More The Merrier

Ananya Birla has her fingers in three diverse ventures, and has few problems doing justice to each.

- Salil Panchal

Being born into one of the country’s most well-respected business families is one thing; trying to make a name for oneself by breaking out of the traditional businesses is another. That is what Ananya Birla, the eldest daughter of Kumar Mangalam Birla—the world’s 127th richest and India’s sixth with a net worth of $11.8 billion, according to the 2018 Forbes billionaires’ list—has started to do, as an entrepreneur-singer.

At 24, Ananya runs three diverse ventures: One provides microfinance and now housing loans; another, with her mother Neerja, deals with mental health disorders and the third, CuroCarte, sells handmade lifestyle products through an ecommerce venture. At a personal level, Ananya is well-entrenched into a successful singing career as well—with three certified platinum singles, as per the Indian Music Industry, a trust that represents the country’s recording industry distributors.