Top 20 Women Entrepreneurs in India 2024

Women Entrepreneurs are amazing people with a constant drive to succeed although coming from diverse backgrounds and professions. They are reinventing the definition of entrepreneurship through innovative technological advancements and leadership in a sustainable manner.

This blog is a tribute to these trailblazing people who have defied prejudice. They're creating new routes in addition to following the well-trod trail. They provide as a reminder that women are not only starting their own businesses but also taking the lead, establishing industry standards, and fulfilling personal ambitions.

 

1. Aditi Gupta, Menstrupedia's co-founder

Menstrupedia is a comic handbook available in sixteen languages, and was created by menstruation education pioneer Aditi Gupta. 

 

2. Chitra Gurnani Daga 

Chitra graduated from the Indian School of Business with an MBA degree in Strategy and Leadership in 2011. She went on to launch Thrillophilia.com, one of India's top travel experience platforms. 

3. Nykaa's founder, Falguni Nayar

India’s beauty sector has been revolutionized by Falguni Nayar who is the founder and visionary of Nykaa. 

4. Farah Nathani Menzies 

Farah Nathani Menzies and Shreya Lamba together co-founded The Mumum Co. which is a women-led firm that focuses on nutrition and healthy living. The company which was developed as a result of the founder’s effort to provide wholesome snacks for her kids in India, won recognition as a Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Most Admired Start-Up in 2020.

5. Dr. Florida Tilton - The Founder of Biozone Research Technologies

Dr. Florida Tilton, the laureate of the 2018 All India Women Entrepreneur Award, has a postgraduate degree in Plant Biology and a Master of Philosophy in Plant Genetics from the University of Madras. Her scientific expertise inspired her to become an entrepreneur, especially after students asked her for assistance after graduating from Hindustan College. 

6. Ghazal Alagh - The Founder of MamaEarth

Ghazal Alagh became an entrepreneur because she couldn’t locate toxin-free baby goods for her son. A mother’s desperation combined with a clear white space in the domestic babycare market prompted her (and her husband Varun Alagh) to start Mamaearth. Mamaearth now serves over 5 million consumers in 500 odd cities, and it made its first profit (Rs 14 crore) last year after acquiring a unicorn.

7. Hemalatha Annamalai

In 2007, Hemalatha's journey to establish Ampere Electric began when a phone call came from her husband in Japan. India's need for an electric mobility revolution inspired the company. Today the company makes electric cycles, scooters, and also three-wheelers. 

8. Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi is ranked among the world's top 100 powerful women. She was the CEO as well as the chairman of Pepsico and aided in its expansion. 

9. Kanika Tekriwal 

Kanika, India's youngest self-made entrepreneur, founded JetSetGo. Despite battling illness throughout its launch, her MBA in finance from Coventry University and unshakable determination resulted her a net worth of $50 million. Kanika was named one of Asia's best female entrepreneurs in Forbes 30 Under 30.

10. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw - The Chairperson & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a millionaire entrepreneur from India. She is the chairman and also the managing director of Biocon Limited. Founded in 1978 with barely Rs 10,000 in hand. Today, Biocon is India's largest biotechnology firm. They are dedicated to providing affordable innovation and minimizing disease-treatment expenses.

11. Khushboo Jain

Khushboo Jain co-founded Impact Guru with the goal of revolutionizing India's crowdfunding startup scene. As COO, she manages marketing, communication, and design. Impact Guru has raised ₹150 crores (US$21 million) for global NGOs and social enterprises with funding from Singapore’s RB Investments and Southeast Asia’s Fundnel securing ₹3.3 crores (US$460,000).

12. Meghna Agarwal, the co-founder of IndiQube

Meghna, IndiQube's co-founder, has over 14 years of experience in human resources, consultancy, real estate, and manufacturing, as well as an MBA in Finance from IMT and a company secretary qualification. Her eureka moment came when entrepreneurs subleasing space desired the perks, like gym, food, transport, and IT, prompting IndiQube’s flexible coworking spaces. In 2018, they secured $15 million in funding from WestBridge Capital.

13. Mehak Sagar

Today, the portal is the go-to platform for Indian brides and grooms. The platform features everything from Mehandi artists to candid shooters, as well as reviews and ratings. This enables a family to choose the ideal fit for them. They have secured funding of Rs 2.7 crore in their seed funding round.

14. Naiyya Saggi  

Naiyya Saggi is a Harvard MBA graduate with a Fulbright Scholarship transitioned from McKinsey to entrepreneurship. In 2015, she founded BabyChakra that is an online social network for mothers, then founded The Good Glamm Group in 2021. The latter became India’s first beauty commerce unicorn, valued at US$1.2 billion, while BabyChakra thrived as a parenting advice hub.

15. Namita Thapar - The Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals

Namita Thapar leads the ₹61 billion-dollar Pune-based corporation that produces drugs for various diseases. Since 2007, she has overseen Emcure's India business to increase sales to ₹25 billion by 2021. Thapar also hosts “Unconditional Yourself With Namita Thapar,” a YouTube show focusing on women’s health. She judged two seasons of Shark Tank India.

16. Neha Motwani - The Co-Founder & CEO of Fitternity

Fitternity was founded in 2013 as a result of Neha’s own issues with exercise. These days, this online booking service has 10 million customers and an estimated US$16 million in yearly revenue. One of India’s biggest fitness search engines, it makes fitness discovery simple, enabling people to start their fitness adventures without any difficulty.

17. Ritu Kumar - The Fashion designer

Ritu Kumar, a renowned fashion designer, operates her boutique ‘Ri’ and oversees the ‘Ritu Kumar’ label managed by her son. A Padma Shri awardee, she’s a trailblazer in Indian fashion, honored with accolades like the L’Oréal Paris Femina Women’s Achievement Award and the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award.

18. Richa Kar - Founder of Zivame

Hebrew for “radiant me,” Zivame was introduced in 2011 as an online platform to give ladies a relaxing and private shopping experience. With a variation of 5,000 patterns, 50 brands, and 100 sizes, Kar made the choice to grow her company by setting up actual storefronts.

19. Radhika Aggarwal - The Co-Founder of Shopclues

Radhika, ShopClues co-founder, revolutionized Indian e-commerce from its infancy in 2011, daring to compete against male-dominated giants like Amazon and Flipkart. With limited capital, she and Sanjay Sethi turned Shopclues into a unicorn worth US$1.1 billion in five years.It was bought by Singapore-based Qoo10 in 2019. Radhika is now the Founder and CEO of Kindlife, a modern beauty and wellness marketplace with over 150 handpicked brands across beauty, nutrition, and home care.

20. Sairee Chahal - The Founder of SHEROES.in

Sairee Chahal, an Indian serial entrepreneur, co-founded Fleximoms, Newslink, and Sheroes.in. A TED speaker who was dubbed the most powerful woman in Indian business in 2012. She has garnered numerous honors, including the Devi and Cartier honors, and is the founder of SHEROES, a platform dedicated to uplifting women.