I caught up this week with Aparna Bajpai on Zoom. She is the founder of BeingShe, a platform for encouraging women to realize their potential and live the life of their dreams.
Aparna’s life story is an inspiration for all women out there who are going through an identity crisis.
Here is her story.
Aparna got married when she was just 19 years old and moved to the UK with her husband. She started her corporate life right away by getting a break in the retail industry with Primark. She was a quick learner and soon moved up the organizational hierarchy to occupy a senior position in the company.
Once she decided to start a family, she took a 10 years sabbatical and spent her time raising her daughter. As a homemaker, she performed all her tasks to perfection.
After a couple of years, once she relocated to Dubai, she started thinking of getting back to work. It was hard since she had no contacts and had to start from scratch. This is when she decided she would start a venture that would assist women looking for suitable opportunities and provide a support network for them to rise in society.
BeingShe has grown by leaps and bounds during the last 3 years. It has a strong community reach of 50,000+ women who are part of the network. Aparna runs a regular SheTalks forum where women thought leaders address other women who are looking for inspiration and guidance to succeed in their domain.
BeingShe Excellence Awards is an initiative under BeingShe umbrella, to recognize and celebrate the spirit and passion of women from various industries. The gala night was organized on 26 June 2021 with some of the most influential international women participating and discussing the pursuit of excellence. Ruling family members of Dubai were the chief guests at the occasion and well-known Emiratis and Arab guests were among the guest list.
The grand finale every year is the BeingShe Universe – A fashion and talent show which is a 5-day extravaganza full of learning, coaching, and mentoring. The participants get an excellent opportunity to showcase their passion and talent in front of the audience and international media. Last year’s BeingShe Universe at the Sofitel Palm attracted an audience of over 100 people and was presided over by members of the ruling family of Dubai.
I asked Aparna the demographics of women who attend her events. She is reaching out to women of all nationalities and almost 40% are Arab women. Her affable personality resonates with people from all sections of society.
For a winner of the Mrs. India Globe UAE, the Brand Ambassador title, and several accolades that include the Hall of Fame Best Influential Entrepreneur and one of most influential women leaders at the Middle East awards, I find her extremely modest with her feet firmly planted on the ground and making a difference every day in changing as many lives as she can.
Her end goal is to build the largest women-only platform on the planet. In her words, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
She is determined and I have no doubt she will get there one day. Soon!
Penned by Sharad Agarwal
