Young Achievers

What Young Achievers does

Young Achievers is an India-based nonprofit organization founded in 2013 to address language deprivation and educational inequity faced by Deaf children. The organization operates a portfolio of community-based programs including a one-year Deaf Mentor Program that pairs Deaf children with Deaf mentors who teach Indian Sign Language (ISL), written English, and basic education; an Early Ed Teacher Training Workshop delivered in partnership with the Haryana Welfare Society for persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment across eight centers; Literacy Program Evaluations conducted at Deaf schools to assess bilingual education quality; Hearing Privilege Workshops for the ISL Interpreter Association; and international educational trips connecting Indian Deaf youth with institutions such as Gallaudet University and Aspen Camp. The organization's programs target three primary beneficiary groups: Deaf children in India (where 95% are born to hearing parents without ISL knowledge), hearing parents of Deaf children, and educators of Deaf children who need training in evidence-based bilingual teaching strategies.

The organization is funded entirely through donations, with a published donation page suggesting tiered contributions ranging from $10 (one outreach ISL class) to $200 (a month-long Deaf mentor program). Its GTM is non-commercial: outreach is conducted via organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and a content website (yaindia.com), while service delivery occurs through direct community programs, on-site teacher training workshops, and one-on-one mentoring sessions within India. Co-founders Arathy Manoharan (Master in Deaf Education from McDaniel College) and Bilal Chinoy (Gallaudet University alumnus) anchor the organization's expertise and institutional ties.

The organization addresses a structural market gap in which fewer than 10 of more than 800 schools for Deaf children in India provide bilingual education using ISL and English, Hindi, or other local languages, and fewer than 300 interpreters have completed the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute's 10-month ISL interpreter training program. No revenue, grant totals, or headcount growth data are disclosed; the organization operates with 16 employees and no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors.

Name

Young Achievers

Legal name

Young Achievers

Website

https://yaindia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Young Achievers is an India-based nonprofit founded in 2013 that supports Deaf children, their hearing parents, and educators through Deaf mentor programs, teacher training workshops, and literacy evaluations to expand access to Indian Sign Language and bilingual education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Deaf Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Language Schools (61163)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Deaf/Hard of Hearing & Vision Services (Audiology, Interpreting, Orientation & Mobility) (EDAJAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.) (EDAMAFAM), Developmental Therapy / Early Childhood Special Instruction (EDACAFAG), AT Implementation, Coaching & Professional Development (Teachers/Staff) (EDAKAIAI)

Keywords

• Deaf education
• Sign language instruction
• Deaf mentorship
• Bilingual education
• Teacher training

Headquarters

HQ city

India

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Young Achievers operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations. The donate page outlines specific contribution tiers that fund different programs: $10 for outreach ISL classes, $50 for one day of teacher training, $70 for classroom library kits, $100 for youth leadership programs, and $200 for month-long Deaf mentor programs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Young Achievers is a nonprofit organization that connects Deaf children in India with Deaf adult mentors who teach Indian Sign Language (ISL) and serve as role models, and provides professional development workshops for educators of Deaf children on evidence-based bilingual (ISL + English/Hindi) early childhood education. It also conducts literacy program evaluations at Deaf schools and runs awareness workshops such as Hearing Privilege sessions for sign language interpreters.

Product overview

Young Achievers is a non-profit organization (not a technology company) that provides educational programs and services for Deaf children in India. The organization operates a portfolio of programs including Deaf mentor programs that connect Deaf children with Deaf mentors, teacher training workshops for educators of Deaf children, international educational trips, and literacy program evaluations. These programs work together to address the lack of bilingual educational resources for Deaf children by providing access to Indian Sign Language (ISL) instruction, professional development for teachers, and role models for Deaf youth. The organization has been working since 2013 to ensure Deaf children receive the same human rights as hearing children through quality sign bilingual educational services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Ed Teacher Training Workshop A 4-day workshop program for early education teachers, providing evidence-based practices for teaching language-deprived Deaf toddlers to prepare them for kindergarten using visual communication and Indian Sign Language (ISL). Delivered to early education teachers at the Haryana Welfare Society for persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment.
• Deaf Mentor Program (Transforming Lives) A one-year after-school mentoring program connecting Deaf children with Deaf mentors who teach Indian Sign Language (ISL), written English, and basic education, while serving as positive role models for Deaf children born to hearing parents.
• Literacy Program Evaluations Educational program evaluations providing feedback on teaching strategies at Deaf schools to ensure quality education using Indian Sign Language, including setting up professional networks for teachers of Deaf children.
• Educational Trip to Washington D.C. and NYC International educational travel program providing Deaf mentors and mentees opportunities to expand their worldview through visits to Gallaudet University, museums, historical monuments, and meetings with Deaf professionals.
• Hearing Privilege Workshop A 2-day workshop focusing on raising awareness about societal advantages hearing people experience and mitigating the use and abuse of hearing privilege in interpreting situations. Delivered at the Indian Sign Language Interpreter Association's International Conference.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35 teachers trained in one workshop alone using evidence-based practices for Deaf early childhood education
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Haryana Welfare Society for persons with Speech and Hearing ImpairmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Young Achievers collaborated with this organization's early education teachers at eight centers across Haryana to develop a sustainable in-service teacher training program for bilingual early childhood education.
• KranticoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Kranti is an organization in Mumbai that empowers socially marginalized girls. Young Achievers collaborated with Kranti to set up a Deaf mentor program for Amrin Shaikh, connecting her with Deaf teacher Sana Ansari for ISL instruction.
• Sana AnsaricoreOthersLocal Deaf teacher who was provided ongoing training by Young Achievers to assist Amrin, who was learning to communicate using ISL and English. Sana enrolled Amrin in a local school for the Deaf and taught her how to commute using Mumbai's local trains.
• Aspen CampminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAspen Camp in Colorado is a Deaf summer camp. Amrin was accepted into the program and the camp director later decided to apply for guardianship of Amrin, enabling her to attend Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.
• Gallaudet UniversityminorOthersGallaudet University is the world's only liberal arts university for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. Amrin and Sana visited Gallaudet during their educational trip to Washington D.C.
• Indian Sign Language Interpreter AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung Achievers led a 2-day workshop on hearing privilege at the ISL Interpreter Association's International Conference where 60 interpreters participated.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Deaf Reach: Deaf Reach operates schools, vocational training, and teacher development programs for Deaf children in Pakistan using sign-bilingual pedagogy — a directly comparable mission and operating model in a neighboring South Asian country with similarly underdeveloped bilingual deaf education.
• Sense International (India): Sense International India works with persons with deafblindness and multiple disabilities, including deaf children, on education and early intervention across Indian states — closely comparable as a UK-headquartered NGO delivering disability-education programs in India through local partnerships.
• Sahayog Trust: Sahayog Trust runs inclusive education and teacher-training programs for children with disabilities in India, including Deaf students, operating from Maharashtra with a model that mirrors Young Achievers' school-based workshop and parent-engagement approach.
• Enable India: Enable India focuses on education, livelihood, and empowerment of persons with disabilities in India, with teacher training and family-engagement components that overlap with Young Achievers' educator- and parent-facing programs.
• National Association of the Deaf (NAD) - India / Indian Sign Language Interpreter Association: The Indian Sign Language Interpreter Association runs ISL interpreter training, advocacy, and an annual international conference where Young Achievers has delivered workshops — directly comparable as a Deaf-community-facing organization operating in the same ISL professional ecosystem.
• International Deaf Partnerships (IDP): IDP provides educational opportunities for Deaf people from developing countries and is already a current Young Achievers funding/strategic partner — a directly comparable mission-aligned funder and program partner in the cross-border Deaf-education space.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins School for the Blind (Perkins International): Perkins is a globally recognized U.S. special-education institution with an international division that advises schools for the blind/deaf in developing countries on bilingual and early-intervention pedagogy — comparable as a larger, more resourced peer operating in adjacent disability-special-education globally.
• Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNIHH): AYJNIHH is the Indian government's apex institute for speech and hearing disabilities, runs the country's main 10-month ISL interpreter training program, and shapes national policy on deaf education — the closest established institutional counterpart to Young Achievers' bilingual deaf-education mission.
• Gallaudet University: Gallaudet is the world's only university for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Young Achievers' co-founder Bilal Chinoy is a Gallaudet alumnus and the org has run student trips to campus, making Gallaudet a large-incumbent peer in deaf education and a referral/training pipeline for Young Achievers.
• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD): WFD is the global umbrella organization representing Deaf communities, including in India, and sets international policy on sign-language rights — comparable as the largest incumbent advocacy and capacity-building body in the same sign-bilingual advocacy space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yaindiainfo
• Facebookfacebook.com/youngachieversindia
• Instagraminstagram.com/ya.india

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 Young Achievers