What Ekta Foundation does

Ekta Foundation is a Delhi-headquartered non-governmental organization (NGO) operating three integrated program verticals: women empowerment (Didi Ka Dhaba cloud kitchens, Lala Ji Ki Rasoi community kitchens, PMFME-linked micro-entrepreneurship), child development and nutrition (DLS Mission School, remedial education centers, mobile-app-based nutrition monitoring), and skill training (16 centers across 10+ Indian states covering DTP, textile, electrical, welding, plumbing, hospitality, CNC, and computer trades). Its commercial layer consists of the Didi Ka Dhaba and Lala Ji Ki Rasoi programs, which run ISO 9001/22000/45001/14001 + HACCP-certified centralized kitchens producing 50,000+ meals per day for institutional buyers including construction sites, corporate offices, schools, and large group events across Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, and Mohali. The foundation is also engaged as the District Resource Agency for the Government of India's PMFME scheme across all 11 districts of Delhi.

The organization's revenue model is non-commercial in the traditional sense: funding flows from CSR grants (Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, SIDBI, M3M Foundation, Oil India, ESSCI, Linxon, Zupee, CREDAI-PNB Housing, Action Aid, Don Bosco, Sasakawa Foundation), in-kind contributions, and government scheme disbursements under MoFPI and MSME. Underlying technology consists of cloud kitchen and centralized meal-preparation infrastructure, mobile-app-based nutrition monitoring and school management systems, and a 15-day Kartavya culinary entrepreneurship training curriculum. Distribution is mixed: direct B2B bulk food delivery to enterprises, women-run food kiosks, e-bike last-mile delivery, and skill-center-based rural outreach. The foundation publishes annual reports for FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25 and operates active programs under brands Didi Ka Dhaba, Lala Ji Ki Rasoi, Ekta Ki Pathshala, Surbhi, and Project Kaushal.

Name

Ekta Foundation

Legal name

Ekta Foundation

Website

https://ektafoundation.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ekta Foundation is a Delhi-based Indian NGO running ISO-certified cloud kitchens (Didi Ka Dhaba) and community kitchens (Lala Ji Ki Rasoi) producing 50,000+ meals daily for institutional clients, alongside 16 skill training centers and child nutrition programs, funded primarily through CSR partnerships with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, SIDBI, and M3M Foundation, and as the PMFME District Resource Agency for 11 Delhi districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Social Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (722310), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Services & Catering (On-site/Corporate Dining/Vending) (IMAIAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Entrepreneurship (Food Trucks/Small Business) (EDAOAKAK), Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Management (EDAOAKAE), Vending, Kiosk & À La Carte Food Programs (On-Campus Retail) (EDAEAEAI), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

Keywords

• Women empowerment programs
• Skill training services
• Child nutrition programs
• Community kitchen initiatives
• Vocational training centers

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ekta Foundation operates women-empowerment-focused cloud kitchen initiatives (Didi Ka Dhaba, Lala Ji Ki Rasoi), 16 vocational skill training centers across India, child education and nutrition programs (DLS Mission School), and bulk food delivery services to construction sites, corporates, and institutions. The organization functions as a non-profit delivering culinary entrepreneurship, skill training, mid-day meals, and nutrition monitoring to underprivileged women, youth, and children across multiple Indian states.

Product overview

Ekta Foundation operates a portfolio of social impact programs centered on women empowerment, skill development, and community welfare. The core offerings include Didi Ka Dhaba (cloud kitchen initiative) and Lala Ji Ki Rasoi (community kitchen program), which provide women with culinary training, entrepreneurial skills, and employment opportunities through centralized kitchen facilities. The organization also runs 16 skill training centers across India offering vocational training in trades like textile, electrical, welding, plumbing, and hospitality. Additional programs include the DLS Mission School for child education and nutrition, and bulk food delivery services. These programs work together to achieve the foundation's mission of Education, Empowerment, and Equality (3E's).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Didi Ka Dhaba: Cloud kitchen initiative empowering women entrepreneurs through culinary training and business development support
• Lala Ji Ki Rasoi
• Ekta Ki Pathshala
• Surbhi
• Project Kaushal

Products and services

• Didi Ka Dhaba A cloud kitchen initiative empowering women entrepreneurs through culinary training, business management skills, and centralized kitchen facilities. The program provides 15-day intensive training with 6 hours of daily instruction covering cooking techniques, food costing, packaging, inventory management, and financial literacy. Operations produce 50,000+ meals daily for institutional buyers.
• Lala Ji Ki Rasoi A community kitchen initiative under partnership with M3M Foundation, providing culinary entrepreneurship opportunities for women from less privileged society. The program aims to establish 100 units by end of 2028, offering yearlong handholding support and a platform for women to showcase culinary skills.
• Skill Training Centers

Quantifiable outcome

• 102,000,000+ meals served till date
• +6 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• M3M FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2023M3M Foundation partnered with Ekta Foundation for the Kaushal Sambal project, establishing community kitchens ('Lala Ji Ki Rasoi') in Gurgaon, Haryana. The partnership aims to provide skill training to 25 women entrepreneurs and establish 100 units by 2028.
• McVitie's IndiaminorOthers · 12 July 2023McVitie's India contributed biscuits for a distribution drive at a mega camp held at Rawta Village, South West Delhi. The donation exemplified corporate social responsibility and supported the foundation's community welfare initiatives.
• Jubilant Bhartia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2023Jubilant Bhartia Foundation is a key CSR partner supporting the Didi Ka Dhaba cloud kitchen initiative. The foundation equipped the Matiala cloud kitchen with advanced equipment, 25 stainless steel food kiosks, and 2 e-bikes for food delivery. The foundation also supports culinary skill training and entrepreneurship programs for women.
• Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2023DSIIDC is the state nodal agency for PMFME (Ministry of Food Processing Industries) scheme in Delhi. Ekta Foundation was engaged as District Resource Agency under DSIIDC's PMFME program covering 11 districts of Delhi.
• Enactus Khalsa (Project Poshan Team)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2023Enactus Khalsa college students supported the Didi Ka Dhaba program with a focus on Project Poshan, contributing to community nutrition initiatives.
• Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2021ESSCI signed an MOU with Ekta Foundation to collaborate on launching Skill Based Industry Integrated Programmes and CSR project interventions. Ekta Foundation acts as Program Implementation Agency (PIA) for ESSCI.
• The Leprosy Mission HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 September 2021The Leprosy Mission Hospital partnered with DLS Health Care (unit of Ekta Foundation) to conduct eye camps and cataract surgeries in rural areas of Joypur and Purulia, West Bengal. The hospital provides ophthalmologists and eye specialists for the program.
• Linxon India Pvt LtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 July 2021Linxon India partnered with Ekta Foundation to launch a skill training program at Faridabad for 90 women candidates on Industrial Sewing Machine Operator training. The program covers domain skills, computer, digital literacy, spoken English, and financial literacy.
• ZupeeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 July 2021Zupee collaborated with Ekta Foundation to launch an e-skill training program at Mumbai on World Youth Skills Day 2021 (July 15, 2021) as part of the Zupee Skilling Academy initiative.
• Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI)coreOthersGovernment ministry under whose PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) scheme Ekta Foundation operates as District Resource Agency for 11 districts of Delhi, promoting micro food processing units.
• Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)coreOthersGovernment ministry supporting PMFME scheme and other programs that Ekta Foundation implements as District Resource Agency and program implementation partner.
• DLS MissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDLS Mission operates schools and healthcare facilities supported by Ekta Foundation in Purulia, West Bengal, including DLS Mission School and DLS Health Care.
• National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSIC supported the Millet and Organic Food Processing Expo where Didi Ka Dhaba served as the exclusive food supplier, providing market linkage and visibility for women entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• FreshMenu: Tech-enabled cloud kitchen operator in Indian metros serving daily meals through app-based delivery. Comparable to Ekta on centralized meal preparation and app-based distribution, but as a consumer-facing for-profit incumbent rather than a women's-empowerment platform.
• Rebel Foods: India's largest and most capitalized cloud kitchen operator (Faasos, Behrouz, Oven Story). Comparable to Ekta's Didi Ka Dhaba cloud kitchen operations on the commercial bulk-meal-preparation side, but as a large for-profit incumbent serving similar institutional and consumer food-delivery demand.

Others

• Sodexo India: Global facilities management and food services major operating in India across corporate dining, construction-site catering, and institutional food services. Comparable to Ekta's institutional meal services to corporates and construction sites, but as a large established contract-catering incumbent and adjacent ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• Robin Hood Army: Volunteer-driven food surplus redistribution network operating across India and South Asia, focused on feeding underprivileged populations using restaurant-surplus food. Comparable to Ekta in mission and beneficiary segment, but operates a leaner volunteer-driven model without permanent cloud kitchen infrastructure.

Direct peers

• ISKCON Food Relief Foundation (Annamrita): Operates large-scale centralized kitchens serving millions of school meals daily across India. Highly comparable to Ekta on the institutional meal-preparation-and-distribution side and shares the NGO + government-school-customer + centralized-kitchen model.
• Akshaya Patra Foundation: The world's largest mid-day meal NGO, serving 1.8M+ children daily through centralized kitchens. Comparable to Ekta's Didi Ka Dhaba cloud kitchens and bulk food supply to schools in terms of centralized meal preparation, government-school distribution model, and CSR/government funding mix.
• Naandi Foundation: One of India's largest NGOs operating integrated programs in mid-day meals, livelihoods, education, and skill development. Directly comparable to Ekta Foundation as a fellow nonprofit combining large-scale food service delivery with women-empowerment and youth skilling across multiple Indian states.
• Pratham Institute: One of India's largest NGOs focused on education and vocational skilling for underprivileged youth and women. Comparable to Ekta on the skill training and women-empowerment programs, particularly the remedial education and second-chance skilling segments.
• Magic Bus Foundation: India's leading youth livelihoods NGO delivering skill training, mentorship, and placement support to underprivileged adolescents. Directly comparable to Ekta's 16 skill training centers and rural youth skilling programs (RTD model serving 10,000+ youth).
• Feeding India by Zomato Foundation: Large-scale food relief and hunger-prevention organization operating across India with corporate partnership and volunteer models. Comparable to Ekta in mission, target beneficiary (underprivileged populations), and reliance on CSR/corporate partner ecosystem for scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NewsFolder
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ektafoundation

Compliance5 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 Ekta Foundation