Ananya Birla promotes Financial Autonomy of Women through Microfinance

By: WE Staff | Friday, 28 June 2024

Ananya Birla, founder of Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd., emphasized the role of microfinance in promoting self-sustainability and financial autonomy for women. She aimed to break the dependency cycle by providing loans for women to start their own businesses, expanding from small loans to micro-housing, home extension, and vehicle loans. Svatantra Microfin is a microfinance initiative that helps women in their communities overcome poverty by providing loans to start their own businesses.

Ananya hails from a Marwadi family, she identifies women's financial dependency on fathers and husbands, limiting independent decision-making, leading her to focus on microfinance for rural and semi-urban India. She mentions, "Basically, she was always under someone's control. And I think very early on, I realized that if an individual can be financially independent, it just gives them that much more freedom to do whatever they want with their life."

Svatantra, a financial services company, started with a small loan of 10,000 rupees, which has since expanded to include micro-housing, home extension loans, and vehicle loans. The company aims to provide a value proposition to the unbanked and encourages others to pursue their dreams. Ananya emphasizes the importance of mental health leave equivalent to physical sick leave.