courtesy: moneycontrol
The saying ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman’ sounds too regressive in 2024, as women are no longer behind and have taken on the steering wheel. As per a report in media, the number of women- owned businesses in India is expected to rise by 90% by 2026.
Women’s involvement in the growth of the economy is very crucial for development of any nation. Unfortunately, India has witnessed awfully low percentage of adult women with jobs. However, things are changing, as over the past few years, as the women are not only joining workforces but also initiating their own businesses.
In 63 million MSMEs, 20% are women- owned giving employment to 22 to 27 million people in India. These women have broken the glass ceiling, turning the tide, and become the harbingers of change. In the following article, we will talk about some of the most successful women entrepreneurs of India.
Top 5 Successful Women Entrepreneurs in India
1. Falguni Nayar – Nykaa
Everyone was awestruck when the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank stepped down from her lucrative job to launch her own startup. At the age of 50, Nayar launched Nykaa – a homegrown beauty and wellness brand – with Rs. 10.68 crore in 2012. Cut to 2024, the brand is now a public listed company and a remarkable success story.
2. Aditi Gupta – Menstrupedia
In November 2012, Gupta started Menstrupedia to alter the beliefs around menstruation. Menstrupedia designs comic books that makes menstruation simpler to understand.
3. Radhika Ghai Aggarwal – ShopClues.com
Radhika Ghai Aggarwal is the chief business officer of ShopClues.com, which she co-founded in 2011 with Sanjey Sethi and her husband Sandeep Aggarwal. She became the first woman co-founder of the nation whose company entered the coveted unicorn club in 2016.
4. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Biocon India
Following her father’s footprints, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw earned an undergraduate degree in zoology from Bangalore University and a graduate degree in brewing from the University of Ballarat, Melbourne. Unable to land a job in brewing, she started consulting, before meeting Leslie Auchincloss, then owner of Biocon Biochemicals. Leslie took Kiran as a partner in Biocon India, the company, which was launched in 1978 in India.
5. Vani Kola – Kalaari Capital
Kola is also known as Mother of Venture Capital Investing In India. Vani Kola, who is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from Osmania University, is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. She completed her master’s degree at Arizona State University. In 1996, she established her first business venture: RightWorks, which was an e-procurement company. After four years as founder of Right Works, she sold her company’s 53% stake for $657 million to the Internet Capital Group. She collaborated with Vinod Dham and Kaur Shiralagi to launch $189 million fund backed by New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
In 2011, when Vani and Kaur rebranded the firm as Kalaari Capital, NEA opted out of this venture to enter Indian market. At one point, Kalaari went on to become the second largest venture capital firm in India, based on the assets it managed and the biggest ever run by a woman.