This Woman Entrepreneur is Making Luxury Accessible "Aiana wants to be where the Indian traveler is."
By Punita Sabharwal •
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They are the 35 boldest entrepreneurs of India who are changing the game in various industries and together they represent the optimism, inventiveness and boldness of India's millennial entrepreneurs. They have not just questioned the conventional wisdom but answered it with their fiery and risky business undertakings. They have inspired every young Indian to not shy away from breaking the status quo, rewriting the rules and transforming the world.
Entrepreneur Magazine is glad to present Amruda Nair, Joint Managing Director and CEO, Aiana who made it to our 35 under 35 special.
Hailing from the legacy of The Leela Group, the grand-daughter of Capt.Nair, Amruda Nair has set out to create a brand of her own and establish it in the hospitality sector as a favoured destination for Indians travelling abroad. She realized that annually only five million travelers are entering India whereas more than 18 million Indians are travelling abroad. So, "Aiana wants to be where the Indian traveler is," tells Amruda. Aiana has a joint venture with a Qatar based investor and has already acquired eight properties across the middle-east apart from six in Kerala and Karnataka. Currently, Aiana is on an expansion spree.
Talking about her entrepreneurial venture, she tells us, "One thing I have learnt from him (Capt. Nair) is - take risk. To create something from scratch, having a clear vision of where you want to be is important." Aiana is projected to fill the gap of affordable luxury in the market, which is very different from Leela brands in all aspects of design and service delivery. Amruda is a sports enthusiast who has run the half marathon in Mumbai seven times. She tells us that the pivot for her successful entrepreneurial venture remains her business partner Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, who shares her passion for Indian hospitality and supports the idea of creating an India inspired brand on a global scale.
(This article was first published in the February issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)
