Ananya Birla

Ananya Birla
Birla in 2016
Background information
Born (1994-07-17) 17 July 1994
Mumbai, India
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments
Years active 2016–present
Labels Universal Music India
Website ananyabirla.com

Ananya Birla (/əˈnænjə ˈbɜːrlə/, born 17 July 1994) is an Indian singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the daughter of Kumar Mangalam Birla, an Indian industrialist and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in India. In 2016, Birla signed with Universal Music India and released her debut single, "Livin The Life".[1] After topping the charts with her first song, she released her second single "Meant To Be"[2] which was certified platinum by IMI in December 2017.[3] Ananya is the first Indian artiste with an English language single to go platinum.[4]

Ananya is the founder of Svatantra Microfin, a company that provides microfinance to women in rural India.[5] Ananya is also the founder of CuroCarte[6] and cofounder of Mpower.[7] Birla has received awards for her work and entrepreneurship, including the ET Panache Trendsetters of 2016 award for Young Business Person.[8]

Early life

Ananya Birla developed an interest in music at an early age, learning to play the santoor at the age of eleven.[9] She studied economics and management at University of Oxford, United Kingdom.[10]

Career

Music career

Ananya plays the guitar and the santoor. While at university, Ananya started singing and playing the guitar at pubs and clubs. She also began writing her own music.[11] Birla’s track ‘I Don’t Want to Love’ caught the attention of Universal Music India where she was eventually signed.[12] Her debut single, "Livin’ the Life", was co-written, and produced, by Jim Beanz (who previously collaborated with Nelly Furtado, Cheryl Tweedy and Demi Lovato) and was recorded and produced at a studio in Philadelphia.[13] 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 millions views on YouTube as of June 2017.[14][15]

She released her next single "Meant to be" in July 2017 which was subsequently certified Platinum as per the Indian Music Industry (IMI) recognised criteria for certifications. This makes Ananya the first Indian artiste with an English single to go platinum.[16] In January 2017, she supported Coldplay at the Global Citizen Festival.[17]

She released her single "Hold On" on 1 March 2018.[18] On 7 June 2018, she released her fourth single "Circles".[19]

Business career

Ananya Birla founded Svatantra Microfin at the age of 17. The organisation makes small loans to women entrepreneurs based in rural India. As of April 2016, the company had more than 600 employees across 70 branches in four Indian states.[20] Under her leadership, Svatantra won the Gold Award for Best Start-Up (Skoch Financial Inclusion and Deepening Awards, 2014), Spirituality @ Work: Sach Bharat Samman (Sach Bharat Confluence 2015) and has maintained a quality loan portfolio, offering one of the lowest interest rates in the country.[21] Birla is also the Co-Chairperson of ASSOCHAM’s Microfinance Council of India.

In 2016, Birla became the founder and CEO of CuroCarte, an inventory-based global luxury e-Commerce platform.[22] The same year, Forbes named her one of Asia's Women to Watch.[23]

Campaign Work

While in England, Birla became aware of a student helpline that supported young people suffering from anxiety and depression.[24] 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.[25]

Personal life

Ananya is the daughter of the 10th richest Indian, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam. She is the eldest child and daughter of industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and Neerja Birla and the sixth generation scion of the Birla family.

References

  1. ↑ "Ananya Birla is India's newest musician on the block". Vogue India. 11 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "After topping charts with her first, Ananya Birla announces her second single". The Economic Times. 17 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Ananya Birla's 'Meant to be' certified platinum". Business Standard. 28 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Chaudhary, Deepti (28 November 2017). "Ananya Birla's 'Meant to be' certified platinum". Indo Asian News Service.
  5. ↑ Chaudhary, Deepti (29 October 2015). "Ananya Birla: Her father's daughter". Forbes India.
  6. ↑ "Ananya Birla ventures into luxury ecommerce business with CuroCarte". Forbes India. 8 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "MPower urges India to #StampOutStigma on mental health". Campaign India. 19 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "ET Panache Trendsetter Awards 2016: Ananya Birla wins the Trendsetting Young Business Person Award". The Economic Times. 25 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Birla heiress hits the high note with musical debut". The Hindu BusinessLine. 25 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Meet India's Young & Successful Heiresses". Pursuitist.
  11. ↑ "Ananya Birla is India's newest musician on the block". Vogue India. 11 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Ananya Birla set to launch her debut single". Mid-Day. 12 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ananya Birla launched a single in collaboration with Afrojack and Jim Beanz". Hindustan Times. 14 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "'I love making history'". Deccan Herald. 13 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "Livin' the Life by Ananya Birla (Afrojack remix)". YouTube.
  16. ↑ "Ananya Birla's 'Meant to be' certified platinum". 28 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Coldplay Concert Live Updates: Global Citizen Festival has an all star lineup". 29 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "English music is my calling: Ananya Birla". 24 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Singer-entrepreneur Ananya Birla releases her fourth single 'Circles'". The Economic Times. 2018-06-11. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  20. ↑ "Making her Mark: Ananya Birla" (PDF). IndianCEO. April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Ananya Birla paves her own path". IndianCEO. 27 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ananya Birla ventures into luxury ecommerce business with CuroCarte". Forbes India. 8 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Asia's Women to Watch 2016". Forbes.
  24. ↑ "What's in a name: I want to build my own legacy says Ananya Birla". India Today. 13 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "Mpower homepage". Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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