Anisha Dossa Aibara Pioneering Financial Wellbeing with Jify

Anisha Dossa Aibara entrepreneurial journey has been one of purpose, perseverance, and a passion for creating impact. With a background in finance and a determination to bridge the gap between impact and profitability, she embarked on a mission to empower India’s workforce through her startup, Jify. Anisha’s path to entrepreneurship wasn’t hurried; it was a well-thought-out progression that spanned over a decade. Armed with an MBA from the prestigious London Business School, she started her professional career as an investment banker with Axis Capital in 2010. From the outset, she harbored the goal of eventually launching her own venture. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, she was well-versed in the nuances of business and the balance between capitalism and social impact.

To equip herself with the essential skills required for the entrepreneurial journey, Anisha took a series of deliberate steps. Her tenure at Axis Capital provided her with insights into mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs), teaching her the dynamics of wealth creation. However, her career took a serendipitous turn when she transitioned into the world of impact investment. An opportunity with Dasra, a strategic philanthropy organization, allowed Anisha to work closely with communities and gain a deep understanding of the ‘why,’ ‘when,’ and ‘how’ of borrowing and its impact on people’s lives. She was involved in projects related to sanitation and financing, including finding ways to make financing viable for household toilets in low-income communities. This experience became pivotal in her journey, as it taught her how to effectively marry finance with impactful projects.

Her career subsequently led her through various roles at Kae Capital, Credit Suisse, Actis, CDC Group, and Bain, providing her with extensive exposure to diverse aspects of business. This comprehensive training and experience primed Anisha for the entrepreneurial venture she had envisioned. In December 2021, Anisha Aibara realized her dream by launching Jify, a startup aimed at addressing a long-standing problem in India’s workforce. Approximately 70 percent of India’s 450 million-strong workforce lives paycheck to paycheck. This financial precariousness often forces them to resort to high-cost emergency credit or payday loans with exorbitant interest rates, sometimes reaching as high as 35 percent. Consequently, financial stress takes a toll on their overall well-being, resulting in a significant erosion of income—estimated at around $50 billion annually.

Jify enters this landscape as an earned wage access and employee financial benefit platform. It partners with companies to enable employees to access a portion of their earned salary on-demand. This innovative solution is designed to resolve the liquidity mismatch that plagues blue-collar, grey-collar, and white-collar workers alike. Since its inception, Jify has witnessed remarkable growth. The startup has onboarded over 100 corporate enterprises, collectively employing over a million individuals. In August of the previous year, Jify successfully raised $10 million in its Series A funding round, attracting support from esteemed investors like Accel, Nexus Venture Partners, and Sequoia. Anisha Aibara proudly highlights the platform’s impressive user engagement, with a repeat usage rate of 75 percent month-on-month. Despite being operational for just over a year, she emphasizes that judging the venture solely on operating revenue would not do justice to its profound impact.

Anisha Aibara’s journey with Jify not only creates financial impact but also contributes to empowering more women in the venture capital (VC) world. As more women enter the VC space, selection biases are diminished, fostering a more inclusive ecosystem. Fellow venture capitalist Anand Datta acknowledges Anisha’s exceptional qualities as a founder, emphasizing her strategic acumen and empathetic approach. Datta believes that Jify has the potential to make a significant impact, particularly in the earned wage access domain. The high engagement and frequency of usage in this field provide an opportunity to introduce various other financial products, enhancing customers’ financial well-being comprehensively.