Women's Entrepreneurship Day: 5 women who are breaking the glass ceiling

On November 19, the world will celebrate Women's Entrepreneurship Day. To acknowledge the role of women in the economic growth of society, the day was started by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation.

The campaign for Women's Entrepreneurship Day 2022 is #choosewomen.

As the world gears up to celebrate women in business, here is a look at five entrepreneurs in India who are breaking the glass ceiling.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

The founder and the executive chairperson of Biocon, Kiram Mazumdar-Shaw is among the richest self-made billionaires in India. She founded the biotechnology firm in 1978 in a rented garage. Today, she has a net worth of over Rs 29,000 crore. She has also served as the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Also, to date she has donated over Rs 7 crore to environment and sustainability, becoming the sixth-most generous woman in India according to the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy Women’s List 2022.

Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar is the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa. She has a net worth of Rs 38,000 crore, as per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India rich list 2022. She is also the richest self-made woman in India.

Rohini Nilekani

Author Rohini Nilekani is the chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. In 2021, she was the most generous woman entrepreneur in India with donations of over Rs 120 crore. Her field of work is education and environmental sustainability.

Also, she is the founder of the Arghyam Foundation which works on water and sanitation issues.

Shahnaz Husain

Shehnaz Husain is considered to be the woman who established the biggest beauty empire in India. She is the founder of The Shahnaz Husain Group. She was awarded Padma Shri in 2006 for her contribution to trade and industry.

She has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival and has spoken at both the House of Lords and House of Commons in the British Parliament.

Upasana Taku

Upasana Taku was among one of the first women entrepreneurs who ventured into the fintech sector in India. She is the chairperson and co-founder of MobiKwik. After completing her MS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, US, Taku worked with HSBC in San Diego.

She later worked with PayPal. Later, she came to India and founded MobiKwik.