Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw [File photo]

Birthplace: India

Notable facts: Mazumdar-Shaw initially planned to work as a beer brewer after graduating from university, but decided against the career path after encountering deep misogyny in the industry. Biocon's first products, though, were enzymes, so some of the knowledge Mazumdar-Shaw would have deployed as a brewer were central to her company's success.

According to FP, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw started Biocon out of a garage in 1978. Thirty-six years later, her company is India's biggest biotechnology firm, and Mazumdar-Shaw is the country's richest self-made woman. Now she is using her position to expand access to affordable health care among India's 1.2 billion people.

This year, Biocon launched CANMab, a breast-cancer drug 25 percent cheaper than its nearest competitor. In India, where around 150,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, Biocon's drug should significantly expand access to lifesaving treatment. CANMab is only the latest in a string of accessible health-care projects: Mazumdar-Shaw funds an affordable cancer-treatment center, underwrites a health-insurance program for rural residents, and has promised to donate three-quarters of her $1.2 billion fortune to charitable causes.