STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION

What STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION does

Step Ahead Foundation (SAF) is a Delhi-registered non-profit trust established in 2013 that operates as an implementing agency for Indian central and state government skill development schemes. Its core operations center on delivering vocational training, certification, and job placement services under PMKVY, DDU-GKY, UPSDM, NULM, and the YUVA and Pragati police-led initiatives, leveraging a network of 12 residential and 34 non-residential training centers across India. As of 31 March 2021, the foundation reported 15,000 candidates trained, 13,800 certified, and 9,687 placed, with additional programs under sub-brands Mission Maa (women's healthcare and empowerment), Mission Sanjeevani (COVID-19 relief), and Mission Unnati (rural and agricultural development via BAKRI CHHAP partnership).

The business model is a government-project-implementation professional services structure: SAF is empanelled with approximately 15 government organizations and is remunerated through per-candidate training stipends and scheme budgets flowing from MSDE, NSDC, state skill missions, and police partnerships. Supplementary funding comes from 80G-eligible donations and corporate CSR partnerships. The organization is ISO 9001:2008 certified and registered under Sections 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act. It is led by Chairman Sumit Aggarwal and COO Nitin Mittal, with a lean team of approximately 13 employees coordinating operations across the multi-state training footprint.

The technical and product surface is operations-heavy rather than technology-heavy: curriculum delivery, certification assessment, placement facilitation, and job-fair execution dominate. Marketing and beneficiary outreach are driven by government partnership networks, a basic website (saf.org.in), email, and earned media (notably Aajtak coverage of Mission Sanjeevani). Pricing is not publicly disclosed because beneficiaries receive services at no direct cost; the foundation monetizes exclusively through government scheme funding, donations, and CSR grants.

Name

STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION

Legal name

Step Ahead Foundation

Website

https://saf.org.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Step Ahead Foundation is a Delhi-registered non-profit trust, established 2013, that implements Indian government skill development schemes (PMKVY, DDU-GKY, UPSDM, NULM) and runs healthcare, women empowerment, and rural development missions through 46 training centers nationwide, serving unemployed youth, rural women, and marginalized farmers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Skill Development Training Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Development, Employment Readiness & Job Placement (BPADAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), Incumbent Worker Training & Upskilling (EDAAAOAE)

Keywords

• Skill development training
• Vocational training programs
• Women empowerment initiatives
• Rural development projects
• Livelihood mission implementation

Headquarters

HQ city

Ghaziabad

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Project Implementation: SAF operates as an implementing agency for various government skill development schemes including PMKVY, DDU-GKY, UPSDM, NULM. They are empanelled with approximately 15 government organizations for executing youth and women empowerment projects.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Step Ahead Foundation implements Indian government skill development and social welfare schemes, delivering vocational training, certification and job placement to Indian youth through schemes such as PMKVY, DDU-GKY, UPSDM, NULM, YUVA and RPL. It also runs mission-based programmes covering women's empowerment and healthcare (Mission Maa), rural and agricultural development (Mission Unnati), COVID-19 healthcare relief (Mission Sanjeevani), General Duty Assistant training, personality development sessions, and employment-focused job fairs.

Product overview

STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION is a non-profit trust offering a portfolio of skill development and social welfare programs. The core offering centers on government-sponsored skill training schemes including PMKVY, DDU-GKY, UPSDM, NULM, and YUVA, which provide vocational training and certification to unemployed youth across India. Complementing these are three mission-based initiatives: Mission Maa (women's healthcare and empowerment), Mission Unnati (rural agricultural development), and Mission Sanjeevani (COVID-19 healthcare relief). Additional offerings include GDA healthcare training, job fairs, and personality development sessions. The organization operates 12 residential and 34 non-residential training centers nationwide, targeting rural poor, urban unemployed, women, and marginalized communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mission Maa: Women empowerment initiative providing healthcare facilities, free distribution of medicines, sanitary pads, and cancer checkup for rural women.
• Mission Sanjeevani
• Mission Unnati

Products and services

• PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) Flagship Indian government skill certification scheme that enables Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training for better livelihoods, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment and certification for individuals with prior experience. Delivered by SAF as an empanelled implementing partner for MSDE/NSDC.
• DDU-GKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana) Government skill training programme under the National Rural Livelihood Mission targeting rural poor youth aged 15–35 to transform them into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce.
• UPSDM (Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission) Integrated Uttar Pradesh state skill development mission that combines efforts of multiple State Departments (Rural Development, Urban Development, Labour, Minority Welfare, Social Welfare) to provide employable skills to UP youth.
• NULM (National Urban Livelihood Mission) National mission reducing poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by enabling access to gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment, also addressing livelihood concerns of urban street vendors.
• YUVA (Delhi Police Youth Initiative) Delhi Police initiative that upgrades youth skills aligned with their competencies and enables gainful employment under PMKVY, delivered in partnership with NSDC.
• RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) Assessment and certification programme under the PMKVY framework for individuals with prior learning experience or skills.
• Mission Maa Women empowerment initiative providing rural women with healthcare facilities, free distribution of medicines, sanitary pads and cancer checkups via upgraded existing dispensaries, in partnership with district government and private hospitals and the Women & Child Welfare Department UP.
• Mission Unnati Rural development initiative in association with BAKRI CHHAP that promotes rural development through agriculture, farmer skill development, professionalising agriculture and facilitating agricultural loans.
• Mission Sanjeevani COVID-19 healthcare relief initiative that distributed medicines, ration and immunity booster kits to needy patients during the pandemic, covered by National News TV channels including Aajtak.
• GDA Training (General Duty Assistant) Healthcare training programme initiated during COVID-19 with Delhi Police, Rashtriya Sewa Bharti and Goyal Hospital and Urology Centre to train ordinary people as healthcare front-liners (General Duty Assistants).
• Job Fair Employment facilitation events organised by SAF, including job fairs at locations such as the DCP Office Shahdara Delhi, connecting trained candidates with employers.
• Personality Development Session Training sessions focused on developing interpersonal skills, confidence and professional demeanour for candidates within SAF's training portfolio.
• PMKVY 3.0 2020–21 iteration of PMKVY that shifted from supply-based to demand-based approach, focusing on upskilling/reskilling with emphasis on future skills (industry 4.0) courses and online/digital training modes.
• Pragati Project (UP Police Skill Development) Uttar Pradesh Police skill development project for youth in Uttar Pradesh, delivered by SAF in partnership with UP Police.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000 candidates trained, 13,800 certified, 9,687 placed
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Delhi PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYUVA project partnership - connecting youth with skills and employment under PMKVY. Delhi Police tied up with NSDC for job-linked skill training to selected youth.
• Uttar Pradesh PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPragati project partnership for skill development of youth in UP.
• Rashtriya Sewa BhartiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for General Duty Assistant Training Program during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Goyal Hospital and Urology CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare training partnership for COVID-19 volunteer program.
• BAKRI CHHAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation for Mission Unnati - promoting rural and regional development of villages through agriculture and skill development of farmers.
• Rashtrapati BhavanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial welfare and skill development initiatives with Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Various District Government and Private HospitalsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare training and Mission Maa implementation partnerships with hospitals across districts.
• Women & Child Welfare Department UPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen empowerment initiatives and programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Navjyoti India Foundation: Non-profit delivering skill training and community programs for under-served populations in India, with overlapping beneficiary base and government scheme participation.
• Tata Strive: Tata Trusts' skilling initiative delivering industry-relevant vocational training to Indian youth through partnerships and own centres, competing for the same PMKVY-empanelled slots.
• Pratham Education Foundation: One of India's largest NGOs operating skill and education programs for disadvantaged youth, with comparable state-government and central-government project implementation across multiple Indian states.
• Don Bosco Tech Society: Large non-profit providing vocational training to underprivileged youth across India under PMKVY, DDU-GKY and similar government schemes with comparable beneficiary profiles.

Emerging players

• Teamlease Skills University: Vocational training arm of TeamLease focused on industry-aligned skill certification and job placement, addressing the same youth skilling and employer-connectivity niche as SAF.

Broad incumbents

• IL&FS Skills Development Corporation: Established skill-development entity implementing government skilling projects with multi-state centre footprint, similar to SAF's role as a project implementation agency.
• Amity Foundation (Amity Skills): Skill training arm of Amity University group running multiple PMKVY centres and CSR-funded skilling programmes for urban and rural youth across India.
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): Government apex body that funds and governs skill training ecosystem including PMKVY; SAF is an empanelled implementing partner, making NSDC the closest ecosystem incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safindia-org

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION