Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Digital Financial Inclusion, MSMEs and Entrepreneurship in India

This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the evolving scholarly discourse on digital financial inclusion, micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development and entrepreneurship in India. Using data retrieved from the Scopus database (2005–2025), a total of 170 peer-reviewed articles were analysed through the Bibliometrix R-package and Biblioshiny interface. The analysis reveals a significant growth in publications, particularly after 2020, coinciding with India’s rapid digitalisation and policy initiatives such as Unified Payments Interface, Startup India and Digital India. Descriptive statistics highlight key contributors, leading journals and institutional collaborations. Conceptual structure analysis identifies financial inclusion, FinTech, entrepreneurship and women empowerment as dominant research themes, while emerging topics such as peer-to-peer lending, machine learning and sustainable development goals represent promising future research frontiers. Thematic and co-occurrence mapping demonstrates strong interdisciplinary linkages between financial, technological, entrepreneurial and social development dimensions. Despite this growth, gaps remain specifically at the intersection of digital financial inclusion, MSME development and entrepreneurship—particularly in understanding how digital finance affects long-term MSME sustainability, gender-specific entrepreneurial outcomes and regional disparities in entrepreneurial access to digital credit in India. The study offers valuable insights for researchers and policymakers, while highlighting future research directions to deepen the field’s theoretical integration and policy relevance in the Indian context.