The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

MARCH 2021

www.swiftnlift.in

Special Edition for International Womens Day 2021

The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

xxxx Co-Founders

ANOOJA BASHIR Founder & CEO of Ourea CMO of Flexicloud

www.greentreeimmigration.com

Swiftnlift Media And Tech SwiftNLift is the Best Business Magazine across the globe for enterprises.

From t he E d itor …

I

t gives me an immense pleasure to present this magazine to all our readers on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Many thanks to my team for the work undertaken. I’ve wanted to be there not just by virtue of being the editor but because I had something to say something that might join us for a moment in that miraculous way words can.

SwiftNLift magazine is not just a print or digital anymore but everything we do derives from its long-standing character, approach and quality - while we continue to produce the print publication with as much dedication as ever.

Some print pieces have complementary components such as additional coverage, advertisements and still photography.

There are regular columns by the editors with reflective articles to provide a window onto women empowerment and their rights.

The cover story has featured Ms Anooja Bashir (Founder & CEO) of OureaCorp & OureaSoul. It is expertise in branding, strategic business implementation, cost effective IT implementation projects and aggressive marketing strategies along with corporate training and HR Management.

- Nilesh Sabe Nilesh Sabe Chief Editor

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Chief Editor

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Executive Editor

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Graphic design team Art & Design Director

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Marketing and sales Advertising & Promotions Manager

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Digital Marketing

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Marketing Manager

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OUREACORP & OUREANSOUL

C o ntent

Cover Story

Articles 24 Girl child rights and protection

36 Achieving gender equality in India

50 Women in modern India

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18

22

SKIN PROJECT

Priya Kumar Training System

ByAndLarge

26

30

34

INI Group

Learners Route

Innove Intellects

38

42

46

BANCONUS

The Social Corporate Group

Samvit Leadership Consulting

The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

“Build your business success around something that you love — something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.” —

Martha Stewart, businesswoman,

writer, and television personality

ANOOJA BASHIR Founder & CEO of Ourea CMO of Flexicloud

OUREACORP & OUREANSOUL are glad to share the exclusive conversation.

Tell us about your company. Its vision and mission.

Our Company, Ourea is a 360 degree corporate management consultancy which is into Marketing, IT, HR and training. We help companies to gain a foothold in the industry. Our vision is to become the strategic partner for organizations aiming to achieve excellence in all functions. We give wings to their dreams by providing innovative solutions and helping the target audience to believe in our clients. We aim to exceed our clients’ expectations through innovative and customized solutions that provide your brand with a marketing and corporate boost. Our 7 domains will work in tandem to achieve the business goals of our clients.

ANOOJA BASHIR Founder & CEO of Ourea CMO of Flexicloud

O

ureacorp & Oureansoul is expertise in branding, strategic business implementation, cost effective IT implementation projects and aggressive marketing strategies along with corporate training and HR Management. The company was incorporated in the year 2017. Its office is located at Kochi (Kerala).

It was a wonderful experience to interview OureaCorp & OureaSoul for our magazine. We

We want to understand, provide and work for the best of our clients. We believe in evolving with your respect and strive to maintain a global atmosphere where we value and encourage diversity. We always aim to be righteous with preciseness.

In our creative wing oureansoul, we always strive to blend conceptualisation with creativity to bring out our creative side in interiors and events.

What services do you provide to the customers?

Ourea is a 360-degree business management consultancy that provides a one-stop solution for all your business and corporate needs. We provide all and every solution for business management starting from Marketing, branding, IT, Training, HR solutions, and every possible need is solved here.

We offer a complete range of corporate solutions to help all businesses or firms to enhance their quality and increase their revenue. Our services start from branding, marketing, IT support to training, mentoring, and HR. Oureacorp provides complete corporate necessities from anything to everything a firm or individual needs to build their business and take it to the sky. We also have a creative venture OureanSoul, which

them and always had a belief that they had business ethics.

Besides when I began my start up, I didn’t had a mentor to guide me for which I myself had to do trail and errors to figure out what’s the best strategy to make the company grow.Yet another challenge I face in running in business is to make tough call that disappoints my own crew. For the sake of organisation I need to be strict at times, though I am personally so connected to my employees as I have keep a lot of other perceptive in mind while taking a decision.

In your opinion, what are the major trends in marketing and consultancy today?

As we are witnessing the shift of social media platforms to live streaming, it is indeed helps our clients find the best creative and artistic evolving the marketing trends as well. Also the AI solutions for all their needs. In addition to this, we is gaining momentum in marketing and consumer have a managed cloud hosting service provider behaviour researches and planning. As we step called FlexiCloud and an IT consultancy named into 2021 we are also noticing the increasing Digitalize that provides you solutions for your IT trend of influencers in the field of marketing obstacles. and consultancy as well. Content marketing and management has paved its roads in the marketing sectors, which is something to upon to in the What were the constraints you faced at future.

the time of inception?

The biggest challenge I face is to prove people that I was capable of building my dreams. Initially when I started my venture, I was been criticised for my business model, the same which has bought me today success .I feel every founder has a scar which reminds them of their struggle even after achieving their goal. I literally struggled in finding a balance in managing the team and bring in sales to the system. I also had lot of deceit from people who I got associated in business as I truly trusted

How do you keep yourself updated with the latest developments?

To stay live in the market it is mandatory to know about the recent and innovative developments. We strive to learn the new technological advancements and keep ourselves updated with the changes happening around. We do find time for sessions were every team member contributes to the system and shares ones ideas. We keep ourselves updated

with trendy innovation via social media and networking platforms. We also are connected to many business organisation like TiE, KMA, WEF, Start-up grind which helps us to know the latest innovation and developments.

How do you define success?

The word Success is subjective. In my words, success doesn’t mean only to earn lot of money. If we could create innovative things and contributes towards the transformation of a system or an individual along with generating revenue from the concept you built, then definitely it can be called Success. The blend of the perfect team is also a success as it leads to growth in future. To get the perfect team is yet again a very tedious task.

What are your upcoming projects?

We always strive to make Ourea accessible where any company can rely on us to build their corporate /start up journey. We are also planning to expand our product division and our focus is to add more products to each of our verticals. We also are looking forward to creating a platform to support entrepreneurs, so as to help them to get their ideas implemented. We are currently working on creating an Ed-tech platform for our training wing.

The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

SKIN PROJECT T

hey say every brainstorming idea comes from experiences. Similarly, the birth of Skin Project, India’s first consumable skincare brand emerged from a few hard experiences of Meghna Ghodawat's life.

While the enthusiastic girl was working in London, she dealt with skin concerns and the effects of excessive dryness. Just like any other girl, Meghna tried many best-selling products from reputed brands. During these experiments for better skin, she encountered consumable skincare in Europe. It was a brand new concept, but reflected the fact that ‘what we consume from the inside, reflects on the outside’. Being an Indian, she thoroughly understood the problems Indian girls face. And, she was enkindled to bring such products to the Indian skincare industry and revolutionize the way beauty products are consumed. With a fascinating goal of not only making skin better but also promoting the overall health & immunity of people, she sketched a single solution and named it Skin Project.

This shift in Meghna’s life from an ordinary woman to an entrepreneur took place when she became a mom.

With the 2-month-old in her arms, the young lady decided to create her own identity. She coined a brand new segment in the history of the Indian skincare industry. From research to development, deployment, and educating people on the benefits, she proved the brand's mettle, and today, she one of the youngest listed among the Top Women CEOs in India.

Tell us about your brainchild. How is your brand disrupting the skincare market?

Softer, hydrated, and younger-looking skin is everyone’s 16

dream. My idea was to make this dream come true without having to buy falsely advertised expensive creams, face masks, and whatnot. Our skin is the reflection of what we consume and Skin Project is committed to manufacturing consumable skincare products that are rich with ingredients that we need.

Skin Project is not a business; it is an extension of me, my baby I would say. It is revolutionary as it helps to renew and revitalize your skin from within. It is an honest beautytech company with innovative & sustainable techniques to protect, replenish, and nourish the skin. After three years of R&D, with a global patent, we rolled out this disruptive innovation. We focus on bringing real-time solutions to preserve and protect the skin while keeping luxury a prime element and also encompassing a social cause with every doll out. We are disrupting the market with completely natural and effective ingredients. For example, we derive calcium from corals and Vitamin C from cherry & rosehip and not from ascorbic acid. Our quality and uniqueness define it all. In a way, our products are wholesome packages because they benefit not only in skin health but also hair and overall body health.

Highlight your one-of-a-kind offerings and emphasize on your flagship product.

Skilixir – Marine Collagen was our first product. The products are derived from ancient Japanese tradition and the ingredients are imported from several countries, thereby making the products pricy. As a solution, we introduced the powdered version of the same product that is affordable.

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MEGHNA GHODAWAT FOUNDER & CEO

Among the range of offerings, the first of its kind in the entire Asian market is the Beauty Sleep. People underplay the importance of sleep. Lack of sleep affects immunity, accelerates aging, and leads to depression or anxiety. This product is a breakthrough in the science of beauty and wellness. It has elements of ancient Ayurveda with the latest in cellular bioactive absorption. That with herbal adaptogens helps you calm and sleep well while the collagen, glycine & praline helps to repair the skin while sleeping.

Walk us through your personal and professional journey I am a business development professional with a Master's degree focused on advanced management practice from the University of Bath. I belong to a well-educated family.

Education and women doing something has always been in our blood. With the sheer support of my family; especially my mom who is my pillar of support, I could build my brand of luxury fashion & skincare. Initially, it was tough to make people understand that the products are natural and do not have any side-effects. However, we received overwhelming acceptance for our innovation.

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Share your thoughts on being a Mom & a CEO. We, women, are capable of handling multiple responsibilities on our plates. We are often CEOs of the family, but we can be CEOs of our brands too. I cannot deny the fact that my mother stood as a pillar in taking care of my little ones.

In my opinion, success is not about money but about how empowered you feel. The more empowered you are, the happier you would be as an individual. Most importantly, contributing to society in some way and creating something unique bestows satisfaction. What you are as an individual relates to the kind of mother & wife you are. The moment you perceive your passion, you will not lack anything and become a wholesome daughter, mom & wife.

Hobbies: Reading, Meditation Interests: Spirituality, Vedic Scripts Favorites Cuisine: Japanese Vegetarian Travel Destination: Saint Tropez- South France, London 17

The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Priya Kumar Founder & CEO

Priya Kumar Training System A s training services and systems industry is still at its nascent stage in India, it is still not a very organized sector, as compared with the west. There is very little formal train the trainer programs delivered by Indian coaches and speakers. And, the hiccup comes in when the values and culture of the western training methods don’t fit or fail to drive the Indian culture and training mindset. Hence, Indian led coaching and trainer certification programs are what will be the greatest contributor and driver of the industry.

Furthermore, she has worked with over 2000 multi-national corporates across 47 countries and has touched over 3 million people through her workshops and books. Also, Priya has written over 700 columns for national and international publications. Her work has been extensively featured by the media in India and abroad and has also been invited as a celebrity guest on several business, entertainment and reality shows.

If we talk about the company, Priya Kumar Training Systems was formed as a robust vehicle to fulfill Speaking of which, Priya Kumar persona perfectly her purpose of inspiring excellence and greatness befits this situation. She is an globally acclaimed through self-discovery and peak performance. motivational speaker, bestselling author and now "While having a great purpose is good, it is even a screenwriter. She has written 12 Inspirational better to build a business model around it, so Books that have won 42 international Awards. the work is a karmic service to all involved," she 18

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stated. With 25 years of experience, Priya has been leveraging every ounce of it to aid people in selfimprovement. "Since I was always inclined towards self-improvement, getting better as a person and as a professional, I began to share what I had learned and what had worked for me. As humans, we are a part of a larger life purpose. Like any other species, what works for one, works for every other. So, if I could see change and progress in my life, I knew that the formula would work for everyone," she signifies.

that impossible is nothing, and if you really put your mind to it, you can do and achieve things you didn’t believe you could do. It is about not letting the past or negative inputs deterring you from your purpose and your mission," highlights Priya.

Walking the Talk Yourself

Priya has also said that the best form of inspiration is one that is set through one’s own example, wherein mere words don’t have lasting impact until someone walk the talk themselves. The commitment to her work with larger than life Priya, at just 22 years old started her professional lifestyle is what inspires people to be like Priya and career with the drive to become a better person do what she does. Hence, without making the effort while also helping others in the same. She has been once can make his/her work and their personality always maintaining the belief that knowledge is appealing in righteousness. power and knowledge is the true wealth. "When you load yourself with knowledge and constant "I believe that every job has the potential for such improvement, people will seek your company and results. If you make an effort to constantly improve value you professionally. The core of my business at your work, improve your attitude, beliefs and is value addition, and to do that, I constantly skill sets and you seek to make a difference with have to improve and expand my own knowledge your daily job, you will have all that you wish. It’s base," she adds. She did graduation in Economic not difficult at all. The focus has to be trifold. Just Honors from Mumbai University, while apart from doing a good job may not bring you the holistic academic courses such as diplomas in Marketing success. You need to also become a good person and Sales and Finance. Furthermore, she has done and participate in the larger well with all that you countless other courses on self-development. So as do," affirms Priya. "Every time I go out to seek to a standard life rule, she spends at least one to two contribute to the world. I have consciously walked months every year learning a new skill. So from the path of my principles, values and what I believe playing music, to painting, to writing to indulging to be right. I have delivered results that have not in spiritual activities, health, and nutrition, Priya just benefitted others but also my family," she adds. has expanded her knowledge base so wide that she So to speak, Priya has been playing a significant is at that perfect level in bringing the best out of role of a catalyst and facilitator who leads people the people irrespective of whichever walks of life to make choices and decisions that will best serve they belong to. them and their purpose.

While the fact that Priya is currently working as a CEO at Priya Training System, she has been helping other owners to achieve the same results Motivating Teams to look beyond that she as a business owner would be aiming Challenges for. She believes that for all the level of the senior Currently, Priya Kumar Training System is the leadership, walking the talk and putting your sole providers of corporate training for its clients. values, principles, and culture in action is what Most of their clients are multinational corporates, helps keep the team together and inspired. spread over 47 countries. Their clients ranges "The core of my work revolves around experiential from all sectors, to name a few, Google, Microsoft, learning, where I use personal breakthrough IBM, Dell, HSBC, Accenture, SAP, JCB, Mahindra, activities such as walking on fire barefoot, bending Infosys, ICICI, HDFC, Aditya Birla, Reliance, SBI, iron re-bars with your neck, breaking karate boards RBI, Tata Motors, General Motors, BMW, and with your bare hands, and walking on broken pieces Mercedes. of glass, unharmed obviously. I use experiences Priya's approach has always centered on motivating and activities such as these to drive home the point the teams to look beyond challenges and setbacks MARCH 2021

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and keep a fresh vision of the future. She states that playing small won’t get people far, wherein, under delivering is not an option. "If every employee can be driven with that belief that they have come in to become better and also get paid to discover and develop themselves through learning and performance, and then winning teams becomes a natural outcome of my workshops," she explains. And as a keynote speaker, Priya constantly engages in lot of seminars based on leadership, team building and peak performance.

Looking at the Future Priya has also spread the blankets across the digital platform where she has built a platform to train the trainers. She also said that alone she cannot fulfill the promise of a better world.

Hence, more hands and minds and hearts are 20

needed for the purpose, thus generating the need of qualified trainers. The platform will launch in June 2021 and currently all her efforts are dedicated in that direction.

"I believe that trust should never be blind. One must earn it. Passion needs proof and it must be evident in your lifestyle, choices and your daily actions. Once gained, the support that you will gain from your family will take you a long way to success, forming the wind under your wings lifting you higher than you could have ever asked for," says Priya.

An Advice from the Best Priya's suggestion for people who want to enter the world of motivational speaking and coaching is that one should always get their purpose sorted out and keep a long term vision. She further advices MARCH 2021

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that unlike other professions, when someone takes a back step or don’t bring out their best to expand one's purpose, he/she will definitely fail at making a better world, which, practically speaking is in our own hands - delivering one person at a time, to a better life. If one keeps walking the path of persona growth, then sharing those insights and experiences with people will become natural and one would feel duty-bound in doing so. "It's like having a solution and not being able to hold yourself back when you see some suffer. Your work then would become a relief and fulfilling your purpose will be the highest form of duty. Either way, the journey is amazing because you will land up being the biggest beneficiary, wherein while walking the path, one will discover the source of wisdom within," Priya concludes.

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

ByAndLarge I

t is said that when a woman takes charge of leading a company the team will provide better solutions. Women tend to be faster in thinking, developing rapport with people around and are more likely to provide timely services. We've seen women establishing themselves as entrepreneurs owing to these strengths and hard work. Bhavika Wadhwani is one such woman. She is the Founder and MD of ByAndLarge, a successful venture in the corporate gifting space and Marketing & Advertising solutions.

What were the major challenges that you encountered during your professional journey and how did you manage to overcome them?

For most of entrepreneurs, funding is the major challenge; I was able to handle this by saving funds from my earnings and reinvesting to multiply the capital. I am fond of stock trading and earned a substantial sum which was added to the capital. There was nothing in particular that I found challenging in my journey.

Bhavika Wadhwani, Founder & MD, ByAndLarge [BAL Corporate Services] Bhavika Wadhwani has completed her 22

PGDM under Cyber Law at National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Also, Bhavika Wadhwani is a certified Depression Counselor.

Currently, Bhavika is the Founder and MD of ByAndLarge.

Kindly elaborate on the various Consultancy services offerings your company is rolling out to its clients?

Highlight its USP? We first began with wholesaling of corporate gifts and then gradually ventured into branding, re-branding, exports and offset and now well established as Marketing & Advertising consultancy. We've also planned to expand into more segments. I also dream of starting a manufacturing unit one day USP. We at ByAndLarge are trying to make the whole process as smooth and convenient it can be.

Tell us about the overall journey of ByAndLarge. How has it nurtured itself over the years? Illustrate the growth it has observed in terms of clients and geographical presence?

At the age of 23, I had saved around 40 thousand that I had earned from the stock market; using such small capital commenced the journey of ByAndLarge. Started with a small scale business MARCH 2021

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BHAVIKA WADHWANI Founder & MD

of wholesaling pens and pen drives, in this journey of five years, we have dealt with more than 600 corporate clients and delivered 35, 00,000+ products. We have a portfolio of 7000+ gifting products covering 200+ brands. ByAndLarge has delivered more than 13000 bulk orders successfully.

Enlighten us about the factors that have helped ByAndLarge achieve the pinnacle of success, and what impact has it created on the market?

individual and as an MD? According to me, my biggest achievement is that my employees are happy to work at ByAndLarge; work-life balance is something I make sure my employees are able to maintain. We set deadlines which are manageable, in a few exceptional cases we work late nights and weekends, but I ensure employees are well rewarded for their hard work.

Similarly, I get enough time to attain my passion also. I do have a sort of interest in understanding people and their behavior, hence, studied psychology and got certified as a Depression As quoted by Arthur Ashe “success is a journey Counselor. Adding to this, I am also a speaker, and not destination”, I would just say, I am on a guest lecturer, an investor and will be producing a short film very soon (ByAndLarge Productions). rewarding journey and enjoying every bit of it.

In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed your utmost satisfaction - both as an MARCH 2021

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Girl child rights and protection

I

n many parts of India, the birth of a girl child is not welcomed. Right from her arrival, she faces discrimination, humiliation, and oppression at every stage of life. When it comes to healthcare, education and growth opportunities, she is neglected because of her gender. Some manage to survive and foster new paths to follow.

Most, however, surrender hopelessly to the sad fate assigned to them.

legal minimum age. Early childbearing shortens women's life expectancy and adversely affects their health, nutrition, education, and employment opportunities. Prevention of early child marriage should be strictly enforced. Amniocentesis is performed in order to determine the sex of the child and abort female fetuses.

In a country rife with gender inequalities and an underlying nature of patriarchy, girl children It is asserted that the role of women needs to be often find themselves at the short end of the stick. strengthened and that equal rights are executed to Discrimination against girls is rampant and due to the advantage of children. Equality must come at the fear of abuse and exploitation, they are kept at the very beginning of life. Girl children need access home and not sent to school. Child marriage is yet to health, nutrition, education, and other basic another glaring issue due to which girls are forced services. In India, girls are guaranteed an equal to give up going to school at an early age. right to education, but fewer girls are enrolled The issue of girl child rights and protection in in primary school, and very few girls go on to India is a very serious concern. Being home to secondary schools. There is no enforcement of more than one third of the 10 million child brides compulsory laws, which particularly disadvantage in the world, India has one of the highest numbers girls from poor families. Girls marry below the of girls forced into marriage before the legal age of 24

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18. If one half of our society remains so vulnerable to violence and neglect, how will the country advance or progress? Not only are they unsafe at home where they are victims of stereotypical attitude, but also in learning environments. Illequipped schools that lack separate toilets for girls are one of the major deterrents for parents not willing to send their girls to study. The few who manage to attend school risk violence and abuse.

According to India’s 2011 census, 53% households and 11% schools had no toilets. This lack of safety deprives young girls of an opportunity to educate themselves and better their lives.

In order to make sure that girl children get access to quality education, we need to tackle the mindset that makes it okay for young children to be employed. Girl Child Rights are being aggressively advocated in the country by individuals, governmental organizations and many NGOs.

l 50% of sexual assaults in the world involve girls under 16 years old.

We want to be part of a world where girls are celebrated. Where they are treated equally, with love and respect. What is urgently required in society today is a change of attitude. Girls must be given the same opportunities and protection as boys, and must be treated at par. A girl’s childhood can and must be preserved, cherished, nurtured and protected. Because she has the right to survive, develop, be protected and participate in decisions that impact her life.

We as a society have to fight for the girl child in India, which must include: l Education that helps creates attitudinal shifts that emphasize the rights of a girl child. l Breaking myths and stereotypes around gender.

The following facts illustrate the differences between girls and boys:

l Ensuring State accountability to implement various schemes, policies, laws, constitutional guarantees and international commitments.

l Girls under five years old are three times more likely to suffer malnutrition than boys under five.

l Institutionalizing gender sensitive processes within various systems such as law and programs.

l In developing countries, one in three girls do not finish primary education, most often because they spend eight times longer carrying out household tasks.

Consequently, there are 96 million illiterate girls aged between 15 and 24, compared to 57 million illiterate boys. l Every day, 25,000 girls are victims of forced marriage.

This can mean that they are forced to leave school.

Pregnancy is the number one cause of death among 15 to 19-year-old girls.

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l E n c o u r a g i n g community ownership in preventing violations faced by girls. l Demanding a healthy budget allocation for the girl child at state and central level. l B u i l d i n g women leaders from the community t h r o u g h sensitization programs that help them understand their rights and ensure it for girls and women like them.

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Bindu Hariyani Operations Director & Founding Partner

N

INI Group

umber of women-led organizations is abysmally low in India where the corporate world is dominated by men.

However, there are a few remarkable women who are chasing their dreams and ambitions, starting new ventures, and rising to the top of the entrepreneurial hierarchy. They are succeeding in spite of immense challenges and societal prejudices, and standing tall and apart in the corporate world.

One such ambitious and admirable woman is the bold and beautiful Bindu Hariyani, a stewardess of leadership and force of success behind the INI Group that includes INI Design Studio and INI Infrastructure & Engineering.

architecture and business management, she has a proven track-record of superior results in a variety of challenging and multicultural environments globally; Showcasing excellence right from a gold medal in academics, to being a successful facilitator of a multi-dimensional design and engineering firm, Bindu is an epitome of courage and determination.

Brief us on your professional journey.

personal

and

I received my Bachelors in Architecture from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. I was An architect by training and a Business Strategist fortunate enough to be a gold medalist of my batch. by profession, Bindu is the Founding Director of I also earned a Masters in Information Systems the INI Group. With over 25 years of experience in Management from Robert Morris University 26

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of Pittsburgh, and an Executive MBA from the its inception. You shape the vision, build a team, execute business development and marketing University of Pittsburgh.

Before starting INI, I was a partner in Hariyanis strategies, set up offices, make financial projections, Architects, Interior Design, and Planning. Later, build the technological infrastructure, nurture the I worked for 12 years in the U.S and explored desired culture, and undertake every little task in various verticals ranging from a financial that is crucial for a new firm to thrive, even if it institution, non-profit organization, to the means washing dishes. You do your best and give corporate promotional product industry, where it everything you have, often working days and I served in different management roles. My work nights.

INI started off as a subsidiary of a US-based architecture firm. Bringinga rich architecture and engineering portfolio with us was a valuable asset to start afresh in India. However, we immediately realized that India would require different That is how my role as a consultant evolved. Upon strategies that brought the global outlook into local my return to India, I joined Burt Hill India as a perspectives. We started working on buildings business partner in 2007, continuing with Stantec projects primarily, but slowly and carefully expanded to larger urban level and infrastructure in 2010, to the present formation of INI. projects. was primarily dedicated to business process management, analyzing practices, and data to advise board of directors on business efficiency, productivity, and minimizing inefficiency using current technology.

Walk us through the journey of INI. How has it nurtured itself over the years? Illustrate the growth it has observed.

We were 3 individuals when we started this office in 2007, and now we have grown to over 170 employees with multiple office locations in only14 years. It demands total commitment and dedication to build and nurture a company from MARCH 2021

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As our portfolio expanded, we started operating from different locations within and outside India and got the opportunity to work with esteemed clients such as the JSW group, Shell, Biocon, and government departments like Ministry of Tourism, GoI, and the Tourism Departments of states like Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. In 2015, we acquired ownership of this business from the parent U.S. Company. In 2016, we also acquired a legacy engineering practice to add the MEPF engineering expertise to our umbrella.

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Well-managed and well-set-up processes have proven to be very adept at anticipating market trends, capitalizing on new technologies, and using lean structures to outpace the competition.

Our growth pattern is organic as well as through planned merger and acquisitions. In past 14 years, INI has successfully designed more than 20 mm square feet of healthcare infrastructure, over 13 mm square feet of commercial and corporate buildings and approximately 70,000 acres or master planning and urban design.

incorporate cutting-edge innovation to portray energy efficiency and sustainability in all of our projects. We offer turnkey design and execution services under one roof including project management consultancy we have produced award winning design for our clients. Our focus is as much on business thinking as on design thinking, and we strongly believe that a business without profit cannot sustain itself to do good work.

With its rich expertise dedicated to excellence in design, INI team has a strong record of successfully delivering sustainable designs to our clients with integrity, team spirit, and best practices at a global level.

aspect, thinking critically about how you spend your time and energy is necessary for balancing both. . The driving forces which keeps me inspired is wealth of creativity, passion, vision, and values each individual contributes to INI.INI invests in its employees’ intellectual growth and encourages new thinking and ideas. Moreover, the culture of INI is more like a family. When one member needs time for personal commitments, others step in to

Share with us a few tips on managing Elaborate on the variety of consultancy personal & professional life. services and offerings that your You will never produce your best if you are not satisfied with all aspects of your life. Managing company is rolling out to its clients? your professional and personal lives is critical to Highlight its USP. making the most of everything you do. In this

Our concepts integrate architecture, engineering & infrastructure, urban design, master planning, landscape design, and interior design. We

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share work responsibility, taking on tasks such as meeting with clients, pursuing deadlines, sharing workload, or field visits. I firmly believe that competing effectively in a service industry depends on our collective learning, experience, expertise, and commitment. Enabling a sense of ownership through moral and professional commitment is the key to INI’s growth.

Bindu Hariyani Operations Director & Founding Partner INI Group

Selected Recent Recognitions & Milestones of the company  IGBC- Green Champion Award, Architecture Practice leading Green Building Movement in India”, 2020  CWAB Top Architect-2020 (National Architect)  India’s Best Design Studio Award, 2018By Pool Magazine  Best Stadium Structure in Steel (Runner Up) SSMB Awards, 2018

 India’s Best Design Studio Award, 2017 By Pool Being a registered architect and having earned an Magazine Executive MBA from a globally-ranked program,  Best Low Cost Housing Project of the Year, Realty Bindu’s expertise is invaluable in the operations Plus, 2017 of INI. Her backgrounds in architecture and business have brought senior-level experience and  The Economic Times & Saint Gobain Smart Green Awards 2016 leadership in executive decision-making, policy direction, strategic business planning and financial & personnel management.

Corporate Office & Other Locations Ahmedabad, Atlanta, Mumbai, Pune, London, Vizag, Rajkot

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Learners Route A

21st century woman never shies away from conquering the world in her own terms and actively participates across the various domains of the industry. The industry is currently witnessing a stiff rise in women executives across the corporate arena by the virtue of their talents and expertise. Many niche domains of the industry including the consultancy sector which has been considered as unsupportive arenas for feminine competencies are now gradually welcoming the women leaders with open arms.

Determined to remodel the consultancy domain with new age skills, Kavitha Rao is celebrated for her unique initiative known as ‘Learners Route Talent Development Firm’. A Corporate Talent Development Firm that adds value in terms of Skill, Attitude or Knowledge to enhance business outlook, business transactions and performance levels. Learners Route is emerging as a leader in the corporate talent development field under the able leadership of Kavitha Rao.

What were the major challenges that you encountered during your professional journey and how did you manage to overcome them?

No journey is complete without challenges.

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Hundreds of cups of coffee, long waiting hours at airports, design and redesign human learning interventions for small and big groups, tens of team meetings, checklists, on stage bloopers, emotional thanksgivings, moments of despair and gratefulness, adrenaline rushes before the start of workshops, meticulous follow-ups with learners and hundreds of book flips have added up to the brand name of Learners Route. When I started this entrepreneurial journey, I was warned that I should rethink as I did not have any business development background or a huge network. But when you have a good product and sincerity on your side, everything else falls into place. I overcame challenges by ensuring quality and flexibility in our service offerings and not to get compromised with speed and volume.

Tell us what keeps you going- what is that driving force or inspiration.

Also brief us how you keep your- self abreast with the latest trends and technologies in your domain.

Keep your clients close, keep your team members closer’ has worked for me. Having 95% of your team stick with you from the first day of business to now is a testimony to the culture that MARCH 2021

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Kavitha Rao Founder & Director

has been put together piece by piece. In today’s interconnected world, after our breath, technology is the next integral part. As a consultant, I am constantly looking at connecting and adding value to our training clients. This drives us to explore and partner with the latest technologies that can help absorb and make the learning interesting for clients. As a consultant, I also spend hours learning. The more I learn the more I realize how less I know, which acts as a driving factor for me.

Tell us about the overall journey of Learners Route. How has it nurtured itself over the years?

Business has its own way of expanding like Ginger.

More than 25000 people have been added value to, through training, assessments or coaching in the last 5 years. On the first day at Learners Route, I drew the business plan on an excel sheet MARCH 2021

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envisioning our organization to make meaningful value addition to skill and knowledge levels of people in different cities, for different age groups.

Every year brought with it new sets of challenges.

The first two years were spent on establishing our credibility.

Our products and services moved from conventional to blended versions of learning to digital and live versions very quickly. Now after 5 years, it’s a worthwhile reality with thought leadership and immersive learning sessions. Our learning products and services are used within and outside of India. The one single ingredient is sincerity and collaboration in the path to being enablers in growth and development for individuals and corporates.

Although the onset of the pandemic has blurred the boundaries between countries, it has also opened new possibilities across platforms for all of us in this industry.

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Kindly elaborate on the variety of Consultancy solutions and offerings your company is rolling out to its clients? Tell us about the impact it has created on the market?

and simulations. We deliver high impact Learning products and solutions to corporate through inventive and flexible services which are our USP.

Some key values that have helped us steadfast are calm intelligence, earnestness, and respect for all alike. Secondly, maintaining the trust of people The human mind is our foundational resource who trust our service is the magic mantra. and what better use of our time than Knowledge sharing that is helping other people and businesses.

Kavitha Rao is the Founder Director of Learners Our products and services moved from Route India - an Award-Winning Knowledge, conventional to blended versions of learning and Training, Talent Management organization, which then to digital and live versions very quickly by architects of world class Manager and Leader ensuring learning through training, assessments, Development Initiatives for Corporate Houses 32

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across India. Kavitha Rao, by qualification has Master’s Degree in Medical Psychiatry along with HR Diploma from California University. She is an Organization Learning & Development Professional with over 18 +years of professional experience in the field of Talent Management both in India and abroad.

Hobbies: Reading, Meditation, Spiritualism, Deep conversation with tribes MARCH 2021

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Pooja Kumar Founder & Director

Innove Intellects

I

nnove Intellects: Specializes in intellectual property support services and caters to Indian market and international companies, organizations and professional services companies.

It serves as a center of excellence in teaching, training and research in Patent Laws and Practices.

It is said that when a woman takes charge of leading a company the team will provide better solutions.

Women tend to be faster in thinking, developing rapport with people around and are more likely to provide timely services. We've seen women establishing themselves as entrepreneurs owing to these strengths and hard work.

up facilitator of Government of India. I have gathered experience of 13 years in this field, which is an intellectual property right. I have won a Gold Medal for my Master’s Degree in Microbial & Food Technology from Punjabi University Patiala. Apart from this, I also qualified GATE exam in 2008, also, cleared Indian Patent Agent exam in 2010 that was conducted by the Government of India. Later, I started my firm three years ago by collaborating with higher education institutions and colleges by spreading awareness about the program and explained it to them what intellectual property rights are, how can you protect the invention.

At the beginning of 2018, by then I had teamed up two to three colleges and explained them about Enlighten us the facets & achievements intellectual property rights and interacted with scientists, investors to whom we drafted and filed of your entrepreneurial journey.

I established Innove Intellects LLP in the year patents. There are a lot of students learning in various 2017, also, is a Registered Patent Agent and Start- universities and colleges with some innovations in 34

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their mind. But, the problem is the universities are lacking in the right information on how and where to file patents. Having this understood, I came up with Innove Intellects and today, I am working with plenty of universities and colleges. Then after becoming the startup facilitator, I started helping start-ups in empowering their firms, I assist them in filing patents, filing trademark, and designs and lot of designs and patents has been granted from the Patent office within one year.

can independently work from home in this patent field, have their own venture or if they want they can join any company. I also help my students to absorb opportunities to work in various companies; also I provide them internships at Innove Intellects and guide them in improving their skills.

The major challenges were how to start the firm as I did not have any team; I alone had to do everything like drafting, filing of patents and take care of all the operations along with my personal responsibilities.

Innove Intellects is a service provider company I had to set a goal in my mind, that I should not slow down my work, overcome all the challenges like a one many army and ensure that the company reaches heights of success. Another mission which I had in my mind is empowering women, for an instance, some women do not work due to family pressure, but will be technically strong, I had to find women, train them and get them on my team.

By facing all the challenges today I am standing balanced in the market, and in result, the company crossed over 20 lakhs turnover last year.

today, we have clients all around the country. At Innove Intellects, we protect their IPR work, create IPR domains for them, and not only intellectual property I am also delivering IPR sessions and till now I have given more than 50 IPR sessions.

Last month I gave a lecture at Lincoln University, Malaysia, about intellectual property rights. We are expanding our services outside India and are looking for partners with whom we can collaborate and work on their IPR.

Tell us about the overall journey of Innove Intellects. How has it nurtured itself over the years? Illustrate the What were the major challenges growth it has observed in terms of that you encountered during your clients and geographical presence? professional journey and how did you In terms of clients, they are increasing day by day.

When I started Innove Intellects there were only manage to overcome them? two to three universities collaborated with us. And

Kindly elaborate on the variety of Consultancy services and offerings your company is rolling out to its clients? Highlight its USP? The services that Innove Intellects provide to its clients are filing patents, filing trademark, copyrights and designs. Besides that, I also have an academy called Smart IP Academy, which is the sister company of Innove Intellects. There I train students, faculties, and professionals with patent training programs. Also, the aim of my academy is to train elder women who are technically sound and are sitting at home, I train them and will help in clearing the patent training exam. By this, they MARCH 2021

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Pooja Kumar is a Registered Patent Agent and Start-up facilitator of Government of India. Pooja is certified with Patent Management Course and WIPO – IPR course. She has been awarded with Senior Woman Entrepreneur Award by GECL Foundation, also, Award in Excellence in IPR Services by Logman supported by MSME, UP Government. The new venture started by Pooja is Smart IP academy to provide training to students for patent analyst courses and also help in upgrading skills of students in Patent work.

Office: Ghaziabad

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Achieving gender equality in India

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iscrimination against women and girls is a roles that hold women back. pervasive and long-running phenomenon that characterizes Indian society at every level.

India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings such as the Gender Development Index has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth.

A preference for sons

Cultural institutions in India, particularly those of patrilineality (inheritance through male descendants) and patrilocality (married couples living with or near the husband’s parents), play a central role in perpetuating In the past decade, while Indian GDP has grown by around gender inequality and ideas about gender-appropriate 6%, there has been a large decline in female labour force behavior. participation from 34% to 27%. The male-female wage gap has been stagnant at 50% (a recent survey finds a 27% A culturally ingrained parental preference for sons — emanating from their importance as caregivers for gender pay gap in white-collar jobs). parents in old age — is linked to poorer consequences for Crimes against women show an upward trend, in daughters. particular brutal crimes such as rapes, dowry deaths, and honour killings. These trends are disturbing, as a natural The dowry system, involving a cash or in-kind payment prediction would be that with growth come education from the bride’s family to the groom’s at the time of and prosperity, and a possible decline in adherence to marriage, is another institution that disempowers traditional institutions and socially prescribed gender women. The incidence of dowry payment, which is often a 36

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substantial part of a household’s income, has been steadily rising over time across all regions and socioeconomic classes.

way to reduce gender bias.

This reinforces the inferior status of Indian women and puts them at risk of violence in their marital households.

According to the National Family and Health Survey of 2005-06, 37% of married women have been victims of physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their spouse.

enrolment in professional training.

Another policy change aimed at equalizing land inheritance rights between sons and daughters has been This often results in dowry-related violence against met with a more mixed response. While on the one hand, women by their husbands and in-laws if the dowry is it led to an increase in educational attainment and age at considered insufficient or as a way to demand more marriage for daughters, on the other hand, it increased payments. These practices create incentives for parents spousal conflict leading to more domestic violence. not to have girl children or to invest less in girls’ health Improvements in labour market prospects also have and education. Such parental preferences are reflected in the potential to empower women. An influential increasingly masculine sex ratios in India. In 2011, there randomization study found that job recruiter visits to were 919 girls under age six per 1000 boys, despite sex villages to provide information to young women led to determination being outlawed in India. positive effects on their labour market participation and

Affirmative action There is clearly a need for policy initiatives to empower women as gender disparities in India persist even against the backdrop of economic growth.

Current literature provides pointers from policy changes that have worked so far. One unique policy experiment in village-level governance that mandated one-third representation for women in positions of local leadership has shown promising results.

This also led to an increase in age at marriage and childbearing, a drop in desired number of children, and an increase in school enrolment of younger girls not exposed to the programmer.

Recent initiatives on training and recruiting young women from rural areas for factory-based jobs in cities provide economic independence and social autonomy that they were unaccustomed to in their parental homes.

Getting to parity

For India to maintain its position as a global growth leader, more concerted efforts at local and national levels and by the private sector are needed to bring women to parity with men. While increasing representation of women Evaluations of this affirmative action policy have found in the public spheres is important and can potentially that in villages led by women, the preferences of female be attained through some form of affirmative action, an residents are better represented, and women are more attitudinal shift is essential for women to be considered confident in reporting crimes that earlier they may have as equal within their homes and in broader society. considered too stigmatizing to bring to attention.

Educating Indian children from an early age about the Female leaders also serve as role models and raise importance of gender equality could be a meaningful educational and career aspirations for start in that direction. adolescent girls and their parents.

Behavioral studies find that while in the short run there is backlash by men as traditional gender roles are being challenged, the negative stereotype eventually disappears. This underscores the importance of sustained affirmative action as a

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

BANCONUS A

cademically successful and professionally qualified women from traditional South Indian families are generally conditioned and groomed to choose employment over entrepreneurship, but Rajee chose the road less travelled.

Rajee Rajesh is an enterprising financial entrepreneur, an All-India CA topper who qualified out of Price Waterhouse Coopers. The director of one of the leading financial services enterprise in Chennai, Banconus FinServ, and Rajee is a multi-dimensional personality with interests ranging from trekking to the Himalayas, doing walks to learn the history of Chennai, a movie buff and being empathetic towards social causes like education. She believes in being both physically and financially fit and her charisma is truly magnetic. She is creating waves where ‘Money Matters’ and believes in being truly authentic to her style.

Banconus, a boutique firm offering financial services and solutions to individuals and corporates, was born in 2010 when Rajee chose to corporatize her professional practice in investments and tax advisory.

She had started her practice in wealth management post her fulltime employment followed by a five year sabbatical from corporate life.

From then to now, Banconus has moved from one milestone to another focusing on excellence, expertise and ethics, under the able leadership of Rajee Rajesh.

Rajee is today recognized as one of the respected 38

financial consultants in India. A natural learner, she has equipped herself with knowledge and testimonials. A Chartered Accountant cum Cost Accountant, she is also a Financial Planner certified by the Financial Planning Standards Board of India.

Her expertise includes taxation, mutual funds, and investment planning and retirement solutions.

What inspired you to incept Banconus, and how has the journey been so far?

Banconus Finserv My Financial Planning Course from the Financial Planning Standards of India in 2007, there were only close to 100 certified people in the country. I wanted to be different and found a gap between earning and managing wealth. I started my journey as a self-employed professional in 2005, out of a pressing need to put my education to good use, but at the same time do justice to my more important role as a mother of two young children.

With only a handful Of clients, who imposed faith on me only because they were friends and well-wishers, I set out to build a business. Today, our clients range from octogenarians to youngsters in their early 20s and our role has been to teach them the art of money management in a very simplified skillful way that they could understand. My vision was to build and position Banconus as a service provider who brings the best MARCH 2021

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Rajee Rajesh Founding Director

of sophistication, process, research and technology, but at the same time offers customization and close engagement in understanding client needs.

An approachable and trusted best friend forever!

We committed ourselves to putting clients’ needs first and that paid off.

Even when the financial markets went through a very challenging period from September 2017 to September 2020, we struck gold as we grew from 100 to 150 crores, only through referrals. I am truly proud of that.

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to overcome them?

The initial challenge was to find a place in the financial world despite the qualifications and despite being academically brilliant.

Business was never a choice in our families, yet I managed to find my feet and plunge into it joyfully. Being a woman and juggling between work and home, and trying to do justice to both has always been a challenge, though I have been lucky enough to have had the support of both my family and my team members.

My business too had its ups and downs due to various factors, yet we have grown and sustained these challenges in a very positive way. The pandemic by itself has thrown a lot of challenges to all of us today. All that matters is how we adapt ourselves to the change and move forward focusing on 39

the ultimate goal in mind.

Services (UDS) and many others who are our happy clients.

I am a visiting faculty on financial planning and wealth management at management schools and universities including BIM and NIT. It’s always a delight to instill Money Matters is the financial educative of Banconus. best practices in personal wealth management among The purpose is to make individuals understand their young minds. connect with money and make them financially literate.

This is a very niche area. The motto of this program is Being the educator, trainer and coach, I constantly teach to help individuals comprehend their financial fitness; Life lessons on money, a complex subject is made simple give them practical tips for developing better financial and interesting to understand and easy to follow. My health.

YouTube videos, articles and blogs are focused to create I have done corporate programmers customized to awareness and initiate everyone to become financially employees of corporates like BHEL, Apollo Hospitals, literate.

Livia Polymers, ChargeBee Technologies, UpDater I conducted ‘Shakthi’ an online Sunday school for

Tell us more about the ‘Money Matters’ enterprise that you have initiated.

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Wealth Forum Annual Awards in 2019 as we hit 150 crores in AUM. There have been qualitative milestones as well. Two high points come to mind: One when I started signing up clients in all geographies like Mumbai, Bangalore and across the globe. The second was o when one of my close friends from my CA days completed an international stint across MNCs and foreign banks returned to India and chose to join me as a partner in 2016.

Apart from your professional life, tell us about your other interests.

Right from a young age, I have always been inquisitive and ready to explore new things and be creative. Being a people’s person, I lead a very active social life. I am the founding member of ‘The Aura’, a knowledge-sharing platform exclusively for women. An avid traveller and trekker, I am a regular participant of the group Chennai Past Forward that organizes heritage walks and tours.

My most noteworthy trekking experiences was the 19 day trek to Great Lakes, the base camp of Kanchenjunga, in 2015, around the same time as the earthquake in Nepal, organized by Mystic Trails. I am an active member of the Chennai-based Movie Appreciation Club Cinema Rendezvous. I am also the member of the educational committee of Sri Ramakrishna Vidhyalaya Matriculation School – a 20 year old Trust committed to providing education to rural children in an economically disadvantaged area.

Women on personal wealth management with the sole aim to educate, enrich and empower them. Women are a committed lot who can unlearn faster and are naturally responsible. Post the pandemic, many women have realized the need to become financially secure.

Senior citizens look forward to learning to manage their wealth effectively. I plan to take ‘Money Matters’ to everyone possible.

Do you have any advice/suggestions on your mind for budding women entrepreneurs in your segment?

Do tell us about the milestones you have achieved.

The success of Banconus is a journey of a bright financial entrepreneur who trekked her way up steadily, moving forward and it has been one of an upward spiral. Like the good old family doctor, Rajee is the family financial advisor who helps clients introspect their financial fitness, offers practical tips to better financial health, thus enabling them establish a happy relationship with money.

Crossing the 100-crore milestone is one. The excitement was priceless and this happened in 2017. This is no mean achievement, especially when you have begun your journey as a small startup. We were awarded the ‘Fastest Growing Financial Advisory Firm in South India’ at the MARCH 2021

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As an entrepreneur, the strength of women is to adapt.

Today in entrepreneurship, innovation is the key. More than Building to Last, women have to Build to Adapt.

And my favourite quote has always been, “No matter what, Get UP, Dress UP, Show UP”.

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Sana Hazari Founder & CEO

The Social Corporate Group G iven the predicaments of current dynamic state of the business in this technologically advanced era, most organizations find themselves posed with operational, functional or technical challenges. While, individuals struggle for seeking jobs, due to lack of job opportunities, offers being revoked, limited job research knowledge, professional skills, and more. Henceforth, all they need is a consultant or a guide who can invest time to know their personal capabilities, understand their business models and help them make impactful decisions. Luckily, there’s a slew of awareness, and one such pilot in the consulting arena is Sana Hazari. An investment banker turned impact entrepreneur, Sana Hazari, Founder, SH Consultants (a group company of The Social 42

Corporate Group) is an extraordinaire advisor & consultant imbued with the psyche & attitude of a ‘Legit guide’. Recognizing the dearth in efficient management of business operations, strategies, projections, career selections, and more, Sana has diligently shepherd SH Consultants in assisting businesses’& individuals’ convert their toughest disappointments into success stories. Having deep industrial insights, Sana is an individual who possesses unrivalled expertise in consulting industry.

Cast some light on your background as well as the biggest inspiration to establish The Social Corporate (TSC) and SH Consultants.

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pursued professional certifications & specializations from MIT, Wharton Business School, University of Michigan, CFA Institute, University of California, and IBM & Google to continuously up skill myself across deep-tech, impact & marketing tracks.

What were the challenges that you encountered during your entrepreneurial journey and how did you overcome them?

I always had a penchant for finance, hence, Post College; I joined BMR Advisors (now merged with KPMG India) in the Mergers & Acquisitions Division. Working there for four years, I inherited extensive transaction advisory skill-set, mobilizing cross-border M&A deals and startup fundraising with VC Funds globally, but yearned to create value at a larger scale. Over the last few years, my curiosity and passion heightened towards up skilling the youth and mobilizing their efforts towards problemsolving and technology disruption to drive societal impact. Upon engaging with multiple Impact organizations, I learned that the industry in India is highly unstructured, and faces major challenges in terms of inefficient operational management & lack of professional knowhow across verticals (technology, marketing, impact assessment documentation, and others). In 2017, I decided to launch a boutique impact consulting firm – SH Consultants (part of The Social Corporate Group), and a Social–Tech AI-enabled digital platform, connecting 200+ impact organizations across India & Africa, with 10,000+ individuals globally.

Getting into the pursuit of an entrepreneur was never easy. Deploying my early career experiences, while understanding the industry nuances, addressing business challenges, and helping clients make conclusive, profitable & steady business decisions, all while constantly up skilling myself, proved to be a very daunting task. But, seamlessly leveraging the best services, through our network of professional associates in the various sectors across India, I kept evolving. Today, I consider my achievements to be the value created through our impact consulting projects.

SH Consultants is a lean structured, professional consulting firm that aims to provide impact organizations and SMEs end-to-end advisory, to assist them drive deeper impact through digital innovation. Our ultimate objective is to become a one-stop solution for all social enterprises and empower them to improve on aspects of product-innovation, marketing and operations, thereby leading to impactful value creation at a mass scale.

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Kindly brief us about SH Consultants sand its spectrum of services.

Our primary aim has always been to assist organizations grow more efficient, profitable and sustainable, through holistic consulting. SH Consultants helps businesses attain sustainable business models by providing them Impact Advisory, Digital Strategy & Execution, P r o d u c t Innovation &

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Growth Consulting (to social enterprises, NGOs, SMEs, Impact Funds). All these services work independently and are categorized based on their target business segments and the issues they address.

Are you engaged in any sort of mentorship programs outside your organization? And, how do you update yourself with the latest industry trends and technologies?

TSC Group runs a social initiative – “Inclusive Leadership Programmer” through which we mentor more than 60 young minds annually, through internship and fellowship programmers.

The selected individuals are not just given training across various function areas, but they are given the opportunity to work with us on large scale impact projects, thus providing them a holistic experience across verticals including strategy consulting, digital strategy and product management.

I recently had the opportunity to give back to the youth of India, through mentorship opportunities as well. During 2020, I was invited as a speaker

by Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College and Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University, to discuss the future of the Social Impact Sector and Women Entrepreneurship. I also took a Master-class on Impact Entrepreneurship hosted by Global Governance Initiative, to inspire aspiring young entrepreneurs travel from an idea to a launch phase.

I am also a part of Network Capital, which is a 44

career intelligence community constituted of over 1, 00,000 distinguished experts globally (from 100+ countries), who help build meaningful careers.

We aspire to make a difference, bridging the extended gaps in corporate and impact world.

Thus, to stay updated about the industry trends & technologies, in addition to media news channels, I follow blogs of tech influencers, and digital media platforms such as VCCircle, YourStory, StartupNews.fyi, Impact Investing Council, and more.

Family plays an important role in every person’s life. How has your family supported you in your career so far? Also, how do you manage to balance between your personal & professional life?

The perception and expectations from a career in the minds of children, are most likely shaped during the school years. Right guidance and support from family plays a major role in it.

Likely, entrepreneurship can be a very challenging journey, especially mentally. However, I am fortunate to have received such tenacious support MARCH 2021

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from family, teammates and people around me, who persistently encouraged me, bolstering my efforts thoroughly along my social entrepreneurial journey.

Office: New Delhi

Interests: Salsa Dance form, Languages (Spanish and French), Travelling, and Reading Being an entrepreneur, the lines between personal mystery novels. and professional life are blurry. However, keeping myself contained and self-motivated, prioritizing the important tasks over others, I work my way through life, having a set routine (to upskill myself, relax, fitness regime) and fixed daily working hours.

This way I have time for myself, family & friends, and my hobbies.

Sana is a recognized consultant & motivational entrepreneur who leverages her over seven years of experience (in growth consultancy, digital strategy and investment banking) to help businesses identify their shortcomings and bridge those gaps.

For her exemplary work and contribution to the Impact sector, she has also received Certificate of Appreciation in 2019, by the Chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education, and was also the winner of Indian Achiever Award 2020.

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The Top 10 Indian Women Entrepreneurs To Follow In 2021

Samvit Leadership Consulting It is always a pleasant feeling when you bring out a positive change in people and coach them towards betterment. Especially, women tend to easily foresee the elements that an individual has to modify in their life. Savita Upponi is one such inspiring consultant, who coaches leaders and their teams to unleash their potential and an enable them to achieve sustained superior results.

and fulfillment to not only their work lives but also their personal lives. This is true ROI. To give an example, a senior leader shared how his relationship with his wife had become more meaningful when he honed the skill of listening to the unsaid. Working with people’s daily struggles and supporting them, brings meaning and fulfillment in my life. Another milestone was venturing in the area of mindfulness.

Tell us about the facets and milestones achieved during your entrepreneurial journey.

A course in Vipassana meditation a few years ago and then being a practitioner and reaping benefits triggered a need to take it to the corporate world where I see a tremendous need. Attending Search Inside Yourself, a mindfulness course offered by Google set me firmly on this path. I now share this

Working with large organizations to embed a coaching culture, starting from the top levels, has definitely been a milestone in my journey.

Unearthing true pain areas of the clients, customizing programs to fit their unique needs, executing them and providing a structured post program coaching support is process that has held us in good stead. What really brought value to the table was the post program coaching support that helped participants to internalize the learning and actually hone their skills in real time. It also improved their accountability to the change they desired in themselves and others.

It is always very fulfilling to hear their stories, how they were transformed into being their better selves and how that was adding more meaning 46

practice with many organizations in many avatars like workshops “Mindful Leader”, “Mind Mantra” and also offer it as a Wellness Program.

What were the major challenges that you encountered during your professional journey and how did you manage to overcome them?

Challenges are part of any journey and I have learnt powerfully and grown stronger because of them. One of the challenges that I often faced was MARCH 2021

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Savita Upponi Founder & Director

inspiring participants to take complete ownership for their learning and the goals they wanted to achieve. Getting them to internalize the learning and stay motivated to sustain it over time. Post intervention coaching support is key for change especially when people have to work hard at unlearning, which happens over a period of time.

Insights and aha moments are in the moment, which have to be captured and worked upon over time to bring about the desired change.

Kindly elaborate on the various Consultancy solutions and offerings your company is rolling out to its clients? Highlight its USP?

Mastery and “Nurturing Leadership”- Lead with Excellence, at all levels within an organization. We do not have any off the shelf solutions. Everything is customized to suit the current reality of the need analysis and the changing needs spurred by the environment. We may start with a particular need and as change from the environment shifts things for the clients, we align the offerings to fit that change. Secondly, we do what it takes to create the wow factor for our clients, going way beyond our lines of duty to ensure completeness for our clients in every way. And that gives me fulfillment because, what I see is the wholesomeness created by the ripple effect from the interventions, which goes way beyond mere client satisfaction.

I personally lead all the learning and coaching Tell us about the overall journey of interventions, aligning and collaborating with Samvit Leadership Consulting. How other experts when required, to deliver end to end has it nurtured itself over the years? interventions for clients. Our Consultancy solutions are in two broad areas: “Nourishing Self ”- Personal When I started Samvit Leadership Consulting MARCH 2021

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8 years ago, like any other entrepreneurial venture, there were some teething problems. The word Samvit has roots in Sanskrit and means knowledge, consciousness. My work is to support people to leverage this and be the best versions of them. Having worked with Fortune 100 and 500 companies globally over the last 25 odd years, I have been extremely fortunate for positive word of mouth, which has ensured meaningful work coming my way from day one, for which I am forever in thankfulness and gratitude. While partnering with my clients, I draw strength from living my values of Integrity, Contribution, Love, Joy and Growth. Making a meaningful difference to people’s lives is very important to me.

One of the success stories I love to share is how we partnered to transform the culture of a traditional home grown large organization. We integrated a coaching culture where there was a perceptible shift in leadership styles from directional to facilitative; from “tell” approach to a more “ask” approach.

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What is the future roadmap of Samvit Leadership Consulting?

Going forward, I want to work in two areas. One is to partner with organizations to create a coaching culture, to build the possibilities where the leaders and managers can believe in the potential of their people and support them to unleash it. Second is in the space of mindfulness where the leaders can look to build on their foundations of emotional intelligence, and heighten their awareness and focus their attention in ways which will allow them to take their effectiveness to the next level, touching every element of their role to drive superior, consistent results.

Savita Upponi is a Transformational Coach, MBA with specialization in marketing and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from International Coach Federation (ICF). Savita has prestigious certifications to her credit such as Workplace from Big Five Profiling, USA, Coach Certification MARCH 2021

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from Erickson Coaching International, Coach Certification from Results Coaching Systems (Neuro leadership Group) and many more. She has, in the past, worked with Franklin Covey and Neuro Leadership Group as a master Facilitator and Transformational Coach. Currently, she is the Founder and Director of Samvit Leadership Consulting and is based in Pune.

Office: Pune

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Women in modern India T

he status of Indian women has radically changed since independence. Bothe the structural and cultural changes provided equality of opportunities to women in education, employment and political participation. With the help of these changes, exploitation of women, to a great extent was reduced. More freedom and better orientation were provided to the women’s organization to pursue their interest.

The centuries of slavery were over.

Today women want equality, education and recognition.

The advancement of women is the most significant fact of modern India. Gandhi ji once said “woman is the noblest of God’s creation, supreme in her own sphere of activity.” These words are blossoming now.

Women in Economic Employment Fields:

and

In both villages and cities there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women going out of the four walls of the household and becoming workers. In the “employment market” they are success¬fully competition with the men folk, In every field, the number of women employees is steadily increasing since 1991, though in a smaller number, women are getting recruited into the

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Army force, Air force and Naval force also.

Employment has given women economic independence and the feeling of importance. They now feel that they can stand on their own and look after the entire family by themselves. This has boosted their self-pride and self-confidence.

Employment provision has made them to feel that they need not live as parasites on their men folk. In order to give protection to the economic interests and rights of the women folk the government has undertaken various socio economic legislations, which cover areas such as rights to property or inheritance, equal wages, working conditions, maternity benefit and job security.

Women in the field of Education: After Independence, women of India took to education in a relatively large number.

For example in 1901, the literary level of the females in India was just 0.6%, it increased to 39.42% in 1991 and to 64.1 in 2001. Various benefits such as free-ship, scholarship, loan facility, hostel facility etc are being given to women who go for higher education in many towns and cities, educational institutions meant only for female children have been established.

The educational performance of girl students particularly at high school and college level is proving to be betters than that of boys especially after 1980. We have today some universities exclusively meant for women. Example- SNDT university for women (poona), (Padmavathi University for women (Terupati), Mother Teresa University for women (Kodai Kenal, Tamilnadu) Sri Avinashi lingam Homes

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Science college for Women (Deemed University, Coimbatore.) Girls’ students are getting admitted on merit basis to the prestigious engineering and medical colleges in a relatively bigger number during the recent years.

The contribution of women for developing various languages cannot be ignored. Mahadvi Verma and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan are well known for Hindi writings; Amreta Pritam has enriched Punjabi language with her works. Kuntala Kumari Sabat has enriched Oriya literature, many women writers have been awarded prize by the Sahitya Academy and other organizations.

There are hundreds of women editors, journalists and columnists in the land who are performing meritorious services.

Women in the Political Field: The Indian constitution has provided women two important political rights female enfranchisement and eligibility for the legislature. After the independence, the number of women voters and women representatives in Assemblies and parliament has increased sufficiently. In central cabinet and at the level of state cabinet we find some ministerial portfolios being headed by women.

The Late Raj Kumari Amit Kaur was a minister in the first central cabinet of free India. Sucheta Kripalini had successfully fulfilled her responsibilities of Uttar Pradesh so as Padmaja Naidu as the Governor of West Bengal. Smt Nadini Satpathy of Orissa state was also one of the able chief Ministers. The nation witnessed in Smt. Indira Gandhi, one of the powerful prime ministers who gave her leadership to the country for more than a decade.

Women in the sports Field: In the world of sports, Arati Saha won the swimming champion by swimming the English channels. In other items of sports also such as high jump, long-jump, running race etc. women

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of India take sufficient drive and initiative. P.T. most of the homes, male children are still being Usha has achieved remarkable success in the field preferred to female children. It appears that the societal approach towards women, their role and of sports and games.

Besides, in the sphere of science, pure and applied, status has not radically changed. Hence, bringing women are also not lagging behind men. No one about more and more legislations to ensure better can ignore the services rendered by women in opportunities to grant more rights and concessions, the realm of music, painting and other fine arts. do not carry any meaning unless there is a basic So India can be reasonably proud of the success change in the peoples attitude towards women and achieved by her women in every sphere of human women’s role in society.

If we really want to see India in future as a country However, it is a matter of sorry state that though which is economically enriched, politically the status of women has been raised under the equipped, socially developed and culturally law, in practice they continue to suffer from distinguished, then definitely we have to give discrimination, harassment and humiliation. women a leg up in all their respective spheres of They are not taken seriously in obtaining opinions activity. Dr Radhakrishnan the Late President neither they treated as equals to men and nor given of India, once said” The progress of our land the same respect either at home or in the work field. towards our goal of democratic socialism cannot be achieved without the active participation of our The experience shows that men’s tyrannical mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.” hegemony is over whelming strong deep-rooted to alloy for any change in the status of women. In activity.

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