How Women Entrepreneurs are Revolutionizing the D2C Industry in India

By: Stuti Kothari, Co-founder, WishCare - A personal care brand

The D2C industry has grown dramatically, with over 800 brands now using this retail strategy in India. The pandemic made use of digital technologies and further boosted the D2C industry's expansion with an ever-expanding consumer base. India's D2C market is predicted to reach US$ 100 billion by 2025, up from US$ 44.6 billion in 2021, according to Statista.

Brands are experiencing tremendous growth as women entrepreneurs take leadership, and the eCommerce business is no exception. A growing number of direct-to-consumer (D2C) firms driven by female founders are dominating the internet shopping sector. The current customer is internet aware and prepared to support local firms, particularly if a product promises substantial value addition. Another feature of India's D2C story is the rise of female power, both as an investor and as a consumer. Women entrepreneurs are rewriting the story and driving the D2C revolution in 2022.

The Rise of Female Entrepreneurs

Operating in a male-dominated business, overcoming stereotypes, and biases are the problems that women entrepreneurs face. To succeed in such a setting, one must have confidence in their convictions, and enormous quantities of faith in the legitimacy of their proposal.

The development of the female entrepreneur as a driving force is one of the most striking characteristics of the D2C ecosystem. Women have entered businesses such as personal care, fitness and wellbeing, mental health, handcrafted products such as jewelry, sustainable clothes, thrifting, and accessories, among others.

Online buyers may choose from a wide variety, based on their present mood, or a continuous global trend, leading to a fascinating experience. The electronic D2C ecosystem can be linked to women entrepreneurs' tsunami of change. Many of today's leading D2C businesses are led by women. Digital business platforms have provided women entrepreneurs with a means to engage directly with consumers without the use of intermediaries. As a result, many smaller enterprises are able to avoid any gender-based barriers as producers as well as business owners.

Funding was also easier for women entrepreneurs in the digital realm because the new-age digital funding ecosystem is gender-neutral. The federal government acknowledged women entrepreneurs' growing ability to affect social change. As a result, over the course of several years, NitiAayog, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Pradhan MantriRozgarYojana, Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD) Scheme, Annapurna Yojana, Cent Kalyani Scheme, and Udyogini Scheme; were initiated to assist female entrepreneurs in allocating funds and operating their businesses.

Women who are financially independent can help society grow and develop more quickly. Thus, the Indian government has also established efforts to provide credit to women in order to achieve their business objectives. As a result of this, they will be eager to expand and will support more women in the process.

Female Entrepreneurship

With more women entering the working sector, their purchasing power rises in lockstep. Even in the absence of economic equality, women have a significant influence on purchase decisions, with their influence extending to all products and services. They influence more than half of all household expenditure and account for nearly half of all online buying.

Women entrepreneurs have a unique perspective on this rising group and are best positioned to tap into their goals as well as their pain points. Many of the leading female-led D2C startups have capitalized on the D2C market by providing solutions that were previously unavailable or addressed their specific concerns, whether it was personal care products on a single platform, parenting advice, or consumer goods that promised an enhanced quality of life.

The rise of female entrepreneurs mirrors a trend in which a greater emphasis on diversity is altering gender dynamics in the market and the workforce. It's a hopeful sign that they're making progress toward economic equality and social mobility. Furthermore, it heralds a positive trend for the future, as the success of women-led independent, indigenous enterprises encourages more women to take control of their own destiny.