Insaan Group

What Insaan Group does

Insaan Group is a US-registered 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York, with a regional office in London. Operating under the mission of increasing the flow of capital toward innovative solutions serving the world's poorest, Insaan functions as a catalytic impact investor focused on early-stage ventures in sub-Saharan Africa and India across sectors including healthcare, education, menstrual hygiene, agriculture, and artisanal goods. The organization has deployed catalytic capital across 11 portfolio companies, claims over 3,400,000 lives changed, and operates with a small team of 1-10 staff, supported by a Board of Directors and Investment Committee.

Insaan's core offering combines direct venture catalytic investments with a digital infrastructure layer. Its proprietary digital product, Impact Footprint, launched in April 2023, is a platform for the discovery and pre-due diligence of SDG-aligned ventures, enabling changemakers to showcase their work and allowing philanthropists, impact investors, and DFIs to identify and finance local solutions. A pre-launched 'Growing the Pie' initiative extends this model into debt financing for network partners. The organization also co-developed the Code of Practice for Non-Profits, launched at the 2018 Paris Peace Forum.

Insaan's revenue model is donation-driven (philanthropic capital) supplemented by returns from catalytic investments that are recycled into further deployment, plus co-investment and follow-on investment fees. Go-to-market is relationship-led and event-driven, leveraging the founder's academic and policy network, peer testimonials, podcast appearances, and content contributions across outlets such as Alliance Magazine and Impact Entrepreneur. Geographic reach spans Kenya, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, and India, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or external equity ownership.

Name

Insaan Group

Legal name

Insaan Group

Website

https://insaangroup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Insaan Group is a US-registered 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2007 that operates as a catalytic impact investor in early-stage ventures across sub-Saharan Africa and India, deploying philanthropic capital and operating the Impact Footprint digital platform for SDG-aligned discovery and pre-due diligence.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing / Catalytic Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN), Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)

Keywords

• Catalytic impact investing
• Philanthropic capital deployment
• Early-stage venture funding
• SDG-aligned impact solutions
• Impact measurement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Capital Donations: Insaan raises philanthropic capital to make catalytic investments. Donors contribute to support the organization's mission of investing in early-stage ventures serving under-served markets in sub-Saharan Africa and India.
2. Investment Returns (Re-investment Model): Returns from catalytic investments are re-invested to amplify impact through time and to make Insaan's own entity resilient. This creates a virtuous cycle where investment proceeds fund future impact activities.
3. Co-investment and Follow-on Investment Fees: Insaan works with impact investors as co-investors and follow-on investors, generating fee income from collaborative investment arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Insaan Group is a 501(c)(3) public charity that raises philanthropic and catalytic capital and deploys it as early-stage venture investments into ventures serving underserved markets in sub-Saharan Africa and India, with investment returns re-invested to amplify impact. The organization complements its investment activity with Impact Footprint, a proprietary digital platform launched in April 2023 that supports discovery, pre-due diligence, and impact storytelling of SDG-aligned solutions for philanthropists, impact investors, and DFIs.

Product overview

Insaan Group is an impact investment organization that operates as a single unified offering combining catalytic investment services with a digital platform. The core investment service (Catalytic Investments) provides early-stage venture funding to underserved markets in sub-Saharan Africa and India. The Impact Footprint digital platform enables changemakers to showcase their impact and allows funders to discover local solutions. The Growing the Pie initiative extends access to debt financing for network partners. Insaan has 11 catalytic investments spanning portfolio companies across Africa (Kenya, Madagascar, Burkina Faso) and India, focused on sectors including fashion, healthcare, agriculture, education, menstrual hygiene, and handicrafts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Impact Footprint: A digital platform launched in April 2023 to propel impact forward at scale by solving for the discovery and pre-due diligence of innovative solutions to meet the SDGs. Enables changemakers to showcase their story and impact, and allows philanthropists, impact investors, and DFIs to discover and accelerate the financing of local solutions.
• Growing the Pie

Products and services

• Impact Footprint A proprietary digital platform for the discovery and pre-due diligence of innovative SDG-aligned solutions. It enables changemakers to showcase their impact stories and allows philanthropists, impact investors, and DFIs to discover and accelerate financing of local solutions, powered by accessible, standardized data.
• Catalytic Investments Early-stage venture investments in underserved markets and market segments in sub-Saharan Africa and India, focused on creating employment at scale. Funded by philanthropic and catalytic capital, with returns re-invested to amplify impact, and executed alongside co-investors and follow-on investors.
• Growing the Pie A pre-launched initiative that enables Insaan's network of partners to access debt financing to scale their innovations and multiply the impact of catalytic capital for all stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,400,000+ lives changed through catalytic investments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Impact Footprint Ecosystem PartnerscoreOthers · 1 April 2023The Impact Footprint platform enables a proprietary network of partners including changemakers (impact entrepreneurs), philanthropists, impact investors, and DFIs to showcase stories, discover solutions, and accelerate financing of local SDG-aligned innovations.
• Global Consultative Partners (Code of Practice for Non-Profits)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Insaan contributed to the global consultative effort resulting in the Code of Practice for Non-Profits, launched at the Paris Peace Forum in 2018. This initiative represents a multi-stakeholder collaboration to establish standards for non-profit operations and impact measurement.
• MiarakapcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiarakap is Insaan's strategic partner in The Impact Lab initiative, a shared observation and vision to accelerate the growth of impactful startups and businesses in southern Madagascar within an efficient and innovative impact ecosystem, and to establish a consulting service serving Madagascar and ultimately Africa.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Omidyar Network: Omidyar Network is a philanthropic impact investment firm founded by eBay's Pierre Omidyar, making early-stage and growth-stage investments across emerging markets and the US. Closely comparable to Insaan's hybrid philanthropic + impact-investing model, particularly its India and Africa focus.
• Instiglio: Instiglio is a nonprofit that designs and implements outcomes-based financing and impact investing instruments with governments, donors, and impact ventures in emerging markets. Comparable to Insaan in use of innovative finance, rigorous impact measurement, and developing-market focus.
• Acumen: Acumen is a nonprofit impact venture fund investing in early-stage companies delivering critical goods and services to low-income customers across Africa and South Asia. Directly comparable to Insaan in mission (poverty-focused catalytic capital), geography (sub-Saharan Africa + India), and stage (early-stage catalytic investments with philanthropic capital).
• Calvert Impact Capital: Calvert Impact Capital is a nonprofit impact investing financial intermediary that pools capital from individuals and institutions to fund social enterprises globally. Comparable to Insaan's role as a 501(c)(3) capital intermediary channeling donor capital to impact ventures.
• LeapFrog Investments: LeapFrog invests in financial services and healthcare companies serving emerging consumers across Africa and Asia. Comparable as an emerging-markets impact investor serving under-served customers with a profit-and-purpose model.

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations: Open Society Foundations is one of the largest global philanthropic foundations, deploying philanthropic and impact capital across Africa, Asia, and the US. Comparable as a large-scale philanthropic + impact-investing actor in similar geographies (Africa, India) though at vastly larger scale.
• Skoll Foundation: Skoll Foundation funds and connects social entrepreneurs worldwide with large-scale philanthropic capital and ecosystem partnerships. Comparable as a major philanthropic actor in the impact-investing ecosystem, though broader in scope than Insaan's venture-catalytic focus.
• Bridges Fund Management: Bridges Fund Management is a specialist impact investment manager running private equity and debt strategies serving positive social and environmental outcomes. Comparable as an institutional impact-investing intermediary but with a developed-markets tilt.

Regional players

• Big Issue Invest: Big Issue Invest is the social investment arm of The Big Issue, providing loans and investment to social enterprises primarily in the UK. Comparable as a nonprofit deploying catalytic capital into under-served ventures, with a UK regional focus aligned with Insaan's London office footprint.

Others

• Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): GIIN is the global membership organization for the impact investing industry, building standards (IRIS+) and infrastructure. Comparable as an ecosystem-shaping institution; not a capital allocator but a complementary platform that Insaan engages with through Impact Footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6xKnAVGv7_lLQKnLNikVHg
• Facebookfacebook.com/insaangroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/insaangroup
• Xx.com/theInsaanGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insaan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 Insaan Group