Technically, a "women entrepreneur" is any women who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp.

a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. 

Successful Indian Women Entrepreneurs

Every corporate environment is said to have a ‘glass ceiling’ when it comes to women moving up the ladder of

success. However, these go-getters have surely proved this notion wrong by achieving success through sheer hard

work and dedication.

Profiling some of the top 10 women entrepreneurs India has seen –

Indra Nooyi

Strong-willed, with an acute acumen for financial strategizing, Nooyi is the CFO and

President of PepsiCo. Her strong acumen for business has helped the company garner

as much as 30 billion dollars worth of crucial deals within the last couple of years.

With a Masters Degree in Public Management from Yale University and Masters in

Finance and Marketing from IIM, Kolkata, Nooyi held several senior positions at

Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri before joining PepsiCo.

Indra Nooyi – the most well-known face amongst Indian women entrepreneurs(Image: http://ledienduc.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/indra_nooyi.jpg)

Naina Lal Kidwai

From being Head of Investment Banking at ANZ Grindlays during 1982-1994 to

Vice Chairman JM Morgan Stanley, Naina Lal Kidwai is one of the most

successful and famous Indian businesswomen of today. The first Indian woman to

graduate from the elite Harvard Business School, she is currently Country Head

and Group General Manager HSBC Group India. Apart from working at HSBC,

Kidwai has also held other eminent positions such as that of Global Advisor,

Harvard Business School, non-executive director at Nestle SA and as a member of

Governing Board NCAER, Auditor General of India and several other positions.

Naina has received the distinguished Padma Shri award for her contributions in the

segment of Trade and Industry.

Naina Lal Kidwai – one of the most successful Indian women entrepreneurs(Image: http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/naina-lal-kidwai.html)

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is one of the richest women in India studied zoology at

Bangalore University and brewery at Ballarat University. She started her career

as trainee brewer at Carlton & United Beverages in 1974. Four years later she

started her own company, Biocon, in her garage with an investment of Rs

10000. Three issues –biotechnology was nascent at the time in India, she was a

woman and her organization had almost nil assets – made financial institutions

turn down her loan application. However, with hard work and commitment,

Shaw transformed Biocon into one of the leading biopharmaceutical firms in

India.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – From humble beginnings to being the richest woman in the country!(Image: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/canvas/2002/04/27/images/2002042700090401.jpg)

Indu Jain

This multi-faceted lady used to be the Chairman of The Times Group – the most

powerful and the largest media house India has known. Indu Jain is known by

many different identities such as that of a spiritualist, humanist, entrepreneur, an

aficionado of culture and the arts, an educationalist but her most prominent and

eminent role has been that of Chairman Times Group.

Indu Jain – the perfect picture of the successful Indian woman entrepreneur(Image: http://im.in.com/connect/images/profile/b_profile3/Indu_Jain_300.jpg)

Priya Paul

Armed with a Bachelor’s degree specializing in Economics from the Wellesley

College in US, Priya Paul, entered the family business and is currently

Chairperson, Apeejay Park Hotels. The Apeejay Surrendra Group has many

different subsidiaries such as hotel, tea, retail, shipping, financial services and

real estate. Her contributions in the segments of commerce and industry and her

efforts have been recognized through various citations and awards – Young

Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants

Association of India, Businessperson of the Year, Economic Times Awards and

the Park Hotel being rated as one amongst the best 101 Hotels Worldwide by

‘Tatler’ magazine in the UK.

Priya Paul – one of the most prominent personas amongst women entrepreneurs of India(Image:http://www.abtn.co.uk/files/abtn/Accommodation/Hotels/Park_Hotels/ParkHotels_PriyaPaul_150sh.jpg)

Sulajja Firodia Motwani

Sulajja Firodia Motwani, the Joint Managing Director of Kinetic Motors and

Managing Director Kinetic Finance, is responsible for Kinetic’s transformation

from a moped company to a manufacturer of great versatility. Sulajja has single-

handedly designed and developed marketing strategies to spearhead the

company’s growth forward. The recent collaboration with Italjet Moto has

provided Kinetic complete rights to launch 7 brand new models of scooters in

India. India Today has honored Sulajja by naming her the ‘Face of the

Millennium’ and she has been selected as the ‘Global Leader of Tomorrow’ by

the World Economic Forum.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani – Responsible for single-handedly changing the face of Kinetic as we know it today(Image: http://inhouse.digitaltoday.in/cmswoman/images/stories/woman/84_150_1041.jpg)

Simone Tata

Holding the coveted title of being the ‘cosmetics czarina of India’ Simone

Tata has been instrumental in changing a small subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills

into the largest cosmetic brand in India – Lakme, synonymous today with

Indian fashion. She became part of Lakme during 1961 and has been

responsible for the metamorphosis of the company into the biggest brands of

fashion in India. She became Chairperson of the company during 1982 and is

now the Chairperson of Trent Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata group.

Simone Tata – the force behind Lakme as we know it today(Image: http://im.in.com/connect/images/profile/feb2010/Simone_Tata_300.jpg)

Neelam Dhawan

Neelam Dhawan, the Managing Director of Microsoft India and is the head of

marketing and sales operations of the company throughout India. At the start of

her career she yearned to be a part of major players in the FMCG space such as

Asian Paints and Hindustan Lever. Unfortunately, these organizations did not

want a woman to be a part of their marketing and sales efforts and hence she was

rejected at the time. Before joining Microsoft, Neelam has been part of many

prominent companies such as IBM, HP as well as HCL.

Neelam Dhawan – from initial rejection in sales and marketing to heading Microsoft’s sales marketing division, Neelam has come a long way(Image: http://www.ciol.com/slideshow/50years/images/Neelam%20Dhawan_1613.jpg)

Ekta Kapoor

Love them or hate them, you just cannot ignore Balaji serials and Ekta Kapoor

is the woman who single-handedly founded and made Balaji Telefilms the

household name it is today. This baby-faced teenager, who once dreamed of

marrying and settling down just like any other woman in India, is the creative

head of Balaji Telefilms and counted as one of the top 10 women entrepreneurs

of today. Her production house has many hit serials to its credit – ‘Kyunki Saas

Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ and many others, making her the

Queen Bee of the Indian soap opera scene. She has won the Hall of Fame

award at the 6th Indian Telly Awards during 2006 for her contribution to the

Indian television industry. Known to be fiercely protective of her company and

brand, Ekta is also very professional and has strong business acumen.

Ekta Kapoor – the woman who changed the face of Indian television(Image: http://www.indiantvtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/ekta_kapoor.jpg)

Mallika Srinivasan

Mallika Srinivasan, currently the Director TAFE India, was honored with the title

of Businesswoman of the Year during 2006 by the Economic Times. She joined

the company in 1986 and has since been responsible for accelerating turnover from

85 crores to 2900 crores within a span of two decades. Mallika has an MBA from

Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania.

Mallika Srinivasan – responsible for spearheading TAFE’s growth and revenue

potential(Image: http://media2.intoday.in/businesstoday/images/stories//oct19_08/080930040402_women6.jpg)

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in November, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

Women Entrepreneur:

Women entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of the economy in India, Canada, Great

Britain, Germany, Australia and the United States. The areas chosen by women are retail trade, restaurants, hotels,

education, cultural, cleaning, insurance and manufacturing The New Thrust suggests following two factors pulling

or pushing women in an entrepreneurship Factors leading women to be an entrepreneur:Women entrepreneurs

choose a Women takes up business enterprises to Profession as a challenge and an get over financial difficulties and

respond- adventure with an urge to do some - visibility is thrust on them due to family -thing new, liking for

business and circumstances. to have an independent occupation. With the spread of education and new

approaches/awareness, women entrepreneurs are achieving higher level of 3E’s, namely: (i) Engineering (ii)

Electronics (iii) Energy. Though we should not forget certain Psycho-Social Barriers which hinders the growth of

women entrepreneurs.

Opportunities : Free entry into world trade.

Improved risk taking ability.

Governments of nations withdrawn some restrictions

Technology and inventions spread into the world.

Encouragement to innovations and inventions.

Promotion of healthy completions among nations

Consideration increase in government assistance for international trade.

Establishment of other national and international institutes to support business among nations of the world.

Benefits of specialization.

Social and cultural development

Challenges:

Problems of raising equity capital

Difficulty in borrowing fund.

T hought-cut completions endangered existence of small companies.

Problems of availing raw-materials.

Problems of obsolescence of indigenous technology

Increased pollutions Ecological imbalanced.

Problems of TRIPS and TRIMS.

Exploitation of small and poor countries, etc.

Suggestions Govt. should provide separate financial fund of women’s entrepreneur.

We should provide her special infrastructure facilities what ever she deeds.

Govt. should arrange special training programmes of women entrepreneurship

Govt. should felicitated top ranker women’s entrepreneur.

Women entrepreneur should more competitive and efficient in the local & international market.

Use should invite successful women entrepreneurs from foreign countries.

Women Entrepreneurship in India

Out of total 940.98 million people in India, in the 1990s, females comprise 437.10 million representing 46.5 percent

of the total population. There are 126.48 million women workforce but as per the 1991 census, only 1, 85,900

women accounting for only 4.5 per cent of the total self-employed persons in the country were recorded. As per a

rough estimate the number of SSIs are expected to be2.5 billion having 9% women entrepreneurs in to it.

Considering this trend, women participation in another five years was 20 % more, raising the number of women

entrepreneurs to about 5, 00,000. Combined effect of motivational drive, preparation of information material,

conducting training, creation of women industrial estates, and training of promoters and use of mass media all

together is bound to accelerate the process of women entrepreneurship development. Some psycho-social factors

impede the growth of women entrepreneurs are as follows:

Poor self-image of women

Inadequate motivation

Discriminating treatment

Faulty socialization

Role conflict

Cultural values

Lack of courage and self-confidence

Inadequate encouragement

Lack of social acceptance

Unjust social, economic and cultural system

Lack of freedom of expression

Afraid of failures and criticism

Susceptible to negative attitude

Low dignity of labour

What New Awareness has to say about it? The new Industrial Policy of the Government of India has specially

highlighted the need for special entrepreneurship programmes for women entrepreneurs in the nature of product-

process oriented courses – to enable them to start small-scale industries. A majority of women entrepreneurs are

from the middle class families who have low technical education, less family responsibilities but desire to become

entrepreneurs. This potential should be identified and tapped.

Rural Entrepreneur Succeeding as an entrepreneur and an innovator in today’s world is vastly different from what it

was earlier. Besides the existing generation of entrepreneurship also is passing through the transition period. They

experience financial resource limitation to promote or to develop a venture and there is also look of research and

innovation to meat with marketing challenges. Indian rural economy is also experiencing behavior of

entrepreneurial. Aim of most farmers is to earn profits from farming as from any other business, if he determines the

objectives. A farm business necessary requires deliberate decision and proper investment, after assessing risk and

available resources to maximize profit. There for entrepreneurship is not simply adoption of new activity but it is

transformation of a person from traditional of modern India is known as “Home spices” and is in fact the largest

producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. Though, cumin cultivation requires more inputs and

production prices are high but last two years monetary output is uncertain. It is also sensitive crop to many disease,

pest and also highly risky crop considering natural hazards, as well as the day to day fluctuating wholesale price

index. Organizations will face seven trends in the next decade as they flight to survive, grow and remain

competitive.

Speed and uncertainty will prevail.

Technology will continue to disrupt and enable.

Demographics will dictate much of what happens in business.

Loyalty will erode.

Work will be done anywhere, anytime.

Employment as we know it will disappear.

Opportunities For rural Entrepreneurs. Crashed Scheme for Rural Development

Food for Work Programme

National Rural Employment Programme

Regional Rural Development Centers

Entrepreneurship Development institute of India

Bank of Technology

Rural Innovation Funding

Social Rural Entrepreneurship.

Challenges For Rural Entrepreneurs

Growth of Mall Culture

Poor Assistance

Power Failure

Lack of Technical know how

Capacity Utilization

Infrastructure Sickness

Present Entrepreneurial Scenario

Mr. Ratan Tata had clearly articulated to us his ‘vision’ for Tata Motors. The company has very successfully

launched its passenger cars- ‘Indica’ and ‘Indigo’ and recently in January’ 2008 they have set a benchmark in the

history of four-wheeler industry all around the globe by offering their masterpiece ‘NANO’ to be the world’s

cheapest car worth 1 Lac rupees only. The company has also taken over the business of Corus, a giant in the steel

industry.

Vijay Mallya and talk of innovation, to hit the Indian market. Vijay Mallya’s mission was to create brand Kingfisher

as a generic brand for lifestyle. There happened to be some sort of compatibility between the way he lived his life

and the brand image that he was thinking to create. One of the key ingredients of innovation is to simply be yourself.

He did the restructuring process of United Breweries without any sense of embarrassment. We are all sometimes

stymied, curbed and limited by ourselves. Philips, Sony, Honda, Ford provide the signposts of entrepreneurship

today for all to emulate. Some of these have come up only in recent years and from small beginnings. In India, too,

one sees glimpses of such entrepreneurship. ICICI’s experience tells a great deal about entrepreneurship – good as

well as not so good.

Following Indian firms will keep on dominating the corporate world in the future too —

Tata Steel & Motors

Indian Oil Corporation

Reliance industries

Infosys Technologies

Moser Baer

Bharti Tele-ventures

Twaalfhoven and Indivers (1993, pp. 3-4), they are run by dynamic entrepreneurs, who manage and lead their

companies not only to remain in the business but to expand it. Dynamic entrepreneurs look for growth, they do not

have only a vision but are also capable of making it happen. They think and act globally, look for expansion, rely on

external resources, seek professional advice or they work with professional teams. They challenge competitors

instead of avoiding them and take and share risks in a way that leads to success. In this way economic vitality of a

country largely depends on the overall level of entrepreneurial capacity, i.e., on its abili

ated links:

1. Management and Control:

A woman or a group of women manages the whole business of enterprise. She prepares various plans and executes them under her own supervision and control. There may be some persons to help her but ultimate control lies with the woman.

2. Employment to Women:

A woman entrepreneur must provide at least 51 percent of the employment generated in her enterprise to women.

3. Risk-taking:

Risk means uncertainty. It is the condition of not knowing the outcome of an activity. A woman entrepreneur takes calculated risk.

She faces uncertainty confidently and assumes risk. She has to tie up capital and wait for good returns. A woman entrepreneur likes to take realistic risks because she wants to be a successful entrepreneur.

4. Good organizer:

The most critical skill required for industrial development is the ability of building a sound organization. A woman entrepreneur assembles, co-ordinates, organizes and manages the other factors namely land, labor and capital. She obtains factors of production from the society and supplies them finished product.

5. Self confidence:

It is essential to be a self confident for a woman entrepreneur. She should have faith in herself and in her abilities. She should have the confidence to implement the change and overcome any resistance to change. A woman entrepreneur should have courage to own the mistakes and correct them.

6. Decision-maker:

The main function of a woman entrepreneur is to make decision. She takes various decisions regarding the activities of her enterprise. She decides about the type of business to be done and the way of doing it. A woman entrepreneur must be clear and creative in decision making process.

7. Visionary:

A woman entrepreneur is one who incubates new ideas, starts her enterprise with these ideas and provides added value to society based on their independent initiative.

8. Hard worker:

A distinguishing feature of a woman entrepreneur is the willingness to work hard. She has to follow the principle, “Hard-work is the key to success”.

9. Achievement oriented:

A woman entrepreneur is an achievement oriented lady, not money hungry. She works for challenge, accomplishment and service to others. Achievement orientation is a derive to overcome challenges, to advance and to grow.

10. Optimistic:

A woman entrepreneur must be optimistic. She should approach her venture with a hope of success and attitude for success rather than with a fear of failure. The positive thinking of woman entrepreneur can turn the situation favorable to her.

11. Technically competent:

The success of an enterprise largely depends upon the ability of woman entrepreneur to cope with latest technology. Technical competency

refers to the ability to devise and use the better ways of producing and marketing goods and services.

12. Bold and brave:

Women entrepreneurs face the adversities boldly and bravery. She has faith in herself and attempts to solve the problems even under great pressure.

13. Mentally sound:

A woman entrepreneur is energetic, single-minded, having a mission and a clear vision. She should be a lady of creative thinking and analytical thinking. She must be intelligent, adaptable and problem solver.

14. Leadership:

Leadership quality is one of the most important characteristic of a woman entrepreneur. It is the process of influencing and supporting others to work enthusiastically towards achieving objective

prah Winfrey stands as a role model for many an aspiring woman entrepreneur - a woman with no dearth of talent and skills. Oprah Winfrey scored double over Bill Gates and four times over Richard Branson in a recent poll conducted to select the 'Most admired entrepreneur'. She is the first black woman billionaire and is undoubtedly one of the most influential people in today's entertainment industry. Statistics reveal that woman entrepreneurs in America employ 19.1million people and contribute $2.5 trillion to the economy. Also, women own 47.7% of all private companies in USA.

Data that proves that woman as powerful, decisive, multi-task-oriented personalities are well suited for the competitive world of big business. Women have been managing important portfolios, be it on the political scenario or economic development. But today the world is seeing such examples in plenty. More and more women are having the final say in the boardroom, they head corporations and women entrepreneurs have evolved a new style of leadership. 

What makes a woman tread a hitherto male-dominated pursuit and combat challenges to reach entrepreneurial success? What are the common traits that all successful woman entrepreneurs possess? How does a woman initiate the process of discovering, what helps her in evaluating and how methodical is her approach?

Women entrepreneur data

Before analyzing the special traits in successful woman entrepreneurs, a glance at the physiological variations in the brains of men and women can be beneficial.

Male brains are 10% larger than female brains. Female has more nerve cells in certain areas. Women transfer data faster due to larger corpus collusum, making it easier for increased

flexibility and multitasking. Men are left-brain oriented and are largely successful in solving numbers and problems. 'Gray matter' - the part that allows thinking is 55.4% in women and 50.8% in men.

This reveals that women are endowed with natural advantages that aid in creating, developing and fostering relationships. Not restricting herself to merely fostering relationships with her family, friends and society, a successful woman uses this proficiency to build and maintain a flourishing business enterprise. She translates her natural advantages into effective networking, excellent communication skills and empathetic behavior. Her mastery over multi-tasking influences her to initiate action with direction and integrate it with management and organizational skills. A successful woman entrepreneur has the attitude and the inner drive to change her dream, her vision into reality.

Most successful women entrepreneurs possess the following traits:

She is ambitious

A successful woman entrepreneur is extremely ambitious, has an inner urge or drive to transform an idea into reality. Experience from her previous tenure as an employee, relying on educational qualifications or lessons learnt from inherited business, she is ready to seize opportunities, sets goal, possess clear vision, steps confidently forward and is ambitious to succeed. Every successful woman entrepreneur is truly determined to achieve goals and make her business flourish. In-depth knowledge of the field is essential to success. She comes with new innovative solutions to old problems to tide over issues.

She is confident

A successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to learn from others, seek help from experts if it means adding value to her goals. She is optimistic and is more willing to take risks. A successful woman entrepreneur uses common sense to make sound judgements when encountering everyday situations. This is gleaned from past experience and knowledge acquired over the years. It is essential not to get frustrated and give up when you face obstacles and trials ? a part of setting up any business venture. The ability to explore uncharted territories and take bold decisions is the hallmark of a successful woman entrepreneur. A successful woman usually loves what she does. She is extremely passionate about her tasks and activities. Her high energy levels motivate her to contribute immensely towards building, establishing and maintaining a thriving

business. 

She is open and willing to learn

A successful woman entrepreneur keeps abreast of changes, as she is fully aware of the importance of evolving changes. She is ahead of her competitors and thrives on changes. She adapts her business to changes in technology or service expectations of her clients. She is curious, interested to learn and accommodative to innovations. 

She is cost conscious

A successful woman entrepreneur prepares realistic budget estimates. She provides cost-effective quality services to her clients. With minimized cost of operations, she is able to drive her team to maximize profits and reap its benefits. 

She values teamwork and loyalty

She has the ability to work with all levels of people. She is keen on maintaining relationships and communicates clearly and effectively. This helps her to negotiate even sensitive issues easily. She is empathetic to people around her and possess good networking skills that help her to expand contacts and make use of opportunities.

She can balance home and work

Cautious of not becoming a workaholic, a successful woman entrepreneur is good at balancing diverse aspects of life. Her multi-tasking ability combined with support from spouse and family members enables her to blend business priorities with family and household responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

She is conscious of her responsibility to society

A successful woman entrepreneur is willing to share her success with the society. She is committed to help others and enjoys doing it.

It is no wonder that millions of aspiring woman entrepreneurs admire Oprah Winfrey for her entrepreneurial skills, business achievements, and commitment to philanthropy. A woman can choose self-owned business as her career choice provided she is to ready to face the challenges that lie ahead of her, ready to walk the extra mile and ready to rely on her own vast resources and abilities.