In this article, we’ll present you the Top 10 women entrepreneurs who are revolutionising the industry and creating a lasting impression. Their experiences serve as an example of tenacity, creativity, and the boundless potential of female leadership in the commercial world.
These Successful Women Entrepreneurs are not just breaking the barriers but are also the Most Hardworking Women Entrepreneurs in India, so let’s dive straight into the article.
1) Roshni Nadar Malhotra
Roshni Nadar was born and raised in Delhi, attended Vasant Valley School, and then earned a degree in communication with an interest in radio, television, and film from Northwestern University.
She did her graduation from Kellogg School of Management with an MBA. She later joined HCL Tech as chairman, which is an international provider of IT consulting and services headquartered in India. She has also contributed to the development of the HCL Group’s brand.
2) Indra Nooyi
In 1976, Nooyi graduated with a bachelor’s in chemistry from Madras Christian College, and two years later, she received a master’s in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. She earned a second master’s degree in public and private management in 1980 from the Yale School of Management after relocating to the US.
Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development. In October 2006, Nooyi was appointed CEO, and the following year, she rose to the position of board chairman.
According to Forbes, Only 11 women have held the position of CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and Nooyi was the first woman to head the huge soft drink and snack food company.
3) Devita Saraf
At the age of 16, Saraf began working for Zenith Computers under the supervision of her father, and at 21, she was given the title of director of marketing. And later, in 2006, she was promoted to CEO from her position as head of marketing.
At the age of 24, Devita began her business path by establishing the Vu Group in California, a pioneer in high-end consumer electronics. Vu has become the best-selling Indian-owned TV company in the world due to her enthusiasm for technology, leadership, and innovation.
The Young Bombay Forum, a division of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was also founded by her.
4) Falguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar was born and reared in a Gujarati household in Mumbai. Her father ran a modest bearings firm. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics and her postgraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
She was promoted to managing director of the investment banking division of Kotak Mahindra Capital and director of Kotak Securities in 2005.
She resigned in 2012 and invested $2 million of her own funds to launch Nykaa.By 2021, Nykaa’s value had increased to $2.3 billion, boosting Nayar’s net worth to an estimated $1.1 billion.
5) Anu Aga
Anu Aga was born in Bombay on August 3, 1942, to a Parsi Zoroastrian family.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and a Master of Social Work in medical and psychiatric social work from the esteemed Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Anu began her work with Thermax in 1985, and from 1991 to 1996, she served as the organization’s chief of human resources. She accepted the leadership of Thermax following the death of her husband, Rohinton Aga. She retired in 2004 and was followed by Meher Pudumjee, her daughter and vice-chairwoman of the business. Since then, Anu has remained a board of directors member and is still active in social work.
6) Kiran Majmudar
Indian tycoon and billionaire Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is an entrepreneur. She serves as the managing director and chairwoman of Bangalore-based Biocon Limited. She was once the chair of the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Management.
Kiran Mazumdar was born to a Gujarati family on March 23, 1953, in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Mazumdar Shaw initially intended to carry on her father’s legacy. She graduated with a master’s in brewing from the University of Ballarat in Melbourne in 1975 after receiving a bachelor’s in zoology from Bangalore University in 1973.
Due to her inexperience, gender, and unproven business approach, Early on in the life of her business, she was unable to raise funds.
She had to deal with the technological difficulties of starting a biotech company in a place with inadequate infrastructure.
7) Ankiti Bose
Ankiti Bose is one of the co-founders of the online store Zilingo. She was on the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list in 2018 and the Fortune 40 Under 40 list in 2019.
Bose began her career in Bangalore with Sequoia Capital and McKinsey & Company.
She saw that there was enormous potential for expansion and penetration in Southeast Asian fashion markets.
Despite investments made to increase internet accessibility, Bose realised that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) lacked the financial, scaling-up, website design, and procurement skills necessary to compete with major international corporations.
She quit her job as an investment analyst at Sequoia Capital in 2015 to create her own business, Zilingo. She started Zilingo when she was 23 years old.
In 2016, she relocated to Singapore, where she created the supply chain and software. Zilingo raised $226 million in Series D funding in 2019, generating a market value of $970 million. Over seven million people were utilising the worldwide platform as of 2019.
8) Anisha Singh
Anisha Singh is no stranger to business challenges in India; prior to achieving success, she has experienced many ups and downs in her personal life. She is the CEO and co-founder of Mydala, the largest deals platform in India. Anisha Singh’s adventure started when she was providing business advice on Capitol Hill. Later, she worked for a Boston-based software business where she created e-learning ecosystems. She is renowned for strongly supporting all initiatives and issues for women. She expresses herself clearly and never gives into fear. Anisha, who is from New Delhi and is one of the country’s most successful businesswomen, served as a judge on an entrepreneurship-focused reality programme in India.
9) Savitri Jindal
She was born into a Hindu household in Tinsukia, Assam. In the 1970s, she wed Om Prakash Jindal, who had created the steel and power company Jindal Group. She was a minister in the Haryana government and a representative for the Hisar district in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly).
After her husband, O.P. Jindal, died in a helicopter accident in 2005, she was appointed chairwoman.
After she took over, the company’s revenue increased fourfold.
10) Madhabi Puri Buch
In 1989, she began her work with ICICI Bank. She served as a lecturer at West Cheshire College in England between 1993 and 1995. For 12 years, she held a variety of positions at different firms, including sales, marketing, and product development. She was also in charge of operations. She began working with ICICI Securities in 2006, and from February 2009 to May 2011, she held the positions of Managing Director and CEO. She then relocated to Singapore in order to work with Greater Pacific Capital in 2011. She served as executive director for a variety of businesses, including Zansar Technologies, Innoven Capital, and Max Healthcare, between 2011 and 2017.
Buch was assigned responsibility for portfolios such as collective investment programmes, surveillance, and investment management when he was hired as a full-time director at SEBI in April 2017.
Her mother was an academic with a degree in political science, while her father worked for a corporation. She pursued her bachelor’s from St Stephen’s College and later did her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
Despite many failures and inequalities that they faced as female entrepreneurs, and came back with a new, appropriate solution every time with a new setback is what makes them business leaders.
These Successful Women Entrepreneurs have proved that the sky itself has its limit.