Honey Bee Network

Name

Honey Bee Network

Legal name

SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions)

Website

https://honeybee.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ahmedabad

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Publication Subscriptions: Annual and life subscription fees for Honey Bee Newsletter and other publications in multiple languages. Revenue is modest as the focus is on knowledge dissemination rather than profit generation.
2. Donations and Contributions: Tax-exempt donations accepted through SRISTI (registered charitable organization) for supporting network activities and operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Honey Bee Network is a global nonprofit community network that scouts, documents, and disseminates grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices. The network publishes the multi-language Honey Bee Newsletter (in seven Indian languages plus English and Chinese), organizes Shodh Yatra walking journeys through rural villages to discover local innovations, maintains searchable databases of over 100,000 documented ideas and traditional knowledge practices, and operates award and value-addition programs for grassroots innovators.

Product overview

Honey Bee Network is a global network (present in 75+ countries) focused on scouting, documenting, and disseminating grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge. The core product is the Honey Bee Newsletter, published in eight languages, which serves as the primary vehicle for knowledge sharing. The Network operates through Shodh Yatra programs (walking journeys through villages), innovation databases (Honey Bee Database, Medicinal Plant Database, SRISTI Library), and various award programs (GYTI Awards, Ignited Minds Awards, SRISTI Samman). Additional offerings include augmentation services for promising innovations, seeking-solution challenges for technical problems, Techpedia student collaboration platform, and community programs like Innovation Clubs and Centenarian Documentation. The Network's approach combines on-ground activities (Shodh Yatra, Shodh Sankal farmer networks, biodiversity competitions) with digital databases to create a comprehensive ecosystem for preserving and sharing informal knowledge while ensuring fair benefit-sharing with knowledge holders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HoneyBee Newsletter: The primary newsletter publication of the network, published in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, and Chinese.
• Loksarvani
• Sujhbhuj
• Palle Srujana
• Num Vali Velanmai
• ShodhYatra

Products and services

• Honey Bee Newsletter Quarterly/periodic publication documenting grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices, published in multiple Indian languages plus English and Chinese for individual subscribers, libraries, and educational institutions.
• Honey Bee Database Searchable online database of grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices collected by the network, made available to the public through the website.
• Medicinal Plant Database Searchable database providing information on medicinal plants including scientific names, local popular names, uses, and habitat, available in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Tamil.
• SRISTI Library Database Digital library containing research, documentation, and publications by SRISTI covering grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge.
• Low-cost Practices Database Online collection cataloging affordable innovations and practices developed by grassroots innovators that solve everyday problems at minimal cost.
• Augment Innovations Online platform showcasing grassroots innovations selected for value addition, featuring innovations like Automatic Pump Operator, Amphibious Bicycle, Bullock Operated Sprayer, and Compost Aerator.
• Seeking Solutions Online platform presenting engineering and technical challenges from industries seeking innovative solutions from the Honey Bee Network community of grassroots innovators.
• Techpedia Online platform linking technology students with the informal sector through a project database, facilitating collaborative innovation between academia and grassroots innovators.
• Green Products Physical product lines developed through value addition of traditional knowledge, spanning Herbal Agro Products, Veterinary Products, and Human Products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices documented
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UNICEFminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022SRISTI UNICEF Summer School on Inclusive Innovation conducted to sensitize students about grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge.
• SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRISTI is the parent organization that initiated the Honey Bee Network. It coordinates Shodh Yatras, manages publications, and oversees the overall functioning of the network. Registered as a charitable organization under Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950.
• National Innovation Foundation (NIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIF was set up by the Indian government with inspiration and support from Honey Bee Network. It supports traditional food festivals, scouting fellowships, and receives entries from network collaborators. MOU signed between BIRAC and SRISTI.
• GIAN (Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIAN works on value addition and business development for grassroots innovations. Co-organizes GYTI Awards and supports the Honey Bee Network through various initiatives.
• SEVA, MaduraiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaborator in Tamil Nadu working on grassroots innovation scouting and documentation in southern India.
• PEDES, KeralaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaborator in Kerala (Peermade Development Society) working on traditional knowledge documentation and biodiversity conservation.
• Innovation Club, OdishaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaborator in Odisha working on grassroots innovation scouting and documentation.
• Network of Gram VidyapeethasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of rural colleges based on Gandhian philosophy that mobilize students for summer volunteering and innovation scouting activities.
• Palle Srujana, Andhra PradeshminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaborator in Andhra Pradesh publishing Telugu version of Honey Bee Newsletter (Palle Srujana).
• BIRACcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council. MOU signed with SRISTI for supporting innovation and traditional knowledge documentation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UNICEF Innovation Fund / Office of Innovation: UN organization that runs inclusive innovation programs (including a documented partnership with Honey Bee via the SRISTI-UNICEF Summer School on Inclusive Innovation). Comparable as a large-scale platform for sourcing and scaling inclusive, grassroots-oriented solutions.
• WIPO GREEN: UN-affiliated global marketplace for sustainable technology and traditional knowledge exchange. Operates at much larger scale in the same intellectual space of connecting knowledge holders with users, with overlapping emphasis on benefit-sharing and biodiversity.

Direct peers

• SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions): Parent charitable trust of Honey Bee Network that coordinates Shodh Yatras, publications, and value-addition activities. Directly comparable in activities, governance structure, and Indian innovation-scouting mandate.
• Techpedia (IIT Bombay / SRISTI-linked platform): Online platform linking technology students with informal-sector innovators through project databases. Overlaps with Honey Bee's mission to bridge formal and informal knowledge systems and channel student effort toward grassroots problems.
• Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN): Co-organizes GYTI awards and provides value addition and business development for grassroots innovations sourced from Honey Bee Network. Closely comparable in mission to translate grassroots innovation into commercial outcomes.
• India Innovates: Platform associated with the Honey Bee ecosystem that curates formal-sector innovation linkages with informal-sector innovators. Comparable as a sister platform bridging grassroots and institutional innovation.
• Ashoka Innovators for the Public: Global network that identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs and innovators, with a comparable model of scouting individual changemakers, providing fellowships, and convening a community across multiple geographies.
• National Innovation Foundation (India): Government-backed autonomous body set up with inspiration from Honey Bee Network that scouts, supports, and commercializes grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge across India. Highly comparable in mission, target beneficiaries, and grassroots scouting methodology.

Others

• Skoll Foundation: Global foundation backing social entrepreneurs and ecosystem support organizations. Comparable as a funder/convener in the social innovation and grassroots entrepreneurship space, though focused on capital deployment rather than direct scouting.

Regional players

• SEVA (Madurai): Tamil Nadu-based NGO and a documented regional collaborator of Honey Bee Network that scouts and documents grassroots innovations in southern India. Comparable as a regional node in the same grassroots-innovation ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/honey-bee-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Honey Bee Network