International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)

What International Women's Development Agency (IWDA) does

International Women's Development Agency (IWDA) is an Australian nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is dedicated to advancing the rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Asia and the Pacific through equitable, values-led partnerships with local women's rights organizations. IWDA's core 'products' are programmatic initiatives rather than technology platforms: the flagship Women's Action for Voice and Empowerment (WAVE) program (supported by the Government of the Netherlands) targets women's leadership representation; the Our Voice advocacy campaign is led by 19 partner organizations across Asia Pacific; Equality Insights / the Individual Deprivation Measure (IDM) is a proprietary gender-disaggregated poverty measurement tool deployed in Cambodia, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste; and Intersectional Feminist Workshops provide organizational training. The organization also publishes resources and produces the F! It! Podcast on feminist foreign policy with the Australian Feminist Foreign Policy Coalition.

IWDA operates a partnership-based delivery model: programs are implemented through 19+ local partner organizations in Australia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Fiji, and Vanuatu, rather than through IWDA-owned field operations. Its go-to-market is event- and advocacy-driven, anchored in international convenings such as Women Deliver (hosting 2026 in Naarm/Melbourne) and the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The business model is a diversified nonprofit revenue stack. Streams include individual donations (one-time and the 'Empower' regular-giving subscription), Australian Government grants via DFAT and the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), foundation grants (notably Foundation for a Just Society and the IWDA Foundation established in 2007), corporate partnerships (Corrs Chambers Westgarth and CBP Lawyers providing cash and pro-bono in-kind support), bequests/gift-in-will legacy giving, and in-kind contributions. Donations of A$2 and above are tax-deductible in Australia. No revenue, headcount, or financial figures are disclosed in the available source material. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors under a co-chair structure (Sarah Goulding and Dr Kar Mei Tang as of 2025-2026), led by CEO Nayomi Kannangara (appointed February 2024).

Name

International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)

Legal name

International Women's Development Agency

Website

https://iwda.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Australian nonprofit founded in 1984 that partners with 19+ women's rights organizations across Asia and the Pacific, delivering leadership programs (WAVE), advocacy campaigns (Our Voice), and gender-disaggregated research (Equality Insights/IDM) funded by DFAT grants, foundations, and individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Gender Equality Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD)

Keywords

• Gender equality advocacy
• Women's rights development
• Feminist movement building
• International development aid
• Gender research measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne, Vic

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual supporters make one-time or recurring donations through the website. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible in Australia.
2. Regular Giving Program: Ongoing monthly giving program called 'Empower' for sustained support.
3. Government Grants: Funding from Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and DFAT for program implementation.
4. Foundation Grants: Support from Foundation for a Just Society and other foundations.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsors like Corrs Chambers Westgarth provide financial contributions and in-kind support.
6. Bequests/Gift in Will: Legacy giving program where supporters include IWDA in their wills.
7. In-Kind Support: Professional expertise and pro-bono services from individuals and corporations such as CBP Lawyers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IWDA is an Australian nonprofit that funds, builds capacity of, and partners with women's rights organisations across Asia and the Pacific to advance gender equality. Its core offerings include the WAVE (Women's Action for Voice and Empowerment) program for women's leadership, Equality Insights gender measurement research, the Individual Deprivation Measure (IDM) framework, intersectional feminist workshops, and the F! It! feminist foreign policy podcast. The organisation delivers its work through a network of more than 19 local partner organisations, supported by donations, government grants, and foundation funding.

Product overview

IWDA is a non-profit organization focused on advancing women's rights and gender equality, rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of advocacy programs, research initiatives, training workshops, and knowledge resources. The core programs include WAVE (Women's Action for Voice and Empowerment) for leadership representation, Equality Insights for gender measurement research, and Intersectional Feminist Workshops for education. IWDA also produces the F! It! Podcast on feminist foreign policy and publishes the Individual Deprivation Measure (IDM) as a research tool. These offerings are interconnected through IWDA's mission to strengthen feminist movements and advance systemic change across Asia and the Pacific.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Our Voice: A joint advocacy campaign working to increase the representation and effective participation of women in decision-making at all local levels across Asia and the Pacific.
• Equality Insights
• F!IT Podcast
• F! It! Podcast

Products and services

• Women's Action for Voice and Empowerment (WAVE) A flagship IWDA program working to increase the representation of women in diverse leadership positions across Asia and the Pacific, including the Our Voice advocacy campaign, delivered with local partner organisations and supported by the Government of the Netherlands.
• Equality Insights An IWDA research initiative focused on gender equality measurement, including the Equality Insights Survey and associated research publications designed to capture gendered differences in poverty and deprivation.
• Intersectional Feminist Workshops Educational workshops covering feminist principles and practices, organisational self-assessment, and leadership development for women's rights organisations and feminist movements.
• Individual Deprivation Measure (IDM) A proprietary poverty measurement tool developed with IWDA involvement that enables accurate sex-disaggregation of data to understand gendered differences in poverty experiences, used in countries such as Cambodia, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
• F! It! Podcast A feminist foreign policy podcast produced by IWDA in partnership with the Australian Feminist Foreign Policy Coalition (AFFPC), exploring foreign policy through an intersectional feminist lens.
• IWDA Resources and Publications Library A library of research reports, learning briefs, toolkits, infographics, podcasts, videos, and zines covering gender equality themes, including reports on feminist and decolonial partnership practice and gender-based research findings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6,000 activists engaged at Women Deliver conferences
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Corrs Chambers WestgarthsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth has made significant financial contributions to IWDA as a corporate partner.
• CBP LawyerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBP Lawyers provides pro-bono legal work for IWDA as in-kind support.
• Akhaya WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal women's organisation in Myanmar led by and for women. Partnered with IWDA for the Myanmar Women Parliamentarians Mentoring Program matching Myanmar women MPs with Australian women MPs.
• Alola FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading women's organisation in Timor-Leste that nurtures female leaders and advocates for women's rights. IWDA supports through the WAVE program.
• Australian Feminist Foreign Policy CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition that IWDA is part of, working on feminist foreign policy advocacy in Australia.
• Women's League of BurmacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working with Ta'ang Women's Organisation on justice and ending impunity in Myanmar.
• EMILY's List AustraliasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIWDA's mentoring program for women MPs was based on EMILY's List Australia's mentoring scheme which has matched new women candidates with experienced mentors for 22 years.
• We Rise CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of feminist organisations that IWDA is part of, engaging in advocacy at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
• State Society & Governance in Melanesia, Australian National UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ANU on 'Do No Harm' research initiative exploring the relationship between economic inclusion and violence against women in Solomon Islands and PNG.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mama Cash: International women's rights fund that resources feminist groups globally through grants and capacity building — highly comparable resourcing/partnership model to IWDA's core role of funding women's rights organisations.
• Global Fund for Women: Grantmaking foundation supporting women's rights organisations worldwide, with comparable donor-funded grant distribution to women's rights partners — direct counterpart to IWDA's role.
• AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development): International feminist membership organisation supporting women's rights movements globally, including resource mobilisation and advocacy — directly comparable mission and operating model to IWDA's feminist movement-building work.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: Rapid-response women's rights fund providing security and advocacy grants to women human rights defenders — closely comparable feminist resourcing mission and partner network model.

Regional players

• Women's Fund Asia Pacific: Regional women's fund supporting feminist organising across Asia and the Pacific — directly comparable regional scope, feminist resourcing model, and partner ecosystem to IWDA.
• CREA: South Asia-based feminist organisation focused on sexuality, gender justice and movement building — comparable feminist movement-building and capacity-development approach to IWDA's partner model.

Broad incumbents

• CARE Australia: Major Australian humanitarian and development organisation with explicit gender equality programming across Asia-Pacific — broader mandate but directly competes for DFAT/ANCP funding and donor mindshare.
• Oxfam Australia: Large Australian confederation member with gender justice and feminist programming across the Pacific and Southeast Asia — comparable ANCP-funded development mandate and donor base overlap.
• Plan International Australia: Large Australian INGO operating across Asia-Pacific with significant gender-equality programming; broader portfolio but overlapping women's empowerment and leadership mandate with IWDA.

Others

• RESULTS Australia: Australian advocacy organisation focused on ending poverty, operating in adjacent Australian development advocacy space — comparable Australian ANCP-adjacent policy advocacy and donor ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/iwda
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-women's-development-agency

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)