Why Entrepreneurship is the Way Forward for Women Entrepreneurship is a great way of creating impact on women as success is there to see
By Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw •
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Devoting an entire edition to women entrepreneurs is a great way to bust myths about women and entrepreneurship and I commend you for this foresight. A great way to celebrate International Womens Day.
The women chosen to reflect changing times and the changing face of entrepreneurship in India are path breakers across a plethora of business spheres. These are women of steel and substance who have battled serious prejudices and odds to get to where they are. These are women who have not asked for any special privileges but all that they want is a fair and level playing field. All they seek is to be recognised, respected and to be taken seriously.
Entrepreneurship is a bold and daring business and irrespective of whether you are a man or a woman it is about being able to take risks, managing failures, sighting opportunities and taking ideas to the market. Ideating is easy but taking it to the market is very difficult. Each one of these women is basically doing that. They are competing in a man's world and winning. This is both admirable and inspirational. I have always encouraged women to pursue entrepreneurship because that's one field where you are only judged once you build your business after making the early mistakes and overcome initial credibility challenges. This is the story of every entrepreneur and when women succeed where men have failed, this is a huge endorsement.
Take the case of Meena Ganesh. She has made a big success of Portea Medical. The model is simple; it's almost an uberisation of medical services. Many start-ups tried this but failed. That tells you what Meena's entrepreneurial abilities are. Mitahli Raj is another woman who has inspired us with her leadership. We keep celebrating the success of our 'men in blue' but look at the resilience, the daring and the courage with which our 'women in blue' have played. Along similar lines, Mary Kom has changed a once 'unwomanly' sport into a woman's sport unleashing a whole new boxing culture.
Today, girls from all over the country want to pursue boxing. There are endless examples of what women have done, but what is important is their ability to encourage other women to pursue their paths. In the past successful women were considered an exception to the norm. Today, the fact is we have many, many more to recognise and follow.
Entrepreneurship and leadership is about influence and impact. Entrepreneurship is a great way of creating impact on women as success is there to see.
(This article was first published in the March issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)
