Washington, April 23 (IANS) Indian American entrepreneurs run six of the top 50 fastest-growing women-led companies in the US, according to an annual ranking by trade group Women Presidents' Organization.

Argent Associates Inc, a supply-chain management company from Edison, New Jersey, has been ranked the No. 1 by WPO, a trade group for multimillion-dollar women-owned businesses, which determined its list using a formula that combines percentage revenue growth and absolute growth.

Argent founder Beatriz Manetta attributes the growth spurt, noteworthy in an otherwise stagnant economy, to an increase in clients' imports from China and India that are assembled in her warehouses, according to the Wall Street Journal.

No. 3 on the list was Artech Information Systems LLC, a Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, provider of information technology and project-management services to corporate clients, run by Indian American Ranjini Poddar.

The five other companies run by Indian-American women on the top 50 list were Padma Allen led TechnoDyne LLC (12), Anjali Ramakumaran led Ampcus Inc. (20), Sonu Ratra led Akraya Inc. (35), Priti Parikh led Sweta Systems Inc. (42) and Kiran Gill led PARS Environmental Inc. (49).

The list comes at a time when women-owned firms have grown in number but still lag behind male counterparts in terms of revenue, the Journal noted.

The number of female-owned companies grew 125 percent between 1982 and 2002, and women currently own 10.1 million firms or about 40 percent of all private companies in the US, according to the Centre for Women's Business Research.

Only 3 percent of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more, compared with 6 percent of men-owned firms, the center estimates.

On average, companies on the Top 50 list grew by more than $30 million in revenue between 2005 and 2009; posted revenue of $45 million in 2009; and employ nearly 140 workers.

A diverse group of industries, from medical staffing to security patrol services to ecological restoration, are represented.