An Outlook on Role of Open Credit Enhancement Network in India’s Digital Lending: MSMEs

Abstract

The micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector of India is a key source of generating employment and entrepreneurship there by contributing to the country’s economic and social development. Despite all these features, MSMEs struggles to access credit for financial requirement and the credit demand gap is increasing year after year. To meet such credit demand, Indian Government has launched the Open Credit Enablement Network, or OCEN, a step to move towards democratization of credit and financial inclusion. The present study throws light on the need for OCEN and the role of OCEN in digital lending ecosystem of MSMEs in India. The paper also discusses the challenges and the opportunities for OCEN in the financial inclusion status of the economic system.