Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)
The Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, currently in its fourth edition, is a unique endeavour that goes way beyond acknowledging and awarding achievers. Instituted by Financial Express, The Indian Express Group, it is backed by an iconic jury comprising Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and executive chairperson, Biocon; Meher Pudumjee, chairperson, Thermax; Preetha Reddy, executive vice chairperson, Apollo Hospitals; Sachin Bansal, founder, co-founder, Navi Technologies, Zia Mody, co-founder & managing partner, AZB & Partners; and chaired by Deepak Parekh, India Inc.,’s finance veteran and former chairman of HDFC.
Each year, the jury members have enriched entrepreneurs with insights on matters that occupy the mind space of women entrepreneurs as they try to make sense of the informational cascade, deal with complex challenges and also many a time, the shroud of uncertainty disrupting market.
Objective
The objective is to recognise and honour women entrepreneurs, who have not just stood their ground, forged ahead but are today an inspiration to others. The factors that are considered most crucial include both tangible and intangible elements. Apart from the soundness of the business and its growth, factors that also matter include the governance within the organisation, the impact the entrepreneur and her enterprise has had, resilience and sustainability.
The Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs or just ExpressAWE to some, has seen some incredible winners over the years with their entrepreneurial journeys that continue to inspire many budding and seasoned entrepreneurs (and yes, these are all inspirational stories that both women and men look up to).
Award Categories


Education &
Skill Development


Fashion &
Lifestyle


Finance


Health &
Wellness


Hospitality


Media &
Entertainment


Social Impact


Sustainability


Technology


Icon Award


Newsmaker
of the Year


Lifetime
Achievement


Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
Eligibility Criteria & Selection Process
The enterprises that have been operating successfully by women entrepreneurs for a period exceeding 8 years.
NOMINATION
SHORTLISTING
SELECTION
BY JURY

AWARDS
Entrepreneurs are nominated by subcommittee members, after which they undergo a comprehensive evaluation based on predetermined standards.

The subcommittee will proceed to select entrepreneurs who meet the criteria for inclusion on a shortlist for further consideration. Following this, the team will submit its shortlisted recommendations to the grand jury, along with detailed reports and justifications for each nominee.

Grand jury members conduct independent reviews and evaluations of each nominee and select winners under each category.

The award ceremony announces the winners through an award ceremony.

Jury

Deepak Parekh
Chairman,
HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd
and Former Chairman,
HDFC Ltd

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Executive Chairperson,
Biocon

Meher Pudumjee
Chairperson,
Thermax

Preetha Reddy
Executive Vice Chairperson,
Apollo Hospitals

Sachin Bansal
Executive Chairman,
Navi Group

Zia Mody
Co-Founder and
Managing Partner,
AZB & Partners
Winners













Photo Gallery













Partners
Presenting Partner

IndusInd Bank is one of leading private sector Banks in India. Established in 1994, IndusInd Bank Limited has consistently led the charge in delivering superior banking solutions to a diverse clientele. IndusInd Bank caters to the needs of consumer and corporate customers. Since its inception, the Bank has redefined the banking experience for its customers including various government entities, PSUs, retail and large corporations. As of December 31, 2024, IndusInd Bank serves approximately 42 million customers through 3063 branches/banking outlets and 2993 ATMs, reaching 1,60,000 lacs villages across India. The Bank has representative offices in London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Bank believes in driving its business through technology that supports multi-channel delivery capabilities. It enjoys clearing bank status for both major stock exchanges BSE and NSE and settlement bank status for NCDEX. It is also an empanelled banker for MCX.
Co-presented by

Usha Kakade – A Business Leader & Philanthropist
Mrs. Usha Kakade is the Chairperson of Gravittus Corp.Under her leadership and guidance the company has grown from strength to strength. Being an active philanthropist, Usha Kakade leads “Gravittus Foundation” with vision to empower society especially women and children.
She sets the benchmark in implementing awareness drive on the important issue of ‘Good touch bad touch’; and through this initiative, Gravittus Foundation reached out to Lakhs of children. Also, Gravittus Foundation is in association with UNICEF for child rights advocates’ project and with Mpower, a mental health initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust for child counseling cells project. Usha Kakade also initiated Urja Awards with a view to recognize and felicitate people who have brought about a positive change in the society.
For her exemplary contribution in social work, Usha Kakade has received various awards and recognition, some of which include ‘Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International’, ‘Giants International Awards for – Social Services’ and more recently, the ‘Hall of Fame Award’ – in honor of her ‘Good Touch Bad Touch Project’. Based upon this project issue, Usha Kakade also produced a short film called ‘Udne Do’.
Usha Kakade Productions company also launched in the year 2024. And, the first clap for its hindi and marathi movie was given by Filmmaker, Karan Johar and Fashion designer, Manish Malhotra. Under Usha Kakade Productions, new marathi movie named 'Vicky:full of love' is set to release in next year. More meaningful movies are taking place under Usha Kakade Productions in coming future.
Associate Partner

Established in 1978, Runwal Realty is one of Mumbai’s most esteemed luxury real estate developers. With a 45+ year legacy, it has shaped the city’s skyline with 50+ landmark projects across residential, commercial, and organized retail sectors, crafting exceptional living spaces for over 50,000 families. With 14 ongoing residential projects and several luxury developments in the pipeline, Runwal Realty continues to expand its footprint with innovation and iconic developments.
Pioneering Mumbai’s luxury retail and commercial sector, it has created iconic destinations like R City, R Mall, and Runwal R Square, setting new industry benchmarks. Committed to quality, sustainability, and innovation, Runwal Realty remains dedicated to crafting spaces where luxury meets legacy, for generations to come.
Associate Partner

Veena World is a leading travel company headquartered in Mumbai, with 32 sales offices across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Indore, along with 130+ sales partners across India. With a team of 1,054 members, including an in-house team of 383 tour managers, Veena World has served more than 8,30,000 happy guests. The company offers a diverse range of tours, catering to domestic travellers, NRIs, and foreign nationals. It specialises in family group tours, private customized holidays, corporate tours (MICE), and India Inbound holidays along with innovative touring concepts such as Women’s Special, Seniors’ Special, Honeymoon Tours, and many more.
Associate Partner

GAIL (India) Limited is India’s leading natural gas company with diversified interests across the natural gas value chain of trading, transmission, distribution, LPG production & transmission, LNG re-gasification, petrochemicals, city gas, E&P, renewable energy, etc. GAIL owns and operates a network of around 16,421 km of high-pressure trunk pipelines. It is working concurrently on multiple pipeline projects, aggregating nearly 3,000 km. GAIL commands around 68% market share in gas transmission and has a Gas trading share of over 53% in India. GAIL also has a formidable market share in City Gas Distribution through its Joint ventures/ subsidiaries.
Read more...The company has five Gas Processing Plants producing LPG, Propane, Pentane, Naphtha etc. It operates 2,033 km of pipeline for LPG transmission.
In the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market, GAIL figures among the top 10 Global LNG portfolios in the world. It operates an LNG terminal at Dabhol, India through a subsidiary and has regas capacity/stake at other LNG terminals across the country. GAIL also has its own LNG carriers to transport gas volumes. Till date, GAIL, via own vessels, has transported more than 100 LNG cargoes from USA and has a diversified sourcing portfolio for 15 MMTPA which includes supply sources from various geographies both on FOB and DES basis.
In the petrochemicals market, GAIL has a significant domestic market presence with a capacity of 800000 MTPA at its natural gas based plant. GAIL is setting up a 500,000 MT/annum PP plant based on PDH technology at Usar, Maharashtra to be commissioned by 2025 and another 60,000 MT/annum PP plant is also being set up at Pata petrochemical complex. In addition to this, GAIL Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd. is coming up with 12,50,000 MT/annum of PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid).
GAIL has a growing overseas presence and has set-up wholly-owned subsidiaries - GAIL Global (USA) Inc. and GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. It has acquired 20% interest in Carrizo's Eagle Food Shale acreage in USA. GAIL has participating interest in Myanmar - China gas pipeline also.
GAIL has a total installed capacity of 130.26 MW of alternative energy; out of which 118 MW are wind energy projects and 12.26 MW are solar energy projects. GAIL would like to be 1 gigawatt solar and wind both together or any other renewable part in the next three to four years. GAIL has set its Net Zero target for to 2035, to achieve 100% reduction in Scope 1& 2 emissions and efforts are being made for the penetration of renewable energy in the supply mix, with focus on electrification, Hydrogen, CBG etc. as key drivers of GAIL’s energy transition journey.
Glimpses of Previous Editions
Video Gallery
Photo Gallery



























