Nykaa's Falguni Nayar Becomes India’s Wealthiest Self-Made Female Billionaire

In 2012, a 49-year-old Falguni Nayar started Nykaa – now one of India's leading e-commerce websites.

(Photo: Falguni Nayar Instagram)

Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar on Wednesday, 10 November, became India's wealthiest female self-made billionaire amid the ongoing initial public offering (IPO) of her startup, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This comes on the same day Nykaa opened for trading at Rs 2,001 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), up 78 percent from their issue price of Rs 1,125 per share. Meanwhile, the shares of the e-commerce beauty giant on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened for trading at Rs 2,018, up 79 percent from the issue price, reported the Financial Express.

The market cap of the beauty and fashion retailer hit an overall valuation of 1 trillion rupees in the first five minutes of trade.

From Investment Banker to Entrepreneur

In 2012, a 49-year-old Falguni Nayar started Nykaa – now one of India's leading e-commerce websites – defying two stereotypes that are often used to define women at workplace – age and gender.

In under 10 years of its journey, Nykaa is slated to become India's first and only woman-led unicorn to go public. On 28 October, Nayar, who has helped multiple companies go public, will be seeking to raise funds for her own through an IPO (initial public offering).

The Mumbai-born Nayar graduated from the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad and went on to become an investment banker. In 2012, when she was the Managing Director of Kotak Investment Banking, she quit the job to pursue her dream of starting her own venture.

The company will reportedly use net proceeds from the issue to invest in FSN Brands and Nykaa Fashion. It also aims to set up new retail stores at the cost of Rs 42 crore, various reports stated.

Nayar and family will, however, continue to hold stake in the parent company, which is one of India's few profitable unicorns unlike many other start-ups.