CHENNAI: On Women Entrepreneurship Day this year on Nov 18, Chennai-based entrepreneur Madhu Saran was named ‘Women Entrepreneurship Day Global Ambassador of India’ at an event in the UN headquarters in New York. The day celebrates women in business globally and supports them in all their endeavours. In a chat with City Express, Madhu said she always wanted to be an entrepreneur. “I’ve always been independent and wanted to continue being so,” she says.
Madhu has a background in IT and a passion for fashion. With over 16 years of business experience in software, construction, beauty industry, media and social services, she says lack of funds is the biggest challenge for a woman to become an entrepreneur. “Women need to contact the right financial consultants and know schemes introduced by government of country,” she says.
The Chennai-native believes that youngsters can become successful entrepreneurs if they have the right idea, motivation and support of their family. As an ambassador, she dreams that women should make it to the top. “It should be easy for women who are full of dreams, and have ideas to start new ventures, to make a mark. For this, I am focusing on connecting women entrepreneurs in a network,” she explains.
Madhu has been active in supporting young girls in education. “Our forum is planning on identifying the areas of interest of girls to train them in those fields,” she shares.
She believes in the nature of women to be a fighter and survivor. “We’re used to facing challenges. A country grows only if the women are employed at the grassroots level and this isn’t the case in India. There is unemployment in rural sectors,” she avers. “Women are capable of multiplying whatever you give them. For our country to grow, we have to give opportunities to women.”
There’s a huge dichotomy between women in urban spaces and those from rural areas, so entrepreneurship means different things in these two contexts. Is there a way we can nurture entrepreneurship in its nativity, rather than trying to bridge the gap? “It’s all about how knowledgeable they are. We can grow without showing the differences. I know many girls who want to take up farming and agriculture as their career,” she points out.
Madhu says gender should not be a criterion when it comes to getting investors. “You need to convince them that your idea is profitable and gender does not matter.”
She adds that trans-women must also be given equal opportunity. “I have come across trans-women who are successful in their businesses, but I feel that efficiency matters more than anything.” The challenge for an entrepreneur changes every day. Sharing her words of wisdom she says, “All you need to do is share your ideas, know more about your branding, and create a good network.”