The world is stepping forward in bridging the gap between gender biases in organizations. The millennial women are chasing their dreams, proving a sudden upsurge in women entrepreneurship. Business is no more a new deal to them, not just in conventional sectors like handicrafts, food, fashion, and entertainment, but also in the socio-economic, commerce & trade realms, and technology. Even with all this progress, a woman establishing herself in a recognizable position is not easy. They are undertaking multifarious risks, addressing challenges, and tackling barriers to launch themselves as businesswomen. To support women in dealing with the world of confronting challenges, Major Vandana Sharma co-founded STREE – an ecosystem for female entrepreneurs.
With an inspiring vision of building a strong community, today, STREE is empowering thousands of women, to launch online businesses. While motivating and supporting the courageous ladies, this platform is turning them into superwomen who can inspire several others who want to shine.
While appreciating the essence of ‘women behind the success of women’, Women Entrepreneur India engages an insightful conversation with Major Vandana Sharma to know about STREE and its contributions in driving gender equality.
Elaborate on the focus of stree. What are its services and approaches?
At STREE, we are creating a platform where women can share skills and offer services/products across categories like art, beauty, startups, health & wellness, dance, cooking, tutoring, fitness, music, gardening, and much more. Our commitment is to create opportunities for women solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who want to connect with the right audience & mentors and give them a platform to showcase their skills and build their brands.
In the absence of the right infrastructure, the potential of women is yet to be unleashed. The current contribution of women to GDP is just the tip of the iceberg. We are working to build the most inclusive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to rise and lead by creating a level playing field for them, using e-commerce, technology, and business expertise. In the emerging world, gig jobs are on the rise, more people are going the freelance way and the business world is constantly evolving, growing, and transforming digitally. In these circumstances, there are millions of women exploring their hobbies, passions, and skills, who choose to operate from their homes by going online with their offerings. We hope to be able to help by connecting them to the right customers and building long-term value and credibility.
Our dream is to create a community and provide a platform for women entrepreneurs to operate digitally without geographical constraints and create an impact not only for themselves but also for their families and economies worldwide.
Illustrate the growth aspects of the company. Highlight the achievements it has procured so far.
“Stree is committed to creating opportunities for women Solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who want to connect with the right audience & mentors and give them a platform to showcase their skills and build their brands”
We have a long distance to go but we made inroads into a digital space where women are still underrepresented. We have more than 500 skill expert women solopreneurs across categories like Business mentoring, fitness, health, art and craft, career counseling, and school tutoring. Our users are from more than 40 countries and we are growing quite rapidly across tier 2 cities in India and the Asian subcontinent.
How do you look at the opportunities stree can offer to women at present?
We are looking to grow beyond the geographic boundaries and be the one marketplace of skill showcasing for women worldwide. There is so much untapped potential that women are unable to focus on due to multiple reasons.
Several women drop off the workforce due to personal life events like weddings and motherhood. Often a career is not the preferred option and an ambitious woman is frowned upon for focussing on work rather than focusing on home. The juggle is hard and often emotionally traumatic.
In the pandemic, where the whole world is now operating from home, a woman certainly carries few advantages and that makes her a better player in the home and economy. Following own passions and generating income through side hustles are becoming the way to go. Being self-employed and being recognized for unique talents, flexible work hours, and the ability to choose the scope, scale, and balancing it with other priorities is a great way to stay connected with what one is good at. Now is the opportunity to shine and be the star at your home ground. We support their creativity to shine and provide the opportunity to excel in doing what one enjoys most and can thrive from anywhere in this new flat world with a new order.
What message would you like to give the young women entrepreneurs?
I think the new age women are already cheering each other and helping to create communities that raise each other. It is important to learn, care for, and share wholeheartedly, support other women entrepreneurs. A very important factor would be to support local businesses and other women startups to help them grow, thrive, and compete with the open market and have an opportunity to scale up and reach the ultimate potential. I would like to highlight the quote by Gail Blanke “Don't just stand for the success of other women - insist on it.”
Major Vandana Sharma, Co-Founder, Stree
Major Vandana is an ex-Indian army officer and a Kargil war veteran has been recognised as a Linkedin Top Voice 2019, won Women icons Asia Pacific, BERG Singapore, 2017 and Women of Substance, SRL Diagnostics 2017. She is striving to touch lives of millions of women entrepreneurs in their journey of success and growth and maximising impact economically and socially.
