After attending the Schloss Salem School on Lake Constance and the École des Roches (fr) in Normandy she studied jurisprudence at the Universities of Munich and Cologne.

Her early career included working, whilst still at university, in the management of her mother's company (at the time Austria's largest hotel and restaurant chain) and later as an associate attorney for a German law firm.

Prior to her marriage to the Aga Khan and her conversion to Islam, the couple jointly chose the Muslim name "Inaara" for the bride.

The foundation funds micro-loans to families and single parents to promote self-reliance and to end the cycle of poverty in developing countries, which include Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Romania, Thailand and Vietnam.

Inaara has committed time to charitable causes; in particular those involving women's rights, educational projects and the improvement of opportunities and living conditions for people of all faiths and origins in developing countries.

In January 2002, Inaara became the honorary president of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the crisis response agency that is an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and which provides relief and support services during and following natural and man-made disasters, primarily in Asia and Africa.

The purpose of the foundation is to provide philanthropic assistance to the causes and charitable organizations whose work represents the humanitarian goals that Inaara has long supported.