Over the last several years, the role of women entrepreneurship has become one of the significant issues of the Indian business scenario. Today many women are engaging themselves in several businesses and crossing the barriers that the society has placed and this not only benefits them as individuals but to the nation’s economy and employment.
In the year 2024 women who are in business will be strong role models for demonstrating that business ideas, working for long hours and achieving much is possible and that it brings not only the benefit of the individual but of others too.
These women are from various backgrounds and organisations but they all have the spirit to fight all odds and say that it is not a big deal to be an Indian business woman. They are employed in information technology, health, beauty, and financial industries and in social business ventures they are transforming the world by creating new products and services that have not been available to address the needs of specific niches.
They are not only companies but organizations that give women employment opportunities, assist in the improvement of the society, and act as special examples of women to the young generation. The growing number of female entrepreneurs is the best illustration of the fight and the contribution of the environment that can help the women to create their businesses.
List of Top 20 Successful Women Entrepreneurs in India
1. Falguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar started Nykaa to revolutionalize the beauty and wellness market in India. At the age of 50, Nayar left her very well-paid corporate job in finance and embarked on a massive entrepreneurial journey in an industry that she wanted to be in. Nykaa essentially began as an online cosmetic products store, offering makeup and skincare products and other similar products.
Nayar observed that consumers in India were developing a consciousness to select good quality beauty products but lacked the right outlet. To achieve a friendly atmosphere on the website and application, she has strived to make them cover many brands, both Indian and global in this specific niche. From being an e-commerce company, Nayar has expanded Nykaa to a company with physical stores across India.
Details:
Founder of: Nykaa
Founded in: 2012
Date of Birth: 19 February 1963
Website: www.nykaa.com
2.Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon, perhaps the first biopharmaceutical company in the country that contributed enormously to the company’s healthcare model. She was a living example of what she preached and established Biocon in the year 1978 with a vision to make India the global biopharma destination.
She guided Biocon to among the world’s leading firms that manufacture life-saving drugs, and has worked towards enhancing access to essential medicines for people across the globe. Her determination and the strategies that she used did not only transform Biocon into a company that can be taken seriously in the global pharmaceuticals sector but also improved the health of people in the developing nations.
For the achievements in the course of her work she has been awarded with a number of prizes for the contribution to the development of the industry and improvement of its influence on society. She remains a role model to generations of aspiring business people, as well as scientists and medical professionals.
Details:
Founder of: Biocon
Founded in: 1978
Date of Birth: 23 March 1953
Website: www.biocon.com
3. Ghazal Alagh
Ghazal Alagh is the co-founder of Mamaearth which revolutionised the concept of personal care with products that were toxic-free and have natural ingredients. Realizing the idea of inventing safe, effective, and sustainable products, Mamaearth did not take much time to become one of the favorite brands of health-oriented consumers.
Alagh dreamt of good skincare and wellness solutions that would fit into the lifestyle of the current generation families. The kind of persistence she exhibited to achieve what she was aiming at for Mamaearth until it became a brand that everyone was using.
Details:
Founder of: Mamaearth
Founded in: 2016
Date of Birth: 02 September 1988
Website: www.mamaearth.in
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4. Upasana Taku
Upasana Taku is the co-founder of MobiKwik, which is one of India’s leading digital payment companies that have revolutionised the way one handles his or her wallet. MobiKwik was launched in 2009 and is a mobile wallet service that allows a user to transfer money, receive money and pay bills and even shop using a dedicated mobile application.
This fast pace is courtesy to the brainchild of Taku that with its innovative vision and strategic thinking has turned MobiKwik into one of the leading digital payment companies in the country of India. MobiKwik under her leadership is contributing to the vision of a digital India providing reliable and efficient cashless solutions to millions of consumers.
Details:
Founder of: MobiKwik
Founded in: 2008
Date of Birth: 07 august 1981
Website: www.mobikwik.com
5. Richa Kar
Richa Kar is the founder of Zivame, an online lingerie company, which is revolutionising the way women shop for their inner wear in India. Established in the year 2011, Zivame was founded on the humble premise of fulfilling the unmet need of comfortable, fashionable, and proper fitting lingerie for women in India. Kar wanted to create a platform where, without feeling any sort of awkwardness, women could go shopping for lingerie with a large choice in terms of model and size for different types of female bodies and personalities.
She was expecting the women to be empowered by Zivame to feel and look good on their skins. In the near future it became associated with reliability in terms of the quality and novelties offered in the market of lingerie.
However, it has also set off a far broader body positivity and self-care discussion for Zivame. Richa Kar has been instrumental in getting Zivame to be the market leader in the lingerie segment in India and revolutionising the way women shop.
Details:
Founder of: Zivame
Founded in: 2011
Date of Birth: 17 July 1980
Website: www.zivame.com
6. Aditi Gupta
Aditi Gupta is the co-founder of Menstrupedia, an accurate, easy to understand source of information about the topic of menstruation. Beginning in 2012, Menstrupedia breaks open a subject that is taboo and riddled with myths, especially in India: the period, in as much as they have no overt connection with the creative process.
She developed a package of comic books and workshops that would educate men and women of all ages, from different social classes, on how to openly discuss menstruation and the process. She has been very much involved in menstrual health and hygiene by educating young girls and women on the body.
Besides education, Gupta has actively worked for the welfare of women by fighting for the improvement of the existing or creation of new sustainable sanitary products. She has done some truly remarkable work in advancing knowledge and discourse about menstruation, which will clearly prevent and alleviate suffering in many people’s lives.
Details:
Founder of: Menstrupedia
Founded in: 2012
Date of Birth: 3 July 1998
Website: www.menstrupedia.com
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7. Neha Motwani
Ms Neha Motwani is the founder of Fitternity, a famous online portal that is helping India to digitalize the Fitness sector. Fitternity was started in 2014 as an integrated health and fitness solution that offered very high degrees of customization in terms of the specific exercise routines, dietary guidance, fitness trainers and gyms.
She desired an easier and a personalized regime of fitness for contributing to healthy and fit living of people. Because of this, a user is able to explore various fitness possibilities, monitor his or her progress, and it assists in encouragement towards the wellness process. The Motwani led Fitternity has evolved into a directory for fitness seekers all over the country to nurture a culture that is a little more fit.
She has not only motivated people on the importance of paying attention to their health but also been providing them with the necessary assistance for them to attain their fitness goals.
Details:
Founder of: Fitternity
Founded in: 2013
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.fitternity.com
8. Radhika Ghai
Ms. Radhika Ghai is the co-founder of ShopClues—a revolutionary e-commerce marketplace in India that puts small and medium-sized businesses in the driving seat. Entrepreneurs finally had a service to get a marketplace online targeting a better part of the country’s population.
Launched in 2011, ShopClues was one of the very few e-commerce marketplaces to focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities, reaching out to customers with a wide diverse range of affordable products across the country.
Her strategic insights on how to pull this off, manage ShopClues in serving its vendors and customers while focusing on user-friendliness, were humongous and yielded dividends. Her hard work gave strength and helped thousands of entrepreneurs set up and grow their businesses through the medium of e-commerce.
Details:
Founder of: ShopClues
Founded in: 2011
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.shopclues.com
9. Shradha Sharma
Shradha Sharma is a co-founder of YourStory, which is India’s leading Digital Media company that promotes and supports Entrepreneurs. YourStory was started in 2008 with the aim of being the ultimate source for inspiring stories, advice and information for entrepreneurs.
She imagined creating an avenue through which the success stories of such business people would be shared but most importantly through which such people could be supported. YourStory’s articles, features, interviews, and events are deep narratives that help entrepreneurs get the knowledge and connections needed for success.
It is because of its dedication to the entrepreneurial ecosystem that YourStory has carved itself an essential position in the India startup ecosystem.
Today, YourStory is used by hundreds of thousands of businessmen to get advice, inspiration, and ideas for the development of their companies.
Details:
Founder of: YourStory
Founded in: 2008
Date of Birth: 6 July 1980
Website: www.yourstory.com
10. Sairee Chahal
Sairee Chahal is the founder of Sheroes, a unique platform dedicated to supporting women in their professional and personal lives. Launched in 2014, Sheroes has been a safe, inclusive space for women to connect, share experiences, learn, and grow.
In fact, the community has been aimed at empowering women—mentoring them, incurring resources, and having opportunities for career growth. Sheroes aims to address the challenges and setbacks women face at work and otherwise, ideally to bridge the gap and empower them to be all they dream of being.
Today, Sheroes is a lifeline for millions of women, with everything from job opportunities to mental health and wellness support. In short, Sheroes and Chahal have contributed towards building an enfranchised, fair society in which the female gender is encouraged to lead and win.
Details:
Founder of: Sheroes
Founded in: 2014
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.sheroes.com
11. Malika Sadani
Malika Sadani is the fearless founder of The Moms Co her idea for safe, natural and sustainable products was born from babies and mothers. Founded in 2017, The Moms Co. was developed as a response to the lack of good quality products that are specific to the needs of mothers and their children. Having the unrelenting care for safety and sustainability, Sadani has promised that all products should be developed using natural ingredients, with no hazardous chemicals and safe for families.
Her mission is not merely the sale of merchandise; it is about educating moms with the best for families and encouraging health and wholeness from pregnancy through motherhood. Today, The Moms Co. is one of the trusted Indian family brands under the leadership of Kavita Sadani, a brand loved by so many women because of her honesty and a quality that cannot be compromised. Her work continues to touch and impact many lives of mothers and children hence being continued today.
Details:
Founder of: The Moms Co
Founded in: 2017
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.themomsco.com
12. Anisha Singh
Anisha Singh is the mastermind behind Mydala. She revolutionized the discount and deal industry in India. Entering the space as a saving mechanism for the consumers while indulging in new experiences, Mydala soon created its place as a platform known to get deals on services ranging from food and drink to relaxation and entertainment.
Singh creatively merged user-friendly technology that could understand consumer needs in a maze, making it easier for them to find and utilize discounts. Under her leadership, Mydala grew to be a trusted resource of millions looking to optimize their spending. The Mydala case highlights the astuteness of Singh in mixing entrepreneurial zeal with a very strong commitment to making everyday life better; she is therefore very well positioned as a digital stalwart in India’s discount industry.
Details:
Founder of: Mydala
Founded in: 2009
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.mydala.com
13. Anju Srivastava
Anju Srivastava, Founder Wingreens Farms, has certainly made a mark in the organic food space in India with a commitment to sustainable agriculture. Wingreens Farms cultivates an overwhelming set of organic herbs and vegetables with a motto to promote eating right while taking care of the environment.
She believes in people-friendly and planet-friendly farming practices so that what comes out of the produce is good not only for health but also for the environment. Under her guidance, Wingreens Farms has grown into an identity of organic food with quality and sustainability.
These moves of his have generated much-needed awareness about the benefits of organic food and sustainable farming practices and made Wingreens Farms be seen as a pioneer toward bringing healthier living and ecological responsibilities to India.
Details:
Founder of: Wingreens Farms
Founded in: 2008
Date of Birth: NA
Website: wingreensworld.com
14. Akanksha Anshu
Akanksha Anshu is the genius behind Refund Me. which has been designed to help people to claim refunds and solve billing problems easily across India. There was a general notion that many people found it hard to go through the refunds process especially when it involves numerous procedures that can be cumbersome at times, this inspired Anshu to start developing a solution to this problem.
From its simple administration, refundme. in is effectively putting the power in the hands of the users to handle the procedural issues that come with any refund claim, thus enabling the man on the street get his money back.
It did not take her much time to bring the platform to the place where it was offering a value proposition in the context of the Indian market and changing, to a great extent, the way refunds are managed in such transactions and the stress that is involved in it.
An innovative idea like this erases one of the typical complaints and brings Anshu’s commitments to the development of consumer rights and satisfaction in the context of the emerging Indian digital economy.
Details:
Founder of: Refund Me. In
Founded in: 2012
Date of Birth: NA
Website: www.refundme.in
15. Revathi Roy
Revathi Roy is the pioneering founder of Hey DeeDee, which produces eco-friendly alternatives to conventional feminine hygiene products. Realizing the requirement for sustainable alternatives within the women’s health sector, Roy founded Hey DeeDee with the concept of women’s empowerment while saving the environment.
Her company designs innovative products that not only improve women’s health but also mitigate environmental impacts, solving both personal and ecological problems. Roy envisions shifting how women think about and use feminine hygiene products, providing safer, more sustainable choices that align with modern values of healthcare and care for the environment.
Details:
Founder of: Hey DeeDee
Founded in: 2016
Date of Birth: NA
Website: NA
16. Anjali Bansal
Anjali Bansal is the managing director of Avaana Capital, building the practice of investing in innovative startups and emerging businesses in India. Bansal has neatly understood the game of entrepreneurship and the interests of the stakeholders and placed Avaana Capital rightly as a suitable enabler of the ecosystem. An investment firm with a talent for finding the best emerging businesses, Avaana Capital is an investor in revolutionary social and economic enterprises.
Bansal said she does not look at investment only as a venture capitalist decently looking for returns. In her view, it is about developing businesses into products in the interest of society. Maggie Bautista has since positioned and built Avaana Capital to be the power within the Indian start-up ecosystem that delivers the due resources, mentorship, and funding that a new venture needs.
Details:
Founder of: Avaana Capital
Founded in: 2018
Date of Birth: 25 February 1971
Website: www.avaanacapital.com
17. Vandana Luthra
Vandana Luthra is the dynamic brain behind VLCC, one of India’s premier wellness and beauty companies. Born with the vision of transforming lives, VLCC today provides very diversified services, ranging from weight loss and skin treatments to wellness consultations. Other than health and beauty consultations, the company also brings to the table a plethora of health and beauty products, thus servicing its customers’ diversified needs.
The motto that has made VLCC outstanding has been her passion to make people live healthier and look their best. Under her very able guidance, she has built VLCC into a credible brand known for its holistic wellness and beauty approach today. With a pan-India and other countries presence, VLCC continues to influence millions for health and beauty standards, reflecting Luthra’s abiding commitment to improving the well-being and self-esteem of her clients.
Details:
Founder of: VLCC
Founded in: 1989
Date of Birth: 12 July 1959
Website: www.vlccproducts.com
18. Richa Singh
Richa Singh is the Co-founder of YourDOST is an online innovative platform to help people with mental health issues. Realising that most people cannot come forward to seek help for mental health problems, Singh started YourDOST to provide a platform for people to disclose their issues to counsellors.
This platform helps in getting counseling and emotional support, from the comfort of ones home making mental health care, cheaper, easier and more discrete. Singh’s role is to fight the culture of silence and shame associated with mental health in India and to make people accept the help they need with no prejudice.
With YourDOST, she created a safety net for all who face emotional and psychological issues, to offer them a helping hand at their time of despair.
Details:
Founder of: YourDOST
Founded in: 2014
Date of Birth: 26 August 2002
Website: www.yourdost.com
19. Ameera Shah
Ameera Shah is the CEO of Metropolis Healthcare—a leading diagnostic company fast revolutionizing healthcare in India. She took over the reins of Metropolis Healthcare some time ago and ensured that Metropolis became synonymous with accurate and reliable medical testing, making use of the latest technology to produce high-quality lab services across the length and breadth of the country.
Shah’s dedication toward excelling firmly establishes Metropolis as the name which comes foremost to one’s mind when talking of healthcare—the industry wherein precision and dependability matter. She envisions making advanced diagnostic services available to everybody so that patients get the best treatment, getting timely and accurate test results.
Shah has led Metropolis Healthcare into the forefront in this industry by means of innovation and quality and gained the trust of millions who depend upon its service for critical health information.
Details:
Founder of: Metropolis Healthcare
Founded in: 2001
Date of Birth: 24 September 1979
Website: www.metropolisindia.com
20. Vineeta Singh
Vineeta Singh is the Co-Founder of SUGAR Cosmetics, an emerging beauty brand that is revolutionising the beauty industry in India. Having a deep understanding of the desires and aspirations of a modern Indian woman who is in her late twenties and thirties, Singh contributed to the creation of a brand that is aimed at selling makeup products for a rather affordable price.
New in creating products which are stylish, lively, and durable, the name SUGAR Cosmetics will appeal to the young Indian customer. Singh’s mission was to come up with a line of makeup that was consciously designed for the Indian climate and Indian skin tones, which would fulfill the only gap to design products that are functional and fashionable.
During her tenure, SUGAR Cosmetics was recognized as the fastest-growing, and the most talked-about brand in the history of India.
Details:
Founder of: SUGAR Cosmetics
Founded in: 2012
Date of Birth: 6 August 1983
Website: www.sugarcosmetics.com
Conclusion
The following Top 20 successful women entrepreneurs in India are not only successful in their respective area of operation but they have also paved the way for future entrepreneurial ventures. Their stories are success stories and prove that, if you try and invent new ideas, you can achieve anything. These women have eradicated past cultures of women being unable to run any type of businesses and have proved that wrong.
These amazing women have more than just established great businesses in their respective fields. They have contributed towards development of India’s economy, employment of other people, innovation and social transformation. Their success also proved that the new business ventures can have a lot of opportunities in India.
More and more people are beginning to work independently in India, and these women are building a society in which everyone can succeed. They succeed and this inspires other individuals to follow their dreams. It also proves that women in their working careers should be provided equal opportunities like men and be supported.
There is evidence that the activity of women’s entrepreneurship will grow in the coming years in India even more actively. More to change the conventional Indian mindset and script their own success stories.
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FAQs
1. Which woman is considered as the most successful woman entrepreneur in India?
Success is defined in various ways but to many Falguni Nayar the founder of Nykaa is arguably one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. Her company has done a splendid job in changing the complexion of the beauty and wellness industry in the country.
2. What is the number of women entrepreneurs in India?
The exact figure keeps fluctuating but according to the current trend, there are more than millions of women entrepreneurs in India by 2024. It has been on the increase in the recent past.
3. What are the problems faced by women entrepreneurs in India?
Some of the issues that Indian women entrepreneurs come across include lack of capital, family caregiving responsibilities, prejudice, and role models. But, many are coming over these hurdles to establish profitable businesses.
4. What role do women entrepreneurs play in the growth of India’s economy?
It has been established that women entrepreneurs are playing a crucial role in employment generation, innovation, product development and enhancing India’s GDP.
5. What kind of support is available to women entrepreneurs in India?
It is possible to distinguish several types of support for women entrepreneurs in India: government initiatives, incubators, female-oriented VC funds, and business associations. As shown above, most of the examples of successful female business owners discussed in this article are also engaged in efforts to help other women succeed in business.
