23/05/2026
Caregiving didn't slow her journey — it shaped it. 🌿
Our co-founder Smita Kumar at the FICCI roundtable on the Care Economy, sharing the story behind Caresoft and a conversation that matters for every working woman in India.
She built Caresoft — now trusted by 1,000+ hospitals across India and globally — while raising her daughter from six months old. That experience taught her one thing early: companies don't run on one person working endlessly. They run on strong teams, trust, and flexibility. 💛
It's why, at Caresoft, ownership matters more than hours. It's why a colleague returning from maternity leave — unsure she could catch up — today leads some of our largest hospital portfolios. 🙌
The challenge was never her ambition. It rarely is.
📊 73% of Indian women leave the workforce after childbirth
🌍 700M+ women worldwide are out of work due to caregiving
💼 India's care economy: a $30B sector that could create 60M jobs by 2030
The takeaway from FICCI? Treat the care economy as infrastructure — as essential as roads or digital. Childcare support, returnship programmes, flexible work, and access to finance for women-led MSMEs aren't perks. They're the foundation.
Grateful to FICCI for the platform. The care economy isn't just a social cause — it's one of India's biggest economic opportunities. ✨
