Bandhan-Konnagar

What Bandhan-Konnagar does

Bandhan-Konnagar is a not-for-profit development organization registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961, founded in 2001 by Chandra Shekhar Ghosh with the mission of women empowerment and poverty alleviation. Operating across 16 Indian states and 36,935 villages/wards, the organization runs an integrated portfolio of eight interconnected programmes: the Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme (THP, evaluated by Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo); Bandhan Education Programme (BEP); Bandhan Health Programme (BHP); Bandhan Financial Literacy Programme (BFLP); Bandhan Skills (with 80% placement rate); the Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) sub-programme in partnership with the Government of Bihar; Bandhan Climate Action Programme (BCAP); and the Bandhan Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (BSLP). It has also launched formal educational institutions — Bandhan Schools (CBSE, 2023) and the Bandhan School of Business (2025) — and operates the H.P. Ghosh Research Centre.

The organization's underlying "technology" is a community-based implementation methodology rather than a software platform: trained field staff and community volunteers (Swasthya Sahayikas, Education Facilitators, Climate Action Groups) deliver services directly to beneficiaries through Self Help Groups, village institutions, and government partnerships. Methodologies include Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) for ultra-poor identification, a 24-month THP graduation cycle combining asset grants, consumption stipends, training, and mentoring, and the Farmer Field School (FSS) approach for climate-smart agriculture. There is no proprietary software, app, or AI/ML capability disclosed.

The revenue model is donor-funded grants: Bandhan-Konnagar receives funding from corporate donors (Bajaj Allianz, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, ITC, HSBC, Citibank, Axis Bank Foundation), international foundations (Ford Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Founders' Pledge, Co-Impact/New Venture Fund, USAID), multilateral agencies (CGAP/World Bank, NABARD, SIDBI), and state governments (Bihar/JEEViKA, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal). Programmes are delivered free of cost to beneficiaries. Headcount stood at 1,287 staff as of March 31, 2026, and aggregate reach is reported at 44+ lakh lives. Bandhan-Konnagar is distinct from Bandhan Bank (NSE: BANDHAN), the listed universal bank that was spun off from the organization's microfinance portfolio in 2015.

Name

Bandhan-Konnagar

Legal name

Bandhan-Konnagar

Website

https://bandhan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bandhan-Konnagar is a 25-year-old Indian not-for-profit that delivers integrated anti-poverty and women-empowerment programmes — including ultra-poor graduation, education, health, financial literacy, skills, livelihoods, and climate action — across 16 states to over 44 lakh beneficiaries, funded by institutional donors and government partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Community Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Rural development programs
• Financial literacy training
• Community health programs
• Vocational skills training
• Ultra-poor graduation

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding and Grants: Bandhan-Konnagar operates as a not-for-profit organization registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. The organization receives funding from various corporate donors, foundations, government agencies, and international organizations to implement its development programmes including education, health, financial literacy, skills training, and climate action initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bandhan-Konnagar is a not-for-profit development organization that designs and directly implements community-based programmes in education, health, financial literacy, livelihoods, skills training, and climate action for underprivileged communities across 16 states in India. All programmes are delivered free of cost to beneficiaries through field staff, trained community volunteers, and partner community institutions, funded by donor grants.

Product overview

Bandhan-Konnagar operates a multi-programme development platform offering social welfare services through eight interconnected programmes: Bandhan Education Programme (BEP) provides free non-formal primary schools and Bandhan Academy offers formal schooling; Bandhan Financial Literacy Programme (BFLP) promotes financial inclusion; Bandhan Health Programme (BHP) delivers health awareness; Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme (THP) and its sub-programme Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) serve ultra-poor populations; Bandhan Skills provides vocational training; Bandhan Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (BSLP) fosters entrepreneurship; and Bandhan Climate Action Programme (BCAP) addresses environmental resilience. The organization also operates Bandhan Schools (CBSE), Bandhan School of Business, and the H.P. Ghosh Research Centre. This is not a unified technology product but a portfolio of community development initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bandhan Education Programme (BEP): Free non-formal primary schools for underprivileged children aged 4-6+ years, with focus on girl child education
• Bandhan Financial Literacy Programme (BFLP)
• Bandhan Health Programme (BHP)
• Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme (THP)
• Bandhan Skills
• Bandhan Climate Action Programme (BCAP)
• Bandhan Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (BSLP)
• H.P. Ghosh Research Centre

Products and services

• Bandhan Education Programme (BEP) Free non-formal primary education programme for underprivileged children aged 4-6+ years in rural areas, featuring Bandhan Education Centres that provide school kits, classroom learning in reading, writing, and numerical skills, and extracurricular activities, with focus on the girl child.
• Bandhan Financial Literacy Programme (BFLP) Financial inclusion initiative for rural communities that teaches disadvantaged women about money management, debt control, savings, banking services, insurance, and pension schemes following RBI financial literacy guidelines.
• Bandhan Health Programme (BHP) Health awareness programme for underprivileged families focusing on under-5 children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls, with trained Swasthya Sahayika (health volunteers) providing education on safe motherhood, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation, and conducting referrals and health forums.
• Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme (THP) Ultra-poor intervention providing grants (free assets), training, mentoring, and consumption stipends to extremely poor women, enabling them to develop enterprise skills and graduate from poverty within 24 months through a 360-degree approach combining asset grants, consumption stipend, training, mentoring, financial literacy, and market linkage.
• Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) Government of Bihar programme implemented by JEEViKA / BRLPS with technical support from Bandhan-Konnagar, based on the THP graduation approach to empower ultra-poor households through diversified livelihoods and capacity building.
• Bandhan Skills Vocational skill development programme operating Bandhan Skill Development Centres (BSDC) that provide industry-relevant training in hospitality, retail, electronics, banking, ITeS, and beauty & wellness sectors, with 80% placement success rate and certification through NSDC-approved curriculum and Sector Skill Councils.
• Bandhan Climate Action Programme (BCAP) Climate resilience initiative addressing dryland and coastal regions through climate-smart agriculture, integrated watershed development, mangrove restoration, cage aquaculture, and renewable energy for irrigation, with carbon financing through partner Explore Carbon Angel.
• Bandhan Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (BSLP) Entrepreneurship promotion programme for aspiring youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, providing handholding support to launch enterprises across diverse trades.
• Bandhan Academy Low-cost formal schools providing holistic primary education to children in low-income communities, with academic and extracurricular activities located in West Bengal districts.
• Bandhan Schools (TBS) CBSE curriculum co-educational English medium schools promoting inclusive education and equality in education.
• Bandhan School of Business (BSB) Business management college located in Santiniketan offering programmes in Business Management, Analytics, and Banking & Finance, blending academic excellence with ethics and social responsibility.
• H.P. Ghosh Research Centre Research centre established under Bandhan-Konnagar providing a forum for intellectual engagement on nation-building issues with four verticals: Public Finance, Science and Society, India and World Politics, and Public Administration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,12,796 hardcore poor families covered across 16 states
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) / JEEViKAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 August 2018Implementing Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) programme in partnership with Co-Impact Collab, with INR 840 crore budgetary outlay, targeting 2 lakh ultra-poor households by 2024
• Freedom From HungerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Bandhan Health Programme (BHP)
• Friends of Women's World BankingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Bandhan Health Programme (BHP)
• Population Services InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Bandhan Health Programme (BHP)
• Water.orgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Bandhan Health Programme (BHP), focusing on water and sanitation
• Government of West BengalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for various programmes including EUP
• Government of BiharcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for EUP and SJY implementation through Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS)
• Save The ChildrenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonor for EUP programme
• Government of RajasthancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner collaborating on THP implementation in select districts
• Government of JharkhandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner collaborating on THP implementation in select districts
• World VisionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonor for THP programme
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApproved curriculum provider for Bandhan Skill Development Centres, along with Sector Skill Councils (SSC)
• Explore Carbon AngelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCarbon financing platform partner for Bandhan Climate Action Programme (BCAP), enabling communities to benefit from carbon markets through mangrove regeneration, watershed development, and renewable energy adoption
• Australian High Commission, IndiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic cooperation discussions for potential joint initiatives around education, research and other ventures. Visit to HP Ghosh Research Centre in May 2022

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BAIF Development Research Foundation: A large Indian development non-profit working across livestock, agriculture, health, and women's empowerment with strong rural community presence. Comparable in multi-vertical rural development delivery across multiple Indian states.
• Room to Read: An international non-profit focused on literacy and girls' education in low-income communities. Comparable in mission (children's education, especially for underprivileged and rural populations) and multi-country scale.
• SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association): A trade union and women's empowerment movement working with poor, self-employed women in India on livelihoods, financial inclusion, and health. Highly comparable in targeting ultra-poor women and combining microfinance, health, and skills programmes.
• Naandi Foundation: An Indian non-profit working on education, livelihoods, water, and gender equality across underserved communities. Comparable in operating multi-vertical community programmes with measurable outcomes and large institutional donor backing.
• Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP): An Indian non-profit working on women's empowerment, clean energy, and climate-resilient livelihoods in rural Maharashtra and beyond. Comparable in focusing on rural poor women, community-led implementation, and integrating livelihoods with climate action.
• Pratham Education Foundation: One of India's largest non-profits focused on education for underprivileged children. Highly comparable in mission and delivery (community-based education programmes), and similarly recognized for outcome measurement and large grassroots scale across multiple Indian states.
• Trickle Up: A non-profit focused specifically on extreme poverty graduation through cash, coaching, and livelihoods support for ultra-poor women. Closely comparable to Bandhan-Konnagar's THP programme in both methodology (asset grants, mentoring, financial literacy) and target beneficiary profile.

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: One of the world's largest non-governmental development organizations, running programmes in education, health, microfinance, and livelihoods. Comparable as a multi-vertical, ultra-poor focused NGO with graduation methodology, though operating primarily outside India.
• Grameen Foundation: An internationally recognized organization pioneering microfinance and poverty alleviation. Comparable in mission and in scaling ultra-poor graduation models, with broader geographic footprint but less direct community implementation in India than Bandhan-Konnagar.
• NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development): A government development bank financing rural and agricultural development in India. Comparable as a partner/funding institution for rural livelihoods and poverty programmes, but is a regulatory apex institution rather than a delivery NGO.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDNhUb8jpdgWVOxm12iQBEg
• Facebookfacebook.com/bandhankonnagar.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bandhan-konnagar-official
• Instagraminstagram.com/bandhan.konnagar
• Xx.com/bandhan_skill

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Bandhan-Konnagar