India has seen an upsurge in the rise of women entrepreneurs lately. If statistics are to be considered, around 8 million women in India are indulged in their own businesses small or large. With these rising numbers, it is a proven fact that women are no longer subjugated within the four walls and have stepped out to explore the many opportunities that awaits them.
Among these many ambitious women, the Northeastern women also hold a substantial share in the entrepreneur world. The trends have changed, and year after year, more and more females are turning out to be successful women entrepreneurs of North East India. While each of them are doing their bit and becoming a useful resource for the society, here we have indexed 12 such mighty business women who have shot to name and fame from their persistent hard work and efforts.
1. Abokali Jimomi
Abokali Jimomi is the proud founder of Organic Nagaland. Organic Nagaland came into existence in the year 2011, with the objective of empowering local organic growers and training the local Naga women and men with the latest technologies of agriculture. Since then, it has revolutionised the Nagaland agriculture, owing all this to the constant efforts of Abokali.
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2. Rakhi Saikia
An ambitious entrepreneur from the Barapathar area of Golaghat district in Assam, Rakhi Saikia redefined the tea industry of Assam. Owning a 99 hectare organic tea plantation in the area, Rakhi with her continuous efforts and regular experiments successfully produced Yellow tea, a native to China, in India. Thus, creating a revolution in the tea industry!
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3. Lakhimi Baruah
This wonder woman deserves a special mention in the list of women entrepreneurs from North East. Realising the difficulties that the women of Northeast from the lesser privileged class has to face on a daily basis, Lakhimi Baruah sowed seed for her dream project, a cooperative bank for women called Konoklota Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank (KMUCB) in the year 1998. Since then, this bank, which has only female employees, has reached out to many women in the Northeast and has helped them to manage their finances effectively.
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4. Leena Saikia
A dynamic lady who took the road less taken, Leena Saikia is the founder of the food production company called. ‘Frontal Agritech Private Limited’. The main produce of this company is Bhoot Jalokia, the spiciest chilli in the world, with 90% of the produce being exported to 22 different countries around the globe.
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5. Janessaline Mary Pyngrope
This designer cum entrepreneur from Meghalaya was accoladed with the ‘Vasundhara North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year’ award. She started her journey in 2011 when she launched the first fashion house of Meghalaya. Ever since then, her fashion house has been creating designs that are a blend of modern outlook and the traditional style. She is certainly a renowned name in the industry today and an inspiration to many fashion enthusiasts.
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6. Basamlu Krisikro
Popularly known as the ‘Tea Lady’, Basamlu is an inspiration to many ambitious minds. Her mother being diagnosed with cancer had to be given a cup of organic tea was what made her indulge in tea farming. From growing the tea in her backyard, her business has evolved so much so that, she has inspired many people in her village in Arunachal Pradesh including some drug addicts to indulge in chemical free beverage farming.
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7. Tanushree Hazarika
Tanushree Hazarika is the managing director of the leading magazine of Northeast, ‘Ecelctic Northeast’. Having worked with renowned MNCs, Tanushree came back to her hometown, Guwahati and joined her family business. Within a short span of time, not just the magazine, but this female entrepreneur has many different endeavours under her like the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival and Tattva Creations.
Related: 5 Successful Entrepreneurs from Assam
8. Archita Ray
Archita Ray is the lone woman entrepreneur of the first private hatchery of Tripura. She has been running this business in Amatali (a district in Tripura) for the past 20 years. She saw it as an opportunity because poultry was earlier imported from West Bengal and now with her innovation, Tripura has its own hatchery. Over the years her business has grown fruitfully and at present she has a monthly produce of approximately three lakhs chicks.
Related: Entrepreneurship Growth in Nagaland
9. Hekani Jakhalu
A social entrepreneur, Hekani Jakhalu is the founder of the YouthNet an organisation in Nagaland that believes in harnessing the power of the youth to bring about a change. Launched in 2006, the organisation has seen creating major footprints and was awarded the ‘UN Habitat Youth Award’ for the year 2010-11.
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10. Hasina Kharbhih
Another social entrepreneur, Hasina Kharbhih is the founder and chairperson of Impulse NGO network in Meghalaya. With over two decades in this sector, Hasina and her NGO, fights against human trafficking in India, South and South East Asia. She has been recognized with many prestigious awards like ‘Japan Socialist Activist-a-Award’, ‘GDN Global Development Award’ and so on for her relentless contribution in combating human trafficking.
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11. Sanjukta Dutta
An engineer turned designer, Sanjukta Dutta from Nagaon Assam has successfully made Assam’s traditional attire ‘Mekhala Chador’ earn national and international acclaim. She started her weaving unit in 2012 and since then, her studio has earned name and fame all world over.
Related: Business Personalities of Northeast India
12. Nisha Bora
Nisha Bora quit her high paying job only to join her father in his endeavour. Elrhino, an endeavour by Mahesh Bora, is involved in paper making from the rhino’s dung. Elrhino being Nisha’s encore career, she now takes care of the matters related to Elrhino and believes that through this endeavour they aimed at generating livelihood and also save the rhinos that are Assam’s pride. She has truly proved to be an inspiration for the rising female entrepreneurs!
