Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India

The rising tide of women entrepreneurship, the unparalleled rise in fintech, and the inclusive nature of digital technologies led to the democratization of entrepreneurship, challenging structural constraints ascribed to gender-specific roles. The democratization underscores the economic implication...

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Main Authors: Serin Peter, Geetha Elangovan, Anju Gupta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Cogent Business & Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2025.2518492
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author Serin Peter
Geetha Elangovan
Anju Gupta
author_facet Serin Peter
Geetha Elangovan
Anju Gupta
author_sort Serin Peter
collection DOAJ
description The rising tide of women entrepreneurship, the unparalleled rise in fintech, and the inclusive nature of digital technologies led to the democratization of entrepreneurship, challenging structural constraints ascribed to gender-specific roles. The democratization underscores the economic implications of women entrepreneurs’ digital engagement in response to global digital by default. Hence, through the social cognitive theory, the study examines whether leveraging Digital Financial Literacy ensures Financial Inclusion for women entrepreneurs, unveiling the potential of digital engagement in bridging the entrepreneurial-gendered financing gap, which has been explored less. A primary survey of 214 women entrepreneurs was analysed using Hayes PROCESS macro-model 8. The findings reveal that Digital Financial Literacy significantly influences Financial Inclusion and Firm Performance. Financial Inclusion partially mediates the relationship between Digital Financial Literacy and Firm Performance. However, Financial Behaviour negatively moderates the relationship between Digital Financial Literacy and Firm Performance and remains insignificant between Digital Financial Literacy and the Financial Inclusion link. Hence, the study offers insights to entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academicians on the potential of Digital Financial Literacy in narrowing the gender finance gap. It also emphasizes the need to improve the financial behavior of women entrepreneurs.
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spelling doaj-art-99a8f18c24e24d4a8bd7faeb9a228b6d2025-08-20T02:35:56ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Business & Management2331-19752025-12-0112110.1080/23311975.2025.2518492Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from IndiaSerin Peter0Geetha ElangovanAnju GuptaManipal School of Commerce and Economics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, IndiaThe rising tide of women entrepreneurship, the unparalleled rise in fintech, and the inclusive nature of digital technologies led to the democratization of entrepreneurship, challenging structural constraints ascribed to gender-specific roles. The democratization underscores the economic implications of women entrepreneurs’ digital engagement in response to global digital by default. Hence, through the social cognitive theory, the study examines whether leveraging Digital Financial Literacy ensures Financial Inclusion for women entrepreneurs, unveiling the potential of digital engagement in bridging the entrepreneurial-gendered financing gap, which has been explored less. A primary survey of 214 women entrepreneurs was analysed using Hayes PROCESS macro-model 8. The findings reveal that Digital Financial Literacy significantly influences Financial Inclusion and Firm Performance. Financial Inclusion partially mediates the relationship between Digital Financial Literacy and Firm Performance. However, Financial Behaviour negatively moderates the relationship between Digital Financial Literacy and Firm Performance and remains insignificant between Digital Financial Literacy and the Financial Inclusion link. Hence, the study offers insights to entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academicians on the potential of Digital Financial Literacy in narrowing the gender finance gap. It also emphasizes the need to improve the financial behavior of women entrepreneurs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2025.2518492Women entrepreneurshipgender biasdigital financial literacyFirm performancefinancial behaviorgender equality
spellingShingle Serin Peter
Geetha Elangovan
Anju Gupta
Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
Cogent Business & Management
Women entrepreneurship
gender bias
digital financial literacy
Firm performance
financial behavior
gender equality
title Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
title_full Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
title_fullStr Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
title_full_unstemmed Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
title_short Digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap: evidence from India
title_sort digital engagement in financial inclusion for bridging the gendered entrepreneurial financial gap evidence from india
topic Women entrepreneurship
gender bias
digital financial literacy
Firm performance
financial behavior
gender equality
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2025.2518492
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AT anjugupta digitalengagementinfinancialinclusionforbridgingthegenderedentrepreneurialfinancialgapevidencefromindia