Born into a family of glitz and glam, Navya Naveli Nanda, the granddaughter of Amitabh Bachchan, decided to take a path less-travelled. She talks about how her heart beats for women, their empowerment and independence.
She surprised her family and fans alike when she chose to empower women for a living. Young entrepreneur Navya Naveli Nanda, founded Aara Health, a women-centric health tech company focused on building, creating, and providing scientifically backed affordable healthcare products and services to women in India. We caught up with her at an event by Young Ficci Ladies Organisation. Excerpts:
Was not choosing cinema a conscious decision?
In terms of career and work, you have to be passionate about what you do and my passion wasn’t for films. I think I’m more passionate about women’s rights, their empowerment, and business in general, which is why I pursued this instead of the road most would’ve expected me to take.
What made you foray into healthcare?
Aara Health is a women’s healthcare platform that I co-founded with three other women. We know how women’s health is often stigmatised — we shy away from talking about our bodies openly. Even though the four of us come from a privileged background, we realised that it is difficult to connect openly and get access to information and products. That is why we created a platform that we would use — a platform where women feel safe to come and talk about their bodies, health, ask questions and also get access to products.
Were there any major challenges you encountered?
Any start-up is difficult, but I think it’s the most real experience that you can get. Practical and hands-on experience teaches you a lot. It’s been two and a half years since we started and we have learned so much from running-it day to day. I wasn’t afraid of the setbacks which would take shape in any field one would choose — I was more excited to enjoy the journey and the experience.
When we started off, our community was really small, we were only giving out information. Today, we have several products in the market with a community of 70,000 women. Today, we are more confident in ourselves as businesswomen and entrepreneurs.
You’re here supporting Nyayri. Could you share a little more about that?
Today, I am here with Manasi Chaudhari, my partner in my project called Nyayri, a legal awareness initiative that gives free legal advice and counselling to women. Here, we also aim to emphasise the importance of understanding one’s legal rights.
What does an empowered woman look like, to you?
I think it means being able to make any choice that you want and living by that. Often, when we talk about woman empowerment, we say or think of being a CEO or running a company while it can also mean being a wife or a homemaker if that’s what they choose to be. It is about being proud of the choices that you make and not allowing society to let you doubt those choices — this, while also encouraging other women and being proud of them for making the choices that they have made.
How was your first time in the city?
It’s a very short trip but I hope to savour some biryani and other local Hyderabadi food. I hope to be back soon, for a longer stay.