In a country where women have historically faced systemic barriers to employment and entrepreneurship, one visionary is rewriting the rules. Sairee Chahal, founder of SHEROES and co-founder of Mahila Money, has built a powerful ecosystem to support women professionals and micro-entrepreneurs across India. Her journey from a small town in Uttar-Pradesh to leading transformative platforms offers an inspiring blueprint for change.
Chahal’s professional trajectory began far from startup lights. With a master’s-level degree in international studies, she entered the workforce in Delhi, yet soon realised that the conventional job path would not satisfy her drive to solve a bigger problem. She went on to launch SHEROES in 2014, a women-only digital community designed to provide jobs, mentorship, flexible work options and peer-to-peer support. From its early days as a jobs platform for women returning to the workforce, SHEROES expanded into a broad ecosystem hosting career advice, entrepreneurial education, remote work opportunities and community forums. The platform now serves millions of women, especially from small towns and peri-urban India, offering them a safe place online to learn, connect and pursue economic agency.
Chahal’s insight was simple yet profound: women with access to digital tools—and a trusted community—could begin to claim their share of opportunity in a rapidly digitising economy. She explains that many women have the desire to “do something” but lack the structures to make it happen. At SHEROES, the emphasis was always on being free for the women users, with revenue coming from enterprise partnerships and remote work programs rather than charging the women themselves. In doing so she built trust, which became the foundation of scaling the platform.
As the community around SHEROES matured, a clear challenge emerged: women micro-entrepreneurs still faced severe constraints when it came to finance. Many women were running home-based businesses, tailoring shops, preschools or beauty salons and using digital payments—but they remained invisible to traditional banks. In response, Chahal launched Mahila Money in 2021 to fill this gap. This full-stack financial services platform focuses on digital micro-loans and financial literacy for women entrepreneurs. Chahal emphasises that these women are not traditional micro-finance clients—they are digitally savvy, ambitious and willing—but they not recognised by formal banking, stuck in a grey zone. Mahila Money offers them capital, digital tools and community alongside tailored financial products.
Through Mahila Money and SHEROES, Chahal is driving a dual-pronged approach: build the digital community and deliver the capital. She often cites the “power of compounding” in her entrepreneurial work: consistent action, day after day, builds trust, scale and impact. Her approach is to encourage women not to wait, to start with the resources they have and build from there. She stresses that the traditional job-based career model is increasingly outdated and urges women to experiment with what can be done online, using free tools and mobile connectivity.
One of the most compelling aspects of Chahal’s work is its reach into non-metro India. Her platforms target women who are married, have children, perhaps live in smaller towns or suburbs, and often face career breaks. They seek flexible incomes or entrepreneurship as a pathway—not just jobs. Chahal believes that when these women begin to access smartphone and internet, they move from being invisible economic contributors to self-standing entrepreneurs. She also believes policy frameworks must catch up—many women run digital businesses from home, yet are not formalised or eligible for schemes, so they remain stuck. Her calls for regulatory reform and gender-focused policy support continue to resonate across India’s startup ecosystem.
For women founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, Chahal offers clear advice: start where you are, use what you have, and learn by doing. Build trust by showing up and doing the work consistently. Seek community rather than going it alone. Understand money and how to use capital—not just to survive but to scale. She emphasises that entrepreneurship is not glamorous but a steady, persistent journey—like ants working a little every day, which eventually adds up.
Today Chahal’s platforms stand as living proof that when community, technology and financial inclusion converge, women can unlock meaningful economic agency. In India’s evolving digital economy, she is not just creating one company; she is galvanising a movement. Her mission is far from complete, but the momentum is clear: millions of women who once felt invisible are now stepping into their power as entrepreneurs.
As India charts its path toward inclusive growth, Sairee Chahal’s work demonstrates how bold ideas backed by technology and trust can unlock new possibilities. For women everywhere who seek to build their own venture, her message is simple and compelling: you don’t need to wait for perfect conditions—start now, learn fast, and keep going.
