Top 12 Famous Female Entrepreneurs In India

Yeah, it is a 100% true that the business field in India is mainly dominated by males, but that is changing quite fast ever since we hit the 21st century. You see, times are changing, and the girls here are taking their stance to get quality education. With that, now they have a better chance at going at the career paths that were previously only men dominated, but now it’s a different picture altogether.

Especially in the field of business, where females have begun to come out as strong leaders, even starting the business from scratch, all on their own. If that is something you feel intrigued about, maybe because you see that same entrepreneurial fire deep within you, then you’ll be liking this post, a lot actually. Here we will be going over the list of the top 12 female entrepreneurs in India. So yeah, that’s more than enough for the introduction, let’s get going now.

1. Falguni Nayar

Net Worth: Rs 25800 cr

Can you believe it, Falguni Nayar’s journey to being one of India’s top female entrepreneurs is nothing short of amazing? Born in 1963, in Mumbai, in a Gujarati family, business was in her blood from the very start. She studied at Sydenham College and then the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Fast forward to 1993, and Falguni’s working at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch. And that’s not all, she even led the bank’s big merger deals and opened offices in London and New York! In 2012, at 50, she took a bold leap. She starts Nykaa with $2 million from her savings. Nykaa, meaning ‘in the spotlight’ in Sanskrit, dives into e-commerce, focusing on beauty and wellness. The company skyrockets in popularity, thanks to its awesome product range and top-notch service. Because of all her efforts behind Nykaa, she’s now one of India’s self-made female billionaires! She literally took Nykaa from an online-only thing to having over 100 physical stores.

2. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Net Worth: 8,779 crore rupees

Kiran, the founder of Biocon Limited, a top biopharmaceutical company, didn’t start off in biotech. Nope, she was a brewmaster first, then zoomed to billionaire entrepreneur status. She wanted to be a doctor, but guess what? She switched to fermentation science, her dad, a head brewmaster, might’ve had something to do with that. After taking her brewing course in Australia, she came back to India and bumped into gender barriers in brewing. That’s when biotech caught her eye. In 1978, with just Rs. 10,000, she started Biocon India right in a garage in Bengaluru. It wasn’t easy, especially being young and a woman, but Kiran didn’t give up. Thanks to a lucky meeting with a banker, Biocon grew into a giant, focusing on diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

3. Upasana Taku

Net Worth: Rs 8000 crore

Another name we want you to meet is none other than Upasana Taku. She’s the co-founder and COO of MobiKwik and a big name in India’s fintech world. Her journey? Well, that is like from being a student to a fintech star. Upasana’s education is impressive like engineering at NIT Jalandhar and a master’s from Stanford in the US. Then, a stint at PayPal gave her deep insights into payment systems. 2009 was a game-changer for her. She came back to India and, with her husband, started MobiKwik. It began as a recharge platform but quickly grew into a major mobile wallet company.

4. Divya Gokulnath

Net Worth: Rs 4,550 crore

Born in 1987, in Bengaluru, Divya’s a true example of where passion and hard work can get you. As the co-founder and director of BYJU’S, an ed-tech giant, she’s changing the face of education in India. Divya’s upbringing? Well, that was all about valuing education. With a dad as a nephrologist and a mom in programming, learning was always a big deal. After school at Frank Anthony Public School, Divya went for a Biotechnology degree. Then, in 2007, while prepping for her GRE, she met Byju Raveendran. He’s not just her future husband but her business partner too. Raveendran sees Divya’s potential and nudges her into teaching. 2011 rolls around, and Divya and Raveendran kickstart BYJU’S. What began as face-to-face classes soon evolved into an app with killer video lessons.

5. Vandana Luthra

Net Worth: Rs. 1,300 crores

Vandana Luthra is the brain behind VLCC Health Care Ltd, a big name in beauty and wellness. Her journey is like a movie plot, from studying cosmetology in Germany to creating a wellness empire. Her dad’s an engineer and her mom’s an Ayurvedic doctor which is a mix that obviously shaped her view on wellness. After her studies in New Delhi, she flew off to Europe for more learning. Then in 1989, boom, she started VLCC right here in New Delhi. It began with weight management stuff and then exploded into a huge brand. Now, VLCC isn’t just about services, they make hair care, skin care products, you name it.

6. Richa Kar

Net Worth: Rs 750 crore

So, did you know about Richa Kar? Born on July 17, 1980, in Jamshedpur, she’s literally changing the Indian e-commerce game. She founded Zivame, this super cool online lingerie store, right? Her story’s pretty fascinating though, from being an engineering grad to a big-time entrepreneur. She’s all about breaking stereotypes and chasing dreams with full-on determination. And her education, like a degree from BITS Pilani and a master’s from NMIMS, really set the stage for her future. But here’s the thing though, while at Limited Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret, she saw this huge gap in India’s lingerie shopping experience. That’s when, in 2011, she launched Zivame. Under her lead, Zivame grew like crazy, attracting big investors like Ratan Tata. She stepped down as CEO in 2017 but stayed on the board.

7. Namita Thapar

Net Worth: 600 Crore INR

Now, there is no way that you don’t recognize the face of Namita Thapar. And we are very confident about that because Namita is one of the most popular faces in the Shark Tank India show. But it was actually her becoming a CEO at Emcure that brought her to the spotlight. She is actually one of the biggest and most popular female entrepreneurs who are inspiring hundreds and thousands of girls and women in the country to dream big and chase those dreams to become successful.

8. Sneha Choudhry

Net Worth: INR 314 Cr

And then there’s Sneha Choudhry, co-founder of Zolo. They’re huge in co-living spaces in India, thanks to her innovative ideas and leadership. Born and raised in India, Sneha was a star student at IIM Kozhikode, bagging a gold medal and all. Before Zolo, she co-founded Genauth Integrated Solutions, dipping her toes in the startup world. Zolo started in 2015 to tackle the need for quality, affordable living spaces in India, especially for students and young pros.

9. Vineeta Singh

Net Worth: 300 Crore INR

Now, if you have watched the Shark Tank India show, then you could already be hoping to see Vineeta’s name on this list, right? You see, Vineeta is the co-founder as well as the CEO of Sugar Cosmetics. But did you know that even before Vineeta had the idea about Sugar Cosmetics, she laid the foundations for other brands like Quetzal and Fab-Bag? Yeah, these ideas weren’t that successful, but then Vineeta decided to enter the super competitive market of cosmetics in the country. But despite the sheer competition, it turned out quite well for her, so much so that now her net worth has jumped to more than 300 Crore rupees. Of course, the Shark Tank India show’s popularity has something to do with it, but remember, Vineeta brought herself up to the point where she was approached to be a judge on the show.

10. Ghazal Alagh

Net Worth: Rs. 250 Cr

For Ghazal, it all started in the year 2016, when along with his life partner aka husband Varun Alagh, she laid the foundation for Mamaearth. Yeah, we are talking about the founder or owner of the one if not the biggest skincare and personal care brand in India. But did you know that the motive behind Mamaearth was to create the first-ever toxin-free baby care brand in the country? Yes, that was precisely what Ghazal aimed for. Later on, she also founded another health, fitness, and wellness brand called TheDermaCo. Back-to-back successes in her life have made her one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in India.

11. Radhika Ghai Aggarwal

Net Worth: Rs.250 crores

Radhika Ghai Aggarwal is one of the stars in India’s e-commerce sky, co-founding ShopClues in 2011. Radhika’s story? It’s all about resilience and fresh ideas. Army family background, constantly on the move, and soaking up experiences like a sponge. She got her first taste of entrepreneurship from her dad’s health club venture. She even had her own ad agency once! Education-wise, she’s got an MBA and a PR degree, plus some Stanford know-how. Starting in marketing at Goldman Sachs, she moved to Nordstrom and picked up crucial lessons in customer-focused business. ShopClues, which started with just 10 people, became a big deal in e-commerce, focusing on everyday items.

12. Swati Bhargava

Net Worth: 17 Cr INR

Next up, we have Swati Bhargava, the brains behind CashKaro. It’s India’s biggest site for cashback and coupons. Her story’s kinda like a movie, starting in a small town, Ambala, and climbing up to become a top entrepreneur. Early on, Swati was all about academic excellence. She even made it to the prestigious London School of Economics. That’s where she met her hubby and business partner, Rohan Bhargava. In 2013, Swati and Rohan kickstarted CashKaro in India. It’s a cool platform offering cashback and coupons for online shopping, partnering with loads of e-commerce sites. People loved it because who doesn’t like saving money, right? Swati’s the mastermind behind CashKaro’s expansion, even bringing in cashback for offline shopping.

Conclusion

There you have it. We hope that you may have found our today’s post super inspiring, and if this has sparked that entrepreneurial spirit within you, well, that’s what we hoped for. If you want to be an entrepreneur yourself, then you gotta read and get to know a little more about these top role models we share today. That way, you’ll get to know about the knowledge that you will be able to practically apply in your life and taste the success on your own.