Kamal Kumbhar

Kamal Kumbhar
Nari Shakti Puraskar to Kamal Kumbhar on 8 March 2022
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Social entrepreneur
Awards	Nari Shakti Puraskar (2021)

Kamal Kumbhar is an Indian social entrepreneur and founder of Kamal Poultry and Ekta Producer Company. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India's highest civilian honor for women, in 2021 for her contributions to promoting women's entrepreneurship in the field of animal husbandry. ^[1]

Early life

Kamal Kumbhar was born in Osmanabad, Maharashtra to a daily-wage labourer. She lived in poverty and grew up without access to education. She married at a young age and after that failed, she was financially vulnerable.

Career

Kumbhar joined women's self-help groups and started a small business selling bangles from an investment of ₹500 (US$5.90). Two years later, she was leading a women's federation in Maharashtra. ^[2]

She started Kamal Poultry and Ekta Producer Company in 1998 with no knowledge of business or marketing, with an investment of ₹2,000 (US$24). The company sells about Rs 1 lakh every month. She has mentored more than 5,000 women from her state to set up similar enterprises and become self-sufficient. ^{[1] [3]}

In 2012, she became a clean energy entrepreneur and lit up over 3000 homes with solar-powered devices, after training as an "Energy Sakhi" in SSP's "women in clean energy program", which trained over 1100 women across Maharashtra and Bihar. She owns six business ventures earning the moniker "serial entrepreneur". She owns a range of agriculture-allied businesses. ^[4]

Awards

• CII Foundation's Woman Exemplar award from President Pranab Mukherjee
• Women Transforming India Award (2017), organized by United Nations and NITI Aayog. ^[5]
• Nari Shakti Puraskar (2021) ^[1]

References

1. "Nari Shakti Puraskars honour Specially Abled Kathak Dancer, First Woman Snake Rescuer and Social Entrepreneur from Maharashtra". Press Information Bureau. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
2. "'I Started With Rs 10 & Built 6 Ventures': Woman Helps 5000 Others Start Micro Biz". thebetterindia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
3. Bhardwaj, Deepika (26 September 2017). "How Two Struggling Women Farmers Became Mentors to Thousands More in Maharashtra". The Better India. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
4. "Serial entrepreneur: Her ventures have enabled 3,000 women in the drought-prone region of Osmanabad to be financially independent". The Financial Express. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
5. "Women Transforming India 2017". United Nations India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2019.