Bangalore – March 7, 2023: Flipkart, India’s homegrown marketplace, has been a stepping stone for women entrepreneurs entering into the digital ecosystem. Flipkart and Shopsy are enabling women-led SMEs to help them scale to new heights through a number of inspiring innovations, industry-first policies, and skill development programmes. Established in 2021, Shopsy has catalysed the growth of regional women sellers to tap national audiences across tier 2+ regions in the country. Leveraging its best-in-class technology, robust supply chain, vast customer base, and domain expertise, Flipkart is empowering women entrepreneurs across the country to succeed, scale, and achieve excellence in their businesses.
As part of its continuous efforts to promote inclusion, Flipkart and Shopsy encourage women entrepreneurs to achieve professional success and financial independence. The platforms’ efforts towards the growth of women-led businesses have resulted in the creation of thousands of livelihood opportunities in the regions they operate. Through meaningful engagements with government and non-government entities, Flipkart is sustainably replicating its efforts in providing digital capabilities to entrepreneurs in the remotest corners of Bharat thereby strengthening the MSME ecosystem, through Shopsy.
Women entrepreneurs on Flipkart and Shopsy share stories of their journey on the platform and highlight how they triumphed over challenges to prosper in their entrepreneurial journey.
Nilima Shaw who hails from Hyderabad is a passionate and driven mother, with unshakable willpower. Motivated to scale her artificial jewellery business, she has built a 10 crore, online exclusive brand, named Nilu’s Collection. Her story is that of courage, bravery and sheer hard work. As an MBA holder in HR with a well-paying job, starting her own business was incidental when she became a mother. With only Rs 8000 in hand, she began her entrepreneurial journey and later launched her online-exclusive brand on Flipkart in 2018.
“With an aim to financially empower more women, I have recruited over 80% of women from my locality who execute regular essential tasks at the company’s warehouses. I wish to pass on the benefits received from Flipkart to my own employees for their holistic growth and with the platform’s support I am committed to creating employment opportunities for women locally and making them financially secure”, said Nilima. She has several programs and initiatives planned for the female employees working with her which she plans to introduce gradually and one such initiative is monthly 4 to 5 days of menstruation leave, a simple yet progressive move.
Another inspiring story is of Rachna Singh, a 33-year-old Delhi-based entrepreneur and the founder of ‘RSP Traders’. Her entrepreneurial tryst began as a seller in 2019 when she exclusively listed her company on Flipkart. Taking the plunge was not instinctive, it was motherhood that encouraged her to leave a high-paying accounting job and begin on her entrepreneurial journey. With unconditional support from her husband and a desire to revive her career as a new mother, she established a business around the home and kitchen decoratives. However, the challenges at home became the biggest motivator to pick up where she had left off and run with it.
Recalling her journey, she said, “I chose to put a pause on my career when it was at its peak and embrace motherhood. Fortunately enough, my derailing career came back on track when I regained what I had left years ago, my independence. Realising my aspiration to build something of my own, my husband helped in setting up a small business that grew beyond our expectations. Today, I am able to take care of both my young son and the business.”
“Only a woman inspires another to be self-independent, self-confident, and self-reliant to carve her own path in this world. That is how I would describe my journey with Shopsy. My mother has been an immense source of inspiration to me. As a housewife, she made me realise the importance of feeling independent and secure with or without a partner. I run a fashion accessories business comprising earrings, jewellery sets, anklets, etc. with a team of twenty strong women. Today, our business has scaled to 4X with the help of constant support received from Shopsy. I vividly recall an incident with Shopsy on 3rd September 2021. At the time, I was pregnant and working on a product catalogue for the platform when suddenly my water broke! I had to rush to the hospital but was keen on finishing the task before I went in for delivery. It is incidents like these that testimonies your drive and motivation to scale your business. I hope to continue scaling and work with more women entrepreneurs. I always encourage all women to take stride in what they believe and do what’s best for them,’’ said, Pinky Singh, Owner of Prasubin Int based in Delhi.
“E-commerce is a boon for women entrepreneurs as it involves minimal investment and allows flexibility of hours. I started my business after having my first child, despite being able to maintain a work-life balance effortlessly. My friend who is also a seller on Shopsy inspired me to embark on an entrepreneurial journey, and so I started my business in men’s fashion with a focus on ethnic wear. Financial independence is extremely important for every woman as it inculcates a sense of purpose and self-confidence. The journey so far has been seamless since the initial days of starting my own business, my husband stood by me like a rock, and coming from a similar line of business he guided me through every step of the journey. Today, I have a team of 8 people who work tirelessly, helping us attain a sustainable growth momentum. Shopsy has helped us achieve 10X growth in orders and revenue through their support and expanded reach that the platform offers. In the coming years, I want to scale my business to new heights and become a role model for other women,” said Ruchika Singhal, Owner of Paryag Hosiery based in Delhi.
With Flipkart’s assistance, thousands of women are leveraging the power of online selling and e-commerce to elevate and rise above their challenges to build strong, national brands. Inspiring stories of entrepreneurs highlighted above continue to reiterate the ability, and power women hold to facilitate change in society when provided with the right opportunities.
Women’s day was celebrated at Navrachana University under the broader theme of embracing equity.