This International Women’s Day, the Indian startup scene is buzzing with a theme of its personal: ladies on the rise! We’re witnessing a surge in ladies-led startups, bringing contemporary concepts and innovation to the desk.
This International Women’s Day, we have a good time the theme “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.” While developments have been made, one essential space demanding funding and progress is ladies’s entry to startup funding. Despite their immense potential, ladies-led startups usually face an uphill battle in terms of securing capital.
Let’s discover this thrilling pattern and have a good time the rising energy of girls entrepreneurs in India’s dynamic startup ecosystem.
Embrace Challenges
Aparna Acharekar, co-founding father of Coto, stated, “Women empowerment is a key strategy for India’s long-term economic prosperity. The startup ecosystem is taking cognisance of these pressing issues and witnessing a rise in women’s entrepreneurship, opening doors for more women in leadership roles. With the same mission, we launched Coto, a social community app, built for women, by women. My advice to all aspiring women entrepreneurs would be to embrace the challenges and not shy away from putting forth your vision.”
Rashi Agarwal, co-founder & CBO, Zypp Electric, stated, “As a co-founder of a tech-enabled EV-as-a-service platform and a woman deeply invested in fostering diversity and inclusivity in STEM, I am committed to inspiring the next generation of women leaders in these fields. The recent statistics shared in the Interim Budget of 2024 are not just numbers; they represent a profound shift in our societal mindset.”
Agarwal added that the truth that thirty crore Mudra Yojana loans have been prolonged to ladies entrepreneurs underscores a rising recognition of their potential and functionality. Furthermore, the numerous improve in feminine enrolment in larger training, significantly in STEM programs, is a testomony to the relentless pursuit of data and alternative by ladies throughout the nation.
Male-Dominated Industry
Jyoti Bhandari, founder and CEO, Lovak Capital, stated, “Ever since I started working two decades ago in the male-dominated broking industry, we have come a long way. Where I was the only female in the regional sales team and was often asked to step out as they were not used to having women around. But, I never left any meeting and led a few myself eventually. Today. I run my own broking and wealth business. I am a sole Founder and the business is profitable and fast growing over the past 5 years.”
Challenges
Bhandari stated the largest problem is our personal limiting beliefs and secondly, the biases of each acutely aware and unconscious and socio-cultural norms. Resistance to alter was not accomplished previously when ladies weren’t seen within the board rooms.
“Investor’s questions like is your husband part of your business? Are you doing this alone or do you have a partner? How do you maintain your work-life balance? Your poor kid! Most often, I have been asked – Does your husband allow you to do business? (lol). No man is asked these questions. This mindset on the other side of the table gives us Limited access to Capital and opportunities. This is the reflection that the board rooms are still doubting our capabilities,” Bhandari added.
Bhandari added that girls are succeeding with their compassionate management. When you might have a begin-up, you might be an entrepreneur, not a person or a girl. Entrepreneurship has no gender bias. You should seize a seat on the desk by yourself. It shall be nice to see extra ladies in boardrooms main the best way.
Women & Multitasking
Arpitha Saineni, co-founder & head buyer success crew, SatNav Technologies, stated, “For women, working in a growing organisation is very challenging as one has to don multiple hats at the same time or play different roles at different times as per business need. Due to a lean organisational structure, it’s not always possible to have a backup resource for every person who needs to be away from work.”
Saineni added that the answer is to be adept at multitasking and to have the ability to remotely handle emergencies as and once they happen.
“The exposure we get while doing the above gives invaluable experience and satisfaction at making a direct impact on the area being worked upon, not something which would be possible in larger organisations,” Saineni stated.
