The country's 12.3 million women business owners employ more than 4 million workers and collectively add about $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy. Yet even though the future looks bright for women of all backgrounds, female entrepreneurs face difficulties when it comes to business funding. Women typically don’t ask for as much financing as men do. When lenders approve financing, women receive $5,000 less on average than their male counterparts. Women business owners face challenges in the public sector, too. Candace Waterman, president, and CEO of Women Impacting Public Policy testified before the Senate that the federal government has only met its modest 5% goal of awarding contracts to women-owned small businesses twice.
Best Small Business Loans for Women 2022
Women own 40% of small businesses in the U.S., but only 25% seek financing. And those who qualify often receive less money and pay higher interest rates. However, financing solutions for women are wide-ranging. Our experts reviewed and ranked lenders to help you get funded.
Written by:Michelle Lambright Black
Our Top Picks Best Small Business Loan for Women
- Multiple loan types available
- Funding in 48h
- Soft credit pull
- Ideal for plenty of industries
- Approval not solely credit based
- Early payoff discounts
- Simple application process
- As soon as same day funding
- Open to high-risk industries
How to Choose the Best Small Business Loan for Women?
Women continue to struggle when it comes to accessing capital, but that doesn’t mean the process is impossible. If you’re searching for small business loans for women, here are some pointers to consider:
- Application process: Seek out lenders with transparent application processes. Finding a lender with a more user-friendly experience might improve your chances.
- Qualification details: It’s a good idea to know your personal credit scores, business credit scores, annual revenue, and other details so you can look for loans that might be a good fit for your company (and avoid those that aren’t).
- Variety of loan options: Business financing comes in many options like Small Business Administration loans, unsecured and secured business loans, lines of credit, startup loans, merchant cash advances, and more. Research upfront to narrow down your preferred financing methods.
- Interest rates and fees: Compare multiple offers to find the best deal. If you need to access nontraditional financing, the cost of borrowing can be higher.
- Customer support: Research a lender’s customer service reputation, hours of operation, and average response time.
- Online user reviews: Look for patterns to see the strengths and weaknesses of lenders you’re considering.
The Best Small Business Loans for Women - Full Overview
1. Biz2Credit - Best for Commercial Real Estate/Franchises
Biz2Credit is a business funding platform founded in 2007 that matches small business owners with multiple financing options — including special lending programs for women. Some loans require a minimum personal credit score of 660 or above. But working capital loans may be an option with credit scores as low as 575.
Pros
Cons
Businesses can borrow up to $250,000 with term loans and $2 million with working capital solutions. Commercial real estate loan limits are as high as $6 million. Interest rates and fees vary depending upon creditworthiness, the loan type, and other factors.
Features
Biz2Credit can match you with the best-fit financing solutions for your business, including:
- Working capital loans
- Merchant cash advances
- Equipment financing
- Commercial real estate loans
- Business acquisition loans
- Refinancing
- SBA loans
- Traditional loans
The Bottom Line
Biz2Credit makes the process of comparing different loan options easier to navigate. Yet once it’s still wise to shop around with other lenders to make sure you’re getting the best offer.
Try Biz2Credit
Read the full Biz2Credit review for more details.
2. Fora Financial - Best for Flexible Terms
Flexible terms can make a loan much more manageable for small and big businesses alike.
Pros
Cons
After applying for a loan, you will wait 24 hours before finding out if it was approved. Upon approval, the funds will be deposited into your business’ bank account within three days.
Your business must be operational for at least six months before applying for a loan. Your monthly gross sales income must be $12,000 or more to be considered.
The Bottom Line
Fora Financial makes applying for a short-term loan easy and the requirements are not as strict as it is with big banks and other lenders.
Try Fora Financial
Learn more about Fora Financial in our comprehensive review
3. Credibly - Best for SBA Loans
Credibly is an alternative online lender that has short-term financing in the form of merchant cash advances and business loans. Credibly has lenient and low qualification requirements. You might even qualify with a credit score of just 500 and six months business experience.
Pros
Cons
Credibly tailors its loans to small- to medium-size businesses. Credibly offers the following funding for your business requirements:
- Small business working capital loans
- Small business merchant cash advances
- Small business expansion loans
- Other kinds of small business funding including a business line of credit
Given that Credibly lending options are extensive you can also access additional types of loans including Small Business Association (SBA) loans via partner programs.
The Bottom Line
The SBA has a selection of loans available to small business owners, and Credibly offers a means of accessing these loans. Small Business Administration loans have many advantages including reasonable interest rates and advantageous terms.
Try Credibly
Read the full Credibly review for more details.
4. Fundbox - Best for Fixing Cash Flow Issues
Fundbox is an excellent online option for small business loans for women. They also have low credit score requirements, which can be as low as 500. They don’t have strict requirements about how long you have been in business either.
Pros
Cons
Borrowing limits range from $1,000 to $100,000, with a draw fee of 4.66%, and repayments occur on standard terms of 12 or 24 weeks. In the application, they’ll ask you to provide your business checking account. It’s necessary to estimate your annual revenue. Your credit is calculated based on this information.
The Bottom Line
Fundbox is perfect if you need fast and uncomplicated cash loans. Credit limits are small, making it more suitable for quick fixes on cash flow and invoice factoring. Yet, fees can be pretty high.
Try FundBox
Read the full Fundbox review for more details.
5. BlueVine - Best for Recently Established Businesses
BlueVine is an online lender that focuses on small businesses’ financing solutions. This company has less rigorous requirements and options forfemale business owners. For this reason, it might be a good option for borrowers with low credit scores.
Pros
Cons
BlueVine has many options for financing women business owners. The credit score requirement can be as low as 530 It also requires at least three months in business and annual revenue of $120,000 or more. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $5 million.
The Bottom Line
BlueVine offers convenient solutions if you need fast cash. Credit requirements tend to be low, but APR and fees are high, so bear this in mind when making your decision.
Try BlueVine
Read the full BlueVine review for more details.
6. Kabbage - Best for Low Credit Scores
Kabbage offers accessible loans to borrowers with credit score issues. Eligibility criteria are one year in business and $50,000 of annual revenue, at least. Meeting this criteria will give you access to up to $100,000 in credit.
Pros
Cons
You can access more significant limits by proving an annual revenue of $500,000 and three years of activity. Your loan request can be granted within 24 hours, if you choose to receive it via PayPal. If you choose to receive it in your bank account, it can take up to three days.
The Bottom Line
Kabbage loans are expensive but are an excellent option for women with poor credit scores. They offer excellent connectivity with online accounts, but fees are comparably higher than similar services.
Try Kabbage
Read the full Kabbage review for more details
7. Funding Circle - Best for Businesses With No Collateral
Funding Circle is a British online lender operating in the US. They offer term loans to be repaid between six months and five years. Requirements are demanding: two years in business and a 660 credit score.
They don’t specify a minimum yearly revenue and offer more significant limits: between $25,000 and $500,000. The interest rate ranges between 3.49% and 27.79%.
The Bottom Line
Funding Circle offers a considerably higher borrowing limit than most other lenders. Yet, they have rigid eligibility criteria. The bottom line is that you might also want to consider other options.
Try Funding CIrcle
Read the full Funding Circle review for more details