Top Richest Self-Made Women Entrepreneurs in India
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Have you ever wondered who the real game-changers of India are? Not the ones born into legacy businesses, but the women who built their empires from scratch; idea by idea, risk by risk. India’s startup landscape is booming, but behind the noise lie stories that are even more powerful. Stories of women who battled doubt, broke old rules, and created brands that the world now looks up to.
From Silicon Valley boardrooms to biotech labs, from B2B marketplaces to beauty empires, these women didn’t just rise; they rewrote what success looks like. And here’s the twist: many of them started late, started small, or started in industries that were once “not for women.”
So, let’s dive into the list of India’s Top Richest Self-Made Women Entrepreneurs, a list full of grit, clarity, and unbelievable ambition.
Top Richest Self-Made Women Entrepreneurs in India
Top Richest Self-Made Women Entrepreneurs in India
Jayshree V. Ullal (Arista Networks)
| Role | CEO and President of Arista Networks (since 2008) |
|---|---|
| Career | Began as an engineer at Fairchild & AMD; joined Cisco in 1993 and scaled its switch business before joining Arista |
| Net Worth | ~INR 50,170 crore (2025), primarily from Arista shares |
| Key Achievement | Led Arista to strong growth (~20% revenue jump) and earned global recognition as a top technology CEO |
Jayshree Ullal heads Arista Networks, a leading Silicon Valley networking firm. She is an Indian-born tech CEO with deep experience at Cisco, AMD, and Fairchild.
In 2025, her net worth is about INR 50,170 crore, making her India’s richest self-made woman. Ullal owns roughly 3% of Arista’s stock. Under her leadership, Arista hit about $7 billion in annual revenue last year. She also serves on the board of cloud company Snowflake.
Radha Vembu (Zoho)
| Education | Degree in Industrial Management from IIT Madras; maintains a very low public profile |
|---|---|
| Wealth | ~INR 46,580 crore (2025), from ~48% stake in private Zoho |
| Contributions | Active in philanthropy (Zoho Schools for rural students, women’s empowerment); featured on Hurun’s women wealth list |
| Company Role | Co-founder and senior executive at Zoho; company founded by her brother Sridhar Vembu (now Chief Scientist) |
Radha Vembu is the low-profile co-owner of Zoho Corporation, India’s homegrown SaaS software company. As a majority stakeholder, she drives Zoho’s growth. Her net worth is around INR 46,580 crore (2025), placing her second on India’s self-made list.
Zoho (started as AdventNet in 1996) provides cloud-based business software to millions. Radha joined the business early on, serving as a product manager for Zoho Mail.
Falguni Nayar (Nykaa)
| Background | Former Kotak Mahindra Bank executive; founded Nykaa at age 50 using ~$2 M of her own savings |
|---|---|
| Business | Founder & CEO of Nykaa; recognized for strong brand-building and promoting clean beauty in India |
| Net Worth | ~INR 39,810 crore (2025), driven by Nykaa’s share price gains |
| Key Achievement | Led Nykaa’s blockbuster IPO in 2021, becoming a billionaire entrepreneur |
Falguni Nayar left a banking career to found Nykaa in 2012, a beauty and fashion retail company. Nykaa sells thousands of international and Indian brands online and in about 200 stores nationwide.
In 2021, Nykaa went public (raising ~$13 billion valuation), making Nayar India’s richest self-made woman at the time. Her net worth is about INR 39,810 crore (2025).
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon)
| Role | Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics; first Indian female leader in biotech |
|---|---|
| Innovation | Led India’s entry into insulin and cancer drug manufacturing, advancing affordable medicines |
| Wealth | ~INR 29,330 crore (2025), ranking high among global self-made women |
| Recognition | Recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for contributions to industry and innovation |
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a biotech pioneer and founder of Biocon, India’s largest biotech company.
She started Biocon in 1978 from a makeshift lab in her garage. Over the decades, she built it into a global pharmaceuticals and enzymes business. Kiran’s net worth is about INR 29,330 crore (2025).
Ruchi Kalra (OfBusiness, Oxyzo)
| Company | Co-founder & CEO of OfBusiness (B2B marketplace); also leads Oxyzo (financial services) |
|---|---|
| Net Worth | ~INR 9,130 crore (2025), reflecting high company valuations |
| Notable | Revealed in June 2023 that OfBusiness was rejected by investors 73 times before funding; went on to build two unicorns |
Ruchi Kalra is a co-founder of OfBusiness, a B2B commerce platform for raw materials and credit. OfBusiness, founded in 2015 with her husband, supplies factory inputs (steel, chemicals, etc.) to other businesses.
Ruchi also co-founded Oxyzo, the finance arm of OfBusiness that provides loans to buyers. She has an IIT Delhi undergrad and an MBA from ISB Hyderabad. Ruchi was a McKinsey consultant before turning into an entrepreneur.
Sakshi Jadhav
Juhi Chawla (Actress & Entrepreneur)
| Background | Miss India 1984; leading actress of the 1990s with hits like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak |
|---|---|
| Business | Co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (since 2008); IPL champions in 2012 & 2014; income from KKR equity, film royalties, and real estate |
| Wealth | ~INR 7,790 crore (2025), boosted by ~69% growth due to rising KKR valuation |
| Other | Film producer under Dreamz Unlimited (with Shah Rukh Khan); founder of a charitable foundation |
Juhi Chawla is a former Bollywood actress who became a savvy businesswoman. She co-owns the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with Shah Rukh Khan and her husband Jay Mehta.
Beyond films, Juhi invested in various ventures and real estate. As of 2025, her family’s net worth is about INR 7,790 crore. A major chunk of this comes from the success of KKR.
Neha Bansal (Lenskart)
| Role | Co-founder of Lenskart; leads merchandising, procurement, and legal; former Finance Director at DNS Advisors (2010–14) |
|---|---|
| Education | B.Com (Honours); background in finance before joining Lenskart |
| Wealth | ~INR 5,640 crore (2025), reflecting Lenskart’s valuation and recent IPO oversubscription |
| Achievement | Scaled Lenskart to 200+ retail stores, establishing it as a leading D2C brand in India |
Neha Bansal is a co-founder and Executive Director of Lenskart, India’s leading online eyewear retailer. Lenskart, started in 2010 by her brother Peyush Bansal, disrupted the eyeglass market with trendy frames and home eye tests.
Neha handles merchandising and legal for the company. Her net worth is about INR 5,640 crore. Lenskart has grown into a unicorn, backed by top investors.
Indra K. Nooyi (PepsiCo)
| Career | Former Chairperson & CEO of PepsiCo (1999–2019); earlier executive roles at Motorola and ABB; MBA from Yale |
|---|---|
| Net Worth | ~INR 5,130 crore (2025), largely from PepsiCo share options |
| Achievements | Ranked multiple times as Forbes’ 3rd most powerful woman; launched PepsiCo’s “Performance with Purpose” strategy focused on health and sustainability |
| Post-PepsiCo | Board member at Amazon (since 2019) and advisor to startups such as Cohesity |
Indra Nooyi is a Mumbai-born executive known for leading PepsiCo as CEO for 12 years (2006–2018). Under her guidance, PepsiCo nearly doubled its global sales and shifted to healthier products and eco-friendly practices.
After retiring as CEO in 2019, Nooyi joined Amazon’s board and other advisory roles. Her personal net worth is around INR 5,130 crore, mainly from her PepsiCo stock and compensation.
Neha Narkhede (Confluent)
| Career | Co-founder & former CTO of Confluent; earlier led development of Apache Kafka at LinkedIn |
|---|---|
| Innovation | Co-created Apache Kafka, now a core technology for real-time data processing worldwide |
| Wealth | ~INR 4,160 crore (2025), primarily from Confluent shareholding post-IPO |
| Recognition | Featured on Forbes’ “America’s Richest Self-Made Women” list (2024) |
Neha Narkhede is a technologist and entrepreneur. She co-created Apache Kafka, the open-source streaming platform, during her time at LinkedIn. In 2014, she co-founded Confluent, a data streaming company, and served as its CTO.
Confluent went public in 2021. Neha’s stake in Confluent gives her a net worth of about INR 4,160 crore (2025).
Kavitha Subramanian (Upstox)
| Business | Co-founder of Upstox (RKSV Securities), building a DIY platform for stock and mutual fund investing |
|---|---|
| Background | Former Associate Director at LeapFrog Investments; previously worked at SKS Microfinance |
| Education | IIT Bombay graduate; MBA from Wharton School |
| Net Worth | ~INR 3,840 crore (2025), derived from Upstox equity and its $2B+ valuation |
Kavitha Subramanian co-founded Upstox (formerly RKSV), an online stock brokerage platform, in 2011. Upstox offers low-cost trading and has grown into one of India’s top fintech brokers.
Kavitha worked earlier in investment funds (LeapFrog, Actis). She studied at IIT Bombay and got an MBA from Wharton. Her share of Upstox is worth about INR 3,840 crore (2025).
Conclusion
India’s richest self-made women stand as living proof that innovation has no gender, and ambition has no expiration date. Their achievements are reshaping industries, empowering millions, and inspiring a new generation of founders.
And if there’s one takeaway, it’s this: the next big entrepreneur could be anyone, someone from a small city, someone starting over, someone reading this list right now. Because the ladder they climbed? They’ve left it standing for the next dreamer.
Vivek Dev Jacob
FAQs
Who are India’s top self-made women entrepreneurs?
India’s top self-made women entrepreneurs in 2025 include leaders from tech, biotech, beauty, B2B commerce, fintech, and entertainment who built their wealth through innovation and high-growth companies.
Are these women involved in philanthropy?
Yes. Leaders like Radha Vembu, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and Juhi Chawla are active in philanthropy—supporting education, healthcare, women empowerment, environmental causes, and rural upliftment.
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