What SEWA Bharat does

SEWA Bharat is an all-India federation of SEWA institutions established in 1984 and headquartered in New Delhi, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. It serves as the operational backbone for the broader SEWA movement founded by Elaben Bhatt in Gujarat in 1972, supporting approximately 3.2 million self-employed women workers across 18 Indian states, with direct support to member institutions in 8 states (Delhi, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Nagaland). Its mission is to dismantle the economic and societal barriers facing women in India's informal economy — where over 90% of workers operate without formal employment, social security, or safety nets — through an integrated portfolio of organizing, skills training, micro-entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, land rights, and social security programs. The community is mobilized through aagewans (women community leaders) who organize at the settlement and trade level.

The organization's service portfolio includes SEWA Anubandh (an e-commerce platform enabling grassroots women micro-entrepreneurs to sell directly to consumers), SEWA Credit Cooperatives and SEWA Bank (savings accounts, micro-loans, financial literacy), Digital Beti (digital literacy training), SEWA Atithi (homestay hospitality), Zamini Adhikar Abhiyan (urban land tenure and housing finance advocacy), SEWA Youth Resource Centres (alternative livelihood training), and the SEWA Bharat Fellowship (a 14-month program for young professionals). There is no proprietary technology platform beyond the SEWA Anubandh storefront, and no AI/ML capabilities are referenced. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and charitable contributions from individual donors, corporate donors, and institutional funders, processed via Razorpay; SEWA Bharat does not sell products or services commercially and does not disclose financials. Distribution is federated through a network of member-owned cooperatives and collective social enterprises, with strategic partnerships including the National Cooperative Union of India, the International Cooperative Alliance (Asia and Pacific), Mahila Housing Trust, HomeNet South Asia, ITC Sunehrakal Mission, the National Institute of Urban Affairs, and SEWA Cooperative Federation.

Name

SEWA Bharat

Legal name

SEWA Bharat

Website

https://sewabharat.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SEWA Bharat is an Indian non-profit federation supporting 3.2 million informal women workers across 18 states through grassroots organizing, skills training, micro-entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and land rights programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Women's Economic Empowerment Services

NAICS

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Development & Inclusive Employment (Job Training, Placement) (BPAGALAB)

Keywords

• Women economic empowerment
• Informal workers support
• Microfinance cooperatives
• Skill development training
• Grassroots community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: SEWA Bharat raises funds from individual donors, corporate donors, and institutional funders to support its programs and member services. Donations are processed through Razorpay and used to empower women in the informal economy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SEWA Bharat is an all-India federation of SEWA institutions that supports informal women workers through a federated portfolio of programs including grassroots organizing and leadership development, skills training, micro-entrepreneurship incubation, collective social enterprises, financial inclusion via credit cooperatives and housing finance (Sitara), digital literacy (Digital Beti), land and housing rights advocacy (Zamini Adhikar Abhiyan), and the SEWA Anubandh e-commerce platform for market access. Services are delivered directly to 3.2 million self-employed women across 18 Indian states through aagewan-led community organizing and member-owned cooperatives.

Product overview

SEWA Bharat operates as an all-India federation of SEWA institutions offering a portfolio of programs and services for informal economy women workers. The core offerings include SEWA Anubandh (e-commerce platform for micro-entrepreneurs), SEWA Credit Cooperatives (financial services including micro-loans and savings), Digital Beti Project (digital skills training), SEWA Atithi (homestay hospitality program), Zamini Adhikar Abhiyan (land rights and housing finance), SEWA Youth Resource Centres (skill training centers), and the SEWA Bharat Fellowship. These programs work together to provide economic empowerment through collective action, financial inclusion, skill development, and market access for women across 18 states in India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEWA Anubandh
• SEWA Bank / SEWA Credit Cooperatives
• Digital Beti Project
• SEWA Atithi
• Zamini Adhikar Abhiyan (ZAA)
• SEWA Bharat Fellowship
• SEWA Youth Resource Centres (SYRC)
• SEWA Housing Finance (Sitara)

Quantifiable outcome

• 80 Customer Service Points (CSPs) carried out cash transactions worth INR 10 Cr for 25,000 customers in villages of Uttarakhand during COVID-19 lockdown
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• SEWA Cooperative FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2022SEWA Bharat partnered with SEWA Cooperative Federation, National Cooperative Union of India, and International Cooperative Alliance – Asia and Pacific to enable women cooperators to co-create the Delhi Declaration 2022, an action-oriented roadmap for strengthening women's collective enterprises, with 100 women cooperators from 18 states.
• National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2022Partnered with SEWA Bharat and International Cooperative Alliance – Asia and Pacific to co-create the Delhi Declaration 2022, a policy roadmap for informal economy women workers and their collective enterprises.
• International Cooperative Alliance – Asia and PacificcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2022Partnered with SEWA Bharat, SEWA Cooperative Federation, and National Cooperative Union of India to co-create the Delhi Declaration 2022, convening 100 women cooperators from 18 states in Delhi.
• Patanjali Health InstituteminorOthers · 23 October 2021Patanjali Health Institute sponsored food ration packages distributed by SEWA aagewans Rekha ben and Saraswati ben to 130 women in Uttar Mainpura, Patna during the COVID-19 lockdown. SEWA staff connected with Patanjali to establish this relief partnership.
• HomeNet South AsiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2021HomeNet South Asia and SEWA Bharat jointly undertook a study to understand the economic status of home-based women weavers in Fulia, West Bengal, and to generate findings for informing relief and recovery responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were discussed at a public event.
• ITC Sunehrakal MissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019ITC Sunehrakal Mission provides primary support for the Pashu Sakhi (goat health worker) concept implemented by SEWA Munger in Bihar since 2019. The program trains women as goat health workers to reduce goat mortality and improve livestock health outcomes.
• Mahila Housing TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMahila Housing Trust partnered with SEWA Bharat on the Zamini Adhikar Abhiyaan (ZAA) programme, which aimed to empower informal economy women workers in urban settlements by improving awareness and access to land tenure, basic services, and housing finance. The pilot demonstrated how secure housing and assets enhance women's livelihoods and agency.
• National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEWA Bharat is undertaking a 5-month mixed-methods research study for NIUA in two low-income settlements in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, examining how sanitation and water access affect health, dignity, time use, safety, and livelihood participation of under-resourced communities, especially women in the informal economy.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Direct peers

• Mann Deshi Foundation: India-based non-profit supporting rural women entrepreneurs through microfinance, business school training, and digital literacy. Operates a similar model of combining financial inclusion with skills training for informal women workers in Maharashtra.
• Swayam Shikshan Prayog: India-based non-profit empowering rural women through self-help groups, entrepreneurship, and climate-resilient farming. Comparable in its community-led model of women's economic empowerment across multiple Indian states, with a focus on low-income rural communities.
• Barefoot College: India-based non-profit that trains rural women from across the developing world in skills like solar engineering, water testing, and education. Comparable to SEWA Bharat in its community-led, grassroots women-skills-training model and decentralized delivery across multiple Indian states.
• Pradan (Professional Assistance for Development Action): India-based non-profit that promotes women's self-help groups and livelihood programs in rural tribal communities. Comparable to SEWA Bharat in its grassroots organizing model, women's collective formation, and rural microenterprise development across multiple Indian states.
• Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA): The parent SEWA organization founded in 1972, which shares the same mission of organizing informal women workers for economic empowerment and social security. SEWA Bharat operates as the national federation extending SEWA's model beyond Gujarat.
• Hand in Hand India: India-based non-profit focused on women's empowerment through self-help groups, microfinance, and skills training for livelihoods. Directly comparable in its model of organizing informal women, delivering financial inclusion, and supporting micro-entrepreneurship across multiple Indian states.
• Grameen Bank: Pioneering microfinance institution providing small loans to impoverished borrowers, especially women, without requiring collateral. SEWA Bharat's SEWA Credit Cooperatives and microenterprise lending directly mirror the Grameen model in the Indian informal women workforce context.

Broad incumbents

• Women's World Banking: Global non-profit dedicated to financial inclusion for women, supporting financial institutions serving low-income women. Comparable in its focus on women's economic empowerment through financial access and ecosystem building, though operating more as an enabling network than a direct service provider.
• BRAC: One of the world's largest development NGOs, headquartered in Bangladesh, with a strong focus on women's economic empowerment, microfinance, and social enterprises. BRAC operates across multiple countries and is a global benchmark for the kind of large-scale, multi-vertical NGO model SEWA Bharat represents.
• Grameen Foundation: Global non-profit that supports microfinance institutions and digital financial services for the poor, with a strong focus on women. Comparable to SEWA Bharat's financial inclusion and digital literacy pillars, with a broader international footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SEWA Bharat