What Naandi Foundation does

Naandi Foundation is an India-based non-profit founded in 1998 by Anji Reddy and headquartered in Hyderabad that runs a portfolio of community-driven programs targeting poverty eradication across 438 districts and 21 states. Its work is built around five flagship programs: Project Nanhi Kali, which has supported over 700,000 girls to complete a decade of schooling; Araku Coffee, which aggregates the world's largest certified tribal farmers' cooperative in Andhra Pradesh's Araku Valley; Arakunomics™, a trademarked regenerative agriculture framework; Job Factory, which has coached 610,000 women and youth for employability with 3,000+ employer partners; and Midday Meals, which has served 1 billion nutritious meals in over 10,000 government schools.

The foundation operates a community-led go-to-market: 220 full-time managers and executives work alongside more than 10,000 community-based team members who execute programs in partnership with state governments, corporate funders, and multilateral institutions. Core proprietary technology is concentrated in the Arakunomics™ regenerative agriculture method — recognized with Rockefeller's 2050 Food Vision Award and adopted as a G20 policy recommendation — and in proprietary impact measurement via the TAG Survey and program-level outcome tracking (e.g., 34.2 million learning hours logged for 171,000 girls in 2023-24, 47.5 million trees planted with an 85% survival rate). Marquee funding and operational partners include the Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank, UNICEF, IKEA Foundation, NVIDIA Foundation, HDFC, KC Mahindra Education Trust, Dr. Reddy's Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, GAIN Health, Dutch Embassy, L'Oréal, and Mahindra.

Naandi does not generate commercial revenue. As a non-profit, all programs are delivered free to beneficiaries and funded through philanthropic donations, charitable grants, and corporate partnerships; the foundation explicitly has no pricing model. A related for-profit entity, Naandi Ventures, is separately deploying capital into startups (e.g., the Rs 4 crore pre-seed in defense-tech firm Apollyon Dynamics), but this is investment activity outside the foundation's non-profit operations. Naandi's reported impact includes 3 million tribal lives moved out of poverty, 1,300 tribal farmers becoming millionaires through Araku Coffee, and 4 million girls empowered through schooling and life skills.

Name

Naandi Foundation

Legal name

Naandi Foundation

Website

https://naandi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Naandi Foundation is a Hyderabad-based non-profit founded in 1998 that runs community-driven programs — Project Nanhi Kali, Araku Coffee, Arakunomics™, Job Factory, and Midday Meals — to eradicate poverty for tribal, rural, and urban beneficiaries across 438 districts in 21 Indian states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Community Development Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Community Food Services (624210), Educational Support Services (611710), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (113210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Agricultural Services (700), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition Technical Assistance (BPADAEAG), Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE), School Feeding & Social Protection Partnerships (Conditional Cash Transfers, etc.) (EDADALAL), Non-Timber Forest Products Management (Resins, Gums, Mushrooms, Berries) (AFAMAAAK)

Keywords

• Non-profit social services
• Community development programs
• Girls education programs
• Regenerative agriculture models
• Rural livelihood programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyderabad

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Philanthropy and Donations: Naandi operates as a non-profit organization funded through generous philanthropy support and global expertise partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Naandi Foundation is a non-profit social enterprise that delivers community-driven development programs to eradicate poverty in India's tribal, rural, and urban regions. Its core offerings include Project Nanhi Kali for girls' education and life skills, Araku Coffee as a tribal farmers cooperative and specialty coffee brand, Arakunomics regenerative agriculture framework, Job Factory for youth employability skilling, and Midday Meals serving nutritious food to government school children. Programs are funded through philanthropy, corporate partnerships, and government collaborations and delivered free of cost to beneficiaries.

Product overview

Naandi Foundation operates as a non-profit social enterprise offering a portfolio of community-driven programs focused on poverty eradication. The core offerings include Project Nanhi Kali for girls' education, Araku Coffee as a tribal farmers' enterprise, Arakunomics™ as a regenerative agriculture framework, Job Factory for youth employment skilling, and Midday Meals for child nutrition. These programs work collectively to support tribal, rural, and urban communities through education, livelihoods, agriculture, and healthcare interventions across 438 districts in 21 states of India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Araku Coffee: Award-winning, globally-acclaimed brand of tribal-origin coffee from Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh, managed as the world's largest tribal farmers cooperative.
• Arakunomics™
• Project Nanhi Kali
• Job Factory
• Toofaan Games
• Gems of Araku

Products and services

• Project Nanhi Kali A comprehensive program supporting girls from underprivileged backgrounds through academic support, life skills training, STEM education, sports programs (Toofaan Games), and entrepreneurship opportunities, enabling them to complete a decade of schooling with dignity, confidence, and renewed aspirations.
• Araku Coffee An award-winning, globally recognized specialty coffee brand grown by tribal farmers in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh. It represents the world's largest tribal farmers cooperative managing regenerative agricultural cultivations of specialty coffee and hosts the annual Gems of Araku organic coffee festival.
• Arakunomics™ Naandi's proprietary regenerative agriculture framework that supports farmers in transitioning to regenerative practices, growing 100 varieties of crop, fruit, and timber. The model is recognized by Rockefeller's 2050 Food Vision Award and is published as a G20 policy recommendation for nutritional and environmental security.
• Job Factory A job readiness and placement program that coaches youth, particularly young women, in English communication, aptitude skills, and digital literacy. It works with over 3,000 employer and institutional partners for skilling and placement.
• Midday Meals A nutrition program serving nutritious meals to children in government schools across India, having served 1 billion meals across 10,000+ government schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,300 tribal farmers became millionaires through regenerative agriculture and Araku Coffee cultivation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Mahindra PridecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2026Mahindra Pride Classroom partnership delivering placement training programs to college students. Six trainers from Naandi Foundation conducted intensive coaching sessions for 550 students at Andhra Loyola College focused on aptitude, communication, interview preparation, and soft skills.
• L'Oréal GroupecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2025Partnership providing beauty skills training to over 11,000 women through the Beauty for a Better Life program. Featured in L'Oréal's podcast exploring women's economic empowerment and entrepreneurial innovation.
• Dr. Reddy's FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting health and livelihood programs for communities.
• ICRISATmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining program on soil sampling as part of partnership to build sustainable agricultural models using soil science expertise.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting children's welfare programs and Nanhi Kali's Sports for Life Programme featured in UN Football for the Goals newsletter.
• The/Nudge FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership supporting poverty alleviation and livelihood programs.
• Dutch EmbassymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport for sustainable agriculture and livelihood programs.
• GAIN HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting nutrition and food security programs.
• Aga Khan FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting rural development initiatives.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Digital Green: India-origin non-profit that uses video and technology to disseminate agricultural practices to smallholder farmers. Comparable to Naandi on extension services to smallholders, though with a technology-led delivery model.
• MelJol: India-based social enterprise working on rural livelihoods, water, and education. Smaller-scale peer in the same rural-livelihoods space as Naandi, with a focus on community-led development.

Direct peers

• Pratham Education Foundation: One of India's largest education NGOs focused on learning outcomes for underprivileged children. Highly comparable to Naandi on girls' education and large-scale program delivery through community-based delivery.
• Akshaya Patra Foundation: India's largest mid-day meal NGO, serving nutritious meals to school children across multiple states. Directly comparable to Naandi on the Midday Meals program dimension and on the public-private-NGO funding model.
• SELCO Foundation: India-based social enterprise focused on sustainable livelihoods and energy access for under-served communities. Comparable on the rural-livelihoods and poverty-eradication dimensions, though with a solar/energy specialization.
• Barefoot College: India-based rural empowerment organization training rural villagers (notably women) in skills like solar engineering. Comparable to Naandi on community-driven rural transformation and decentralized training models.
• One Acre Fund: Large Africa-focused NGO supporting smallholder farmers with inputs, training, and market access. Directly comparable on regenerative/sustainable agriculture service delivery to smallholders, and on farmer cooperative formation.
• Trickle Up: Global non-profit focused on economic empowerment of people living in extreme poverty. Comparable to Naandi on livelihood graduation models and partnerships with multilateral/donor institutions for ultra-poor programs.
• TechnoServe: International non-profit working with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Comparable to Naandi on coffee/livelihood value chains and enterprise-driven poverty reduction.
• Heifer International: Global NGO working with smallholder farmers on sustainable agriculture and livelihoods. Comparable to Naandi on regenerative agriculture, farmer cooperatives, and donor-funded community development programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/naandi_india
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAMpDdni99NtSSF7tXJ88oA
• Facebookfacebook.com/284492932377
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/naandi-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/naandi_india

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Naandi Foundation