Top 30 Most Successful Women Entrepreneurs in India

Big things often have small beginnings.

In a similar way, any small business has even a much smaller beginning. As it progresses, the business grows which empowers generations to come.

What does a business talk about? 

GDP, Financial growth of the country, employment, spillovers, slowdowns, and hiccups.

What else does it talk about in the current times?

Contribution of a woman! 

How did the Transition Happen?

The startup ecosystem has given a platform to many women out there to chase their dream businesses and flourish. In the first place, a new era of empowered women has emerged and we feel so proud to see them making a global mark on their terms.

Earlier cities defined the success of a business, but now, the one who put her heart and soul into the business is celebrated, be it Mumbai, Bangalore, or Muzaffarnagar.

Search on the internet and you would find many names of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. And how did that happen?

The women of India unlike any other business started from a basic thought and made it to the list of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. Furthermore, the success here for a woman by a woman holds more value as India is always considered to be a difficult place for them, for doing business. And there are no extra perks of being a woman in the business! One needs to fight it out the same way as their competitors and gender hold no added value here.

A male-dominated world of entrepreneurship doesn’t offer too many chances for women to put their work and word forward. It’s tough, challenging, and is coupled with filled with roadblocks but the one who finds opportunities in mayhems is the one who rises and shines!

What has helped women entrepreneurs is first, breaking the stereotypes even before someone points them out. Secondly, focus on creating a unicorn startup. Thirdly, striving towards better precision and higher results. And fourthly, represents the formal economy of our nation in the same manner as the men do.

With rising in Govt. support programs for women in business and expanding workforces we have not just 10 but 30 successful women entrepreneurs who have become the torch bearer for aspiring business women in every industry.

List of the Top 30 Most Successful Women Entrepreneurs in India

1. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

A first-generation and now a billionaire entrepreneur, Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has leadership experience of over four decades. Started her dream project from a garage, Biocon is now known for touching and changing lives. As a chairperson, she has ensured that products of Biocon are affordable and reach out to as many as possible. From an unconventional step in the medical field to now a turnover of 350 crores, Biocon is known for Ms. Shaw’s beliefs.

2. Falguni Nayar

Now contrast to Ms. Shaw who started very early, Falguni Nayar started when she touched 50! With an IPO worth of 5352 crores today, Nayar started Nykaa after serving the investment banking sector m for more than 10 years. Today Nykaa is the leading brand in the beauty segment. Her entrepreneurship skills saw their highs and lows but that helped her to bring Nykaa to the world platform.

3. Vandana Luthra

Amongst the most successful women entrepreneur, Vandana Luthra made her mark in the wellness sector with her brainchild VLCC Health Care. Starting when women entrepreneurs were not even heard about in India, 1989 witnessed history in making! She is a powerhouse when it comes to handling more than 4000 employees, and 320+ locations across some 150 cities and 13 countries!

4. Aditi Gupta

What the science books couldn’t do over the years, one initiative that grabbed everyone’s attention is Menstrupedia. Aditi Gupta, the Founder has created a revolution for which even the Govt. welcomed her with open arms. In India talking about periods and puberty is still taboo. And Aditi began the “Mission Possible” by normalizing the conversations around these topics creating awareness and generating revenue of around 3 million USD.

5. Vineeta Singh

An IIT and IIM pass out, Vineeta Singh is today a household name. All credit goes to her daredevil projects and presence in the Shark Tank India series. But what seems a success, was earlier jinxed and considered a failure. With her early startups failing one after the other, SUGAR a cosmetic brand has now a venture of 720 crores! Believing in providing cosmetics with an easy-to-use approach, SUGAR is successful and Vineeta has proved to be the most successful entrepreneur in India.

6. Radhika Aggarwal

Awarded as the Outlook business Woman of the World, Radhika Aggrawal cofounded Shopclues, which is now a billion-dollar online selling platform. She is reportedly the first woman to enter the much-talked Unicorn club!

7. Ghazal Alagh

Along with her husband, Varun Alagh started on a mission to bring nontoxic product ranges for babies. The entire thought behind this venture came out of her struggles as a parent wherein she couldn’t find the right product for her child which would not be toxic. An idea became a fast-selling brand and the most popular among new parents. Mamaearth as we all know it now made Ghazal the most successful women entrepreneur in India.

8. Vani Kola

Ranked as the most powerful women entrepreneur in India by Forbes, in 2014 Vani Kola founded Kalaari Capital, a venture capital company. Following what her mind and heart echoed, Vani Kola gave entrepreneurship a new meaning by believing in visionaries and supporting the digital economy, empowering these budding entrepreneurs.

9. Gurleen Kaur

Gurleen Kaur Tikku founded Hareepatti and is ranked in the top 30 most successful women entrepreneurs in India. Hareepatti focuses on providing investment-related solutions to achieve realistic financial goals. Whether mutual funds, life insurance, motor insurance, health insurance, or assistance related to claims. Hareepatti has everything to offer! 

10. Divya Gokulnath

She is the co-founder of the top-listed Edtech company in India, BYJU. What more can be motivating to learn that the girl who once was a trainer in Byju’s became the co-founder later. What she brought in were new teaching techniques and easy methods to follow for an enriching learning experience. As an entrepreneur one always visualizes every single thought getting a life of its own. Divya has worked relentlessly to make online learning simplified.

11. Aditi Balbir

V Resorts is India’s leading organization providing a unique holiday experience to its customers. And in this Aditi’s vision of fostering entrepreneurship at each level has played a big role and turned V Resorts into the “ Best Resort Chain” awarded by Lonely Planet. Aditi has great mentorship skills which have brought her to the list of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. 

12. Chitra Gurnani Daga

If you are a traveler and you look for information regarding destinations and things to do, then Thrillophilia might sound familiar to you. But do you know who is behind this successful venture? Chitra Gurnani Daga transformed her love for travel and exploring the hidden gems of India, into a travel platform, Thrillophillia. A thought that once sprouted in the mind of a traveler, is now a platform of more than 3 million users that covers more than 150 destinations. 

13. Malika Sadani

Sometimes entrepreneurship ideas come to you in the simplest ways. The same was for Malika Sadani. A relatively new company that took shape in 2017, The Moms.Co works on a simple requisite, creating toxin-free baby care products. Her mission to keep her mother’s concerns a priority has helped her to create products that are natural and safe.

14. Upasana Taku

Upasana Rupkrishan Taku is the co-founder of MobiKwik, a digital payment option available in India. Beginning with almost nil funds, MobiKwik has estimated to cross one trillion USD by 2025. With more than one lakh transactions happening in one day, Upasana’s vision continues to thrive amidst the hustle of the work-life balance.

15. Shradha Sharma

Ever wondered where your writing journey can take you? Well, places are many but one place unique to all is a start-up platform that gives other entrepreneur-based stories, news, and research work a place of their own to express. YourStory was started by Sharma with one thought come what may don’t stop! This made Sharma a favorite amongst budding entrepreneurs which started sharing their journey at YourStory and made it the biggest one-of-a-kind platform.

16. Anisha Singh

An international speaker, a leading marketing platform founder, and a passionate woman who always had voiced out for women’s rights. Anisha Singh became a known name with Mydala, a marketing platform. A mentor, an investor, and a venturer Anisha has built a world where norms were redefined and entrepreneurship got a new direction.

17. Suchi Mukherjee

Recognized as the most influential woman in the entrepreneur sector, Suchi Mukherjee, Founder, and CEO of Limeroad always believed that just dreaming won’t help, one needs to make enough efforts till it bears a small fruit. Her idea of bringing the first women-centric shopping webpage came into existence when she was on maternity leave and realized that going out shopping for women can be sometimes so difficult.

18. Hemalatha Annamalai

Age is just a number! Hemalatha, founder of Ampere Vehicles started her journey from Coimbatore as she wanted to do something different! Affordable mobility was her motto and that got her investors like Ratan Tata and Infosys’ Kris Gopalkrishnan.

19. Khushboo Jain

When the list of most successful women entrepreneurs in India shows Khushboo Jain as a successful entrepreneur, it speaks about the big picture that stands behind this entrepreneurship. Impact Gurur is co-founded by Khushboo which started as a crowdfunding platform and became the most trusted fintech company. Khushboo’s sheer dedication and teamwork have brought Impact Gurur a noticeable platform on the world map. 

20. Sheila Kochouseph Chittilapally

Who said housewives don’t qualify for becoming entrepreneurs? Sheela, as MD of V-star, took the lifestyle garment seriously. What makes her different than others is her approach to creating business and also taking care of charitable organizations by employing many women in her manufacturing team.

21. Ashwani Asokana

Mad Street Den. Heard the name? The famous cloud-based firm was co-founded by Ashwani and her husband. What got her here is her interest in artificial intelligence while she was working in silicon valley. Visionary to take artificial intelligence to people brought her recognition as the top 40 women entrepreneurs in India.

22. Basudha Shrivastav

Coined as the most intelligent and innovative travel-related company, Expressearth functions on Basudha’s vision of using machine learning and artificial intelligence to an extent where the world gets accessible in terms of travel-oriented needs.

23. Dr. Florida Tilton

More than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology field taught one thing to Dr. Florida, keep your plan B handy! Biozone Research Technologies in Chennai is the brainchild of Dr. Florida who wanted to provide customized solutions in the research and development sector.

24. Isha Choudhary

Heard about Zolostays? The leading startups for making accommodation affordable for students. Isha co-founded Zolostays to provide stay options, bike rentals, and other facilities on a rent basis for students who come to a new city for study purposes.

25. Jaya Jha

Founder of Instacart and pothi, platforms that provide publishing services to e-books and new writers. Jaya founded these platforms while she was working in Bengaluru. Their innovative platform got her into the most successful female entrepreneurs list.

26. Malini Agarwal

Miss Malini, the popular name in the entertainment fraternity was started earlier as a blog page by Malini Agarwal. From a blog page to office space, the company now does a million-dollar business. Her focus on putting things together, and telling stories brought her so far in the journey that nobody ever had thought about!

27. Naiyya Saggi

Naiyya Saggi, founder of BabyChakra has a massive community base of a mom-child-based portal. What made her stand out is her vision of considering a mother’s perspective as a priority and giving women a chance to build their careers by making them a part of her team. Today BabyChakra is the top parenting site globally.

28. Meghna Agarwal

IndiQube is the workspace facility provider for companies who don’t want to indulge in creating the infrastructure of their own. More than 60 properties in India are IndiQube owned, specially designed for companies’ work culture.

29. Sairee Chahal

SHEROES was founded by Sairee with a mission to provide work opportunities for women and work on gender disparity in India. As a successful entrepreneur, Sairee has developed Sheroes as the largest forum that aims entirely on women’s empowerment and employment.

30. Suchita Salwan

LBB or the Little Black Book has evolved from being just a recommendation platform to a small merchandising service provider. Suchita’s mission to connect merchants with their consumers has made LBB the most active user-friendly platform.

 How Government of India is Encouraging Women Entrepreneurs?

• Dena Shakti Scheme- This scheme works well for those women who wish to start their business in the agriculture, retail, and manufacturing industry.
• Udyogini Scheme- This scheme applies to those who have an annual income between the range of INR 1.5 lakh- INR 3 lakh.
• Women Entrepreneurship Program- It’s a flagship by NITI Aayog for women entrepreneurs.
• Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan- A loan scheme worth 20 crores is provided under this scheme, to women entrepreneurs.
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana- In addition to all other schemes, for any micro or small business, this scheme has been mostly used by women for their business setup.

What Role do These Women Entrepreneurs Play?

India is the emerging startup ecosystem and that has given many women the to capitalize their ideas into big business. Fighting the obstacles and brainstorming about revenue generation go hand in hand for these exceptional women.

Opinions are many and so are the social norms. But women of India have always stepped up against the norms, not to prove the world wrong, but rather, to show how things are done right!

For instance, making business plans, strategies, managing the staff, meeting investors, bringing business, and giving services, have been handled pretty well by women. With innovation, initiation, and adaptation women entrepreneurs have made their mark in the enterprising world despite the obstacles..

By creating a world on their own these women have played important roles in women empowerment, bringing the change in mindsets, proving that when an idea meets the right intention, success is bound to happen!

Conclusion

In short, these women entrepreneurs in India are role models for many women out there. Moreover, their presence in different industries breaks the taboo that women are meant to do certain kinds of work only. Also, it promotes a healthy workplace balance, wherein men and women work for a better result keeping the gender issues at bay. Because, success comes to those who don’t differentiate, but rather work in alignment. 

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