MFIs, by the very nature of their operations, play a key role in three aspects of social life and development, despite being financial entities. Not only do MFIs help underprivileged households meet basic needs, they also provide the financial support to improve their overall economic condition, and above all else, empower women, particularly from rural backgrounds, to go beyond their usual roles of home-making to turn entrepreneurs.

By creating access to productive capital, MFIs help women to not only elevate the condition of their consumers, but also other women, who subsequently find employment through such entrepreneurial women.

Immediate noticeable effects of supporting an entrepreneurial woman are access to better nutrition and better lifestyle for their family members, along with better education for their children. The confidence a woman gains with financial support from MFIs helps them boost their sense of dignity and empower them to participate in improving not just their economy condition but also their society standing.

Being a frontline microfinance provider, VFS has been also helping women through various literacy campaigns to make them self-sufficient as well as financially stable even in extreme rural areas. The financial awareness such women pick up help them develop a financial road map to identify what she earns, what she spends and what she owes. In a nutshell, MFIs have played a significant role in combating both poverty and gender inequality.

A Voice of America report from March 2013 found that while at around 26 percent, number of employed rural women in India is lower than developed countries, the situation has significantly improved, and this has happened with the help of MFIs. Loans from MFIs have not only helped earn money, but also given them a voice. In many parts of the country, such entrepreneurial women have joined forces to fight social evils like alcoholism among the men in their households. The VoA admitted, in its report, that, unlike commercial banking channels, MFIs focus more on promoting gender equality than on profits, pointing out that society witnesses positive changes when women get empowered.