The third edition of the Express Award For Women Entrepreneurs 2024 came to a glittering close on Wednesday, March 20th in Mumbai at a ceremony that saw a rather rare confluence of some of the brightest and most successful women from the entrepreneurial arena. Not only did the ceremony celebrate pathbreaking achievements by leading women entrepreneurs but also brought to fore the challenges and opportunities for women-owned enterprises.
Anand Piramal, Executive Director of the Piramal Group surprised his mother Dr Swati Piramal, the Vice Chairperson at the Piramal Group and the recipient of the lifetime achievement award, with a touching admiration of her leadership abilities and of the things he imbibed from watching her closely. “Destiny is not written in the lines of our palms but the grasp of our hands,” he said to a thundering applause from the many established and budding entrepreneurs. Dr Piramal, responded with a short poem on the much admired and timeless virtue of ‘grace.’
Ananya Birla bagged the newsmaker of the year award for being the force behind founding one of India’s fastest growing microfinance firms.
Her father and Aditya Birla Group chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla savouring every moments of the spotlight on his daughter making a mark on the entrepreneurial landscape by setting new benchmarks.
Avarna Jain has been chosen as a promising FICCI-FLO entrepreneur. The words from Sudha Shivkumar of FICCI Flo outlining the purpose and the thought that helped conceptualisation of the Award For Women Entrepreneur Award further highlighted the need and purpose of celebrating the successes by women entrepreneurs.
Meher Pudumjee, the eversmiling and graceful Chairperson of Thermax received the award for sustainability initiatives.
Roshni Nadar Malhotra was awarded the legacy entrepreneur.
Roopa Satish, Country Head Sustainable Banking & CSR, Head Portfolio Management & Decision Science IndusInd Bank highlighted the need for a women-specific platform. According to her “Access to equity and networking are some of the key challenges faced by women. Offering a platform for women-owned businesses on ways to connect better, learn better and grow better.” This she said was the core concept that led to IndusWE.
The proud recipients of the IndusWE award for the evening included
-Ankur Dahiya, the Founder & CEO of Rozana Rural
-Rhea Thahryamal, the Director at Sanskar School.
The list also included other stellar winners for women entrepreneurs in specific sectors for not just carving a niche for them but also heading endeavours that made a big difference:
-Deepika Padukone for Social impact
-Renuka Ramnath for Finance and Venture Capita
-Jyotsna Suri for Travel & Hospitality
-Indu Shahani for Education
-Meena Ganesh for Health & Wellness
-Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti for Entertainment
-Laila Tyabji for Social Impact
-Ghazal Alagh for e-commerce
-Vineeta Singh for Fashion and Lifestyle
It was not just about awards but the essence of the evening was all about the core purpose of recognising and honouring women entrepreneurship and insightful talks by industry icons and thought leaders added zing to the evening’s proceedings.
A major highlight of the evening was the address by guest-of-honour Gaur Gopal Das, monk, lifestyle coach, author and a motivational speaker brought to fore how women are constantly breaking stereotypical boundaries and the challenges therein.
The evening also saw Anant Goenka, executive director, The Indian Express Group in conversation with acclaimed entrepreneur and film producer Ronnie Screwvala and noted corporate lawyer and businesswoman, Zia Mody. In the words of Zia Mody, “the world is not equal’ without women and if women hold up “half of the sky and the two wings of the dove” businesses can be better equipped to deal with challenges when there are more women leading from the front.
All in all, it was a memorable evening- insightful, interesting and filled with happiness.