Navya Naveli Nanda enrols in IIM-A's MBA programme; here's what you need to know about 26-yr-old entrepreneur

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda has charted a career path apart from the world of showbiz. Navya, the daughter of former model Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and business honcho Nikhil Nanda, has enrolled in an MBA programme at the prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad.

Navya has enrolled in the Blended Post Graduate Programme (BPGP) class of 2026. She has done a product marketing internship with Facebook (now Meta) for a period of 5 months in California.

Navya also interned at a small startup when she was in university, which gave wings to her interest in entrepreneurship. Here's what you need to know about the 26-year-old granddaughter of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan: 

Founding a health tech company

The 26-year-old entrepreneur founded Aara Health, women-centric health-tech platform, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The platform is focused on providing digital education on topics such as menopause, mental health, fertility, and nutrition. 

Navya decided to set up this platform due to her conversations with her friends about their respective experiences while visiting their gynaecologist. These conversations exposed the lack of awareness and stigma around women's health in India, prompting Navya to set up Aara Health. 

Setting up Project Naveli

In 2020, she set up Project Naveli, a non-profit initiative aimed at providing women with resources and opportunities for social and economic independence.

The non-profit also works in the realms of mental and physical health, prevention of domestic violence and education. She also set up the Nimaya Foundation in 2021. Nimaya is a career accelerator for girls who want to make it big despite their arduous circumstances. 

Navya on being a social entrepreneur

In a podcast with Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath, Navya said that if she had to define herself, she would call herself a social entrepreneur and not a philanthropist. "I'd say I'm a social entrepreneur because I'm essentially building businesses, but I'm not chasing profit, I'm chasing purpose."

Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter talks on privilege

In the same interview, she talked about the privilege she has at life. She said that she does not feel like a star because she hasn't done that work. "I haven't gained the respect that I have. I have no right projecting that just because I come from somewhere."

She also attributed her family background to being a young entrepreneur in another interview. Navya Nanda said that she got a lot of opportunities because of her privileged background and hopes that she can create those opportunities in the future in her own way and through her own hard work. 

"I am very grateful for everything I have been given. I think I've more than I deserve at times, so for me, it is important to see how I can turn around these opportunities and resources I have available, and share those with others and maximise it," she told ETimes. 

Navya's Paris Fashion Week debut

In 2023, Navya made her debut at the Paris Fashion Week. She walked the runway for Le Defile L'Oreal Walk Your Worth show, where her aunt and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also walked the ramp. 

Navya Nanda's What The Hell Navya podcast

Navya hosts a podcast What the Hell Navya, which features her mother Shweta, grandmother Jaya and herself. Navya talks about issues related to women and feminism in her podcast.

She also deliberates on issues related to the younger generation in her podcast from time to time. In one episode, her brother and actor Agastya Nanda also featured on the podcast.