Ananya Birla, Founder, Svatantra Microfinance

READY TO CONQUER

THE WORLD

I WANT TO BUILD MY OWN LEGACY

nanya Birla walks into the elegant living room, phone attached to her ear,

and she is cool, confident and knows exactly what she wants. She is wearing a summery, white, mid-length dress paired with high heels. We are at the Birla estate in Mumbai's tony Peddar Road area where she lives with her family. Bits of her personality come through as we spot a number of tattoos on her and as she loosens up and talks about her work and other passions, I can't help but ask about them. "I have f ive tattoos. One says conquer, another Svatantra, a third mind over matter. I have a heart on my collar bone, and another tattoo saying Always Mommy's Girl. I got these tattoos in different places at different times in my life and they all mean something to me." She then adds a note of caution saying that it is a 'very addictive thing to do'.

At 21, Ananya Birla is many things; intelligent, passionate, with a sharp entrepreneurial mind, forever nosing out a new business opportunity. She is

also business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla's daughter (her father is the eighth-richest Indian on the Forbes 2016 billionaire list, with a personal wealth of $6.1 billion (Rs 40,687 crore). Ananya has a rather hefty lineage to live up to but rather than be fazed by the family paraphernalia she embraces it, and is keen on building her own legacy.

Contrary to what one may believe, it wasn't easy living with the family surname in a country where everyone knew who she was the moment she spelt out her name. "When I was growing up, my father was naturally a very busy man and was not around for long periods of time. Despite that he was always emotionally with me. My mum shaped my initial years and made sure I was always busy learning something, doing something constructive. From Lego to puzzles, sketching, calligraphy, learning to play the santoor, to sporty activities like learning table tennis, swimming, playing football, my early years were busy and always full."

EARLY INFLUENCES "I am very lucky. My parents are very open minded and have instilled the right values in me so I keep myself in check at all times. While my family legacy is a tradition, my parents are not traditional in the least. Growing up, I was always aware that women get married early, have kids, yet my parents treated me and my siblings (her brother Aryaman Vikram is 19 and sister Advaitesha 13) equally. I felt extra loved in fact and my parents always supported my passions," says Ananya of the initial, growing years when she was developing her personality and becoming a person in her own right. Does being a Birla enhance her or take away from her achievements? "Today, everyone knows I am doing things myself. While growing up it took away from me (the fact that I was Kumar Mangalam Birla's daughter), but I greatly admire my father and look up to h im as he inspires me in so many ways. I want to carry forward the family's legacy of values. Over time, create one's own

legacy," she says. "My parents are very proud of me. I have a fabulous family, home, friends and I am so grateful for it. I really am a super lucky daughter and I try to be a better person each day and also be loyal," she adds. In addition to her parents, she has been greatly influenced by two women in her life; Mother Teresa and her domestic help Lata. "Power and money are not what truly matter, qualities of heart matter more. I find inspiration in real stories. For instance, Mother Teresa is someone I look up to because she believed you start with one person and touch other lives eventually, I hope I can do that someday. Also, Lata has been with me since I was six months. She has had a very tough life, yet chose to remain positive all throughout. I really look up to her. Different people inspire me in different ways, and it all boils down to the courage in the person's heart," says Ananya.

TURNING POINT But life hasn't been all smooth sailing for the Birla

SHE IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST HER S U R N A M E . A N A N Y A BIRLA, FOUNDER,

SVATANTRA MICROFINANCE IS DETERMINED TO RISE A B O V E THE PACK.

By PRACHI BHUCHAR

heiress. Ananya went through a rough phase in her early teens when she switched schools because she struggled to fit in and then dropped out of the American School of Bombay. These two events, according to her, were watershed moments in her life. "I switched schools because I could not handle being around people who didn't understand me because of my surname. I was then forced to drop out of high school to pursue my A levels. At around the time I was home schooling for the A levels, I told myself I had to do something and follow it through. That was a turning point in my life. This coupled with my passion for start-ups and the vast income gap I had been seeing, is how my company Svatantra came about," she says.

Svatantra, a microfinance company founded by Ananya, which began operations in March 2013, is one of the youngest microfinance companies in

SVATANTRA MILESTONES

The company began operations in 2013 and is a microloan company that helps rural women start businesses.

Til l date it has disbursed Rs 186 crore as loans to approximately 1,20,249 clients

In March 2016, ICRA assigned an MFI rating of A- to Svatantra which establishes it among the top three companies in the

micro-financing industry.

It is one of the fastest growing companies in this space. FY17 the company is expected to grow its portfolio at a CAGR of around 180-190 per cent

Ananya Bir la wants to take the company to the next level and establish it as a small finance bank which would eventually help the brand expand both vertically and horizontally.

the country and has been growing steadily since its inception. The organisation provides affordable financial and non-financial solutions to rural women and uses technology in a big way to do so. It currently has close to 1,20,249 clients across three states (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh ) with a gross portfolio of Rs128 crore. Svatantra is very close to Ananya's heart and she says, "I did have to go

convince my father to put in the initial seed capital of Rs 5 crore but I knew I had to prove myself and make the money count. There is so much I want to do but my mother keeps reminding me, Rome was not built in a day." In fact, her first tattoo was the one that reads Svatantra, proof of how precious this venture has been.

THE IDEA OF MPOWER Svatantra aside, Ananya is

actively pursuing another business idea, as well as a mental health awareness initiative, for which she has collaborated with her mother. "While at university in Oxford, there was a helpline where you could call in anonymously if you were anxious, depressed or troubled. There was so much pressure that a number of people around me were experiencing frequent breakdowns. Everyone needs a therapist. Back in India, I saw people going through similar experiences, and then I was shocked when I saw India has one of the highest suicide rates in the world," she says. Creating awareness was the first step towards getting people to recognise mental illness and encour­aging them to get help. The mother-daughter duo is now setting up a holistic centre where young adults can get help through different forms of therapy. So what was it like working with her mother Neerja Birla on this project?

At the Standard Chartered marathon, raising awareness about M Power

'COVER STORY

ANANYA'S COMMANDMENTS

Follow your heart and be honest to who you are.

The only person you are answerable to is yourself followed by your best friends and family.

Have strong values.

Believe in honesty and authenticity, stick by them.

Introspect whenever you can as it is a good learning tool.

Have a strong learning curve and when you slump, learn to self motivate.

Have lots of down time.

Laugh hard and play hard and have a balanced life

"We complement each other perfectly, and her emotional quotient is amazing. I really look up to my mother and she inspires me every day. I am very close to her but matching schedules has been insane. We are very passionate about the cause and work well together," says the young Birla.

JUMPING ONTO THE E-COMMERCE BANDWAGON And if you thought Svatantra and M Power would be enough to keep this Birla girl going, you're wrong. She is already in the process of setting up an e-commerce venture which is likely to launch this June. "I found that there is a lot of talent across the world that needs to be channelised.

Design can transform things; in this venture we are using handcrafted products and adding an element of design to make them beautiful and contemporary and offer them to the global consumer. The basic idea is to bring beauty into daily lives through products," she says. They are currently looking at procuring products from seven countries and shipping to five countries. What are some of the challenges? "Many of the products are extremely fragile, have a high lead time and one needs to constantly be on the go. It is a very premium brand that we are hoping to create," she says of the new venture.

While Ananya is very much her own person, it is clear that lineage counts for something as her reservations are sharp, business-like and she is extremely clear-headed about the kind of people she wants as part of her team.

"When I recruit, I look for clear thought processes, intuition, for people who are not stuck within boxes, are hardworking, passionate, and willing to learn. I like people who are willing to lead and break barriers and am not so hung up on qualifications," she shares.

LIFE BEYOND WORK "I had a different childhood, it was tough to be a Birla. There was a dichotomy

within myself and I found myself asking the question, who is Ananya? I started writing poetry when I was 12 and realised it wasn't too bad, and then about six years ago, I got attracted to the guitar. I self taught myself and started writing music. I sit in my room, come up with a melody and pen lyrics as well. It helps that I know some music theory as well. The big plan is to hopefully release a single soon. Music

helps me relax, whether I am listening to it or playing the guitar. My current favourites are Stand By You, Fight Song, Cherry Wine by Hozier, and Army.

Music aside, Ananya loves going on long drives, often by herself. She drives a red BMW Z4 and a Mini Cooper which her mother gifted her on her 19th birthday. While she and Mumbai shared an uneasy relationship during her growing years, the tide has clearly turned today. "I love life and have reached a stage where I have amazing people around me. Even if you take my surname away, I know who I am. Mumbai can be contagious. The pace of life is so fast that if I travel out of the city I am happy for a few days, but then I crave the Mumbai hit," she says. Ananya is also a fitness freak who invests a lot of time in working out and staying healthy. Given that she is a vegetarian, she usually ends up eating healthy, with cocoa pops being one of her only indulgences.

"You need to accept yourself for who you are. The idea is to create a platform and reach out to people through a business that is both profitable and sustainable. Over the next five years, I want to get my e-commerce business going and get Svatantra the status of a national bank. My other goal is to be recognised as a successful singer/songwriter and touch people's souls. "It's all about being brave, courageous, persevering and following your heart. And you can be number one at anything you set out to achieve."