CSIDC

What CSIDC does

CSIDC (Center for Social Innovation in Developing Countries) is a women-led, justice-oriented leadership and strategy institute headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. Founded in 2017 by Noorulain Masood, a former Harvard leadership educator (2013-2020) who has personally trained over 2,000 practitioners globally, CSIDC operates across Pakistan and the broader Asia-Pacific region with a focus on climate, energy, and gender justice. The organization delivers five interconnected program streams: the Gender Just Transition Collective (embedding a gender lens in Sindh's energy policy), the Global Leadership and Strategy Practice (high-impact training for global conveners), Leadership for Just Futures (supporting emerging leaders from minoritized genders), Movement and Solidarity Building Practice (fostering regional solidarity), and Campaign Strategy and Leadership Practice (strengthening activist campaigns).

CSIDC serves grassroots activists, civil society organizations, gender and climate justice advocates, and ecosystem funders, reaching 80+ leaders in Pakistan, 300+ activists across Asia-Pacific, and leaders in 12+ countries. The organization's methodology combines Harvard's adaptive leadership pedagogy with decolonial feminist praxis, intervening at three layers: strengthening leadership capability, increasing coordination capacity, and facilitating cross-sector coordinated action. CSIDC operates without a proprietary technology platform; its product is entirely service-delivered through in-person training programs, strategy retreats, organizing trainings, and coalition-based movement spaces such as the Asia Pacific Feminist Forum and COP convenings.

The business model combines training and program fees with partnership and grant funding from value-aligned international organizations, diplomatic missions, and civil society partners. The team of approximately 15 includes program managers, research staff, communications personnel, and operations support. No revenue figures, funding rounds, or pricing are publicly disclosed, consistent with its positioning as a hybrid civil society organization rather than a commercial enterprise. Strategic alliances span Pakistan Renewable Energy Coalition, Aktivasia, Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, Climate Resilience for All, Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy, Australian Progress, and FIFPRO.

Name

CSIDC

Legal name

Center for Social Innovation in Developing Countries

Website

https://csidc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CSIDC is a women-led, justice-oriented leadership and strategy institute in Karachi, Pakistan, founded in 2017. It delivers five program streams in climate, energy, and gender justice to activists, civil society organizations, and global conveners across Pakistan and Asia-Pacific.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Justice Leadership Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Individual and Family Services (6241), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Program & Portfolio Management (PPM) (EDABAHAB)

Keywords

• Leadership development training
• Gender justice advocacy
• Climate justice organizing
• Movement building services
• Strategy facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Karachi

HQ country

Pakistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training and Program Fees: Revenue generated from leadership training programs, strategy retreats, and organizing trainings for institutions and networks across Asia-Pacific.
2. Partnership and Grant Funding: Funding from value-aligned partners including international organizations, diplomatic missions, and civil society organizations that support their work in climate and gender justice leadership development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CSIDC is a justice-oriented leadership and strategy institute delivering leadership training, organizing support, and strategy facilitation for climate, energy, and gender justice movements. It works through five interconnected service streams that strengthen individual leadership capability, increase coordination capacity of teams, and facilitate cross-sector coordinated action among communities, civil society, and allied organizations across Pakistan and the Asia-Pacific region.

Product overview

CSIDC is a justice-oriented leadership and strategy institute offering five interconnected service programs focused on climate, energy, and gender justice. The core offerings include the Gender Just Transition Collective (gender lens in energy policies), Global Leadership and Strategy Practice (leadership training for global conveners), Leadership for Just Futures (supporting emerging social-change leaders), Movement and Solidarity Building Practice (fostering cross-movement solidarity), and Campaign Strategy and Leadership Practice (strengthening climate and gender justice campaigns). These programs work at three layers: strengthening leadership capability, increasing coordination capacity, and facilitating cross-sector coordinated action.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gender Just Transition Collective A program that embeds a gender lens into Sindh's energy policies by engaging policymakers and organizing women and communities living in energy poverty in the renewable energy transition.
• Global Leadership and Strategy Practice High-impact leadership training and strategy facilitation for key global conveners, strengthening leadership of funders and network builders advancing gender justice and climate action across Asia-Pacific.
• Leadership for Just Futures A program that strengthens leadership and strategic capacity across social-change spaces by supporting emerging leaders with a focus on minoritized genders using decolonial feminist praxis.
• Movement and Solidarity Building Practice A program that creates politically grounded and creative spaces for activists, feminists, and community leaders to reflect, reimagine, and rebuild together, fostering transformative solidarity locally and regionally.
• Campaign Strategy and Leadership Practice A program that strengthens campaigns and activist leadership to grow Pakistan's climate and gender justice movements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ leaders trained in Pakistan
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Pakistan Renewable Energy CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on renewable energy and climate issues in Pakistan. CSIDC collaborates on gender-just energy transition initiatives in Sindh, embedding a gender lens into energy policies through community organizing and decision-maker engagement.
• AktivasiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner covering Aktivasia Pakistan operations. Collaboration on activist and movement-building initiatives across Pakistan.
• Harvard Kennedy School Executive EducationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSIDC's founder previously served as a Harvard leadership educator (2013-2020) and the organization brings Harvard's leadership pedagogy into dialogue with frontline community realities. This is a foundational intellectual partnership informing their methodology.
• Climate Resilience for AllcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization focused on climate resilience initiatives. Collaboration on climate and gender justice work in Pakistan and the region.
• Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on climate justice and clean energy advocacy. Supports CSIDC's work in advancing gender-just energy transition and climate action.
• Australian ProgressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian organization supporting progressive social change. Collaboration on movement building and solidarity initiatives across regions.
• FIFPRO: Football Players WorldwideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal footballers' union organization. Partnership supporting movement building and solidarity work, particularly around social justice and workers' rights.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aktivasia: A listed CSIDC partner and regional movement-building organization operating across Asia with activist training and solidarity programs. Directly comparable in mission, geography, and constituency.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: Feminist rapid-response fund supporting women's rights activists globally, including leadership and movement protection. Comparable in feminist resourcing model and Asia-Pacific activist support.
• CREA (Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action): Global feminist organization working at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and human rights with a strong South Asia presence. Comparable in feminist leadership development, training, and movement-building approach.
• JASS (Just Associates): Global feminist movement-building organization that builds leadership and collective power among women activists in the Global South. Closely comparable methodology (decolonial feminist praxis, movement strengthening) and similar target audience.
• APWLD (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development): Asia-Pacific feminist network operating across 30+ countries on gender justice, movement building, and leadership development. Strong geographic and thematic overlap with CSIDC's Asia-Pacific climate-gender work.
• Climate Resilience for All: Listed CSIDC partner working on climate resilience in Pakistan and the region. Directly comparable in climate-justice focus, regional footprint, and partnership-based operating model.

Broad incumbents

• AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development): Established global feminist membership organization with broader scope and larger footprint than CSIDC. Comparable in gender-justice mission and constituency, but operates at higher organizational scale across multiple thematic streams.
• Teach For All: Global network of leadership-development organizations in education; CSIDC's CEO previously worked at Teach For Pakistan. Comparable as a leadership-pipeline organization operating across multiple countries with local partner hubs.
• Open Society Foundations: Major global funder supporting civil society, gender justice, and climate work in Pakistan and Asia-Pacific. Comparable thematically as a CSIDC ecosystem counterparty and broader funder of overlapping grantees.

Emerging players

• FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund: Fund and capacity-builder for young feminist-led organizations in the Global South. Comparable in feminist leadership pipeline and resourcing approach, though structured as a regranting fund rather than direct training provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csidcpk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 CSIDC