Top 5 Ways to Get Women Business Loans After Rejection

If you want to build a reputation as a strong and independent entrepreneurial woman, you must act wisely. You need to make smart and strategic moves. According to the United States Bureau of Statistics, women own about 20% of all businesses. They employ nearly 10 million people. They contribute around $2 trillion to the economy each year. At different stages, many women may need business loans.

Women-led businesses don’t just represent diversity in the market, they transform economies. From launching innovative startups to leading established companies, women entrepreneurs continue to prove their resilience and vision.

Access to funding, especially through women business loans, helps overcome challenges like limited capital or slow cash flow. With the right resources, these entrepreneurs can expand operations, create more jobs, and make a lasting impact on both local and global markets.

One of the major hindrances they face is securing financing options. With all the positives and contributions they make in driving the national economy yet their applications for business loans are either rejected or partially approved as compared to men entrepreneurs.

The discrimination is massive in a sense that both the genders need equality and support when both are contributing to the cause of the nation.

Read the blog post in full to find the best possible options to secure women business loans in 2025 without breaking a sweat! Well, that is a lie, because getting funds on loan from institutions can never be a cakewalk.

Best Funding Options to Acquire Women Business Loans

Acquiring women business loans can be challenging and tiresome but the major success lies in getting all the funds it needs to successfully run a startup, big or small, it does not matter! However, the real challenge lies in understanding where you can grab those funds.

There may be institutions that don’t offer monetary support, but they can serve your business by offering helpful resources for free or on loan basis.

Fintechs Support

Fintechs are the “Financial Technology” initiatives to support entrepreneurs by offering them loans, either rejected by the conventional banks or institutions demanding entrepreneurs to give up the large portion of their equity.

Approaching fintech companies can potentially open many doors for your business. As a woman entrepreneur, you can either secure funding, investment or sell a very small amount of your equity for the financial support you need in driving your startup.

Funding From Community Development Financial Institutions

Another great option to secure funding is by approaching CDFIs. They are expert institutions with major contributions in helping underprivileged communities and populations through financial services.

Most conventional or traditional banks offer loan services to people who are already rich, with a massive balance in the bank. No hate for those banks, but it is their working culture that they dare not to take massive risks.

CDFIs, on the other hand, fill this gap to help women entrepreneurs with low assets and income. They not only offer them women business loans but also the all important technical assistance and financial education and necessary supporting services to make your business successful.

Therefore, it is always a great idea to approach the nearest CFDI accessible to your location.

Acquire Funding From The Business Incubators

Business incubators may or may not directly fund business or startups but they can certainly offer a lot for your startup. For instance, they can act as a nurturing ground to accelerate and nourish the early growth of your business.

Incubators can help you in finding a shared office space, you get all the mentoring and coaching you need. Alongside that you get the workshops and all important training for your business and get to network with like minded people.

Incubators may or may demand a very low return from you but some also require you to give up on a very small amount of equity, varying from 1-2% to as massive as the agreement between you and the incubators.

Before looking to acquire women business loans or giving up on equity, choose the best incubator and always read the both parties agreement documents and/or contract clauses to avoid any discrepancies in future.

Network or Develop a Strategic Bonding With Funders

You can network with other organizational CEOs, co-founders, and potential funders for your business or startup. But remember, even if the value addition is minimal, the networking priority must stay the same. You never know which connection will have a massive impact.

Strategic bonding with funders is a form of networking built on trust and assurance. Investors who want to double their money will network with you anyway.

However, as a woman entrepreneur, you must be careful. Keep certain things and parameters in mind when meeting angel investors or venture capitalists. They may try to take all the benefits from you and your startup. They may not be willing to give away massive financial benefits for your business.

You can attend potential meetups and pitch nights in your area that focus on startups. Investors may want to sign a deal at a low markup rate. You can then secure funding to run your business.

Small Business Administration Microloans

SBA microloans are one the best women business loan routes that you, as a budding female entrepreneur can look forward to. Microloans can get you between $0.5K to 50K in general. However, the average loaned amount is around $13K.

You can never sustain a business if you are coming from an under or less privileged background, therefore, when starting a business, you will end up in finding ways to run operations within your startup. More than 57.4% of loan takers are small business women owners.

These types of loans are the true driver of startups, who actively seek support and are not backed by traditional financiers or conventional banks.

Miscellaneous Funding Options for Women Businesses

Seek Necessary Help From Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the only feasible option left when you fail to secure funding and/or loans from above discussed platforms. However, don’t take it lightly. It can not only help you secure funds but also builds community support.

When approaching a public who is neither grantors nor companies, who you hope will give donations or very little amount of loans. It can be of various types, reward based, funding based, loan based or a donation based, so choose wisely.

Thanks to the digitalization and the establishment of fintech companies who run on big tech, now you do not need to go to the public directly or plan and execute it onsite.

Rather than that you can simply pick a crowdfunding platform, generally an app or a website built online, and people will see the potential in your business and through money into your account and choose either of those several available crowdfunding options.

Run a Podcast With Your Favourite Social Media Influencer

Alternatively, you can run a podcast with a famous YouTuber or a social media influencer. You can get funding directly from the general public. These can be secure options to acquire women business loans.

For example, you can go live on TikTok to receive money directly. You can also use Facebook and Instagram live sessions to ask people to send stars.

Getting funding is important. But let’s not lose focus. You can take the public to crowdfunding platforms. You can also guide them to your website. There, they can sign up to send you money on an equity or loan basis.

Women’s Business Centers

They are major sourcing options to women entrepreneurs across the United States. They help the startups in providing them the necessary training, counseling and financing assistance at almost all points of their startup journeys. 

FAQs about Women Business Loans

Which loan is best for women-led startups?

Although any funding option is better when you hugely need it to run the startup smoothly. However, upon receiving multiple rejections from traditional banks, you can obtain loans from CDFIs, fintechs, microloans from SBA and utilize the crowdfunding option as well.

Is crowdfunding available online?

Yes, if you apply for the women business loans and you fail to secure funding or loans from even fintechs, CDFIs and SBA microloans, etc. You can try crowdfunding and the best part is that you don’t need to spend time and money on going to general investors or the public. You can obtain it via multiple crowdfunding platforms available online.

Which women business loan to proceed if the loaned amount is less than $50K?

While crowdfunding can be a great idea or networking with investors can acquire you small women business loans. However, the best option amongst knocking the doors at these platforms has to be the SBA microloans which can get you between $500 to $50,000.

The Bottom Line: Women business loans

It is very hard to understand the circumstances of budding and young women entrepreneurs. They face rejections from multiple banks simply because of their gender. The discrimination is massive. It hurts even more when there is no one to believe in you.

The issue becomes clear when you notice the reality. You work the same number of hours as men. You spend the same energy. Yet, you still face more loan rejections than men.

The main reasons for rejecting the loan applications of women business owners can be complex. One reason is that traditional banks demand security and sustainability. This is true regardless of gender discrimination.

That is why underprivileged communities need access to women business loan options. These may include SBA microloans, fintech funding, or loans from crowdfunders. They can also come from investors or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).