In India, start-ups have evolved in very sector from food to lifestyle, online-offline, from technology to social enterprise and what not. Well we can say in the coming years start-ups will be seen as the game changer for Indian economy.
According to a report on Startups by Nasscom dated October 2015, Indian start-ups raised over $5 billion in 2015 (more than double the investment they received last year). The number of companies that raised funds also doubled to almost 400. The important fact that we learnedis that the report found a 50 percent increase in women entrepreneurs compared to the numbers of 2014. Women entrepreneurs also constituted around 9 per cent of founders who are less than 35 years old. These numbers point to a rising acceptance of women entrepreneurs in the country.
Well let’s take a look on the 5 women lead start-ups that raised funding in 2016:
FreshMenu. Started in 2015FreshMenu is a Bengauru based food-tech start-up. It raised funding of Rs 110 crore from Zodius Capital, with participation from existing investor LightSpeed Ventures. RashmiDaga, Founder of FreshMenu, planned to use the round of funding for 2016 in team building, growth and strengthening of the brand. FreshMenu follows a hub-and-spoke model with centralised kitchens in each area.
Heads Up For Tails. Rashi Narang’s Delhi based Startup “Heads Up For Tails” caters luxury pet couture. HUFT focuses on personalised demands for pets that include dog beds, apparel, collars, accessories, toys, grooming products, treats, as well as a line for pet lovers. Started in 2008, Heads Up For Tails has raised its seed round of undisclosed funding from HNIs.
FunCart. FunCart is a Delhi-based online store for party suppliers that raised seed funding for Rs. 50 lakhs from HNIs early this year. The platform focusses on offering all types of party supplies for different occasions and events. RitikaNangia the Founder of FunCart planned to use the funding for infrastructure, technology and product offering.
Tarusa World. Founded in 2012, by Rupali Gupta, Tarusa World is an online platform for handicrafts that work on an inventory model where the products are designed and retailed inhouse. The startup raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Mohit Gulati in March which they are planning to use it for scaling up the brand.
Transcell Biologicals. Hyderabad-based healthcare start-up Transcell Biologics was started in 2009 by Dr. Subhadra Dravida who has 16 years of experience in stem cell research. Transcell is known to build stem cell based products and is working on creating an India-patient specific repository for R&D.
Early this year Indian Angel Network (IAN),invested an undisclosed amount in Transcell Biologics in a round led by angel investor Sanjay Jesrani.