When women move forward, the family advances, the village prospers and ultimately the nation progresses. Today, women have progressed in almost every sphere of life, especially in the field of entrepreneurship. This Gigapreneur blog is designed to shine a spotlight on female entrepreneurs in India who are change makers and are inspiring a generation by doing so. While they have made a mark in their own respective fields, what sets them apart is that they also motivate the young women through their work to dream big and achieve. They have broken the bias and have become a catalyst for true change. As female entrepreneurs, they know first-hand the power of the business to make critical impacts on the world.
“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” - G.D. Anderson.
From young mothers who took risks to follow their passions, to a doting daughter who wanted to make a difference, these women Gigapreneurs are an inspiration. On this International Women’s Day, we are documenting 6 influential female entrepreneurs in India and raise a toast to their entrepreneurial prowess and indomitable spirit.
1. Falguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar is an Indian businesswoman and a self made billionaire who is the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa. An investment banker turned entrepreneur, she launched Nykaa when she was 49.
2. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is a billionaire businesswomen who founded one of India’s largest biopharmaceutical company called Biocon. She won the EY Entrepreneur of the year award in 2020.
3. Ritu Verma
Dr Ritu Verma is one of the co-founders at VC firm Ankur Capital. A PhD in physics, she is passionate about bringing innovation from lab to the market and does that through her investments in startups.
4. Sharda Balaji
Sharda Balaji is a Lawyer and a company secretary who founded legal firm NovoJuris in 2008 with a primary focus of making legal easy for entrepreneurs from starting up to scaling up and beyond. She has been working towards empowering women businesses and chaired TIE’s Special Interest Group for Women Entrepreneurs.
5. Shradha Sharma
Shradha Sharma is the Founder of YourStory, a media powerhouse that features inspiring entrepreneurial stories. She lives her life in stories and believes, every story is unique and every story matters.
6. Sudha Murty
Sudha Murty is an author, social worker, philanthropist and Co-Founder of Infosys Foundation. She is India’s first female engineer and inspires young people with her humility and social work.
