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From Homemakers to Founders: Inspiring Stories of India’s Homegrown Women Entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs are reshaping India’s future one bold idea at a time!
From running startups to leading social ventures…
• Chaitra Divate • Category: In-depth / Stories
• 8 min read • Mar 8, 2026
With passion, perseverance, and a strong idea, entrepreneurs can build meaningful brands from the comfort of their homes. Here’s a list of inspiring women who started small with homegrown businesses and are steadily working toward building bigger, more impactful ventures.
Arthi Kumar — Founder, Krum Krums
Arthi Kumar from Bangalore is running a very crunchy brand called Krum Krums. Before she founded Krum Krums, she was an analytics professional and served 17+ years in the industry. After experiencing a gap in the availability of tasty, nutritious food, she decided to start a millet-based snacking brand. Krum Krum offers millets and whole wheat-based ready-to-eat snacks that use various millets like Bajra, Ragi, Jowar and multi-millet blends. Indians like snacks and chit-chatting, won’t we? So Krum Krums offers you the joy of eating snacks while also taking care of your calorie tracking by adding nutritional value to it.
“Explore her products and support this inspiring entrepreneur”.
Tejasvini R Anavekar — Founder, Crochet.mom
I started Crochet.mom to honour my mother’s artistry and to empower women through sustainable handmade creations. Tejasvini’s passion towards crocheting led her to make it a brand that celebrates heritage and creativity. At Crochet.mom every piece is hand-made, eco-friendly and reflects cultural authenticity. Her biggest mission is to empower women through Crochet.mom
Sandhya Shri A — Founder, TransformWithSandhya
Sandhya, feeling victimised and always having a question of ‘why me’, made her sit back and think of a solution, and that is when she learnt about healing and transformation.
Today, she likes to help women who are struggling to transform themselves into their better versions. So, meet Sandhys, who is an Energy healer and Relationship coach who guides women to stabilise their emotional well-being and transform their relationships. She combines Meditation, Emotional wellbeing, Innerchild Healing, Shadow therapy, Spirituality and Psychology to empower Women to regain their personal power and to have healthy and meaningful Relationships.
Maahi A Mehta – Founder, Jaipur Creations
A double Master’s with MBA-Business Administration and M.A. Sociology, Maahi is now the founder of Jaipur Creations with a strong liking for Handloom, Textiles and Culture. She has been in business for the past 5 years with her maiden venture in “PsychicSphere” consultancy and has now dived into her handloom and culture Passion “Jaipur Creations”. This second venture of Maahi is purely based on her love for Jaipur and Kshatriya roots. Her strong vision is to take Rajasthani culture to everyone’s home!
Shashikala Patil – Founder, Soha Handmade Soaps
Shashikala developed an interest in handmade soaps that emphasise ‘Chemical-free’ and ‘Skin-friendly’ qualities for everyday use. Soha Soaps ensures safety and promotes healthy skin and a natural lifestyle.
My business focuses on creating natural, handmade, and organic soaps using skin-friendly ingredients.
Ramya Veeraraghavan – Founder, Narbhavi Herbals
An IT professional in her 30s realised her passion for making safe, herbal products for skin, hair, and body. Ramya took experts’ guidance, enriched her knowledge from the Internet and combined her personal trysts with herbal formulations to come up with products like Rose Potato underarm deo roll, Natural Shikakai, etc. Her catalogue varies from products covering head to toe, and some are unique blends that are rarely witnessed in the hair, body and skincare categories.
Namita Bharati – Founder, Kesari Handmade Soaps
Here is another Entrepreneur into hand-made soaps. Meet Namita, who is an Architect and Interior designer by profession, but loves being creative and doing handmade creations. Thus, Namita started Kesari hand-made soaps.
Support her home brand, which started as a hobby but has turned into a small homegrown business today.
Shweta Vangi – Founder, ShwetDhanya
Shweta is a physical fitness trainer by profession, but at one point in time, she realised that ‘healthier women build a healthy home and a fit India’. So, she came up with a millet powder rich in proteins and vitamins that leads to a healthy lifestyle.
We are committed to empowering families with healthier alternatives that support natural well-being, strength, and longevity.
Pooja Athani & Netra Patil – Founder, Avishka Navya Collections
This Mother-Daughter duo are bringing life to authentic, culturally rooted sarees. Started by Netra Patil at the age of 60 and supported by her daughter, Pooja Athani. This startup is an example of age doesn’t matter, and the aspiration to be financially independent and live her life on her own terms is a great lesson to all the women out there.
Through Avishka Navya Collections, my goal is to bring elegant, quality sarees that make women feel confident and beautiful. Avishka Navya Collections offers curated sarees, including Banarasi sarees, Pure Crepe Mysore Silk sarees, Cotton sarees, Chanderi silk sarees, Tussar sarees, and other elegant sarees suitable for daily wear, office wear, and special occasions.
Savita Kalyani – Founder, Kalyani Jewellery
Savita has been in the imitation jewellery business from past 20 years. She proudly says that Kalyani Jewellery has been the major financial support to run her livelihood. A proud home-maker turned into a successful businesswoman.
In the era of rising gold prices, an imitation jewellery like hers is affordable and provides the same feel of wearing real gold jewellery.
“Support this amazing woman entrepreneur by sharing her story.”
Deepa Kalburgi – Founder, AURA_By_Nature Handmade Natural Skin Care
Another home-maker turned her passion into a profession. Her interest in making natural home-based skin care products is alive now. The products by AURA_By_Nature are natural, no added colours, no harsh preservatives, very mild and gentle on all skin types. Deepa believes that nature heals at its best and thus her products shows its essence.
Neeta Narendra – Founder, Sagarika Spiritual Space
She is a passionate energy healer and USUI Reiki practitioner dedicated to transforming lives through the power of spiritual science and divine energy. Guided by a deep belief in holistic healing, she helps individuals move toward emotional freedom, abundance, and inner peace while encouraging them to awaken their higher self and live a balanced, spiritually aligned life. Sagarika Spiritual Space serves as a divine healing platform focused on spreading positivity, balance, and higher consciousness through a range of holistic services such as Reiki healing, Rajakriya Reiki workshops (Level 1 & 2), Chakra Balancing Meditation, Distance Healing, Regression Therapy, Cord Cutting sessions, Money Reiki, Soulmate Reiki, and specialised healing programs for students and children. Through online workshops and personalised healing sessions, the platform aims to create a supportive space where individuals can experience spiritual growth, clarity, emotional healing, and a deeper connection with their inner and divine energy.
Kalpana M Pattanshetti – Founder, Raj Bharati Jewellery
A businesswoman from Hubli city is living her life as her own boss by selling 1gram gold jewellery in the city centre, Durgadbel market. Kalpana is an enthusiastic woman who loves to socialise and is always focused on the growth of her business.
“Celebrate her journey by exploring her products.”
India is filled with such homegrown brands in every corner, but they are not brought into the limelight. This Women’s Day, take a moment to celebrate these small businesses and support their dreams by shopping.
