International Women’s Day : Young women, big ideas: Meet T'gana’s rising stars in business

Achieving gender equality is a constant effort whether an opportunity is given or made. Opportunities in the form of access to education and support from family are enabling girls to break through barriers and stand equal. The change towards realising basic human right for the ‘fairer gender’ is slow but yet visible across India’s small towns. In answer to one of the inequalities -- pay disparity, women are tapping into new avenues of entrepreneurship. Inspired by successful business women young female entrepreneurs from conservative backgrounds are breaking the glass ceiling backed by the right guidance and platform. On the lines of United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2024, ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,’ Bizz Buzz interviewed young female entrepreneurs from Telangana, shining examples and trailblazers for other girls. Tomorrow’s successful businesses are compelling investors to invest in the changemakers, #InvestinWomen

Sidra Noor ditches NEET for dairy startup success

23-year-old Sidra Noor is the Founder and CEO of FreshLaban.com, a yoghurt-based beverage brand. A student turned entrepreneur from Siddipet, Noor aims to revolutionise the Indian Dairy Beverage Industry through her products. This NEET aspirant dropped out of college to take up Bachelors in Microbiology. While in her second year of graduation she entered the entrepreneur journey. “I got this idea while sitting in my college’s canteen where the usual samosas and tea is sold. With this idea of creating something healthy yet tasty I applied for incubation at EdVenture Park. Here my idea got pivoted to healthy beverages and FreshLaban.com was officially launched on January 5, 2024. Till now we have sold 870 glasses at Rs 30 each,” she told Bizz Buzz.

Your take on Inspiring Inclusivity…

As per my experience parents play a pivotal role in supporting a girl child. Thank God my parents especially my mom supported me in my entrepreneurship journey without whom I could not have launched my startup. Making our ideas turn into reality would not have been possible without her support and that of incubation centres like EdVenture Park. We, girls are not just bound to be in kitchen, like men even we have a purpose to live for.

Why invest in FreshLaban.com?

The size of dairy market in India has reached Rs 16792.1 billion in 2023. And our product falls under the category of yogurt which contributes about 11.93 per cent CAGR (fastest growing market by category). I want to compete with big brands based on my innovative product, strong growth trajectory and profitability.

The Sultana sisters’ diabeat.tech innovation

Sister duo 25-year-old Dr Maimuna Sultana and 21-year-old Dr Shabeena Sultana are the Founder and Co-founders of Diabeat.tech, a device that monitors glucose levels without the need for blood. This solution provides a non-invasive method for glucose monitoring alleviating pain and offering a comfortable experience. The sister duo have achieved functional prototype with 93 per cent accuracy, and are currently running clinical trials in order to achieve 99 per cent accuracy.

What is the challenge behind developing a medtech device?

Dr MS: As a doctor, in the world of medicine, I found myself surrounded by diabetic patients. It was disheartening to witness the complications they faced, which often shortened their lifespan. One particular aspect that stood out was the pricking pain they endured while monitoring their glucose levels. It has been a struggle seeing our mom deal with that pricking pain for the past 10 years. And it is not just her, there are so many other diabetics out there going through the same pain. As it is a big challenge to monitor glucose levels without blood and pricking, we had to do a lot of research. We started reading articles day and night. After our research we figured out our components. Getting the required components was a tough part but what was more difficult for us coming from Science background, we did not know the basic electronic connections. For Diabeat we started studying Electronic Engineering. Yes, we partly completed our Engineering too. While making the prototype, we faced many challenges with the connections, the sensors, and the readings. We were getting the readings but our aim was to get the accurate reading. We carried out experiments with both the classic glucometer and non-invasive glucometer and believe me, during the experiment we felt the pain.

Why should an investor ‘Invest in Diabeat’?

Dr MS: By supporting young entrepreneurs, investors encourage this culture of innovation and pave the way for advancements in technology, healthcare, sustainability, and more. Well, we have a really exciting idea that has the potential to revolutionise the way people monitor their glucose levels without the need for blood. It is a game-changer in the healthcare industry. Investing in our startup means, our idea addresses a significant need in the market as there is a growing demand for non-invasive methods of glucose monitoring, and we have the potential to meet that demand with our innovative solution. We have been working on this idea for the past two years, and we have made significant progress. By investing in our startup, the investor would not only be supporting a cutting-edge solution, but also be part of a journey to improve the lives of millions of people living with diabetes.

25-yr-old builds chemical-free food empire

25-year-old Soundarya Vardhaman is the founder of Swa-Yum, an instant food brand which includes products such as instant chutneys and Dosa batters free of chemicals and preservatives. An ambition to embark on entrepreneurial journey after completing graduation in Food Technology came to a standstill due to her father’s demise. Vardhaman took up an IT job to shoulder her family’s financial responsibility alongwith saving initial investment for her startup. Alongside, she worked on the research and development of the line-up for Swa-Yum. Launched in October 2023, the startup has registered total sales of 8,000 units.

What is your call for Invest in Swa-Yum?

Swa-Yum has stemmed from a deep-rooted passion for culinary innovation and commitment to preserve the rich culinary heritage of India with the desire to offer and make accessible convenient yet authentic Indian flavours to modern consumers who lead busy lifestyles. Consumers can place their order through Instagram and Whatsapp. Investing in Swa-yum not only supports innovative products and market trends but also acknowledges the unwavering commitment and dedication of the team behind the brand. Investing in Swa-yum is not just an investment in a company; it is an investment in innovation, growth, and positive change. Supporting entrepreneurs like Swa-yum is crucial for fueling innovation, creating job opportunities, and driving economic development. Startups bring fresh ideas to the market and contribute to economic growth by fostering competition and attracting investment.

On the road to equality

Sister duo 22-year-old Uzma Khatoon and 23-year-old Zainab Khatoon are the Founders of Dovely.org, India's only bike transportation platform for women, driven by women. Currently operating through website, the SaaS platform helps women find job opportunities through transport services for women, at their convenience, which is safer and affordable comparatively. Dovely.org was launched on June 15, 2022 and on International Women's Day (March 8, 2024) they are launching a mobile application. The startup is actively onboarding women riders with present community of 15-20 riders. In the initial stages the platform received more than 100 ride requests per minute.

What was the thought behind starting ride-hailing service exclusively a bike taxi aggregator for women?

UK: Dovely was started with the idea of not being able to travel conveniently during the Covid times wherein there were time restrictions, high fares and uncomfortable rides. This isn’t it, while traveling we ourselves experienced very unsure rides, we were anxious and eagerly waiting to arrive at the destination because the driver made us very uncomfortable. This made us realise that we are not the only woman who is facing this issue. So, we thought of coming up with a solution and this is how Dovely.org comes into the picture. We are actively signing up riders, any woman who knows how to ride a two-wheeler can sign up and become a Dovely Partner.

How has Dovely.org inspired inclusivity?

UK: We have created a platform exclusively for women where women can earn while they ride and also experience a safe, affordable reliable transportation option. As a startup led by girls, we believe that supporting female entrepreneurs is important since lot of societal, cultural challenges women have to face while working to move forward and achieve her dreams. Dovely.org is delighted to share that we are the global winners of GMW Labs. Only six startups from the world won, one from each continent. Dovely.org was the only startup to get selected from Asia to represent India in Turkey, Istanbul. We have been featured by various publications including BBC news. We were also felicitated at an International Business Summit by MCCI. Among more than 1,500 applications across India, Dovely.org was among 81 startups to be selected by Google for their Startup Bootcamp University Edition.

Solution for effortless status sharing among contacts

22-year-old Simrah Munaza Ikram is the Co-Founder and CEO of FYI.is, a tool that lets users update their status such as, at exam, in a meeting, DND, at office. Once the update is sent all mutual contacts on FYI.is get a notification regarding the same. Ikram is a student founder who has previously worked on four startups before launching FYI.is. This startup was born out of a hackathon conducted by Code for India Foundation. Officially launched on May 5, 2023, FYI.is has currently impacted more than 1,000 users. The app is available on both Play Store and App Store. FYI.is has covered over six events where the notification updates from the platform has helped more than 38,000 people to stay updated with the events.

In the times of ‘Social’ why provide only Update?

We started FYI.is as we recognised the need in people to let their closed ones know about their everyday updates without having to actually ping them, hence avoiding the cycle of small talk. We strongly believe that this mode of communication of quickly letting people know about everyday life, will be the new form of “communication,” and that is what we are rooting for – “Communication – Conversation.”

As a student founder how do you inspire other girl students wanting to be entrepreneurs?

I love mics, people, and events. I love breathing startups every day. I closely work with startups figuring out things with them, and fortunate to be a part of their journey from ideation to MVP to the market launch. Curiosity runs in my blood! I love breaking and building stuff, which I do as a Hardware Executive. “Dear Women, when God made you special, do not settle for equal,” is a quote by Meraj Faheem that keeps me on my toes. For me personally, women are the spirit of the startup ecosystem. Their undying will to make things happen, is what the world needs. And these are not just mere statements, but fully backed with data – 66 per cent of founders at EdVenture Park are women. These numbers are a testimony that women, when given equal opportunity tend to break every barrier that comes in their way. Support is not just providing them with incubation spaces, grants and recognition, but also equipping them with a solid-belief system.

Saniya Mohammed’s vision for mental health

22-year-old Saniya Mohammed is the Founder and CEO of GoodMind Care Foundation, AI-based mental wellness platform. Through GoodMind she promotes mental wellness as a priority by educating people on fighting against stigma. Online Counseling and Therapy Services, Corporate Wellness Programme, Parent and Child Psychology are some of the services provided on the platform. She also works with other startups on building their marketing strategies and Product-Market Fitness plan.

How have you inspired inclusivity?

Having personally gone through tough phases as a student I wanted to solve this for students who are unaware of mental wellness. I am immensely passionate about mental wellness having gone through some really tough times feeling helpless and alone. I have channeled my energy into GoodMind. I strongly believe that entrepreneurship has been a key contributor to my development as a person. Within seven months I built GoodMind as the most sought after mental wellness platform in the city of Hyderabad, India and now globally. GoodMind.app also ranked third best World’s product on Product Hunt when launched in May 2021. GoodMind has achieved the distinction of being the recipient of the prestigious “Best NGO Award 2023,” while I garnered the esteemed “Changemaker Award,” presented by AMP, marking outstanding contributions and commitment to positive impact.

Bridging the gap in student communication

22-year-old Tahera Zulfiqar is the Founder and CEO of Transformify.Me, India’s first student-focused Interpersonal Skills Bootcamp. It was born after observing the need for better interpersonal skill training for newly graduated students in their early careers. Zulfiqar started her career early on at the age of 17. As a Data Science graduate, she has worked with some of the leading companies in the West in areas of product development and marketing. Transformify.Me was launched in November 2021. Since then, her startup has helped over 100 students and won six awards within 30 months.

How has Transformify.Me upskilled student’s interpersonal communication?

We went on to solve this growing problem as there was pretty much nothing to address this for our youth except for short paragraphs on soft skills and value-orientation. Our bootcamps are designed with one vision - to unfold the extraordinary within our youth, as we recognise them as the most valuable asset of our generation. Transformify.Me is fully bootstrapped. As we look to expand beyond Hyderabad, investing in Transformify.Me aligns with the strategic cultivation of this key resource within our generation. I believe all entrepreneurs should be supported, regardless of gender. Especially in the current times it is crucial to fully support principled leaders and ideas that address existing problems, irrespective of whether they come from men or women.