These #4 Indian Women are Making Millions in Commodity Trading The commodity market, not just in India but around the world, is mainly male-driven and finding a woman trader is a tough task
By Vanita D'souza •
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Hillary Clinton once said, "Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world." Though Clinton's comment is generic, being relevant to all sectors and industries, it simply fits best for the commodity trading business.
The commodity market, not just in India but around the world, is mainly male-driven and finding a woman trader is not an easy task.
In fact, chances are that a lot of traders don't even know that female traders do exist.
So, Entrepreneur India has prepared a list of women traders, who have crossed barriers to make it really big in the commodity market.
#Madhu Vadera Jayakumar
She is among the first few female women commodity traders, who founded E-commodities Limited.
This former CEO of E-commodities Limited has more than 17 years of experience in the financial markets and is an IIM MBA graduate as per her LinkedIn profile. She is an independent investor and also the public interest director in the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
#Jyothi Budhia
With over 30 years of experience in the financial market, including the commodities, one can often spot Budia in the early morning financial market news shows.
She is a derivative and technical analyst and has been the Director of BK trading since 1986. Apart from being a trader and giving expert opinions on television, Budhia also spends time educating students and is a visiting facility of in-house institutes of stock markets like Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange, MCX and the Manipal University.
#Vaishali Sarwankar
Trading runs in the blood of this Maharashtrian Porgi, whose family has its roots in the baniya (trading) community. But, she has learned her commodity trading skills from her previous employer Bunge Limited.
Presently, she is not just rocking the domestic market, but is also playing her cards right in the international commodity market.
Sarwankar is the Head of International Trade and Director at Atlantic Industrial & Trading, a Singapore-based trading company, which has a turnover of more than USD 500m.
It's true that women are breaking stereotypes, but the trading business is yet to witness that as the change has still not taken place, Sarwankar once said in an interview to Entrepreneur India.
"I stepped into the sector at an early age, and by now, have come to understand the finer nuances of the business very well. The initial period of finding my footing in the industry was quite unnerving, but things only got better with time. With respect to the supportive government policies and access to capital and technological infrastructure, women now have more opportunities and access to tools to make it big not only in trading but in any field they choose," she added
Apart Atlantic, Sarwankar is also a director of Carnival Edutech Foundation.
#Deepali Singh
After trying her hands in tiffin services and restaurant business, Singh got into commodity broking. Having done a business of more than INR 60 crore, Singh registered her company last year as Jaya Laxmi Foods and operates from the Indore Commodity Market. The firm is majorly into the commodity trading of wheat. Singh is also a national-level basketball player.
