Ananya Birla is an Indian singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. In 2016, Ananya signed with Universal Music India. Her first five songs hit the 150 million mark on streaming platforms, with singles "Meant To Be", "Livin the Life", "Hold On", "Circles" and "Better" achieving platinum status. Ananya is the first Indian artist with an English language single to go platinum in India. She released her debut EP Fingerprint in May 2019, via UMG and Island Records UK. It included "Blackout" featuring Vector and Wurld, which was one of the first collaborations between major artists from India and Nigeria. Ananya is the founder of Svatantra Microfin, a company that provides microfinance to women in rural India. She is also the founder of CuroCarte and cofounder of Mpower. Ananya has received awards for her work and entrepreneurship, including the ET Panache Trendsetters of 2016 award for Young Business Person and was listed as one of GQs Most Influential Indians of 2018. She is also the daughter of Kumar Mangalam Birla, an Indian industrialist and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
Early life
Ananya Birla developed an interest in music at an early age, learning to play the santoor at the age of eleven. She studied economics and management at Oxford University for her bachelor's degree, but dropped out without completing her degree.
Career
Music career
While at university, Ananya started singing and playing the guitar at pubs and clubs. She also began writing her own music. Her debut single, "Livin’ the Life", was co-written, and produced, by JimBeanz and was recorded and produced at a studio in Philadelphia. A remix by Dutch DJ Afrojack of "Livin’ the Life" makes Ananya the first Indian artiste to get a worldwide release through PM:AM Recordings and hit over 14 million views on YouTube as of June 2017. Her songs have been topping the music charts in 2019. She released her next single "Meant to be" in July 2017 which was subsequently certified Platinum as per the Indian Music Industry recognised criteria for certifications. This makes Ananya the first Indian artiste with an English single to go platinum. In January 2017, she supported Coldplay at the Global Citizen Festival. She released her single "Hold On" on 1 March 2018. On 7 June 2018, she released her fourth single "Circles". On 17 Jan 2019, she released her 5th single and 1st song of 2019 "Better", which was viewed 4 million times on YouTube within 2 day of its release.
Business career
Ananya founded Svatantra Microfin Private Limited at the age of 17. The organisation makes small loans to women entrepreneurs based in rural India. Under her leadership, Svatantra won the Gold Award for Best Start-Up, Spirituality @ Work: Sach Bharat Samman and has maintained a quality loan portfolio, offering one of the lowest interest rates in the country. In 2016, Ananya became the founder and CEO of CuroCarte, an inventory-based global luxury e-Commerce platform. The same year, Forbes named her one of Asia's Women to Watch.
Campaign work
While in England, Ananya became aware of a student helpline that supported young people suffering from anxiety and depression. After university, she returned to India and, along with her mother, set up a mental health initiative called MPower aiming to stamp out the stigma towards people with mental illness across India. MPower is also responsible for opening a treatment centre for children suffering from mental health conditions.
Personal life
Ananya is the eldest child of the sixth richest Indian - Kumar Mangalam Birla and Neerja Birla and the sixth generation scion of the Birla family.
