Ananya Birla dreams of building bank with her entrepreneurial venture Svatantra

With a loan book of over 500 crore rupees, Ananya Birla runs India's 3rd fastest growing micro-finance outfit called Svatantra. At 21, she is driven, ambition and edgy. Every other week she is in another village, understanding how her clients (read small, unorganised, often self-help groups and many times women) are utilising their funds. Ananya is chatting with SheThePeople at the Twitter #BlueRoom. She has just returned from Amravati a day earlier. "We call it micro finance 2.0, lending small loans to many many people and integrate that with technology," she explains. "When I go down and talk to our clients, they are very happy with these, which is inspiring and refreshing." They lend to loans to tailors, farmers, housewives depending on their businesses. "Women in these places are very enterprising," notes Ananya after her efforts have multiplied over the country with the effort. I ask her if she sees this effort turning into a full-fledged bank. "That is the aim without forgetting the roots of who we actually are," says the entrepreneur whose ambition is to grow Svantantra into a cashless economic powerhouse, lending via banks or microfinance outlets of the parent.

With a second venture in the offing, this fifth-generation entrepreneur from the Birla clan has a lot on her plate and she wears her hardwork on her sleeve. With a slim, tall disposition and an ambitious demeanour she knows what she wants. Ananya insists if she is in the mountains more than five days she itches to return to her city.

Ananya Birla dreams of building bank with her entrepreneurial venture Svatantra

Ananya Birla Chats with SheThePeople at the Twitter Blue Room