How Aparna Bajpai empowers women to own their inner and outer estates

There is a stillness about Aparna Bajpai that you notice before she speaks. For years, through BeingShe, she has given Dubai’s women something rare: a place to be seen without having to shout. Its Club, its Excellence Awards and its Cares initiative have become gathering places for women who lead, build and give.

Today she is working on another mission. At Aurex Privy, the real estate advisory she co-founded, and through SheOwns, she is helping women own beautiful homes and build lasting wealth.

We sat down with her to talk about the two estates every woman holds: the one within, and the one she can pass on. For the women who read this magazine, the second is often the most overlooked.

What was the moment BeingShe was born?

It was not one moment. It was a feeling that kept returning. I would sit with women of extraordinary ability, women running companies and holding whole families together, and the world simply did not see them. They were not lacking anything. The world was lacking the eyes to notice. BeingShe began as a way to turn on the light.

You often speak of worth before wealth. What do you mean?

Every woman carries an inner estate: her confidence, her clarity, her sense of what she deserves. If that estate is neglected, no amount of money will feel like enough. If it is well tended, even a small beginning feels abundant. BeingShe tends that inner estate. Wealth then becomes an expression of who she already is, not a proof she must keep offering to others.

What does belonging to BeingShe actually give a woman?

Three things that money alone cannot buy. Belonging, through the BeingShe Club, where women open doors for one another without keeping score. Recognition, through the BeingShe Excellence Awards, where we once honoured more than forty women in a single evening at the Museum of the Future. And purpose, through BeingShe Cares, which reaches people in difficult times. Belonging steadies her. Recognition lifts her. Purpose keeps her human.

In a world full of awards, why does recognition still matter?

Because a woman often forgets her own achievements before anyone else does. Recognition is a mirror held up at the right moment. When she sees herself clearly, she stops asking for permission. And in that room, a hundred other women quietly change what they believe is possible for themselves. That is not ceremony. That is transformation.

What has your journey with Gulf News meant for BeingShe?

It gave our women’s stories a voice that travels far beyond any ballroom. A partnership like that teaches you something simple: the right partners do not just share your stage. They share your intention.

Many of BeingShe members are CEOs and founders. What do even the most accomplished women still overlook?

Themselves. Accomplished women create value for everyone around them: their companies, their teams, their families. Their own personal wealth often comes last. I meet brilliant founders with remarkable businesses and very little held in their own name. BeingShe exists to remind such a woman that she is not only the engine of everyone else’s success. She is also entitled to its rewards.

What is true luxury to you?

Not the price of a thing. Luxury is peace of mind. It is waking up in a home you own, among people who value you, with time that belongs to you. Everything BeingShe does, and everything I now do in real estate, comes back to that one idea: a woman should be at ease in her own life.

Why did your path lead from empowerment to real estate?

Because confidence must eventually take a form. A woman can be celebrated on every stage and still not own the ground beneath her feet. Property is the most patient form of wealth. It does not shout. It simply grows, year after year, and one day it becomes a legacy. I wanted women to hold not just applause, but keys.

What is your take on the Dubai market today, and why is this the right time to invest in property?

Dubai’s maturing property market offers investors an opportunity to make informed decisions rather than follow the crowd. Off-plan properties can offer lower entry prices, flexible payment plans, and the potential for capital appreciation as construction progresses. Choosing the right project today could position you to benefit from tomorrow’s growth.

For women, property investment is more than owning an asset. It is about building wealth, creating financial independence, and securing a future on your own terms.

Through SheOwns by Aurex Privy Real Estate, we want to help more women turn knowledge into ownership. Explore your opportunities, make informed choices, and take your first step towards building lasting wealth through property.

Founders think in equity, valuations and exits. How should a CEO think about property?

Your company is your ambition. Property is your foundation. Many founders pour almost everything back into their business. That is courage, but it is also concentration. A company can be diluted, disrupted or sold. A well-chosen home stands quietly through all of it.

Think of property the way you think of a strong board: steady, independent of your daily decisions, and there for you in difficult seasons. It earns while you build. It holds while markets shift. And one day it becomes the part of your wealth that belongs to your family, not to your cap table. Investing, in the end, is a conversation with your future self.

Whether it is her first home or her first portfolio, where should a woman begin?

The first step is inward, not outward. Before you visit a showroom, sit with yourself. Then move with clarity:

The first home is the hardest. After that, you no longer think like a buyer. You think like an owner.

What is SheOwns, and how is it different from any other property platform?

There has been no dedicated property platform for women. SheOwns is that platform, and more importantly, it is a community: a circle of women investors and owners who walk this path together.

Other platforms are built around listings. SheOwns is built around women. Our members learn in private sessions, share their real experiences, and discover carefully chosen homes and opportunities. A first-time buyer sits beside a woman who already owns a portfolio, and both leave richer for it. Alone, a woman buys a property. Together, women build a culture of ownership.

At our first SheOwns Open House in August 2026, the room was full of honest questions and not one sales pitch. That spirit is the foundation of the community.

If she wishes to buy or sell, how is Aurex Privy different from any other real estate company?

A real estate company helps you buy or sell a property. SheOwns offers something more: a community of women who support each other.

If a member wants to sell her property, we can introduce it privately to other members who may be interested in buying. If she wants to buy, she has a community of women to learn from, along with guidance from Aurex Privy’s advisors.

We believe in being honest, even when a property is not the right choice. We look at the developer, the price, the costs of owning the property, and how easy it may be to sell in the future.

And our support does not end when the deal is done. SheOwns by Aurex Privy is about building lasting relationships, sharing knowledge, and helping women make confident property decisions at every stage of their journey.

SheOwns is more than an event. What can women expect from the platform throughout the year?

SheOwns by Aurex Privy is being built as a year-round platform where women can learn about property, meet trusted industry experts, explore investment opportunities, and connect with other women who share the same ambitions.

Through educational sessions, investor meet-ups, conversations with developers, and exclusive property opportunities, we want to make every step of the property journey easier to understand.

Because building wealth is not a one-day decision. It takes knowledge, the right connections, and the confidence to make informed choices.

SheOwns brings these elements together, helping women move from learning about property to investing in it, one informed decision at a time.

BeingShe and Aurex Privy come from different worlds. How do they come together through SheOwns?

BeingShe helps women grow, find their voice, and build meaningful connections. Aurex Privy helps them explore property investment and build long-term wealth. Through SheOwns, these two worlds come together, bringing women the confidence, knowledge, and guidance to make informed property decisions.

Because a woman deserves more than inspiration. She deserves the opportunity to turn her aspirations into something she can own.

What would you say to a woman who has never owned property?

It is never too late to begin. You do not need to know everything or have everything figured out. Start by learning, ask the right questions, and take one informed step at a time.

SheOwns is here to help you take that first step, because owning property is not just about having an asset. It is about building a future on your own terms.

The Owner’s Code: Aparna’s Five Principles

To join the SheOwns by Aurex Privy community, visit www.aurexprivy.com