Birthing Kit Foundation Australia

What Birthing Kit Foundation Australia does

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization founded in 1999 in South Australia by members of the Zonta Club of Adelaide Hills, with co-founder Dr Julie Monis-Ivett OAM serving as Director. The organization designs, sources, and distributes a single core physical product — the Clean Birth Kit — a low-cost, single-use package of six standardized items (a biodegradable plastic sheet, soap, gloves, cord ties, a sterile scalpel blade, and gauze squares) intended to enable hygienic childbirth and reduce infection risk for mothers, newborns, and birth attendants in low-resource settings. To date, BKFA has distributed more than 3 million Clean Birth Kits across over 30 developing countries and trained more than 10,000 traditional birth attendants.

BKFA's operations are built around a volunteer-led assembly model. Kits are packed at community Assembly Days across Australia (303 held in 2024/25 with 15,030 volunteers) and shipped to a network of approximately 250 field partners — NGOs, governments, and health service providers — for distribution to pregnant women, health facilities, and traditional birth attendants. Complementary engagement channels include the Kits at Home DIY program (AUD $600 per 100 kits), Baby Shower events, and corporate volunteer programs such as the Thermo Fisher Scientific partnership. BKFA generates revenue through kit sales (AU$5 per domestic kit, US$7-10 per international kit), individual and corporate donations, Assembly Day fundraising, and in-kind contributions from supply partners such as MUN Australia (650,000 gloves annually). The organization is governed as an independent registered Australian charity (ABN 65 121 658 428) headquartered in Belair, South Australia, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or traditional funding-round history.

Name

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia

Legal name

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia

Website

https://bkfa.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia is a non-profit humanitarian organization that designs and distributes a six-item Clean Birth Kit to women birthing at home in remote regions of over 30 developing countries, supported by a volunteer assembly network and approximately 250 field partners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Belair

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Kit Sales: BKFA generates revenue through donations and kit sales. Assembly Day fundraising supports production and delivery of Birthing Kits. Kits are sold to volunteers and community groups who then assemble them as a fundraising activity.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners contribute through donations, workplace giving, regular monthly contributions, and organizing volunteer Assembly Days. Examples include Thermo Fisher Scientific contributing over $117,000 and MUN Australia donating medical gloves.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA) is a humanitarian non-profit that assembles and distributes a low-cost, single-use Clean Birth Kit containing six essential items (plastic sheet, soap, gloves, cord ties, sterile blade, gauze) to pregnant women birthing at home in remote regions of developing countries. Kits are packed by Australian volunteers through Assembly Day programs and shipped to a network of in-country Field Partners (NGOs, governments, health facilities) for distribution, supported by Traditional Birth Attendant training.

Product overview

Birthing Kit Foundation Australia operates a single core physical product—the Clean Birth Kit—alongside multiple volunteer engagement and distribution programs. The Clean Birth Kit is a low-cost, single-use package of six essential medical supplies (plastic sheet, soap, gloves, gauze, cord ties, and sterile blade) designed to enable hygienic childbirth in resource-limited settings. This core product is distributed globally through a network of Field Partners and supported by volunteer programs including Assembly Days (community kit-packing events), Kits at Home (individual/family packing), Zonta Assembly Days (partner club events), and Baby Showers (celebration-based events). Education and training programs for Traditional Birth Attendants complement kit distribution to maximize impact on maternal and newborn health outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clean Birth Kit A low-cost, single-use kit containing six essential items (biodegradable plastic sheet, soap, gloves, cord ties, sterile scalpel blade, and gauze squares) designed to support hygienic childbirth and reduce infection risk in resource-limited and emergency settings. For use by pregnant women, midwives, doctors, nurses, and trained Traditional Birth Attendants in developing countries.
• Kits at Home

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 million Clean Birth Kits distributed, estimated to have saved tens of thousands of women and babies
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Thermo Fisher ScientificcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023First Assembly Day in 2023 with 100 colleagues at six sites. In 2024, expanded partnership with additional funding. To date: contributed over $117,000, hosted 51 Assembly Days, assembled over 18,000 kits.
• Born ReadyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Since 2018, Born Ready has supported BKFA through donations and birthing kit Assembly Days. Has donated more than $5,000 to BKFA, with a portion of course fees directed to the Foundation monthly.
• MUN AustraliacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Since 2016, MUN Australia has partnered with BKFA to supply medical gloves used in Clean Birth Kits. This financial year, donated 650,000 gloves (increased from 300,000 previous year). Staff also participate in Assembly Days.
• Zonta Club of Adelaide HillscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Founding partner. BKFA was born from members of the Zonta Club of Adelaide Hills in 1999. Zonta clubs across Australia and globally have been the heart of BKFA's operations, hosting Assembly Days and raising funds. Over 1.6 million kits have been funded and assembled by Zonta members.
• Hope for Sustainable Development Uganda (HOSUDE-U)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerField partner distributing Clean Birth Kits in Kasese district, western Uganda. Distributed almost 5,000 kits in 2024/2025 to pregnant women, health centres, district hospitals, and traditional birth attendants.
• OranaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with disability provider to create high-quality health kits. Social enterprise model where kits assembled by Australians with disabilities support both local and global impact.
• Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthiopian field partner producing 70,000+ kits and training Health Extension Workers. Has helped reduce FGM in 22 of 32 districts in Afar region. APDA changed kit contents to be culturally specific.
• Hamlin Fistula HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthiopian partner that made 10,000 birthing kits as part of APDA program in Ethiopia.
• Mission in Health Care and Development (MHCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDR Congo partner that produced 38,000 kits, trained over 4,000 TBAs, and established Midwifery Seminar Training program. Opened Great Lakes Midwifery College at Luvungi Hospital in 2016.
• CENESA (Vietnam)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVietnamese partner that organized training programs for over 4,000 Community Health Workers from 2003-2010, producing 62,000 kits made in Hanoi.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Zonta International: Global service organization of professionals that founded BKFA in 1999 and remains its largest assembly-day and fundraising partner (1.6 million kits from Zonta members). Directly comparable as a women's-health focused volunteer network with humanitarian service delivery.
• UNFPA Supplies Partnership: UNFPA runs the largest global programme procuring and distributing reproductive and maternal health supplies, including clean delivery kits, to low-resource countries. Directly comparable to BKFA in product category, target beneficiaries (pregnant women in developing countries), and humanitarian distribution model.
• PATH: Global health non-profit that develops and delivers maternal and newborn health technologies and supplies across low-income countries. Comparable in maternal health mission, evidence-based intervention design, and partnerships with developing-country health systems.
• Population Services International (PSI): Global health non-profit that designs, procures, and distributes low-cost health products (including reproductive and maternal health supplies) through market-based and subsidized channels in developing countries. Comparable in low-cost health product model, donor-funded revenue, and developing-country distribution.
• Direct Relief: US-based humanitarian medical aid organization that procures and distributes essential medical supplies (including obstetric kits and PPE) to health facilities in developing countries. Comparable in supply-chain distribution model, donor-funded revenue model, and focus on low-resource maternal/neonatal care.

Broad incumbents

• CARE International: Global humanitarian organization with extensive maternal, newborn, and reproductive health programs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Comparable in field-partner distribution model, women's empowerment focus, and community health worker training.
• UNICEF Supply Division: UN agency procuring and distributing maternal and child health supplies globally, including clean delivery kits. Comparable in target beneficiaries, low-cost supply interventions, and developing-country distribution networks, but operates at vastly greater scale and broader portfolio.
• Save the Children: International NGO with major maternal, newborn, and child health programs across more than 100 countries. Comparable in target population, donor-driven funding model, and field-partner implementation, with overlapping focus on reducing preventable maternal mortality.
• World Vision International: Large multinational humanitarian organization running community health, maternal, and child survival programmes in dozens of developing countries. Comparable in target geographies, donor-funded model, and maternal health outcome focus, though operates a much broader portfolio beyond birth kits.

Regional players

• AMREF Health Africa: Africa's largest health NGO, training community health workers and midwives to deliver maternal and child health services in low-resource African settings. Comparable in mission, TBA training model, and maternal health outcomes focus, but geographically concentrated in Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bkfa.org.au
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/birthingkitfoundationau

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Birthing Kit Foundation Australia