Hyderabad: The number of women in business has increased significantly over the last 20 years, with some multimillion dollar firms being led by strong and inspirational female entrepreneurs. Here are the top 10 women entrepreneurs in India who have carved a niche for themselves in various sectors of businesses.
1. YourStory - Shradha Sharma
YourStory is a digital media portal devoted to startups and entrepreneurs, founded in 2008. Sharma worked as an assistant vice president at CNBC TV18 and as a brand advisor at The Times of India prior to starting YourStory. Her interest in startups and entrepreneurship became apparent to her while she was employed as a journalist at CNBC TV18 from June 2007 to July 2009.
2. Syntel - Neerja Sethi
Neerja Sethi, co-founder of Syntel, an IT consulting and outsourcing company, ranked 25 on the list of the 100 richest self-made women in America. In 1980, she and her spouse, Bharat Desai, established the Syntel. Her net worth is approximately $990 million.
3. Oscilar - Neha Narkhede: In 2023, Neha Narkhede established Oscilar, a fraud-detection business and leads the company as the CEO. Former chief technology officer (CTO) of cloud computing startup, Confluent, with a $520 million net worth, she is rated 50th on Forbes' 100 richest self-made women list.
4. MobiKwik - Upasana Taku: The first female leader in Indian fintech, Upasana Taku, met her husband Bipin in 2008, while collaborating on a project, who was then working for a chip business firm in Noida. After she began assisting him in many business-related areas, the two of them co-founded Mobikwik in 2009. Later on, what was once a platform for recharging evolved into the public face of mobile wallets.
5. Mamaearth - Ghazal Alagh: Mamaearth is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand with an annual revenue of ₹700 crore. The Alaghs found it difficult to cure their child's skin issue because the products they could get were toxic.
6. Arista Networks - Jayshree Ulla: Jayshree Ullal is the CEO and president of Arista Networks, a computer networking company. She was the highest ranking business leader of Indian descent at number fifteen on the 2023 Forbes' 100 richest self-made women list. In 2022, Arista Networks, earned around $4.4 billion in revenue.
7. Chitra Gurnani Daga - Thrillophilia: It was 2011 when Chitra graduated from the Indian School of Business with an MBA in Strategy and Leadership. She went on to develop Thrillophilia.com, one of India's top travel experience platforms. She has an estimated yearly turnover of US$74 million.
8. Vineeta Singh - SUGAR Cosmetics: In 2015, Vineeta Singh launched the online cosmetics company SUGAR Cosmetics. In 2012, Vineeta also started the cosmetics company FAB BAG. SUGAR and FAB BAG are divisions of Velvette Lifestyles Pvt Ltd, a bigger company involved in the cosmetics and beauty sector.
9. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - Biocon Lmt: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is a billionaire woman entrepreneur from India. She is Biocon Limited's managing director and chairperson. She began in 1978 with a meager sum of Rs 10,000. Currently, Biocon stands as the biggest biotechnology-based business in India. Their primary goals are to bring innovative solutions at an affordable price and to lower the cost of medical care.
10. Namita Thapar - Emcure Pharmaceuticals: Namita Thapar is a prominent figure in the pharmaceutical sector, serving as the Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals. Since her 1999 venture into entrepreneurship, she has been instrumental in the company's expansion and success. With a sales of Rs 3,107 crore and a profit of Rs 160 crore (Rs 1600 million) in FY23, Thapar's Emcure Pharma is presently a profitable business.
