Passionate about skill development and environment conservation, Divya Rishi has always been keen on exploring ways to reduce the use of plastic by recycling it and reducing the burden on landfills and oceans. Owing to her family’s erstwhile business in textile printing and dyeing, Divya admits that she has inherited his father’s enthusiasm for the sector and decided to sow seeds for a sustainable and professionally managed textile unit. After working on several CSR and environment-related brand marketing and communication projects that affirmed her passion for adopting sustainable practices in business, she set out to start her entrepreneurial journey with Raghav Mahesh wary. These pioneering entrepreneurs leveraged their passion for quality rPET recycled fabrics, linen, and linen blend fabrics and established Indo Weave. The company works with an aim to inspire, innovate, and create designs for leading textile and fashion brands around the world. Over the years the company has created a diversified product portfolio that includes the manufacturing of high-quality home furnishing and apparel fabrics.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur Magazine, Divya gives us more insights into her professional journey and the unique business operations of IndoWeave.

Give An Overview Of Indoweave. What Motivated You To Pursue The Field Of The Textile Industry. Also, Throw Some Light On The Underlying Idea Behind Indoweave.

IndoWeave Textiles is a young and ambitious textile manufacturing company, specializing in PET recycled fabrics, linen, linen blend, and faux linen dobby fabrics for home textiles and apparel wear. We, a team of two co-founders, Divya Rishi and Raghav Maheshwary, are first-generation entrepreneurs who want to turn our passion for design, creativity, and the environment into a mission to create high-quality, eco-friendly products that combine beauty with durability.

I've always been interested in skill development and environmental preservation, and I began my work with GiveIndia, a non-profit organization. Later, Yes Bank provided me with wonderful opportunities to work on various environment-related brand marketing and communication projects, reinforcing my commitment to sustainable business practices. My father and our family's previous business in textile printing and dyeing also influenced my decision. My father has always been enthusiastic about the industry, finding it to be exciting, challenging, and rewarding.

IndoWeave is distinctive in that, despite being a startup, we have the largest number of dobby designs in multi-blends and recycled fabrics, and we manufacture tailor-made fabrics with short lead times.

Tell Us About Your Educational Journey And Prior Industry Experience.

I earned a degree in Banking and Insurance from HR College of Commerce & Economics. Following graduation, I received a scholarship to study marketing management at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom. Marketing communications, branding, and digital marketing have been the focus of my career so far. Working for PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Yes Bank Ltd refined my professional managerial skills.

What Are The Roles And Responsibilities That You Shoulder Within Indoweave Textiles? How Do You Tackle The Challenges Related To The Job?

My core responsibilities include product development and innovation, business growth, and human resource development and management. Our challenges are three-fold: 1) Growth Capital: Access to growth capital and mentorship is sparse in textiles. Investing in a conventional manufacturing setup is usually met with a certain amount of opposition. Basic weaving technology is still the same with incremental technological enhancements in the machinery. However, what has changed is the way of doing business. IndoWeave is doing a traditional business but what sets us apart from our many competitors is client servicing and continuously innovating with fresh designs and creativity. With the right mentorship and partners, we aim to increase our capacities to further build our sustainable product portfolio. 2) Supply Chain & Cost of Raw Material: Textile as a sector is largely unorganized and sometimes suffers due to a fragmented supply chain. The positive side is that there are certain players that are trying to address this issue using technology but it has a long way to go. Some of the challenges may sound cliché or rather mundane but that’s the reality that every entrepreneur faces in the textile industry. Day-to-day working requires using innovative techniques of problem-solving. The recent rise in raw material prices has impacted MSMEs like ours and we have to work twice as hard to expand business and retain existing clientele. We are innovating in terms of product development to overcome the rising costs and practicing strict financial prudence. 3) Talent: There are two parts to talent - skilled and unskilled. While skilled talent is comparably easy to find but hard to retain; it is the unskilled labor or factory workers that require special attention. Manufacturing is a lot dependent on semi-skilled labor that often goes unnoticed or their importance is undermined. I personally believe in up skilling people as it not only helps the employee but also the company. If the person has the right attitude towards work, he or she can be honed to perform tasks as per their potential. At IndoWeave, we have unskilled our employees from being helpers to now production assistants or dispatch managers.

In Your Opinion What Are Some Of The Most Significant Milestones That You Have Achieved In Your Professional Journey? Also, What Has Been The Driving Force Behind Your Success?

We have a few feathers in our cap including our recent GRS certification and, most importantly, our clients' trust in our capacity YOY. Fabrics are easy to reproduce, and competition is fierce, but the fact that we have grown by thirty percent YOY in difficult times is a significant achievement for us.

 "A leader should be judged on talent, empathy & high - functioning emotional intelligence rather than gender"

The textile industry has a lot of room for innovation, not just in terms of raw materials, but also in terms of supply chain and employee skilling and up skilling. MSMEs can help to fuel this expansion in a professional and organized manner. Environment-friendly products and sustainable business methods are the way forward, and IndoWeave's goal is in line with the planet's and people's future demands. We're working hard to expand our sustainable textiles offering through collaboration and innovation.

What Would Be Your Advice To Young Women And Girls Who Aspire To Be Business Leaders In The Future?

A leader should be judged only on talent, empathy, and high-functioning emotional intelligence rather than gender. I want to tell any girl who desires to be a successful leader or entrepreneur that your self-worth is established by you and you alone, and that you should never be afraid to demand what you deserve since selling yourself short is not an option. Lifting each other up without the bias of gender is the kind of equality I envision for all of us.

Divya Rishi, Director, Indoweave Textiles Pvt Ltd

With ten years of corporate and professional management experience, Divya Rishi is expanding the company's product offering from domestic to international markets.