9 women entrepreneurs who are the change they want to see in India

The startup scene is exploding in India. Three or four startups are born each day, and an equal number are funded. The first three quarters of the year saw US$6.4 billion in funding for Indian startups. It’s not just the unicorns like Ola which raised half a billion dollars yesterday. Seed funding in new startups saw a six-fold jump this year compared to 2014.

In all this euphoria, a teensy weensy statistic put out last month by software industry body Nasscom passed almost unnoticed. Only nine percent of the startup founders in India are women.

The reasons are many for this skewed scenario, and we looked at them in detail in this article on sexism in tech. But today’s a day for inspiration and not cribbing. So let’s be inspired by women who defied such steep odds to make it as tech entrepreneurs in India. As the saying goes, be the change you want to see. The nine women profiled below exemplify that adage.

Anisha Singh, MyDala

She turned her daily deals startup MyDala around from the brink of failure in 2011, when the coupon model was unravelling with the troubles at Groupon. “It was tough. My second child was a few weeks old, and my older one, a toddler. But I wasn’t ready to give up on my company,” she told Tech in Asia in an earlier interview. Pushed into a corner, she made a bold turn towards mobile – back when smartphone penetration in India was a mere five percent. Today MyDala has a presence in over 200 Indian cities and 200 million registered users.

Anisha began her career in the US after graduating from American University. She worked with the Clinton administration, helping women entrepreneurs raise funding. That inspired her to return to India in 2009 and start up her own venture.

See: She about-turned her startup from the brink of failure. Now it’s doing what Groupon couldn’t

Sairee Chahal, Sheroes

Sairee, CEO and founder of Sheroes, is not just an inspiration for women, she’s also making a direct impact by finding jobs for them. “The idea for Sheroes came from the observation that I was surrounded by so many women who had left their career options behind for social responsibilities [such as raising a family]. I just want to show them that this doesn’t need to be the end of the road,” Sairee told Tech in Asia in a recent interview.

This former journalist is currently holding a “Sheroes summit” in major Indian cities to connect women professionals with businesses. “The push toward a Digital India is a watershed moment for all educated women in the country. Digital access is a boon to those who cannot engage in a typical 9-to-5 job yet wish to continue their careers,” says Sairee.

See: Sheroes helps Indian women get back into the workforce

Nidhi Agarwal, Kaaryah

Falguni Nayar, Nykaa

Pranshu Bhandari, CultureAlley

Swati Bhargava, CashKaro

Richa Kar, Zivame

Suchi Mukherjee, LimeRoad

Valerie Wagoner, Zipdial