No, this is not another round-up for a momentous Women’s Day. We don’t need a designated day to celebrate women… especially these women!
Women who have challenged every stereotypical notion.
Women who have pioneered the art of making a mark wherever they go.
Women who have motivated and inspired the heart of many.
Today, 20% of all enterprises in India are owned by women. As the nation is still trying hard to transform its economic and social development status through women-owned businesses, a few female dynamos have ascended to fame with their stellar entrepreneurship skills. From image consulting, e-commerce, and science to technology, entertainment, and fashion, women entrepreneurs in India have been smashing glass ceilings and inspiring the rest of us each day to take charge of our careers and excel at whatever we choose to do.
Eye-opening fact:
The history of courageous female entrepreneursin India started quite early with Kalpana Saroj. Known as India’s first female entrepreneur and the original “Slumdog Millionaire”, Kalpana Saroj bought the distressed assets of Kamani Tubes Company and steered the company back to profitability like a boss back in 2001. From being an underprivilegedchild bride to becoming a Padma Shri award winner in 2013, Kalpana is the perfect example of an inspirational conversation starter.
So, if you have constantly been doubting your capabilities of commencing a new business and sticking around to lead it to success, here’s a merit list of 15 motivational Indian women entrepreneurs across industries that will give you career goals like no other:
Suman Agarwal
Co-founder & Director of Image Consulting Business Institute
The Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI) is the brainchild of an exemplary Indian businesswoman – Suman Agarwal. At the young age of 18, Suman decided to pack her bags, leave her comfort zone and live her life on her own terms. She says, “I was the first girl in my family to step out and be on my own. I am very intuitive, and I follow my intuition very religiously.” She has risen high above her struggles to become the successful businesswoman that she is today. At the age of 20, when women usually make career decisions, Suman was deciding what to name her daughter.
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Falguni Nayar
Founder and CEO of Nykaa
The year 2021 turned Falguni Nayar into India’s most prominent self-made female billionaire, and her journey to it is no less than incredible. She took the bold step of leaving a 20-year illustrious career as the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. to start from scratch when she was just shy of turning 50. But graduating from IIM Ahmedabad and seeing her father run a small bearings business as she grew up, she just knew that she had it in her to become a successful woman in business. So, age didn’t matter to her.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd.
Cracking the prescription for global recognition, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the first-ever self-made female billionaire and a successful businesswoman in India. She is widely known as one of the most influential personalities in the field of biotechnology. But her entrepreneurial journey was not an easy one.
Indra Nooyi
CEO of Pepsico (past), Board of Directors – Amazon and Others
Indra Nooyi is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. She has been instrumental in the growth and expansion of Pepsico as its first female CEO and chairperson until 2019. Her entrepreneurial stints didn’t end there. Today, she serves on the boards of Amazon, Philips, and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Richa Kar
Founder and CEO of Zivame
Sudha Murty
Teacher, Chairperson of The Infosys Foundation
Priyanka Chopra
Actress, Film Producer, Restaurant and Haircare Brand Owner
Faye D'Souza
Independent Indian Journalist
Most of the millennials today get their daily news bytes from Instagram, thanks to Faye D’Souza. Bringing reliable and unadulterated news to our screens, Faye D’Souza is a female entrepreneur that needs no introduction. No Indian journalist has uncluttered news the way she has. Working without a media team and spreading news information, Faye has taken it upon herself to reclaim the meaning of news by focusing on issues that matter and giving preference to information over opinion.
Shradha Sharma
Founder of YourStory Media Pvt. Ltd.
Vandana Luthra
Founder of VLCC
Vandana Luthra is one of the most successful Indian businesswomen. She was ranked #26 in Forbes Asia list 2016 of 50 Power Businesswomen.
Ritu Kumar
Fashion Designer
She was born in Amritsar but had to shift to Shimla due to the lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar. After studying art history in Delhi, she pursued a scholarship at Briarcliff college of New York.
Yasmin Karachiwala
Fitness Trainer, Owner of The Body Image Studio
If you have often wondered how the gorgeous ladies of Bollywood like Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, etc., keep themselves in such good shape,it’s because of a Mumbai-based celebrity fitness and pilates instructor – Yasmin Karachiwala.
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Divya Gokulnath
Co-founder of BYJU's
Vani Kola
Founder and Managing Director of Kalaari Capital
Vani Kola is an Indian Venture Capitalist and a famous female entrepreneur. In 2014, Fortune India listed her as one of the most powerful women in the Indian business.
Mehak Sagar
Co-founder of WedMeGood
After Mehak completed her studies, she undertook a job at American Express as a data modeller. But like many of us, she also had a creative side and loved everything beauty and fashion. So, she started her own blog called Peaches & Blushes. But this was only the beginning of her career change journey.
If you’re inspired by the stories of these 15 incredible Indian women leaders and want to start a new venture of your own – if you feel like you want a career where you can work on your ow terms – while impacting the lives of 100s and 1000s others – perhaps a certification in Image Management & Soft Skills Training is something you should think about. With our certified course in image management and soft skills training, thousands of women entrepreneurs in India are making a commendable mark.
Get in touch with us for more details, and we can help you get started on your own entrepreneurial journey!
