What Are the Best Small Business Loans for Women in 2021?

In general, obtaining financing as a small business owner can be a tricky task to tackle. The unfortunate reality is that the difficulty that business owners face in getting approved for loans is amplified for those applicants who are part of a minority group – and women are one of those who face the toughest odds.

Naturally, this issue raises many pressing questions, including:

• How hard is it to get business loans for women?
• What can be done to improve the approval odds for small business loans for women?
• Are there women’s business loans from the government?

In this piece, we’ll first answer all of those questions (and others), and then provide a list of the best loan options for a woman-owned business in 2021.

How to get approved for small business loans for women

The short answer: fill out a quick and easy online application.

The more detailed answer: No longer do female business owners need to run a gauntlet in order to get approved for a small business loan. Traditional banks turn down more than 80% of small business owners who apply for a loan, and that’s before considering the impact of gender bias. But getting a loan for a woman-owned business isn’t how it used to be.

While the factor of human judgment (or prejudice) continues to affect loan approval odds in the traditional lender setting, today the process of applying for business loans for women and racial minorities has been drastically improved by innovations made in financial technology.

At Become, for example, advanced algorithms do the work of automatically assessing a wide variety of different factors that can impact loan approval, including business age, monthly revenue, credit score, and so on. Those factors which are considered never include a person’s gender or ethnicity – in fact, we don’t even ask for that information!

Technology has given us the ability to effectively eliminate human bias and prejudice from the loan application process, and help to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs.

Finding the best business loans for women

There are many types of business loans that female business owners will find useful. Of course, the type of business will affect the kind of industry loans a business needs, as well as the specific circumstances that business finds itself in. Those business funding solutions include everything from women’s business loans from the government in the form of SBA loans, to invoice factoring for when customers fail to pay on time and everything in between.

Many types are considered startup business loans for women since a number of Become’s partners provide funding to businesses with as little as 3 months in operation. But when it comes to loans for women to start a business, the earliest stages of funding a concept will typically come in the form of seed capital. After a business gets its feet firmly planted, it will want to consider other forms of financing.

Here’s a breakdown of just a few small business loans for women:

SBA loans for women

Women’s business loans from the government – through the United States Small Business Administration – actually are not loans at all. SBA loans for women (and for men, for that matter) provide guarantees that cover up to 85% of a loan amount. By putting such a ‘safety net’ in place, borrowers experience higher approval rates since loan providers face less of a risk of not getting paid back.

Unsecured business loans for women

Unsecured business loans for women are among the most popular forms of financing for women-owned businesses. Essentially, an unsecured small business loan for women is a term loan that doesn’t require any collateral to be put down. While the interest rates are typically higher than secured small business loans for women, unsecured business loans allow female entrepreneurs to obtain financing even if they don’t have valuable assets (or don’t want to put them at risk).

Equipment financing for women

Whether it’s for purchasing equipment or leasing equipment, equipment financing for women is also one of the more frequently used types of business loans for women. It also makes no difference what industry the business is in – equipment financing could be for an air compressor at a dental practice, a new deep freezer for a restaurant, new computers for any office space, and so on.

Business loans come in many different varieties, and many of them are designed for specific purposes. And, as if the sheer number of business financing types wasn’t enough to get your head spinning, there are even more loan providers to choose from.

 

That’s where Become comes in handy – our proprietary MatchScore™ technology is there to make the optimal match between borrower and lender. We save you the time, energy, and stress of sifting through tons of lenders before finding the one that fits your needs the best.

The question then remains: which small business loans for women are the best?

The 4 best small business loans for women in 2021

1. Best startup business loan for women – Prospa

The term ‘startup business loan’ may have different meanings depending on who you ask. At Become, we are able to offer our services to businesses with as little as 3 months in operation. Loans for women to start a business are something a bit different, so be sure to read a bit more about the early stages of business fundraising.

For some of the best terms that you’ll find for startup business loans for women, look no further than Prospa. They require minimal documentation for loan amounts under $100,000 (good news for businesses with minimal experience), offer term lengths between 3 and 12 months, and repayment schedules on either a daily or weekly basis.

2. Best business loan for women with a strong credit score – Capify

Become uses financial technology to assess more than just a business’s credit score because, after all, there’s much more to a company than just their credit history. That said, small businesses that have stronger credit scores will generally be offered better loan terms and conditions. The bottom line is that loan providers will carefully consider the amount of risk that they will take on by lending out funds to any business. As one method of assessing a borrower’s ability to make payments on time, lenders will often look at a business’s credit score.

Capify offers some of the best terms for small business loans for women owners that have stronger credit scores. They offer loans of up to $400,000 with no security required, as well as flexible repayment options. Plus, Capify also comes with more than a decade’s worth of experience and expertise in the lending industry.

3. Best business loan for women to use as-needed – Kabbage

A business line of credit is one of the best solutions that any company can use to cover small unexpected expenses that pop up along the way. Similarly to how a credit card works, a business line of credit is there to be used on an as-needed basis. There’s no penalty for not using the funds, and typically business lines of credit are revolving which means they can be used, repaid, and used again.

When it comes to business lines of credit, Kabbage is one of the top loan providers that we recommend. With revolving lines of up to $250,000 and automated monthly payments, Kabbage offers some of the most flexible terms for business lines of credit.

4. Best business loan for women that need quick financing – Bluevine

Fast business funding is something that most owners want when applying for small business loans. Become uses its proprietary LendingScore™ and Matchscore™ technologies to expedite the process of applying for business financing. One easy and intuitive online application saves you the time of filling out dozens of separate forms, and then advanced algorithms match your business with the optimal lender for your specific profile and needs. Through Become, business owners are able to obtain funding in as little as 3 hours!

Bluevine is one of the quickest providers of business loans for women (and really for any business owner!). Through Bluevine, it’s not unusual for borrowers to see same-day wire transfers of funding. With loans of up to $200,000 and no prepayment penalties, Bluevine is highly recommended for any business owners in search of quick financing.

Alternative funding options for women-owned businesses

With so many ways to apply for business loans for women, we figured it couldn’t hurt to touch on a handful of alternative funding options for women business owners, so here you go!

Top 3 alternative funding options for women-owned businesses:

1. Crowdfunding

You’ve likely heard the term before, but in case you’re unfamiliar with crowdfunding, it’s one of the best ways to literally capitalize on the connectivity that the internet offers us all. There are loads of different crowdfunding platforms to choose from, but what they all share in common is the ability for anybody that believes in your product or services to essentially donate to your business. While it may not be the most effective method of generating funding, it’s always worth a shot since many crowdfunding websites offer free registration.

2. Venture capital

Many business owners have the misconception that venture capital always comes in the form of money. In fact, often times venture capital comes in the form of expertise or other intangible contributions. Regardless of the form though, venture capital comes in exchange for equity in your business. That means that the investor receives some degree of pull in the decision-making process of your business (a sacrifice that requires careful consideration given the implications).

3. Government grants

Different government bodies offer a variety of grants for businesses in specific industries. Those offers are constantly changing depending on the state of the given industry and, unfortunately, on the state of politics as well. That said, it’s also true that much of the time government grants come with terms that take a significant part of the burden off of the borrower so that they can focus on improving their business. It’s always worth checking with your local or state government website to inquire about what sorts of grants may be available at your disposal.

Act now!

Financial technology is changing the face of business funding and effectively making it easier to obtain small business loans for women – and for all small business owners!

Is the business lending industry completely fair? No, it isn’t.

Is it getting better? Absolutely.

We live in a day and age where the reality of business lending is slowly, but surely, catching up with social expectations. Become is proud to offer equal opportunities to all business loan applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, age, or any other identifying characteristic. If you’re a business owner and you want to improve your chances of obtaining funding, use our services today and find out just how easy it can be.