Loan program helps needy women start businesses

For rural resident Chang Ling, a 50,000 yuan ($7,300) loan from a local bank early this year is helping her fulfill her dream of entrepreneurship.

Chang, 31, said she has long wanted to begin trading in agricultural products common in her village in Wulian county, Shandong province, but she had lacked the capital. With the loan, she can start her own business, selling homemade dried sweet potatoes online.

Chang's loan is just one among the 279.4 billion yuan in loans that the central government had provided to 5.38 million women, as of June this year, to start businesses or create jobs, according to the State Council Information Office. Many of the recipients were poor.