Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs in India 2023

by B2B Desk 2023-02-07 06:24:16

Did you know that there are many women entrepreneurs in India?

Yes, you read it right. The women are doing well and has taken the world by storm!

These entrepreneurs have successfully established their own start-ups in India and have changed the lives of thousands of people around them.
They have succeeded in creating their own business from the ground level, through thick and thin, through sheer determination and tireless work ethic.

Here is a list of notable women entrepreneurs in India with their education, previous work experience, and achievements.

women entrepreneurs in India- Chitra Gurnani Daga

1. Chitra Gurnani Daga (Thrillophilia.com)

Chitra Gurnani Daga is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thrillophilia, India's largest platform for booking travel experiences.
Thrillophilia offers adventure tours, activities, rentals, and offbeat places to stay. Chitra has an MBA in Strategy and Leadership from the Indian Business School, Hyderabad.
She wanted to start her own travel company. With a loan for her master's degree and money from her to start a business, Chitra's options do not appear to be financially sound for her family, but she was committed, determined and persistent.
She has been honored for her outstanding contributions to tourism by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
In 2020, the company had more than 3 million users as a result of 12,500 activities in more than 125 destinations. Thirllophilia has 1.24 million dollars in funding, with a value of 4.84 million dollars. Chitra's net worth is Rs 165 crore.

women entrepreneurs in India- Upasana Taku

2. Upasana Taku (MobiQuick)

Upasana Taku is co-founder of MobiKwik & Zaakpay. MobiKwik is a payment service provider that offers a mobile-based payment system and a digital wallet.
Upasana finished her education in Surat and then studied engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar for Industrial Engineering.
Subsequently, she earned a master's degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in the United States. She first worked with HSBC in San Diego and then went on to work with PayPal. She went back and founded ZakPay in 2009.
At the same time, she met Pippen and learned that he, too, was eager to work on improving the startup ecosystem.
Within six months, Ella Upasana was helping him with many aspects of the business, and after that, she joined Mobikwik as a co-founder.
She was awarded Best Businesswoman in 2017. Mobikwik has an active user base of 2.4 million users. Total financing for the company is 181.2 million dolllars with a valuation of 1 billion dollars.

women entrepreneurs in India- Aditi Gupta

3. Aditi Gupta (Minestropedia)

Aditi Gupta is the founder of Menstrupedia, a company that aims to raise awareness about the menstrual cycle.
She grew up in Jharkhand and witnessed the difficulties women face during menstruation and decided to do something about it.
Aditi started Menstrupedia to educate women about menstruation and how to deal with it.
She is listed on the Forbes India U-30 list and has a net worth of approximately 1.5 million dollars to 5.5 million dollars.

women entrepreneurs in India- Divya Gokulnath

4. Divya Gokulnath (Byju's)

Divya Gokulnath is a co-founder of one of India's largest edtech startups, Byju's.
Divya has obtained her bachelor's degree in biotechnology in Bangalore. She began her career as a teacher before co-founding Byju's in 2011.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Divya has managed the brand's user experience, content and marketing.
She has received several awards including MAKERS India Conference, Entrepreneur of the Year and Women Who Make India.
Byju has raised total funding of 5.5 billion dollars at a valuation of 23 billion dollars. While Divya and her husband Byju Raveendran have a combined net worth of 3.05 billion dollars.

women entrepreneurs in India- Suchi Mukherjee

5. Suchi Mukherjee (Lime Road)

Suchi Mukherjee is the founder and CEO of Limeroad, an Indian online clothing marketplace.
Suchi studied economics at Cambridge School and completed a master's degree in economics and finance from the London School of Economics.
She started her first job as a senior corporate finance associate at Lehman Brothers Inc in 1998. She then worked at Virgin Media and later joined eBay. She returned to India in 2011 with a dream of creating a global brand based in India.
She encountered issues with the Indian system such as inadequate infrastructure, complex banking processes, complex company deposit procedures, unreliable internet connection, and much more.
But she fought her way through obstacles to build the Limeroad. She was awarded Startup of the Year, Unicorn Startup of the Year, Infocom Woman of the Year, and ET Startup Award. Limeroad has 51.9 million dollars in funds at a valuation of 117.4 million dollars.

6. Falguni Nayar (Nykaa)

Falguni Nayar is the founder and CEO of Nykaa.

She is one of the famous women entrepreneurs in India. After completing her studies at IIM Ahemdabad, she worked as an investor and trader with Kotak Mahindra Group for approximately 20 years.

In order to pursue her business endeavors, Falguni left her work at Kotak Mahindra Bank. She was facilitated by Business Today's "Most Powerful Company" and Economic Times "Women Forward" awards.

The women-focused online marketplace sees more than 1.5 million requests per month and more than 15 million registered users. Nykaa's total funding is 148.5 million dollars with a valuation of 14 billion dollars, while Falguni's net worth is estimated to be around 1.1 billion dollars.

women entrepreneurs in India

7. Radhika Ghai Aggarwal (Shopclues)

Radhika Ghai was the co-founder and CBO of e-commerce brand ShopClues, and is currently the founder and CEO of Kindlife.in.

Radhika has an MBA from the University of Washington in Advertising and Public Relations. She also did an executive program at Stanford University. Radhika worked in marketing for Nordstrom in Seattle after completing her schooling.

At Goldman Sachs, she later worked in strategy planning. ShopClues started with Sandeep Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi in the year 2011.

Radhika joined the Unicorn Club as the first woman from India. She has received many awards including the Entrepreneur Award, CEO of the Year, Outlook Business Woman of Worth, and Entrepreneur of the Year.

Shopclues touched a valuation of 1.1 billion dollars, but was later acquired for a valuation of between 70 dollars and 100 million dollars by Singapore-based Qoo10. Radhika's personal net worth is around 1 million dollars.

women entrepreneurs in India- richa kar

8. Richa Kar (Zivame)

Richa Kar, one of most successful women entrepreneurs in India, launched Zivame, the leading and innovative lingerie retailer.

After completing her engineering degree at BITS Pilani and her employment as a corporate lawyer in Bangalore, she obtained her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management.

After completing her MBA and working as a retail consultant at Spencers Retail and SAP in Bangalore, I was introduced to the retail industry.

She cooperated with The Limited, the company that owns Victoria's Secret, while she was employed for SAP Retail. She was inspired by Victoria's Secret to launch Zivame.

She has received the Padma Shri for her immense contribution to the Commerce and Industry sector. Zivame has received 69 million dollars in funding worth 98.6 million dollars and has a net worth of Rs 749 crore, according to reports.

women entrepreneurs in India- vandana luthra

9. Vandana Luthra (VLCC Group)

VLCC Group was founded by Vandana Luthra. a well-known fitness, health, and beauty brand.

After graduating from the Women's Polytechnic in New Delhi, she traveled to Europe to gain knowledge on beauty, food, nutrition and skin care.

In 1989, VLCC Aesthetics in New Delhi set out to transform India's wellness industry.

VLCC has a strong national and international presence with more than 326 salons in 153 cities in 13 countries.

As of 2020, the annual net worth of Vandana and her family is around 13 million dollars. In addition to the Padma Shri, Vandana was given the Trailblazer Award by the Asian Business Leaders Forum and the Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Enterprise Asia.

women entrepreneurs in India- kiran mazumdar shaw

10 - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Biocon Limited)

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the founder of Biocon Limited and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Bangalore-based biopharmaceutical business Biocon Limited.

Kiran completed her undergraduate degree in Zoology at Bangalore University in 1973 and obtained a postgraduate degree in brewing from University of Ballarat in Melbourne. Biocon India started in 1978 in the garage of his rented house in Bangalore.

In 2001, Biocon became the first Indian company to receive FDA approval to manufacture a cholesterol-lowering molecule. Then the company expanded significantly.

Meanwhile, Kiran has won several awards: Tech Pioneer, Businesswoman of the Year, and Padma Bhushan. The net worth of him is around 280 crores.

Conclusion

Women entrepreneurs in India can be very successful. If you think you have talent, you will definitely be able to shine through hard work and laser sharp focus.

Each of the women on the list is an inspiration to many ambitious young women entrepreneurs who want to turn their business ideas into reality and leave a mark on the world, as these women did.

With women contributing a large percentage to our economy every year, there is no doubt that the business landscape in India will drastically change for the better as more women enter the field of new and small businesses.

Also Read: Instagram considers charging users for blue tick verification