Entrepreneurship is now a popular trend in India, particularly among women. The nation's female population is choosing entrepreneurship as a career, even though few opportunities are open to them. The way businesswomen in India have shown the drive to embark down the challenging path of business over the past several years is quite inspiring. This entrepreneurial boom is occurring in both urban and rural areas, one of the most appealing aspects of the phenomenon.
Did you know?
In India, 20.37% of women are MSME owners, accounting for 23.3% of the labour force.
Top Women Entrepreneurs in India
When it comes to gender equality in India, things have evolved dramatically in the last few decades. To this day, women have played a critical part in driving India's economic progress, and they've done so in virtually every industry.
Let us look at some of the remarkable women entrepreneurs in India who have converted their passions into successful businesses despite adversity. Successful women entrepreneurs in India to remind you that you can genuinely begin anywhere.
Also Read: India’s Top Successful Entrepreneurs
Vandana Luthra, Founder of VLCC
One of the top businesswomen in India, Vandana Luthra, founded VLCC, a beauty and slimming service centre, in 1989. Afterwards, she expanded her services to include hair building, full-body laser, grooming, and dermatology services. In addition, Vandana Luthra runs a non-profit organisation called Khushii, which provides free scholarships for higher education to economically disadvantaged or physically disabled persons.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder and CEO of Biocon Limited
In 1978, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw founded Biocon, a biotechnology company and became India's wealthiest self-made female entrepreneur. She is also a former chairperson of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Investors are paying attention to this company because it has recently entered the biosimilars market in the United States. According to Forbes, it was the first company to receive FDA approval. She is the world's 65th most powerful woman in 2019 and India's 54th richest person.
Priya Paul, the Park Hotel's chairwoman
Priya Paul is the CEO of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, an Indian hotel chain. The following year, after graduating from Wellesley College (US), she began working as a marketing manager at the age of 21 for her father at The Park, New Delhi.
Ritu Kumar, the Fashion Designer
Indian fashion designer Ritu Kumar is one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in India. She was born in Kolkata and began her career in the industry. At first, she specialised in bridal gowns and formal clothing. However, after decades of waiting, she finally made it to the global market. She received the Padma Shree from the Indian government in 2013.
Suchi Mukherjee, the CEO and Founder of Limeroad
Limeroad, founded in 2012 by Suchi Mukherjee, is a fashion and lifestyle accessories e-commerce platform. Today, this organisation is one of India's most fashionable websites for men's and women's online shopping. She has won numerous honours, including Business Today's "Coolest Start-up" award, Infocom's "Woman in Digital Business," and the Unicorn Start-up Award (NDTV).
Indra Nooyi, Amazon Board Member
Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, one of the most well-known businesswomen in India, has joined the board of directors of Amazon. Yale School of Management graduate, she went on to work as a product manager at Johnson & Johnson after graduating. Indra Nooyi has been on Amazon's board of directors since February 2019. According to Forbes, she was the world's eleventh most powerful woman in 2017.
Aditi Gupta, Co-founder of Menstrupedia
Aditi Gupta, one of the top women entrepreneurs in India and author and co-founder of Menstrupedia, is an advocate for women's health. To help teach girls about menstruation, Aditi and her husband published a comic book, and Menstrupedia.com was the name of their later website. When Menstrupedia partnered with Whisper India in 2014, they offered "Touch the Pickle," which took place in four cities, as part of their school interaction program.
Falguni Nayar, Nykaa's Co-founder
Falguni Nayar, one of the famous women entrepreneurs in India, quit Kotak Mahindra, where she had worked as an investment banker for 20 years. She founded Nykaa, an online retailer of cosmetics and wellness products, in 2012. Business Today named her "Most Powerful Business" in 2017. Additionally, she was honoured with the Economic Times' "Woman Ahead" award. Femina has been a long-term partner of the company since 2014.
Vani Kola, Founder of Kalaari Capital
Vani Kola is the founder and MD of Kalaari Capital, a venture capital firm. She had a 22-year-old career in Silicon Valley before returning to India in 2006. She worked with NEA as a Venture capitalist in India (New Enterprise Associates). Founded in September of 2012, Kalaari Capital had a ₹1138.7 crores fund. Women Entrepreneurship Summit Award, the 5th Edition of the TiE Delhi-NCR Chapter, was given to her in 2018. In addition, she received the NDTV Women of Worth award for her business acumen.
Radhika Ghai, Shopclues.com Co-founder
Currently, this e-commerce business is India's largest fully-managed marketplace and attracts more than 7 million visitors every month. The company serves more than 9,000 cities. She holds an MBA from the University of Washington, and her success has made her one of India's leading female tech entrepreneurs.
Also Read: Successful Small Business Ideas for Indian Entrepreneurs
Some of the Other Notable Female Entrepreneurs in India
From being surrounded by critics, lack of support at home, and lack of education and access to finance, the hurdles are also limitless for women entrepreneurs in India.
Several successful women entrepreneurs in India today inspire millions of women daily. There are much more other than the mentioned list above,
- Khushboo Jain, co-founder and COO of impactguru.com
- Malini Agarwal, Miss Malini's founder and creative director
- Meghna Agarwal, IndiQube co-founder
- Mehak Sagar, WedMeGood co-founder
- Naiyya Saggi, BabyChakra founder
- Neha Motwani, co-founder and CEO of Fitternity.
- Priyanshi Choubey, co-founder of InstaCar
- Richa Kar, co-founder and ex-CEO, Zivame
- Richa Singh, co-founder of YourDOST
- Sairee Chahal, founder of Sheroes.in
- Sanna Vohra, founder and CEO of The Wedding Brigade
- Sayli Karanjkar, co-founder of PaySense
- Shahnaz Hussian, CEO of Shahnaz Herbals
- Shilpa Bhatia, founder of Clothing Rental and Terra Inde
- Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik, co-founders of FabAlley and Indya
- Shradha Sharma, founder and CEO of YourStory Media Pvt.Ltd
- Shreya Lamba and Farah Nathani Menzies, co-founder of The Mumum Co.
- Shubhra Chadda, co-founder of Chumbak
- Suchita Salwan, founder and CEO of Little Black Book
- Upasana Taku, co-founder of Mobikwik
Conclusion
These positive role models can serve as an inspiration for young women. Among the women featured in this post are some of India's most successful female entrepreneurs who exemplify the power of ingenuity and inventiveness. A person's gender is not a factor in their ability to succeed.
As the Indian startup ecosystem evolves, many women pursue the entrepreneurial dream and succeed in their companies, enabling other Indian women to think for themselves.
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