SUCCESS STORIES OF WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS

BY:

R.MADHUMATHI

11/PCMA/518

ELA BHATTEla Ramesh Bhatt (born 7 September 1933) is the founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) A lawyer by training, Bhatt is a part of the international labour, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements who has won several national and international awards.

EARLY LIFE

Ela Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad in India. Her childhood was spent in the city of Surat. Her father, Sumantrai Bhatt, had a successful law practice. Her mother, Vanalila Vyas, was active in the women's movement. Bhatt attended the Sarvajanik Girls High School in Surat from 1940 to 1948. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the M.T.B. College in Surat in 1952. Following graduation Ela entered the Sir L. A. Shah Law College in Ahmedabad. In 1954 she received her degree in law and a Gold Medal for her work on Hindu Law.

She then taught English for a short time at SNDT Women's University, better known as SNDT, in Mumbai. But in 1955 she joined the legal department of the Textile Labour Association (TLA) in Ahmedabad.

TLA AND SEWA

In 1956, Ela Bhatt married Ramesh Bhatt (now deceased). After working for sometime with the Gujarat government, Ela was asked by the TLA to head its women's wing in 1968. In this connection she went to Israel where she studied at the Afro-Asian Institute of Labor and Cooperatives in Tel Aviv for three months, receiving the International Diploma of Labor and Cooperatives in 1971. She was very much influenced by the fact that thousands of female textile workers worked elsewhere to supplement the family income, but there were state laws protecting only those who were solely industrial workers and not these self-employed women.

So with the co-operation of Arvind Buch, the then president of TLA, Ela Bhatt undertook to organize these self-employed women into a union under the auspices of the Women's Wing of the TLA. Then in 1972 the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was established with Buch as president and she herself as the general-secretary.

OTHER WORK AND AWARDS

She was one of the founders of Women's World Banking in 1979 with Esther Ocloo and Michaela Walsh, and served as its chair from 1980 to 1998. She has served as Chair of the SEWA Cooperative Bank, of HomeNet, of the International Alliance of Street Vendors, and of WIEGO.

She was also a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.

She was granted an honorary Doctorate degree in Humane Letters by Harvard University in June 2001. In 2012, she received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa from Georgetown University and an honorary doctorate from Universite Libre De Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium.[2] She also holds honorary doctorates from Yale and University of Natal.

Ela Bhatt was also awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1985, and the Padma Bhushan in 1986. She was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1977 and the Right Livelihood Award in 1984.

She was chosen for the Niwano Peace Prize for 2010 for her work empowering poor women in India.

On November 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honoured Bhatt with the Global Fairness Initiative Award for helping move more than a million poor women in

India to a position of dignity and independence.

Ela Bhatt was honoured with the prestigious Radcliffe Medal on May 27, 2011 on Radcliffe day for her efforts in helping uplift women, which has had a significant impact on society.

In November 2011, Ela Bhatt was selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2011 for her lifetime achievements in empowering women through grassroots entrepreneurship.

In June 2012, US Sectretary of State Hillary Clinton identified Ela Bhatt as one of her 'heroine'. She said, "I have a lot of heroes and heroines around the world and one of them is Ela Bhatt, who started an organisation called the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India many years ago"

Ela Bhatt has been awarded the Padmashri, the Padmabhushan and the Magsaysay Award, in

recognition of her contribution to women's economic and social empowerment in India. Her story is the best example there is of small things making a huge difference. SEWA began by giving out small loans to women to start their entrepreneurial journeys.

Today, it has led a revolution in micro financing and even impacted India's regulations within the unorganized sector, in favour of the countless self-employed women. Most importantly, SEWA has taught women that anything is possible: it is possible to be a woman and succeed in a largely male-dominated society, it is possible to grow large enterprises even if you start small, it is possible to do good while doing well for yourself, and it is possible (and very beneficial) for women to support and strengthen each other in their journey towards economic freedom and social well-being.

KALPANA SAROJ

Kalpana Saroj was bullied and discriminated against in school for being an "untouchable" Dalit. At the age of 12 she was forced into a violent marriage with a man 10 years older than her. However, this resilient entrepreneur didn't let either India's archaic caste system or the illegal practice of child marriage get in her way. She escaped her marriage and learnt tailoring to support herself, moving to Mumbai at the age of 16. Working nearly 18 hours a day, she expanded her business as a seamstress, building a reputation as a smart business woman. This eventually led to her being asked to take over

Kamani Tubes, a metal engineering company that was in deep debt.

Saroj turned the company around into a giant profit making business, worth more than $100 million. Today, her company employs people from all castes and background.

Her courage of conviction and battle against deeply-ingrained social evils gives hope to aspiring entrepreneurs within India's many under-represented minorities, that in the business world, all that matters is determination. Her spirit of relentless enterprise make Kalpana Saroj one of India's most inspiring entrepreneurs, who stand as factual evidence of an India changing for the better.

Daughter of a police constable, Saroj has had a troubled past. She was married off at 12, and migrated to Mumbai's slums. A broken marriage forced her to return to her village. She couldn't fit in, and therefore, attempted suicide, and survived.

Determined to chart her own destiny, she returned to Mumbai and laboured for Rs 2 a day

at a hosiery unit, married again, took over a steel almirah fabrication business on her husband's death, and stumbled into the construction business. From then on, she rode the realty wave.

Alongside, Saroj dabbled in social work, which brought her into close proximity with politicians of all hues. It enabled her to climb the social ladder quickly. Her critics view this as an opportunistic trait, but it's also true that business easily cultivates friends and patrons in high places.

"My capital has always been people," explains Saroj. Her tryst with KTL was also thrown up by the ecosystem she was in. The company was weighed down by a debt of Rs 116 crore, salary and provident fund dues of over 500 workers, and over 170 court cases. "Takeover suitors would appear, conduct a due diligence and flee for dear life," recalls Ramesh Bondkar, general

secretary of Kamani Kamgar Ekta, KTL's workers union.

However, Saroj bid for the company when it was put up for sale by IDBI, the operating agency of the BIFR. In March 2006, her scheme for revival was accepted. She settled all claims by lenders. Workers dues of over Rs 8.5 crore were cleared. "I paid Rs 90 lakh more than what was due to workers as a gesture of goodwill," explains Saroj.

Today, she presides over varied businesses. The single factory Sai Krupa Sakhar Karkhana in Ahmednagar, in which she holds a substantial stake, is graduating to an integrated sugar complex.

Capacity has been enhanced to 7,500 TCD (tonnes of sugarcane crushed per day), and a 60 KLD (kilo litres per day) distillery is coming up. "We are also building a 35 MW co-generation power plant," she says.

A diversification into steel manufacturing and mining has come about recently. Initial

investments of Rs 10 crore for a 100 tonnes per day steel plant has been made at Wada, on the outskirts of Mumbai. A bauxite mining initiative across 1,230 acres in Udgir, along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, is being drawn out.

Meanwhile, she has also resurrected the Kamani brand in the Gulf through Al Kamani in Kuwait and Kalpana Saroj LLC in Dubai to cater to the huge demand for copper tubes, especially from the water and sanitation sector.

KIRAN MAJUMDAR SHAW

One of the most famous women entrepreneurs of India, Kiran Majumdar Shaw is often heralded as the pin-up woman for the women entrepreneurs of India. This recognition is well deserved: as the founder of the hugely successful Biocon, a biotech firm in India, she has led the movement of innovation and growth within India's biotechnology sector. Biocon's strong manufacturing capabilities and its global scale

have helped it become one of the world's leading biotech companies. Much of its $900 million worth can be attributed to Ms. Shaw's vision of affordable, yet innovative healthcare products.

While her success in her business venture is constantly honoured by the business fraternity, her prominent role in encouraging young entrepreneurs is worthy of even greater applause. Ms. Shaw regularly doles out business advice and encouragement to young start-ups and is one of the most accessible business leaders because of her social media savvy.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (born 23 March 1953) is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Limited a

biotechnology company based in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India

Mazumdar-Shaw completed her schooling from the city’s Bishop Cotton Girl’s High School (1968). She wanted to join medical school but instead took up biology and completed her BSc Zoology Honours course from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University (1973). She later did her post-graduation as a brewmaster in Malting and Brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne University (1975).

She worked as a trainee brewer in Carlton and United Breweries, Melbourne and as a trainee maltster at Barrett Brothers and Burston, Australia. She also worked for some time as a technical consultant at Jupiter Breweries Limited, Calcutta and as a technical manager at Standard Maltings Corporation, Baroda between 1975 and 1977.

She started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its evolution from an industrial enzymes manufacturing company to a fully integrated bio-

pharmaceutical company with a well-balanced business portfolio of products and a research focus on diabetes, oncology and auto-immune diseases. She also established two subsidiaries: Syngene (1994) to provide development support services as an outsourcing firm for discovery research and Clinigene (2000) to cater to clinical development services.

Her pioneering work in the sector has earned her several awards, including the prestigious Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005) from the government of India. She was recently named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She is on the Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful women and the Financial Times’ top 50 women in business list.[2] She is also a member of the board of governors of the prestigious Indian School of Business and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.

BIOCON

In 1978, she joined Biocon Biochemicals Limited, of Cork, Ireland as a Trainee Manager. In the same year she started Biocon in the garage of her rented house in Bangalore with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000.

Initially, she faced credibility challenges because of her youth, gender and her untested business model. Not only was funding a problem as no bank wanted to lend to her, but she also found it difficult to recruit people for her start-up. With single-minded determination she overcame these challenges only to be confronted with the technological challenges associated with trying to build a biotech business in a country facing infrastructural woes. Uninterrupted power, superior quality water, sterile labs, imported research equipment, and advanced scientific

skills were not easily available in India during the time.

She is responsible for steering Biocon on a trajectory of growth and innovation over the years. Within a year of its inception, Biocon became the first Indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to USA and Europe. In 1989, Biocon became the first Indian biotech company to receive US funding for proprietary technologies. In 1990, she upgraded Biocon’s in-house research program, based on a proprietary solid substrate fermentation technology.

In the same year, she incorporated Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Private Limited to manufacture and market a select range of biotherapeutics in a joint venture with the Cuban Centre of Molecular Immunology.

In 2004, she decided to access the capital markets to develop Biocon’s pipeline of research programs. Biocon’s IPO was oversubscribed 32 times and its first day at the bourses closed with a market value of $1.11 billion, making Biocon

only the second Indian company to cross the $1-billion mark on the first day of listing.

She entered into more than 2,200 high-value R&D licensing and other deals within the pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceutical space between 2005 and 2010 and helped Biocon expand its global footprint to emerging and developed markets through acquisitions, partnerships and in-licensing. Her belief that healthcare needs can only be met with affordable innovation has been the driving philosophy that has helped Biocon manufacture and market drugs cost-effectively.

In 2007–08, a leading US trade publication, Med Ad News, ranked Biocon as the 20th leading biotechnology companies in the world and the 7th largest biotech employer in the world. Biocon also received the 2009 BioSingapore Asia Pacific Biotechnology Award for Best Listed Company.

Today, thanks to her leadership, Biocon is building cutting-edge capabilities, global credibility and global scale in its manufacturing

and marketing activities. It has Asia’s largest insulin and statin facilities also the largest perfusion-based antibody production facilities.

PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES

In 2004, she started the Biocon Foundation to conduct health and environmental programs to benefit of the economically weaker sections of society.

The Biocon Foundation's 7 ARY clinics are located where healthcare facilities are poor and they offer clinical care, generic medicines and basic tests for those who cannot afford them.

Each of the clinics serves a population of 50,000 people living within a radius of 10 km. All the clinics organize regular general health checks in remote villages by bringing in physicians and doctors from network hospitals. Each year, the Foundation touches more than 300,000 lives through its holistic healthcare approach.

She helped establish a 1,400-bed cancer care center at the Narayana Health City campus at

Boommasandra, Bangalore, along with Dr. Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya in 2007.

She liked the innovation model and thinking that Dr. Prasad Kaipa brought to Biocon and funded multi-year research at Indian School of Business by creating Biocon Cell for Innovation Management as part of Center for Leadership Innovation and Change.

AWARDS

Mazumdar-Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Nikkei Asia Prize (2009) for Regional Growth, Express Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit Award (2009) for Dynamic Entrepreneur, the Economic Times ‘Businesswoman of the Year’ (2004), the ‘Veuve Clicquot Initiative For Economic Development For Asia, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year

Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare (2002), ‘Technology Pioneer’ recognition by World Economic Forum and The Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.

She has also received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award (2002), the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ Award from the Indian Business Leadership Award committee, CNBC-TV18 (2006), the Indian Merchants' Chamber Diamond Jubilee Endowment Trust's‘Eminent Businessperson of the Year Award’(2006) and the ‘Corporate Leadership Award’ by the American India Foundation (2005).

She also received an honorary Doctorate of Science in 2004, from her alma mater, Ballarat University, in recognition of her contributions to biotechnology, apart from being awarded honorary doctorates from University of Abertay, Dundee, UK (2007), University of Glasgow, UK (2008) and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK (2008).

She was ranked 80 on the worlds-100-most-powerful-women-2012 according to Forbes Magazine.

PATRICA NARAYANAN

THE STORY OF PATRICIA NARAYAN

She started her career 30 years ago as an entrepreneur, selling eateries from a mobile cart on the Marina beach amidst all odds battling a failed marriage, coping with her husband, a multiple addict, and taking care of two kids.

Today, she has overcome the hurdles and owns a chain of restaurants.

AN ENTREPRENEUR BY ACCIDENT

She was always interested in cooking and passionate about trying out new dishes. But, the thought of becoming a business woman never came to her mind as she did not come from a business family.

Both her parents were government servants. But her marriage changed everything.

Both the families opposed the marriage vehemently as her husband belonged to the Brahmin community; unfortunately her marriage did not work out as her husband was addicted to alcohol, drugs, etc.

She could not bring him out of the addiction. As a young woman, she did not know how to cope

with this and she was getting beaten up everyday.

Though her father, a very conservative Christian never forgave her, he gave her refuge when she had nowhere to go.

“I was thrown out with two very small children. It was a question of survival for me. I knew I should either succumb to the burden or fight; I decided to fight my lonely battle.I did not want to be a burden on my parents. So, to be economically independent, I could only do what I knew and what I liked. I started making pickles, squashes and jams at home. I just took a couple of hundred rupees from my mother. I sold everything I made in one day and that gave me confidence.”

“I earned a good income. I invested whatever I earned to make more pickles, squashes and jams. It was quite lucrative in the sense, even ten rupees was a blessing for me.”

THE FIRST STEP AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

“My father's friend, who was running a school for handicapped children, was handing out mobile carts or kiosks to people who would employ at least two handicapped people. They needed somebody who could run it and I was offered one

such cart free. I had to train the handicapped children to make coffee and serve them to customers.

As I lived near the Marina beach, I decided to put the mobile cart at the Anna Square on the Marina beach. I had seen people thronging the beach in the evenings. But I had to make umpteen trips to the Public Works Department and wait for one year to get the permission.

Finally, I started working on June 21, 1982, a day I will never forget. The previous night itself, with the help of the local rickshaw drivers, I had rolled the mobile cart to the beach. It was a small move but thrilling as it was my own and I was going to be a business woman the next day.

While such carts sold only tea and cigarettes, I decided to sell cutlets, samosas, bajjis, fresh juice and coffee and tea. On the first day, I sold only one cup of coffee and that was for fifty paise!”

I was very disappointed and came home crying. I told my mother, that I would not like to continue. But my mother consoled me saying, at least you sold one cup of coffee. That's a good sign. You will do well tomorrow. And, she was adamant that I go the next day also.

The next day, I made sold snacks for Rs 600-700 which was big money for me then! As I started making money, I added ice creams, sandwiches, French fries and juices too. I used to keep thinking of adding more items.

I ran it from 1982 to 2003, and the maximum I made from that mobile cart was Rs 25,000 a day. That was during the bandh days! We used to be open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. every day, and later, I started opening from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the walkers.

I used to personally stand there and sell all the stuff I made. I never felt scared to stand there late at night. My only thought was to prove myself and move ahead.

There was a fire in me that made me believe that I could be successful without anyone's help. I did not want to be a failure. If you have that fire, nothing in the world can stop you from succeeding.

OFFER TO RUN A CANTEEN

On seeing my work at the beach, within a year, the Slum Clearance Board gave me an offer to run the canteen at their office with a proper kitchen. The chairman met me during her morning walk. That is how I got the offer. The canteen was a huge success.

On Wednesdays, it was the public grievance day, so about 3000 people used to come there and I had a roaring business.

I used to get up at 5 a.m. in the morning, make idlis and go to the beach. From 9 a.m.

I would be at the canteen. From 3.30 p.m. I would again be at the beach cart and would be there till 11p.m.

By then, I had employed people to cook, and clean, and all the cooking was done at the canteen kitchen. My monthly income in those days was around Rs 20,000.

Later, I got an offer to run the Bank of Madurai canteen, I stopped running the canteen at the

Slum Clearance Board canteen. At the Bank canteen, I served food to around 300 people daily

THE TURNING POINT

One day, after a fight with my husband who used to come to trouble me often, I boarded a bus and travelled till the last stop. I got down and saw the National Port Management training school run by the Central government.

On the spur of the moment, I told the security guard that I wanted to meet the administrative officer. I met him and told him that I was a caterer and that I heard they were looking for a one.

He said, to my surprise that they were indeed looking for one as they had problems with the current contractor. I still believe it was God who took me there.

I got the offer. I had to serve three meals to about 700 students. They gave us quarters to stay. It was a new life for me. I got into the groove in a day.

It was successful from day one, and I took care of the canteen till 1998.

My first weekly payment was Rs 80,000. I felt so elated having seen only hundreds and thousands till then. During those times, I was earning almost a lakh a week.

In those days, I wanted to do everything personally as I felt only then, things would run smoothly. Now I know if I train people well, they will do the work the way you want

STARTING RESTAURANTS

My connection with restaurants started in 1998 when I met people from the Sangeetha

Restaurant group. They offered me a partnership in one of the units. But my son, Praveen Rajkumar wanted me to start my own restaurant and build a brand of ours.

But destiny played truant with me again. I lost my daughter, Pratibha Sandra and son-in-law road accident, a month after their marriage in 2004. It shattered me, and I withdrew from all that I was doing.

Then my son took over and started the first restaurant 'Sandeepha' in my daughter's memory. It took some time for me to come out of the shock and start helping my son in the business. Now, I am fully involved in the business. The fire to succeed has come back to me now.

AMBULANCE TO HELP THE ACCIDENT VICTIMS

I still cannot get over my daughter's death as I did all this for my children; to bring them up and give them a good life.

What shocked me was the way the accident victims were treated by the ambulance operators. When they found that all the four in the car were dead, they said they would not carry dead bodies. Finally, somebody carried all the dead bodies in the boot of a car. When I saw the bodies being taken out of the boot, I broke down.

No mother can bear such a scene. That is when I decided to keep an ambulance on that very spot to help people whether the victims are alive or dead. It is in memory of my daughter.

FICCI ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD

I started my business with just two people. Now, there are 200 people working for me in my restaurants. My lifestyle has changed too. From travelling in a cycle rickshaw, I moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car. From 50 paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day.

The 'Ficci entrepreneur of the year' award is the culmination of all the hard work I have put in over the last 30 years. It came as a surprise as this is the first time I have received an award.

Till now, I had no time to think of what I was doing. But the award made me look back and relive the days that passed by. Now, my ambition is to build my Sandeepha brand.

ADVICE TO YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Do not ever compromise on quality. Never lose your self-confidence. Believe in yourself and the product you are making. Third, always stick to what you know. When you employ people, you should know what you ask them to do.