Centre for Gender And Politics (CGAP)

What Centre for Gender And Politics (CGAP) does

Centre for Gender And Politics (CGAP) is a volunteer-led, non-profit think tank registered as CGAP Foundation under Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act, headquartered in Puttur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Operating since circa 2020, CGAP focuses on scholarship and public discourse at the intersection of gender, politics, and South Asia. The organization's mission is to raise awareness and enable research on women's political leadership, challenging victim-focused narratives in favor of a "language of leadership" framework. Its programmatic portfolio comprises five core products: Beyond Victims (a storytelling series of 129+ women's leadership stories across 26 editions), Worth Asking (an annual interview series with a 2024 podcast adaptation), GaP Repository (a curated free resource hub for aspiring women leaders), Gender Observation Guide (an open-source guide for observing Indian elections with a gender lens), and Research Publications (37+ studies following APA 7th edition standards). The organization also runs Roundtables and Dialogues to convene stakeholders across the region.

CGAP delivers its content through a multilingual digital infrastructure spanning six languages (Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil) and distributed via a Wix-hosted website, five podcast platforms (YouTube, Spotify, JioSaavn, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts), and social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube). Technology is partnership-enabled rather than proprietary: JP Morgan & Chase's Force For Good program contributed a dedicated team to develop the GaP Repository. The organization's geographic footprint reaches eight South Asian countries — India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan — and content is amplified through earned media features in The Diplomat, Indian Express, Russia Today, UN Women Asia Pacific, and University of Warwick publications. Primary beneficiaries are aspiring grassroots women political leaders, with secondary constituencies including journalists, civil society election monitors, public policy professionals, and youth researchers.

The business model is donation-driven and volunteer-led. CGAP operates with 11 staff and 140+ active volunteers performing research, editorial, design, and project management functions. All content is offered free of charge under a freemium model, and funding comes exclusively from donations, which are legally restricted to Indian citizens and routed via Kotak Mahindra Bank. The organization holds 12A and 80G tax-exempt registrations and a PAN from the Indian Income Tax Department, enabling donor tax benefits. Strategic partnerships include JP Morgan & Chase (technology), Tatvam Productions (podcast production), Women for Politics (sister platform and interview series origin), UN Women Asia Pacific (content amplification), BehanBox (interview co-publication), and UNAMI (methodological inspiration for the Gender Observation Guide). No venture funding, equity, or paid enterprise customers are present; revenue is undisclosed.

Name

Centre for Gender And Politics (CGAP)

Legal name

CGAP Foundation

Website

https://cgapsouthasia.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CGAP is a volunteer-led, India-based non-profit think tank producing multilingual research, storytelling, podcasts, and curated resource platforms on women's political leadership across eight South Asian countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Puttur

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. Donations and Grants: CGAP is funded through donations from individuals and organizations. The organization can only accept donations from Indian citizens. Direct bank transfer available via Kotak Mahindra Bank.
2. Volunteer Contributions: The organization operates with volunteers who contribute research, editorial, design, and project management work. Research volunteers are onboarded through an orientation process and contribute to project milestones.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CGAP is a volunteer-led think tank that produces and distributes free research, storytelling content, and convening programs on the intersection of gender, politics, and South Asia. It delivers its core offering through five named programs: Beyond Victims (multilingual leadership storytelling), Worth Asking (interview and podcast series with political leaders), GaP Repository (curated knowledge hub for aspiring women political leaders), Gender Observation Guide (open-source election observation tool), and Research Publications (peer-reviewed studies and reports). All content is freely accessible in multiple languages via website and podcast platforms.

Product overview

Centre for Gender and Politics (CGAP) is a volunteer-led think tank based in India focused on high-quality scholarship at the intersection of gender, politics and South Asia. The organization operates as a platform for researchers, policymakers and the public to engage in discourse on gender diversity in politics. CGAP's product portfolio centers on five interconnected initiatives: (1) Beyond Victims, a storytelling series documenting women political leaders across South Asia; (2) Worth Asking, an interview series (both written and podcast formats) with political leaders on gendered politics; (3) GaP Repository, a knowledge hub for aspiring women political leaders; (4) Gender Observation Guide, an open-source electoral observation tool; and (5) Research Publications, academic studies and reports. These offerings are complemented by Roundtables and Dialogues that foster regional collaboration. The organization targets aspiring women political leaders as primary beneficiaries, media practitioners and policymakers as influencers, and youth researchers as change agents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beyond Victims: A storytelling series that documents and amplifies women's political leadership stories across South Asia, challenging victim-focused narratives.
• Worth Asking
• GaP Repository
• Gender Observation Guide

Products and services

• Beyond Victims Storytelling series documenting and amplifying leadership success stories of women political leaders in South Asia, shifting narratives from victims to change-makers. Youth-led initiative that has published 129+ stories across 26 editions in 6 languages (Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil) covering 8 South Asian countries.
• Worth Asking Interview Series Annual interview series with political leaders on the gendered nature of politics, featuring written interviews covering career pathways of women leaders and allyship of men in politics across South Asian countries. 22+ interviews conducted with leaders from 5 South Asian countries.
• Worth Asking Podcast Podcast version of the Worth Asking interview series, converting written interviews into spoken words directly from political leaders. Distributed on YouTube, Spotify, JioSaavn, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts. 2024 season funded by 81 donors.
• GaP Repository (Gender and Politics Repository) A curated knowledge hub providing resources for aspiring women political leaders in South Asia, including research insights, inspiring stories, legal and compliance procedures, training and leadership development resources, and practical how-to guides. Free and accessible platform with resources filtered by topics and regions, developed in collaboration with JP Morgan Chase.
• Gender Observation Guide Open-source guide providing guidance and resources for observing Indian elections with a gender lens. Targets journalists, researchers, civil society organisations, election monitoring groups, public policy professionals, and students. Adapted from UNAMI's election analysis approach.
• Research Publications Studies, reports, and articles bridging the research gap on gender and politics in South Asia. Follows APA 7th edition citation style. Published 37+ research publications with rigorous academic standards while maintaining accessible language for non-native English speakers.
• Roundtables and Dialogues Panel discussions, roundtables, online dialogues and events fostering solidarity and allyship across South Asian researchers and leaders. 18+ roundtables and dialogues organized to encourage engagement and collaboration in the region.

Quantifiable outcome

• 198 stories documented across 8 countries since 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JP Morgan & Chase (JPMC)coreTechnology or IntegrationJP Morgan & Chase collaborated with CGAP through the 'Force For Good' program for the development of the GaP Repository project. A dedicated team at JPMC including Sistla Karthik, Indira Saraswathula, Sowmya Donti, Nishith Srivastava, Manaswini M, Vasavi Thodupunuri, Navya Iyanampudi, Harika Endrala, Ramya and Sibaji contributed to technology development. Sweta Singh and Anitha Pratap from JPMC facilitated the collaboration.
• Tatvam ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTatvam Productions collaborated with CGAP for the Worth Asking podcast production, converting written interviews into audio format for the 2024 season.
• UN Women Asia PacificminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCGAP content featured on UN Women Asia Pacific website, including blog posts on safeguarding digital spaces in Indian/South Asian politics.
• Women for Politics (womenforpolitics.com)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen for Politics is a related platform and partner organization. CGAP hosts past Worth Asking interviews and Beyond Victims editions from this platform. The interview series originated through partnership with Women for Politics.
• BehanBoxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with BehanBox for conducting and publishing interviews with women in politics, including the Harini Amarasuriya interview.
• United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGAP's Gender Observation Guide template was inspired by UNAMI's election analysis work, adapted for Indian elections with gender lens.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International IDEA: Inter-governmental organization supporting democratic governance with explicit programs on gender and political participation globally, including South Asia. Comparable as a think-and-do tank producing research, tools, and convenings on women's political participation.
• BehanBox: Indian digital media platform reporting on gender, politics, and policy with a focus on marginalized voices. Partnership with CGAP for publishing interviews; similar content niche and audience of journalists, researchers, and policymakers.
• Centre for Policy Research (CPR) India: India-based public policy think tank producing rigorous research on governance, gender, and politics. Comparable as a domestic think tank with overlapping audience of policymakers, journalists, and researchers in the gender-and-politics space.
• Feminist Analysis (Ada Derana): South Asian feminist analysis publication covering politics, gender, and social movements. Comparable in regional focus and audience with CGAP, and has cited/amplified CGAP content.
• Women for Politics: Platform for women political leaders that originated the Worth Asking interview series and remains a CGAP partner. Direct thematic and operational overlap in documenting women leaders across South Asia.

Broad incumbents

• UN Women: Global UN entity dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment. Operates at vastly larger scale than CGAP but covers overlapping thematic territory on women in politics and leadership, and has directly featured CGAP content on its Asia Pacific platform.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Global organization of national parliaments focused on democratic representation, including gender equality in politics. Publishes flagship data on women's parliamentary participation; comparable as authoritative source on women in political leadership.
• Asia Foundation: US-based international development organization with deep South Asia programming on governance, women's empowerment, and inclusive politics. Overlaps with CGAP on research and convening for women in politics, though at much broader thematic scope.
• Women's Political Participation Programme (UNDP/UN Women): UNDP and UN Women joint programming supporting women's leadership and political participation globally, including South Asia. Comparable as a funder and convener in the same thematic space, with overlapping beneficiary communities.
• Heinrich Böll Foundation (South Asia): German political foundation affiliated with the Greens that funds and publishes research on gender, democracy, and human rights across South Asia. Comparable as a larger institutional funder and publisher operating in the same thematic and regional space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cgap_sa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cgapsouthasia
• Facebookfacebook.com/cgap.southasia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cgap
• Instagraminstagram.com/cgapsouthasia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Gender And Politics (CGAP)