The Ministry of Commerce & Industry said on 25 December that over 73,000 Indian enterprises had at least one female director, as certified under the Startup India initiative. In a statement, the ministry emphasised that this amounts to almost half of the 157,066 businesses that the government has funded, highlighting the critical role that women play in fostering innovation and economic expansion. India is now the third-largest startup hub in the world and boasts one of the most thriving startup ecosystems.
The Indian startup scene is influencing the direction of innovation and entrepreneurship with more than 100 unicorns. Over the past ten years, there has been a paradigm shift in India’s entrepreneurial mentality. Innovation hubs have emerged in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR.The expansion of startups in a variety of industries, such as fintech, edtech, healthtech, and e-commerce, has been spurred by the broad availability of reasonably priced internet and a youthful and vibrant workforce.
Indian Startup Ecosystem Report
Startup India’s “Indian Startup Ecosystem Report” claims that Indian startups have used cutting-edge technologies like blockchain, IoT, and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve regional and worldwide problems.With the help of incubators, accelerators, and strong mentorship networks, this innovative culture has created a special ecosystem that links innovative solutions with problems at the local level.The Indian government has launched a number of programs to encourage and foster entrepreneurship in recognition of the revolutionary potential of startups.
The foundation of this endeavour has been the flagship Startup India program, which was introduced in 2016. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised 157,066 startups as of December 25, 2024, and 759,303 people have registered on the portal.Through sector-specific laws, tax breaks, capital assistance, ease of doing business, and the Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) platform, the government has started aggressive initiatives to help the startup ecosystem.
Other Initiatives Backing Startup Culture
Infrastructure and funding are made available to innovators through programs like the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) and the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). With an investment of INR 99 crore, the Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) program was introduced in 2021 with the goal of assisting 300 software product startups over the course of four years. The program offers accelerators up to INR 40 lakh in funding per startup to help them grow their businesses.
The ministry praised the achievements of cutting-edge businesses like BYJU’S, Zomato, Ola, and Nykaa, pointing out that these startups have grown internationally and demonstrated India’s capacity to grow and compete on a global scale.”India’s global influence is further demonstrated by the success of Indian-origin startups in Silicon Valley,” the ministry continued. Indian startups are increasingly exploring foreign markets and collaborating with multinational corporations, according to the Startup India International Guide. According to the government, comparable ideas around the world are being inspired by India’s leadership in providing inexpensive technology solutions, such as Aadhaar-enabled services and UPI.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry also discovered that India’s unicorns are outperforming their international counterparts in terms of valuation growth, demonstrating the stability and scalability of the ecosystem’s basis.
Before the industrial revolution, women were effectively excluded from well-paid high-status occupations. This was due to the lack of access that women had to higher education. A case in point was Cambridge university which only fully validated degrees for women in late 1947.
The change has long been coming and the largest growth has happened in the 20th century. The labour market shifted as more women sought higher education and entered the workforce.
Specialized higher professions saw women becoming doctors, lawyers and scientists and carving out long-term and successful careers for themselves. It has been a boon for the industrial society as governments realized that women in the workforce contributed to a higher GDP by increasing the labour supply in the country.
The 2001 World Bank report titled “Engendering Development” clearly states the connection between women’s involvement in the economy and the resultant growth –
‘While disparities in basic rights; in schooling, credit, and jobs; or in the ability to participate in public life take their most direct toll on women and girls, the full costs of gender inequality ultimately harm everyone…ignoring gender disparities comes at a great cost—to people’s well-being and to countries’ abilities to grow sustainably, to govern effectively, and thus reduce poverty.’
There are a wide number of economic, social and cultural variables that impact gender distribution in a different occupation, within a particular region or country or even in a society as a whole.
As a result of gender clustering, women and men often participate in economic sectors in sharply different proportions. Professions which are demanding physically or require physical strength are, traditionally, considered male-centric. Recently, this view seems to be shifting, albeit slowly.
The Delivery Service Industry
This is a part of the service industry and does exactly what it says. It delivers everything from mails, packages, food etc for commercial and consumer use by road, ship and air.
There are deliveries via specialized networks as well – e.g., pipelines for liquid goods and power grids for electrical power. It is a fundamental necessity of trade and commerce. Like every other industry, the delivery service industry has also seen changes over the years, and more so in the post-pandemic world.
Delivery Agents
Typically, it has been considered a male domain job, until recently. Challenges such as longer schedules, lack of adequate restrooms, unavailability to own vehicles, incomplete documentation and the risks associated with visiting strangers and communicating with them have hitherto kept women from taking up such jobs. The industry has a dismal 1% of its total delivery agents as females.
What is Changing?
Paradigms are shifting. Ideologies are changing. And ground realities are changing. Delivery companies are facing higher attrition. According to one estimate by a staffing solutions company, the delivery industry has a very high attrition rate of almost 8% per month.
There is a rush to hire women delivery agents at India’s leading online delivery companies. There are several reasons for this demand.
There is a need to rapidly ramp up manpower.
Women have a better retention rate.
Women are seen as more efficient and disciplined.
Women are also highly focused.
There is a demand to improve diversity numbers.
The Companies That Are Empowering Women Delivery Riders
Ecom Express
Ecom Express Female Delivery Agents
Ecom Express has about 2000 women working at its delivery hubs and about 100 women are in active delivery roles. The company currently has women-delivery facilities in Delhi, Ludhiana and Jaipur and aims at starting ten new all-women centres in the country this year.
The Chief People Officer of Ecom Express, Saurabh Deep Singla says – “Hiring women riders is one of our several efforts to strengthen the participation of women in the workforce. We hire women not just to improve diversity numbers but because their retention rate is higher. Women associates are sincere, diligent and highly focused and they are also very efficient.”
Shadowfax Technologies
Shadowfax Technologies Female Delivery Agents
Shadowfax Technologies is another delivery company that works with online marketplaces like Flipkart and BigBasket and employs around 6500 female delivery partners. This constitutes approximately 60% of its entire workforce.
Says Abhishek Bansal, the CEO of Shadowfax Technologies – “We are witnessing a growing demand for women as delivery partners with a considerable increase month-on-month across tier-1 and tier-2 cities and intend to grow this multifold. The entire hyperlocal delivery segment is contributing significantly to the increase in demand.”
Swiggy
Swiggy Female Delivery Agents
Swiggy is another company that is taking an active interest in attracting female delivery agents to its last-mile fleet.
It is allowing delivery by bicycles for short distances. The food delivery startup is exploring partnering with electric mobility partners to facilitate electric cycles and bikes for rent.
Swiggy currently has 22% of its female delivery agents delivering on bicycles. Mihir Shah, Vice-President of Operations says – “Several women either lack access to personal motor vehicles or don’t have a driver’s license.”
The Friendly Changes in the Delivery industry
Although delivery companies have realized the importance and value of including female delivery agents, there is a need to make some drastic changes in policy in-house, to make the eco-system more women-friendly. Some steps implemented by the companies to attract more women to join their workforce are,
Access to hygienic restrooms.
Allowing menstrual leave.
Various safety measures to safeguard its female delivery agents.
Providing safety training.
Designing and implementing SOS alert System.
Conclusion
Women are ready, able and willing to take on such roles. It is the industry at large that has to overcome its gender bias. It is the industry that has to create a working atmosphere that is women-friendly. It is the industry that stands to gain maximum but making these shifts and allowing women within its folds.
FAQs
Why are female delivery agents scarce?
Lack of adequate restrooms, unavailability to own vehicles, incomplete documentation and the risks associated with visiting strangers and communicating with them are some of the reasons why there are fewer women riders.
How are companies encouraging women riders to join their delivery fleet?
As many women lack their own vehicles, Swiggy is allowing delivery by bicycles for short-distance orders.
There are startups budding everywhere. Great companies that started just from an idea and now are building their empires that are huge and vast. With their growing consumer base and stand undistinguished in the market with their offerings promising consistency as brands.
Mostly, women are just stereotyped into being homemakers. And are often not associated with terms like business entrepreneurs. But here are some women defying the odds and stereotypes created by society and are also running successful startups in the fashion industry.
We have curated a list of Fashion startups that are run by women with their stories. So if you are looking for that little spark of inspiration to get you some motivation.
This is the sign to stop doubting yourself and start that business that you are wanting to.
There is an integration/fusion of cultures in this age. People have embraced the idea of a kaleidoscopic approach which has been possible with the help of globalization. With sustainability playing a new and important role in this industry. The industry has a wide scope and a lot to offer trends and styles. Let’s browse through how female entrepreneurs are changing the game with their ventures in the world of fashion.
The wealthiest self made Female Billionaire in India
Nykaa is everywhere and the brand just got its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and has attracted 32.59 billion dollars worth already. Describing itself as India’s one-stop online cosmetics and beauty store, having forty six locations across India and is associated with over 2400+ brands. It is India’s largest online shopping beauty store for cosmetics, beauty products, health products, and more.
Nykaa has four apps on the Play Store: Nykaa Fashion- Online shopping app; Nykaa – Beauty Shopping app for buying makeup and cosmetic products. It has a different segment that caters to men too, and those apps include: Nykaa Man- men’s grooming store and superstore by Nykaa, which is a business to business (B2B) shop.
The e-commerce platform provides seamless shopping experience providing premium as well as affordable products through its omni-channels. The founder, Falguni Nayar, who has completed her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance, a student at Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, after joining the Kotak Mahindra Bank and serving for almost eighteen years, quit to go after her dream to start the venture. P.S. She has also been the managing director at the bank.
Chumbak
Year: 2009
Founder: Shubhra Chadda and Vivek Prabhakar
CEO: Shubhra Chadda
Sold home with her husband to start their own venture
Shubhra Chadda
With a collection of fashion and home products, Chumbak is an e-commerce store for everything. According to reports of 2020, Chumbak has established forty four stores across India and has its presence in at least twelve cities.
Have you ever worried about what could be the perfect gift for someone’s special occasion? Or been crazy about quirky things? That integrates culture, uniqueness, and funk all in a cool way. Chumbak has got you! People who travel often love to get things back as mementos from their trips, to look back, and remember the precious times. But there is no particular place in the Indian market made exactly for this purpose, nor exactly on the web platforms back then.
There are many gaps in the Indian market that need bridging and usually go unnoticed by the people. Shubhra realized this and took notice of the fact that many people were looking for things to take back after a trip to India.
Here begins her story of Shubhra after being a mother for a year who wanted to do something and embarked on her journey to being an entrepreneur. The couple sold their home to set-up their venture: Chumbak. Their home decor & fashion stores have a ranging variety of products selling perfumes, laptop sleeves, bags, water bottles, other home decor items, apparels for women and more.
Having led many organizations like Lehman Brothers Incorporation, Virgin Media, eBay incorporation, Skype, Gum Tree and driving them to success with her potential, brilliance and skills. Sachi Mukherjee wows you with her knowledge graduating from the St. Stephens College in Delhi she holds a BA degree in Economics with Math’s from University of Cambridge. She is also a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar and Fellow, a Chadburn Scholar who has completed her master’s from the London School of Economics in finance and economics.
Having received the Unicorn Startup Award in 2016 by NDTV is just one of the accomplishments among many for Lime Road.Lime Road is an e-commerce platform that in the initial stages only served as a platform catering to women, only now it has extended selling clothing and accessories for women, men and kids.
It started with the aim of creating a shopping experience that people find mesmerizing. Engaging users allows them to create personal looks and collections and have the option to share it with your friends.
Zivame
Year: 2011
Founder: Richa Kar
CEO: Amisha Jain
Going beyond just lingerie
Richa Kar
Think outside the box and the whole society calls you crazy. The story of Richa Kar is somewhat the same; she dared to do things differently and do it anyway, even though she did not have her parents supporting her idea of starting a business of selling lingerie online.
Her mother was embarrassed by the idea and had no support from her father. Zivame has both online and offline stores with new launches. The inspiration for starting Zivame that struck Richa was derived from tracking sales of Victoria’s Secret, and she realized that there was no such market in India.
Started with her savings and borrowing money from her friends with the vision to help women shop for intimates online. After going through tough times with receiving criticism came the positive feedback. Dedication and hard work got Richa through her journey to getting investors and later receiving funding for her venture. The story on the official site describes it as going beyond just lingerie. Driving with innovative ideas that were not given much thought about before, influencing women in different ways.
Baggit
Founded in: 1985
Founder: Nina Lekhi
CEO: Nina Lekhi
Fueling the road to success with failure
Nina Lekhi with Shraddha Kapoor
Home-grown premium brand: Baggit, made and designed in India. Which provides bags and accessories made in a vegan, sustainable, and cruelty-free way for women, was started by Nina Lekhi back in 1985 with her hardwork and following her passion. She started Baggit with only seven thousand rupees, which was borrowed from her mother. Now Baggit has one thousand retail stores in India, two hundred and eight employees, and the brand is worth Rs 111 crores.
A student who did really well until the eighth grade and an role model for others, things changed for Nina Lekhi when she neglected much of her studies, not putting much work and having fun in the world with her perspective of how college should be like she flunked in her first year of college at Sophia’s Polytechnic, Mumbai.
Giving failure a direction to feel the sense of purpose after being called with labels like “duffer” and “stupid” she tackled them by proving herself. Nina’s parents were very supportive and encouraged her to build on the lost self-esteem and confidence.
With a head full of curiosity for the world of the retail industry and parents that stood by her. She took up two part-time jobs, for Mike Kriplani Fashions in the retail sectorand at Shyam Ahuja, selling carpets at the age of seventeen, getting first hand experience.
Having people around her who were into businesses and an environment that cherished entrepreneurship starting her own venture felt like a natural move for her. Doing exhibitions and marketing her products at the retail stores where she worked and word of mouth getting her clients, setting up her first store at Kemps Corner with her brother to the slowly climb to the hill of success made it all work.
With a hint of inspiration, passion and courage, you can do it all. Quit that job, dare to dream, believe, fail, and break for, and stand out when the world asks you to fit into the box. Start small, start somewhere if you believe in what you do. There will be setbacks and a lot of society doubting you. Take it from these women, defy the odds, and do it anyway.
FAQ
Who is first woman entrepreneur in India?
Kalpana Saroj, CEO of Kamani Tubes is known as the first women entrepreneur of India.
Who is the richest female entrepreneur in the world?
Oprah Winfrey, Jenny Just, Michelle Zatlyn, and Katrina Lake are some of the richest female entrepreneur in the world.
Who is the first woman entrepreneur?
Madame C.J. Walker is the first woman entrepreneur in the world.
Nitin Konde
