platforms:
- Backward linkages: Helping farmers and SHGs access affordable agri-inputs, cattle feed, and essential supplies.
- Forward linkages: Onboarding micro-entrepreneurs and artisans to ONDC and e-commerce channels for wider market access.
- Corporate partnerships: Acting as the GTM (go-to-market) partner for corporates and fintechs, helping them distribute products and services in last-mile markets.
This dual role — financial service provider and market enabler — ensures sustainability for rural communities.
Policy Suggestions for Scaling Finpowerment
For women-led fintech platforms to scale and sustain, supportive policies are crucial:
1. Strengthening SHG-Bank Linkages: Incentivize banks to recognize digital footprints (savings and transactions) as valid indicators of creditworthiness.
2. Dedicated Grants & CSR Programs: Encourage CSR foundations to support rural fintech innovations under women empowerment and livelihood verticals.
3. Digital Infrastructure Investment: Expand internet penetration and affordable smartphones in rural areas.
4. Gender-Inclusive Schemes: Create financial literacy campaigns tailored for women farmers and SHGs in vernacular languages.
5. Encourage Partnerships: Promote collaborations between fintechs, NBFCs, agri-tech startups, and government schemes for integrated rural development.
Stories of Transformation
Hetalben, a tribal woman, earns ₹15,000+ monthly through AEPS and insurance services, becoming the financial backbone of her family.
Varshaben, from Banaskantha, was invited to Bengaluru to share her journey at a national forum. For the first time, she boarded a flight — a symbol of confidence and empowerment made possible through financial inclusion.
These stories underline that fintech is not just about technology — it’s about dignity, confidence, and opportunity.
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