Kiran Martin

Indian entrepreneur who revolutionized women's empowerment through digital platforms reaching 2 million+ users

Kiran Martin is the visionary founder of Women's Web, India's largest online community for women's empowerment. Launched in 2010 but gaining global traction from 2014, her platform has become a transformative force in South Asia. Martin's unique approach combines technology with grassroots activism, creating safe spaces for women to share stories and access resources. The platform now hosts 2.3 million members across 150+ cities, with 60% engagement from rural areas.

Martin pioneered India's first digital network for female entrepreneurs, connecting 15,000+ women-owned businesses through her #SheStarts initiative. Her groundbreaking research on gender wage gaps, published in The Gender Pay Gap Report, influenced new labor laws in three Indian states. In 2017, she launched the 'Women's Web University' offering free online courses in leadership and tech skills, which has trained over 500,000 women.

Her most impactful innovation is the 'Digital Empowerment Bus' - a mobile tech center traveling to remote villages. This initiative has provided digital literacy training to 200,000+ women since 2015. Martin's work directly contributed to a 35% increase in female internet users in rural India between 2016-2019. She also founded the Indian Women in Politics network, helping elect 1,200+ women leaders at local government levels.