Unlocking MSME Growth: Examining Awareness of Government Financial Schemes and Key factors

Abstract

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is well known for its role in promoting economic development and wealth generation. Despite its economic significance limited access to external financing acts as a significant barrier in MSMEs growth. The government has implemented various programs to provide affordable financial assistance to MSMEs to address the limited external financing issue. MSME’s awareness remains as the blockage in the path to access finance. This study explores the level of awareness of government-facilitated financial schemes among MSMEs, focusing on factors such as education, business age, location, gender, business experience, and size. The results show that while gender, entrepreneur age, and business experience do not significantly influence awareness, factors such as business location, education level, and ownership type do. The study surveyed 300 MSMEs with loan experience in three districts of Assam and found that DICC organized workshops and seminars were effective and frequency of awareness programs to be inadequate despite interest among respondents. The use of digital platforms and social media will further enhance high-demand awareness programs among the entrepreneur.