NOIDA: Deepa Agarwal (42) didn’t know how to drive, nor anything about UPI transactions till a few years back. But the dentist and mother of two boys had to take charge after her husband died of Covid-19 in 2021.
While practising her profession, she took over the manufacturing unit of lights that her husband had set up in Delhi back in 2017. She knew nothing of business, but she rose to the challenge, and succeeded.
Just About Powers, the company, specialises in high-watt LED drivers. They have their own design team and a testing laboratory, following the “make-in-India” model. On its client roll are prominent industry names such as Crompton, Surya and Jaguar, among others, Agarwal says.
“It was a difficult change after my husband passed away. I have to look after my two sons, manage my patients and run the business. I get to spend time with my children at night,” she says.
She went for a business meeting to China recently and realised that she “was the only Indian businesswoman there”.
“Many people looked at me with astonishment… It was a proud moment for me. The Chinese also appreciated my business,” she says.
Agarwal is among the women entrepreneurs who will be participating at the first edition of the UP International Trade Show that kicks off at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida on Thursday. Like her, there are other Indian women who’ve carved their own space in the start-up world.
For Renu Verma (36), taking over her grandfather’s pottery business – Mittikalaa – was an attempt to regain control of her career, years after the marketing executive quit her job to take care of her children. She was itching to get back to work, and still maintain a work-life balance, a formula she figured out when she joined the business.
The MBA graduate quickly turned things around.
“Being a family-run business for two generations, the traditional method of pottery was followed. Since that is a slow process, we were able to cater to fewer orders. So, I introduced new designs with the help of machines to produce more,” Verma says.
The company’s sales soared under her watch, and it helped that her husband supported her at home. “I normally start work after sending my husband to school. My husband and I also divide household duties, so both of us can work,” she says.
Mittikalaa exports over 500 customised clay products to clients in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Dubai, and the company’s worth has touched a crore.
At 43, Sangita Singh was at home in Kanpur when she saw the opportunity to start her own business. The inspiration came from her children.
“My children don’t eat junk food. Instead, they preferred my millet-based snacks. That’s when I thought to myself that if they can adopt a healthy lifestyle, why won’t the others,” Singh says.
In 2022, she invested Rs 25 lakh in opening Sattvikam Superfoods and got more funds from the Prime Minister Employment Generation Plan (PMEGP). The company took off and has a turnover of Rs 50 lakh with 20% profit margins.
Asked what they want out of the trade fair, Agarwal says she wants to get to know some international buyers. And Singh wants more business-to-business contacts to grow her network.
While practising her profession, she took over the manufacturing unit of lights that her husband had set up in Delhi back in 2017. She knew nothing of business, but she rose to the challenge, and succeeded.
Just About Powers, the company, specialises in high-watt LED drivers. They have their own design team and a testing laboratory, following the “make-in-India” model. On its client roll are prominent industry names such as Crompton, Surya and Jaguar, among others, Agarwal says.
“It was a difficult change after my husband passed away. I have to look after my two sons, manage my patients and run the business. I get to spend time with my children at night,” she says.
She went for a business meeting to China recently and realised that she “was the only Indian businesswoman there”.
“Many people looked at me with astonishment… It was a proud moment for me. The Chinese also appreciated my business,” she says.
Agarwal is among the women entrepreneurs who will be participating at the first edition of the UP International Trade Show that kicks off at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida on Thursday. Like her, there are other Indian women who’ve carved their own space in the start-up world.
For Renu Verma (36), taking over her grandfather’s pottery business – Mittikalaa – was an attempt to regain control of her career, years after the marketing executive quit her job to take care of her children. She was itching to get back to work, and still maintain a work-life balance, a formula she figured out when she joined the business.
The MBA graduate quickly turned things around.
“Being a family-run business for two generations, the traditional method of pottery was followed. Since that is a slow process, we were able to cater to fewer orders. So, I introduced new designs with the help of machines to produce more,” Verma says.
The company’s sales soared under her watch, and it helped that her husband supported her at home. “I normally start work after sending my husband to school. My husband and I also divide household duties, so both of us can work,” she says.
Mittikalaa exports over 500 customised clay products to clients in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Dubai, and the company’s worth has touched a crore.
At 43, Sangita Singh was at home in Kanpur when she saw the opportunity to start her own business. The inspiration came from her children.
“My children don’t eat junk food. Instead, they preferred my millet-based snacks. That’s when I thought to myself that if they can adopt a healthy lifestyle, why won’t the others,” Singh says.
In 2022, she invested Rs 25 lakh in opening Sattvikam Superfoods and got more funds from the Prime Minister Employment Generation Plan (PMEGP). The company took off and has a turnover of Rs 50 lakh with 20% profit margins.
Asked what they want out of the trade fair, Agarwal says she wants to get to know some international buyers. And Singh wants more business-to-business contacts to grow her network.
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