In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, Aparna Jain, who is on a mission to provide accessible healthcare for all, shares her journey and how different roles molded her into a perfect leadership figure.
Rashmi Bhumireddy
Motivated to make a difference in the world, particularly in healthcare, Aparna Jain has transformed herself into an exemplary leader. Hailing from Lucknow, Aparna Jain completed her B.Tech in Biotechnology at Amity University and received merit-based scholarships throughout her undergraduate and postgraduate education. Upon finishing her studies, she joined a financial services firm and took part in a three-month training program to enhance her industry expertise. However, she still lacked hands-on industry experience. In order to bridge the divide, she sought assistance from an experienced colleague who provided training to improve her technical abilities. She also obtained two national certifications from the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) in investment advisory and equity derivatives markets. This resulted in a five-fold increase in her portfolio and an annual growth rate of 10 percent. Being the team’s youngest member, she achieved the highest client acquisitions and revenue goals.
Apart from her professional career, she has been engaged in social services by taking science and personality development classes for slum children during weekends. “Eventually, I realised that Iwanted to work full-time ielping these children access education. This was when I joined the Sarthak Foundation full-time as a fundraising manager, taking up the leadership role of the entire department. Within five years, I have increased the funding by 15 times, ensuring that all 5000 children from slums and villages did not drop out of sschool,” cheerfully shared Aparna in an exclusive chat with The Pioneer.
Through her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, campaigns and digital marketing, she maintained a 100 percent child retention rate. Throughout the pandemic, she spearheaded the effort to raise funds for the COVID Community Care Project, obtaining Rs 50 lakhs in resources to assist 10,000 individuals with both their livelihoods and education. Furthermore, she secured jobs in the corporate sector for 60 percent of young women of working age.
Following her time at the financial services company, she transitioned to a health tech startup, where she was instrumental in establishing the business from the ground up. She was in charge of the go-to-market (GTM) strategy and sales planning in three cities in North India, creating a network of more than 100 doctors. Being involved with the health tech startup was crucial in honing her abilities and knowledge, which eventually enabled her to establish various organisations and departments, showcasing her innovative skills. Upon finding out that she required more skills to expand her business, Aparna chose to pursue an MBA to enhance her leadership skills.
Throughout her time at the startup, her main obstacle was persuading doctors in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to utilise their digital platform, Electronic Health Records.
Aparna then enrolled in a full-time PGP program at ISB, focusing on marketing. Sharing her experience at ISB, she shares with great enthusiasm, “My primary motivation for joining ISB was to work with larger organisations where I could scale up with the same entrepreneurial spirit as I demonstrated in smaller setups. Joining ISB opened a world of opportunities, allowing me to interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds and geographies, which significantly broadened my perspectives and enhanced the quality of my learning. The hands-on experience through experiential learning programs and case competitions honed my ability to tackle challenging problems and arrive at structured solutions.”
In spite of the obstacles, she achieved notable success in the healthcare startup by overseeing the partnership and functioning with Uber. The idea behind this project was to educate drivers on managing basic first aid and handling emergencies, whether it be for a passenger or someone on the road in crisis. Drivers were provided hospital emergency contact information and received basic health assessments and screenings. This comprehensive method made sure that drivers were adequately equipped to effectively and confidently deal with emergencies, ultimately improving passenger safety and community welfare. Under her guidance, her team provided first aid and emergency services training to more than 500 drivers. This project assisted in kickstarting the organization for a couple of months. Initiating preventive health counseling for women from low-economic backgrounds also led to a 35 percent increase in patient enrollment in her program.
“With my professional skills and education, I aim to work in a healthcare organisation and transform it into a more efficient and automated entity. I envision a system where high-quality healthcare is accessible to all, especially those who cannot afford it,” signs off Aparna on a concluding note.
