The Indian business world has witnessed many success stories, and with time, many female entrepreneurs have become the ultimate rulers of the once male-dominated world. Defying societal norms and many other obstacles stopping them, these females have proved that they are not restricted to mere household chores.
From the pharma to beauty sectors, there are some iconic women entrepreneurs, who have reached the top with their hard work and dedication. They are now the billionaires, who have inspired millions with their success stories. Today, let us look at some of the richest female entrepreneurs in the business world.
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Vineeta Singh, the co-founder, and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics is one of the most inspirational women in the business sector. She rejected a job offer from an investment bank offering her Rs. 1 crore to begin her entrepreneurial journey. After graduating from IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad, Vineeta Singh was certain that she wanted to be an entrepreneur. It was a daunting task for her in the 2010s when investors were sceptical about young women entrepreneurs.
Before Sugar, Vineeta ran an HR outsourcing organisation and then launched Fab Bag, a subscription-based customisable beauty kit in 2012. It was in 2015, when Vineeta, with her husband, Kaushik Mukherjee launched the start-up, Sugar Cosmetics. Vineeta wanted to build something with women as the core customers and her intuition proved right. With an estimated annual income of Rs. 100 crore, Vineeta’s net worth is Rs. 660 crores.
Co-founder of the cosmetic line, MamaEarth, Ghazal Alagh graduated with a degree in computer application from Punjab University. It was in 2016 when Ghazal Alagh and her husband, Varun Alagh launched MamEarth, India’s first toxin-free baby care brand. Ghazal Alagh's first son, Agastya, was born with a skin problem called eczema. He used to get allergic to Indian-made products. Ghazal and Varun compared the components of Indian items to those of international products and discovered that the ingredients used in India were completely unsuitable for children, and just like that MamaEarth was born.
Ghazal expanded her business to include a body care brand dealing in safe unisex products for all ages. From a Rs. 25 lakh investment to a Rs. 9800 crore worth company, MamaEarth has made a profit of Rs. 14 crore in 2022. Ghazal is currently the owner of Rs. 1000 crore plus brand, Mamaearth and her net worth is estimated to be around Rs. 148 crores.
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The founder of CashKaro, Swati Bhargava has changed the face of online shopping. Swati started a summer internship at Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Swati Bhargava met her husband and co-founder Rohan Bhargav in London. When Swati and Rohan were booking their honeymoon tickets via a UK-based cashback portal, they received Rs. 25,000 cashback, and the couple realised the potential of the concept.
Swati and Rohan launched India’s biggest cashback coupon website, CashKaro. In 2013, Swati established CashKaro in the Indian market with 17 employees and interns. Today, CashKaro has become India’s largest coupon site and offers cashback on more than 2000 e-commerce giants, which include Shopclues, Paytm, and Amazon.in, Flipkart, and Myntra. With a net worth of Rs. 165 crores, Swati has also featured in Fortune India 40 Under 40.
Namita Thapar is a very well-known name in the business world. The Executive Director - India Business, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Namita is a certified Chartered Accountant from ICAI. After completing her education, Namita worked for six years in Guidant Corporation, USA. After getting an adequate amount of experience in the industry, Namita decided to join her father, Satish Mehta's company, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, as a CFO.
Ever since Namita joined Emcure Pharmaceuticals, her professional journey has graphed towards the higher end. The businesswomen lead 4000 medical representatives across the nation. Apart from Emcure, Namita is also a part of the Regional Advisory Board for Fuqua School of Business India. With various accolades to her name, Namita Thappar’s reported net worth is Rs. 600 crores.
Adhuna Bhabani is the name behind India’s most iconic salon chain, BBlunt. From the age of 14, Adhuna has only thought of becoming a hairstylist. From a teenage hairstylist in the UK to BBlunt’s queen, Adhuna has changed the whole meaning of hairstyling. Born and brought up in the UK, Adhuna shifted to India to make a name for herself. She faced a few struggles initially as hairstyling was an alien concept at that time.
Adhuna got her first break when she worked as a hairstylist in the 2001 cult film, Dil Chahta Hai. She was noticed for her work in the Hindi film industry. Aduna opened her first salon, named Juice in 1998 with her brother, Osh Bhabani and later changed its name to BBlunt. She has now established 20 salons in 10 states across India along with 2 training centers. As per multiple reports, Adhuna’s net worth is Rs. 41 crores.
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Neha Narkhede, the co-founder of cloud company, Confluent featured in the Forbes list of America’s 100 Richest Self-Made Women’ 2023. Neha, who is an embodiment of intelligence and determination, is the youngest self-made woman entrepreneur in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.
After pursuing her Master’s degree from the US, Neha joined LinkedIn in 2011. In 2014, she and her colleagues co-founded Confluent, a data streaming platform. As Neha’s company went public in 2021, her net worth reached Rs. 48 crores. In the year 2023, Narkhede announced a new company, Oscilar, a fraud detection firm. She is also counted among the world’s top women in tech.
Founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail brand, Naykaa, Falguni Nayar is one of the most influential women entrepreneurs in India. Falguni began her career with Kotak Mahindra group in 1993. She was appointed as the managing director of Kotak in 2005. However, she decided to leave her job and founded the beauty brand, Nykaa in 2012.
As Naykaa went public, Falguni became India’s richest self-made woman and the world’s tenth richest self-made woman. Falguni’s company, Nykaa, currently sells more than 4,500 brands online and through stores. As per Forbes, Falguni’s net worth is Rs. 38,700 crores.
These Inspirational Indian women have broken the gender stereotype and many other societal norms to become top-notch billionaires in the business world.
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