Jeevika Development Society - India

What Jeevika Development Society - India does

Jeevika Development Society is a non-governmental organization registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Kolkata, India. It operates as a community-based development platform delivering four integrated program lines: Women Empowerment (through the survivor collective Alor Disha and the prevention collective Alor Barta), Livelihood (income generation via traditional Kantha crafts, tailoring, soft toys, and the Amader Swapna production group, with sales to Fair Trade export markets), Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change (System of Rice Intensification, nutritional gardens, seed sovereignty for ~1,200 small/marginal farmers, of whom 70% are women), and Child Protection (awareness campaigns, counseling, and Adolescent Groups including Moner Kotha reaching 200+ children).

The organization has no proprietary technology stack — its delivery model is human-intensive field work via women's self-help groups, farmer collectives, schools, and government Organic Haats across six blocks of South 24-Parganas and Howrah districts on both sides of the Hooghly River. It coordinates a coalition of 14,000 women through the member-governed Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation, which generates financial self-sustainability through interest income on microcredit.

Revenue mechanics rest on three streams: (i) donations and institutional grants from international partners (Women's Fund Asia, Global Fund for Children, Bread for the World, American Jewish World Service, Girls Not Brides, A2J) supported by FCRA, 12A, 80G, and CSR-1 registrations that enable tax-advantaged domestic and foreign contributions; (ii) Fair Trade craft sales to Western markets; and (iii) interest income from microcredit to federation members. The beneficiary base spans small/marginal farmers, underprivileged women and adolescent girls, and children vulnerable to early marriage and trafficking, with governance led by a Director (30+ years of grassroots experience), a Chairperson who is a senior breast surgeon at Tata Medical Centre, a Treasurer who is an Ashoka Fellow, and additional board members from IIT Kharagpur, IIM Ahmedabad, and the mental-health and education sectors.

Name

Jeevika Development Society - India

Legal name

Jeevika Development Society

Website

https://jeevikadevelopmentsociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jeevika Development Society is a Kolkata-based community NGO, founded in 1994, delivering women's empowerment, child protection, sustainable agriculture, and Fair Trade craft-livelihood programs to rural women, farmers, and adolescents in South 24-Parganas and Howrah districts of West Bengal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development and Social Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Land Management (BPADALAG), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Community development programs
• Women empowerment initiatives
• Child rights protection
• Sustainable agriculture programs
• Microfinance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Traditional Crafts Income Generation: Production and sale of garments, soft toys, and accessories through traditional Kantha embroidery, tailoring, and craft work. Products sold primarily to Fair Trade markets in Western countries. Women artisans either work at the center or from home after training.
2. Donations and Grants: Individual and group donations supporting field programmes. Organization receives funding from international NGOs and institutional donors. Tax exemption certificates under 80G of Income Tax Act provided to donors.
3. Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation: Member-governed democratic rights-based microcredit institution providing financial services to women members, generating operational sustainability through interest income.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Jeevika Development Society is a community-based NGO delivering integrated social development programs in South 24-Parganas and Howrah districts of West Bengal. Its core offerings include women empowerment through collectives (Alor Disha, Alor Barta), livelihoods via traditional craft production (Kantha embroidery, garments, soft toys, Amader Swapna production group), climate-resilient sustainable agriculture (SRI methodology, nutritional gardens, seed sovereignty), and child protection through adolescent groups (Moner Kotha). A Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation serves 14,000 women with microcredit.

Product overview

Jeevika Development Society is a community-based NGO operating as a unified set of social development programs rather than a technology product platform. The organization offers four interconnected core programs: Women Empowerment (through collectives Alor Disha and Alor Barta), Livelihood Programs (income generation through traditional crafts including garments, bags, and soft toys), Sustainable Agriculture & Climate Change initiatives, and Child Protection services. Additional programs include internship opportunities. These programs work synergistically - livelihood training provides financial independence that supports women's empowerment goals, while agricultural programs strengthen food security and economic resilience for rural communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Alor Disha: Women's collective formed in 2002 as spontaneous response from communities, focusing on women victims of multiple forms of vulnerabilities and fighting for their entitlements.
• Alor Barta
• Amader Swapna
• Moner Kotha

Products and services

• Women Empowerment Programs Programs focused on building women's leadership through capacity building, knowledge enhancement, and formation of women's collectives (Alor Disha and Alor Barta) to address violence against women and promote rights, reaching 14,000 women through the Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation.
• Livelihood Programs (Income Generation Unit) Traditional crafts-based income generation program producing garments (Kurtis, dresses, tops, scarves), bags (Jholas, botuas, totes), decorative items, children's gifts, and home decor items through vocational training in tailoring, embroidery, and soft toys making. Products are sold through Fair Trade markets in Western countries.
• Sustainable Agriculture & Climate Change Program Promotes climate-resilient, low-cost sustainable farming techniques including System of Rice Intensification (SRI), nutritional gardens, indigenous seed preservation, and organic farming practices for 1,200 small and marginal farmers (70% women) across four blocks.
• Child Protection Program Child rights and protection initiatives including awareness campaigns, counseling, psychosocial support, legal assistance, and rescue operations for children vulnerable to early marriage, trafficking, and abuse, operating through 8 Adolescent Groups (6 girls groups and 2 mixed groups) including Moner Kotha, reaching 200+ children across 6 blocks.
• Internship Program Academic internship opportunities for students, researchers, and volunteers to gain field-based hands-on exposure in community development work across Jeevika's program areas.
• Alor Disha Women's Collective Women's survivors' collective providing support for victims of violence, facilitating legal assistance, and fighting for women's entitlements and rights as part of Jeevika's women empowerment programming.
• Alor Barta Prevention Collective Prevention collective focusing on prevention of vulnerabilities among women and adolescent girls through micro-finance programs, livelihood promotion, and awareness generation, primarily addressing early and child marriage prevention.
• Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation Member-governed democratic rights-based microcredit institution providing financial services to 14,000 women members, generating operational sustainability through interest income and supporting financial independence.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14,000 women mobilized through Swayam Sampurna Micro Finance Federation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Girls Not BridescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership of more than 1,500 civil society organisations committed to ending child marriage. Jeevika works on preventing early child marriage aligned with this network.
• A2J (Access to Justice)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative focused on improving access to justice for women and children. Logo displayed on Jeevika website indicating collaboration on legal support programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Navsarjan Trust: Gujarat-based Dalit and women's rights organization combining anti-violence activism with livelihood promotion. Comparable in grassroots federation approach and rights-based programming.
• PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action): Indian NGO working on women's empowerment, sustainable agriculture, and livelihood promotion in rural India. Directly comparable in combining farmer collectivization and women's self-help groups in eastern India.
• Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP): Maharashtra-based NGO focused on women's empowerment, climate-resilient agriculture, and federation-building among rural women. Strong operational similarity in women-led federations and sustainable farming.
• Mahila Samakhya (Government of India programme): Government-supported program for women's empowerment and education in rural India. Comparable in mobilizing women collectives and addressing gender-based violence, though funded by government rather than independent grants.
• SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association): Large Indian women-led organization combining microfinance, livelihoods, and rights-based organizing. Highly comparable in mission and integrated model, though significantly larger in scale and geographic footprint than Jeevika.

Broad incumbents

• Heifer International: Global nonprofit focused on sustainable agriculture, women's economic empowerment, and smallholder farmer development. Comparable in the agriculture-and-women nexus though at international scale; relevant for benchmarking program design.
• ActionAid India: Indian arm of ActionAid International working on women's rights, child protection, and sustainable agriculture. Comparable thematic focus but at significantly larger national footprint.
• Childline India Foundation: Large-scale national child protection helpline and rescue network. Comparable in the child protection/adolescent rights workstream but operates at vastly greater scale and is a government-affiliated national infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Trickle Up: International NGO focused on ultra-poor graduation programs for women, including livelihoods and financial inclusion. Comparable in the women-and-livelihood focus and in serving similar beneficiary profiles.
• CorStone: International nonprofit working on women's empowerment, adolescent resilience, and gender-based violence prevention. Comparable in target population (rural women, adolescent girls) and integrated rights-plus-livelihood approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jeevika-development-society---india

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Jeevika Development Society - India