SHE IS THE GAME CHANGER

“The more we can break the rules, the better off we’re going to be”

- Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi – the name must have caught your eyes if you follow business news channels and read business magazines. She has been the CEO of one of the world’s biggest food and beverage company – PepsiCo. She is one of the most popular entrepreneurs in the world and the perfect example of women entrepreneurs doing wonders all over the world.

Emergence of women entrepreneurs has led to an engendered perspective in the realm of entrepreneurship. Female entrepreneurship is closely intertwined with instrumental societal and economic benefits. Women who chose to pursue the challenging role of an entrepreneur are driven by their desire to fulfil their need of independence and achievement.They were concentrated in traditional and informal sectors of the Indian economy. But over the past decade women entrepreneurs are also diversifying themselves in contemporary and emerging sectors.

The stereotypes that begin with domestic commitments often go up to the venture-capitalist who thinks that women are good for a few domicile sectors. Several stones are yet to be unturned and crossed before women-entrepreneurship in India creates milestones.

Vidya Venkatraman, Founder & CEO of Meraki & Co. trusts “Every brand should have a strong digital presence globally as this pandemic was the perfect example where everyone experienced the “POWER OF DIGITALIZATION"

aiming for the new Digital Era with prosper growth and valuable productivity.

Anamika Sengupta, the founder of Almitra Tattva and Co- founder of Almitra sustainables, changing the stereotypical thinking about women and motherhood, she made maternity her strongest pillar and has nurtured and mothered both- her son and the two brands. Working with a unique model of motherhood squad, she has developed the brands through to its pinnacle of success. Her Sustainability mantra of co-existence with her brand Almitra Sustainables is breaking legs with norms that provide conscious and contemporary solutions to end plastic use in regular lifestyle choices.

Indian women entrepreneurs are confronted with a plethora of challenges. Safe and affordable access to markets is another concern. Infrastructural bottlenecks, lack of advisory and business development support services, unawareness regarding existing provisions of government support and lack of social conditioning conducive for women’s entrepreneurial personality strongly impede development of women entrepreneurship.

It can be said that today we are in a better position wherein women participation in the field of entrepreneurship is increasing at a considerable rate. For every woman entrepreneur, it is vital to be a person of mettle as well as metal. Women must be of strong intent and be decisive of the purpose of establishing her business - from the initial objective, to the execution layout, to the end goal. It is important to carve out a definitive roadmap - whether it is a purely passion-driven pet project or with a commercial perspective to it; whether to maintain it as a small-scale boutique business or future plans of growth and expansion.

NAVISHA MAGAN

COLUMNIST , THE INVICTUS ARC