New Delhi: As the Indian startup ecosystem evolves, more women are pursuing entrepreneurial success, inspiring others who were traditionally confined to homemaker roles. We’d like to introduce the top 5 young, successful female entrepreneurs who’ve made their mark in India’s startup world.
- Dhanashree Mandhani, Founder & CEO, Salam Kisan: Dhanashree Mandhani is a young entrepreneur who has rapidly emerged as a driving force in the Ag-tech industry. With a degree in Finance and Marketing from the esteemed Gies College of Business at UIUC, Dhanashree possesses a solid foundation in business strategy and entrepreneurship. At just 19 years old, Dhanashree founded PRYM Solutions in 2021, where she currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Salam Kisan, an end-to-end Ag-tech platform for farmers. Salam Kisan has garnered attention for its innovative approach to addressing critical challenges faced by farmers. Through the platform, farmers gain access to real-time information, gain market linkage, and optimize their farming practices with precision agriculture, ultimately increasing their productivity and profitability.
- Aditi Gupta, Founder, Menstraupedia: Aditi Gupta is a social-cause entrepreneur and the co-founder of Menstrupedia, which works on spreading awareness about menstruation. She is counted as one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. She started the venture along with her husband, Tuhin Paul. The venture stemmed from her own experiences with this so-called taboo. Menstruation was often a painful time she had to go through without any help to alleviate the pain. After finding out many women resonated with her on the same problem, she decided to create a website on menstruation, complete with illustrations and graphics, to educate women about periods. Menstrupedia has become extremely popular among girls and women seeking to gain awareness on the topic.
- Sai Gole, Co-founder, BharatAgri: Sai Gole, aged 26, serves as the Co-founder of BharatAgri, a company dedicated to assisting farmers in optimizing their production and income. Through their algorithm-driven approach, they provide farmers with precise guidance on what to cultivate, when to plant, and how to manage their crops. Sai Gole, along with the company’s Co-founder Siddharth Dialanim, began their journey at IIT-Madras’ Centre for Innovation. Originally established as LeanAgri in 2017 and subsequently rebranded, the company has garnered approximately 100,000 users, including 2,500 paying farmers. Remarkably, they claim to be the sole enterprise in India, successfully monetizing information-based agricultural services.
- Nikita Tiwari, Co-Founder, NEERx Technovation: Nikita Tiwari is a Co-founder of NEERx Technovation, an agritech startup based in Ahmedabad. This company specializes in developing sensors that offer real-time data on farming conditions, with a notable product called ‘SHOOL: Smart Sensor for Hydrology and Land Application.’ SHOOL employs dielectric technology to provide accurate and instant information about farm microclimates. This technology can play a crucial role in averting pest infestations, enhancing water and fertilizer retention, preventing drought, and mitigating soil degradation. Additionally, it facilitates water harvesting, reduces agricultural input costs, and boosts productivity. NEERx Technovation’s products are currently in use by prestigious organizations like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, and the National Crop Forecasting Centre. They extend their solutions to farmers across regions in Gujarat, Haryana, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaisalmer, and Hyderabad.
- Srishti Mandaar Co-Founder, Red Otter Farms: Srishti Mandaar, a holder of a master’s degree in development communication from Delhi University, co-founded Red Otter Farms alongside Anubhav Das three years ago. This startup, with operations in Delhi and Nainital, specializes in Aquaponics, an eco-friendly agricultural method that entails cultivating fish and other aquatic organisms for the purpose of utilizing their waste as nourishment for plants.
Conclusion: Indians can draw valuable lessons from these role models as their endeavours go beyond mere profitability. The women featured in this stand as some of India’s most accomplished female entrepreneurs, illustrating the outcomes of ingenuity and inventiveness. Their achievements prove that gender is not a barrier to attaining success.
