Women Entrepreneurs
Ms. J Mohanasundari
Managing Director, Sharp Pumps
Ms. J. Mohanasundari hailing from Kalapatti village, studied in Kalapatti Government High School. She did her B.Sc. Physics from PSGR Krishnammal College and M.Sc. from Seetha Lakshmi Ramaswamy College, Trichy. She started her career as a lecturer in Salem Sri Saradha College and then to Coimbatore Institute of Technology for 14 years.
In 1992, She moved from teaching to develop her entrepreneurial skills plunging into Business. Her husband persuaded her to pursue a post- graduation degree in Management while being in business she did her MBA simultaneously empowering her to continue the business successfully.
SHARP is well known for its superior quality and standards internationally. More than 95% of Sharp Electrodes are exported. 70% of the workforce is women. She is providing opportunities for women to empower them.
Ms. Kalaiyarasi Ramachandran
Founder of Raatai
Kalaiyarasi is the founder of Raatai Handloom, a social enterprise working to make weaving accessible to everyone, from children to senior citizens. She comes from Kavindapadi, Erode, where weaving is part of everyday life.
After building a successful career in IT, she returned to her heritage with a clear purpose, to modernize weaving and make it relevant in today’s world.
Kalaiyarasi believes weaving is not just a craft. It is a skill-building activity, a mental wellness tool, and a form of creativity training. Through research and fieldwork, she reimagined weaving for modern spaces, leading to the creation of DIY portable looms, spinning kits, and natural dyeing kits for homes, schools, therapy centres, and community spaces.
Her work has impacted 11,000+ people across 8 states and 24 nationalities, including children with learning differences, senior citizens, and students. Her journey has been supported by the TANSEED Grant, IIM Bangalore – NSRCEL, Stanford Seed Spark, and Startup Singam recently committed 70 lakhs.
She strongly believes – Hand skill is wealth that never fades.