Ms. Ananyashree Birla

Non-Executive Director

Ananya is a businesswoman and an artist.

Named as one of Business Today’s Most Powerful Women 2023, Ananya started Svatantra Microfin, the
youngest and fastest growing microfinance company in India, at the age of 17. In one of the largest deals in the industry, Ananya Birla’s Svatantra has acquired Chaitanya India Fin Credit, making Svatantra the second largest microfinance organisation in the industry. With a team strength of over 19500 and an AUM of over 16000 Cr., Svatantra is financing entrepreneurs who are powering India’s growth story. Recently, Svatantra secured the largest PE investment deal in the microfinance sector, amounting to a whopping INR 1930 Cr. [$230 million], with investments from Advent International and Multiples. Svatantra has been a first mover and shaper of the industry by being the first end-to-end cashless organisation, and also the first to roll out an extensive customer facing app that is conducive to client social behaviours.

The AA- graded organisation [highest rating in the sector] was awarded the best microfinance organisation of the year and has been placed in the top 25 best places to work in its segment by globally Recognised Great Places To Work 2020. In addition, Svatantra MHFC, her micro housing arm, is the only housing institution to focus on the EWS/LIG segment, and to have a completely branchless model.

Listed in the Fortune 40 Under 40 cohort, Ananya was also voted one of GQ’s Most Influential Young Indians and featured in Miss Vogue’s ‘28 Geniuses Under 28’. She has graced the cover of Forbes Women to Watch, been named Financial Express Newsmaker of the Year, and was honoured as one of Economic Times’ Most Promising Women Business Leaders of 2022. Selected among Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful Women, she was also featured in the 2024 edition of Economic Times’ 40 Under Forty.

In 2024, she forayed in the beauty and personal care space with the launch of Birla Cosmetics. As part of this venture, she introduced her own fragrance brand, Contraband, followed by Lovetc, a performance-driven, homegrown colour cosmetics line crafted to global standards.

Ms. Ananya Birla’s efforts in her entrepreneurial ventures have been recognised and felicitated by various Government entities such as the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi at Champions of Change, an event organized by the National Institution for Transforming India [NITI Aayog]. Ms. Ananya Birla was also conferred by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, for her role in empowering rural Indian women and pioneering 100% cashless disbursement since inception. She was presented with Kamala Rising Star Award by the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in April 2022.

An alumnus of Oxford University, she is also the founder of Ananya Birla Foundation which promotes global understanding and supports programs that build a kinder, happier, equal, stigma-free world, where no conversation is taboo, and all people are connected to the support they need to lead a fulfilling life. One of the key imperatives of the foundation is to make mental health mainstream. The Foundation has been committed to working with exemplary community-first non-profit organisations from India to be a part of the solution to pressing societal challenges primarily through grant-making.

In May 2020, the Foundation made its’ first grant to Save The Children India targeting 100,000 individuals, and several grants thereafter in different areas of need, such as, surgeries for acid attack survivors and menstrual hygiene. The foundation is currently doing pioneering work in research and intervention designs for mental health in rural India. The findings of Project Blank Slate were translated into published papers at Cambridge, offering comprehensive insights into mental health resources, barriers, intervention needs, and perspectives among rural women in Maharashtra.

The Foundation’s impact in numbers in 2024-25 showcases meaningful change across people, communities, and animals. Project UNLEARN educated 300 incarcerated men in Dehradun Prisons on gender equality, consent, and positive masculinity. In partnership with World For All, 2,568 critically ill canines were treated and rehabilitated, and over 4,000 stray dogs received medical care with a 90% survival and recovery rate. Through the Poribortonor Bij Amar program, implemented with Gram Panchayats and district authorities, 120 women across 30 Gram Panchayats were trained in solid waste management, data reporting, and financial literacy to operate sustainable SHG-led businesses. The MannSafar campaign reached 5,000 adolescents and youth in Mumbai colleges, while CIF [Children of India Foundation] enhanced mental health awareness and access to services for 2,000 EMGs across Karnataka.

An ardent advocate for mental health, Ananya is also a National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI] ambassador. She is also the co-founder of Mpower, a foundation that provides mental health awareness across the country.

Ananya was recently appointed on the Board of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd., Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, and Grasim. Ananya is involved in various Aditya Birla Group businesses driving key strategy across industries, both in India and overseas.

With over 500 million streams, Ananya is also India’s biggest selling English language global popstar, and has scaled the charts at home, in India, as well as overseas. With three back-to-back double platinum selling singles and two platinum selling singles, Ananya is unstoppable. The MTV EMA nominee began her musical journey at the age of 9 with the Santoor, an Indian instrument.

Her directorships in body corporates are as follows: