Kolkata Sanved

What Kolkata Sanved does

Kolkata Sanved is a women-led, not-for-profit organization founded in 2004 in Kolkata, India by Sohini Chakraborty and five survivors of gender-based violence. The organization pioneered the application of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) and Creative Arts Therapy (CAT) for trauma healing and empowerment in South Asia, operating at the intersection of social development, mental health, and the arts. Its proprietary Sampoornata model is a culturally contextualized, evidence-based methodology integrating body-based practices, Navarasa-inspired movement traditions, and trauma-informed care, structured around six stages from 'Movement for All' through 'Reintegration.' 60% of the organization's staff have emerged from grassroots communities or are themselves survivors of gender-based violence.

The organization delivers a portfolio of eight integrated programs: Trauma Healing, Sampoornata Wellbeing Club, the Dance Movement Therapy Leadership Development Academy (DMTLDA) which is an 18-month, 376-hour certification pathway, the Post Graduate Diploma in DMT (PGDDMT) delivered in partnership with Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Healing & Wellbeing focused on SRHR and positive masculinity, Transforming Steps campaigns and events, Building New Constituency for ecosystem expansion, and the planned Centre for Creative Wellbeing and Social Change. Programs have reached 30,000+ individuals across 7 Indian states and 20+ South Asian cities through 150+ partner organizations, with 519+ certified DMT practitioners developed.

Kolkata Sanved operates as a donation- and grant-funded non-profit with revenue drawn from institutional donors (Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Porticus, Stichting Benevolentia, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Vital Voices), corporate partnerships, and earned income from training programs including the PGDDMT. Distribution occurs through direct community programs, NGO and government channel partnerships (including DWCD in West Bengal and Maharashtra and WBCPCR), academic training via TISS Mumbai, and online/virtual delivery. The organization is governed by an independent board with a 9-member senior leadership team formed in 2017, and operates from two Kolkata addresses with a training hub at TISS Mumbai.

Name

Kolkata Sanved

Legal name

Kolkata Sanved

Website

https://kolkatasanved.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kolkata Sanved is a women-led, Kolkata-based not-for-profit founded in 2004 that pioneered Dance Movement Therapy in South Asia through its proprietary Sampoornata model, serving survivors of gender-based violence, marginalized youth, and trauma-affected communities across India and South Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic Services - Dance Movement Therapy and Trauma Healing

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness & Somatic Mind-Body Practices (HSADAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rehabilitation Support (PT/OT Aide) (EDAOAJAI), MHPSS & Trauma-Informed Support for Displaced Populations (BPADAHAJ)

Keywords

• Dance movement therapy
• Trauma healing programs
• Creative arts therapy
• Gender-based violence support
• Therapeutic training certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Program Fees: Revenue from Post Graduate Diploma in DMT (with TISS collaboration) and DMT Leadership Development Academy certification programs. 400+ practitioners created pan India since 2013.
2. Donations and Grants: Funding from institutional donors including Stichting Benevolentia, AWO, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Porticus, Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Hopewell Fund, Bright Fund, and others. Also receives support from corporate donors and sponsors.
3. Corporate and Institutional Partnerships: Corporate donations, institutional funding, and sponsorship for specific programs, travel fare sponsorship, and course fee sponsorship for children and youth.
4. Capacity Building Services: Training organizations and individuals to integrate DMT into their own fields of work, including workshops and academic programs.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kolkata Sanved delivers Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) and Creative Arts Therapy (CAT) programs through its proprietary Sampoornata model for trauma healing and empowerment of survivors of gender-based violence and marginalized communities. The organization runs direct therapeutic interventions in communities, shelters, and hospitals, and operates certification and diploma training programs (DMTLDA and Post Graduate Diploma in DMT with TISS) to build a practitioner ecosystem.

Product overview

Kolkata Sanved offers a unified portfolio of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) and Creative Arts Therapy (CAT) programs organized around healing, empowerment, and social change. The core offering is the Sampoornata Model—a culturally contextualized, evidence-based approach that underpins all eight programmatic products. Programs include Trauma Healing for survivors of gender-based violence and trafficking; Sampoornata Wellbeing Club for youth leadership; the DMT Leadership Development Academy (DMTLDA) providing 18-month certification; the Post Graduate Diploma in DMT offered in partnership with Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Healing & Wellbeing addressing SRHR and positive masculinity; Transforming Steps for campaigns and events; Building New Constituency for ecosystem expansion; and the Centre for Creative Wellbeing and Social Change as an inclusive research and training hub. The portfolio is structured as a integrated system where survivors become practitioners who become leaders, creating a sustainable cycle of empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trauma Healing

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ individuals reached with DMT programs
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), MumbaicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term academic partnership since 2013 for Post Graduate Diploma in DMT. Also collaborated on DMT for Change Annual Summit and research publications. TISS is a key academic partner for mainstreaming DMT education.
• Department of Women and Child Development, Government of West BengalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for integrating DMT into mental hospital psychotherapy interventions and psychosocial rehabilitation programs.
• Department of Women and Child Development, Government of MaharashtracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for DMT-based psychosocial interventions and training of care providers.
• West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on mental health of children in care institutions. Kolkata Book Fair workshop collaboration. Child Rights Week activities.
• American Center, KolkataminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for programs and events supporting survivors and community development.
• Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) – AsiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth East Asia collaboration. Kolkata Sanved conducted DMT workshop at women workers meeting organized by GAATW in Bangkok, Thailand in 2022.
• One Billion RisingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration for campaigns and events promoting gender justice and ending violence against women.
• World Dance Alliance, Asia PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch-based roundtable collaboration. Academic and practitioner network in dance movement therapy.
• Azad Foundation (Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for Healing & Wellbeing program with focus on SRHR and positive masculinity. Operating across multiple cities.
• Nari O Sishu Kalyan Kendra (NOSKK), HowrahcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-term local partner for DMT programs and emergency relief distribution in Howrah region.
• Sundarban Social Development Centre (SSDC), South 24 ParganascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner for COVID-19 and Amphan cyclone relief distribution. Ongoing psychosocial rehabilitation programs.
• Jeevika Development Society, South 24 ParganascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoint hosting of Breaking Barriers campaign at UN Commission on Status of Women in NYC. Community programs.
• Vital Voices Global PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected Sohini Chakraborty as VV100 member among 100 most visionary women leaders globally. Organized strategic retreats and provided leadership development support.
• Bonnie Bernstein (Professor, California)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational faculty member since 2008. Provides DMT professional training and developed 'Empowerment-Focused Dance Movement Therapy' method integrated into Sampoornata.
• TATA TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanved Imprints project: adopting and integrating Sampoornata model into Nagpur Mental Health Hospital. One-year workshop-based program for care providers.
• UNICEF MumbaicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized and documented Sampoornata model as best practice for Western Region under Strengthening Restoration and Rehabilitation of Children program.
• Mahima IndiacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for trauma recovery programs with shelter homes in Kolkata.
• Kshamata Training Center, MumbaiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for trauma recovery and rehabilitation programs in Mumbai.
• Suprava Panchashila Mahila Udyog Samity (SPMUS), MurshidabadminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner for women's empowerment and economic programs in Murshidabad.
• Indo-European Residency ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for testimonial play based on interviews with survivors of sexual violence, performed in Kolkata in December 2019.
• Creative Movement Therapy Association of India (CMTAI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted workshop at 6th annual international conference. Presented Sampoornata model and PhD thesis.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tamalpa Institute: US-based institute founded by Anna Halprin offering movement-based expressive arts therapy training and programs. Comparable methodology (body-based somatic process for healing and social change) and a comparable training-of-trainers infrastructure that mirrors DMTLDA.
• Creative Movement Therapy Association of India (CMTAI): The Indian professional association for dance/creative movement therapy practitioners. Directly comparable because it is the primary industry body shaping DMT practice in India and is explicitly listed as a Kolkata Sanved partner at academic and practitioner forums.
• Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies: Global institute for Laban Movement Analysis and somatic-based movement therapy training. Comparable because it sits at the foundation of the dance therapy field and trains practitioners in body-based therapeutic frameworks analogous to Sampoornata.

Broad incumbents

• American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA): The largest US professional association for dance/movement therapy. Comparable as the dominant credentialing and standards body in the field whose curriculum frameworks shape DMT training worldwide, including emerging South Asian programs.

Regional players

• Prerana: Mumbai-based anti-trafficking organization working on prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation of survivors of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Comparable as a frontline India-based GBV/trafficking intervention NGO operating in Maharashtra with similar survivor-rehabilitation ethos.
• Apne Aap Women Worldwide: India-based organization empowering women and girls vulnerable to trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Comparable because it targets the same survivor population through community-based, empowerment-led models in India.
• Sanlaap: Kolkata-based anti-trafficking and child protection NGO where Sohini Chakraborty began her dance therapy work in the 1990s. Directly comparable as the originating partner context for Kolkata Sanved's survivor-focused rehabilitation programming.
• New Light: Kolkata-based nonprofit providing shelter, education, and economic opportunities to children of sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Comparable geography, beneficiary population, and survivor-led ethos.

Emerging players

• Arts & Healing Initiative: US-based nonprofit advancing the use of creative arts in healing and wellbeing. Comparable as an arts-based therapeutic modality organization but operating primarily in Western contexts rather than trauma-affected Global South settings.

Others

• Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW): International alliance working on human trafficking, migration, and sex worker rights with a strong South Asia presence. Comparable as an ecosystem partner and convener; GAATW has hosted Kolkata Sanved's DMT workshops in Bangkok, indicating shared survivor-focused advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqC6Zp3KvTfEXJioPQvR3_g
• Facebookfacebook.com/kolkatasanved
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kolkata-sanved
• Xx.com/KolkataSanved

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Kolkata Sanved