amdisa

What amdisa does

AMDISA (Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia) is an international not-for-profit association established in 1989 and headquartered at the University of Hyderabad campus in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India. It operates as a membership-based network of management education and management development institutions across South Asia — including India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives — offering institutional, affiliate and reciprocal membership tiers with annual billing. The organization's core products are SAQS (an international quality assurance accreditation and strategic audit programme for business schools), the South Asian Journal of Management (a quarterly scholarly journal listed on the UGC India CARE List and indexed by ProQuest and EBSCO), the biennial South Asian Management Forum (SAMF), professional development workshops, a tri-annual newsletter, and an AMDISA Supported Programmes service that co-brands member events.

The underlying technology stack is modest: AMDISA runs a public-facing website at amdisa.org, a dedicated SAQS portal at saqs.org.in, and a separate journal site at sajm-amdisa.org, with no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, APIs or mobile applications. Its business model is subscription/membership-driven — annual fees from institutional members are the primary revenue stream, supplemented by accreditation fees (SAQS), journal subscription and advertising revenues, publication sales, and event/programme income. Go-to-market is community-led: AMDISA acquires and retains members through demonstrated value in networking, quality assurance recognition (including AIU recognition of SAQS at par with NBA accreditation), and inter-institutional collaboration, distributed directly via its secretariat and dedicated websites rather than through conventional sales channels.

Name

amdisa

Legal name

AMDISA - Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia

Website

https://amdisa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Short description

AMDISA is an international not-for-profit association, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Hyderabad, that networks management education and management development institutions across South Asia through membership, SAQS accreditation, a quarterly journal, and biennial forums.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services / Education Quality Assurance

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Study Abroad Provider Networks, Consortia & Membership Organizations (EDAIAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Management education association
• Quality assurance accreditation
• Scholarly management publishing
• Institutional networking forums
• Business school accreditation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyderabad

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: AMDISA generates revenue through annual membership fees from institutional, affiliate, and reciprocal members. Members pay fees to access networking opportunities, SAQS accreditation, invitations to forums, and receive publications including the journal, directory, and newsletter.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AMDISA is an international not-for-profit association that networks management education and management development institutions across South Asia. It sells annual institutional, affiliate, and reciprocal memberships, runs the SAQS international quality assurance accreditation for business schools, publishes the quarterly South Asian Journal of Management (SAJM), and convenes the biennial South Asian Management Forum (SAMF), workshops, and supported-programme co-branding services.

Product overview

AMDISA (Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia) is an international not-for-profit association established in 1989 that operates as a network of Management Education and Management Development Institutions. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected services: the SAQS accreditation programme provides international quality assurance for business schools; the South Asian Journal of Management serves as the scholarly publication; membership provides networking and collaboration benefits; and the South Asian Management Forum (SAMF) hosts annual conferences. Additional offerings include workshops, newsletters, and a supported-programmes platform that co-brands member institution events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SAQS: International Quality Assurance Programme for Business Schools - provides accreditation and strategic audit for business schools.
• South Asian Journal of Management (SAJM)
• South Asian Management Forum (SAMF)

Products and services

• SAQS (South Asian Quality Assurance System)
• South Asian Journal of Management (SAJM)
• AMDISA Membership (Institutional, Affiliate, Reciprocal)
• South Asian Management Forum (SAMF)
• AMDISA Workshops
• AMDISA Newsletter
• AMDISA Supported Programmes
• International Networking and Cooperation

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Royal Institute of Management (RIM), BhutancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMDISA co-organized the 17th South Asian Management Forum (SAMF) 2026 with RIM Bhutan. The forum was held on 11-12 May 2026 in Thimphu, Bhutan, with the theme 'Resilient Leadership and Innovation: Navigating South Asia's Dynamic Governance Landscape'. RIM Bhutan's Director General, Ms. Tshering Yangden, serves as President of AMDISA, demonstrating deep institutional integration.
• SAQS (System of Accreditation for Quality Standards)coreOthersSAQS is AMDISA's flagship international quality assurance program for business schools. It provides a combination of accreditation as recognition of international quality and a full strategic audit as a guide to schools' future progress. The program is accepted by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) at par with NBA accreditation.
• EQUAL NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMDISA has joined the EQUAL Network, a platform and think tank where national, regional, and international business school associations and quality assurance agencies work together to exchange views and insights into trends, developments, and best practices in business and management education.
• Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), UKmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMDISA and CABS UK have agreed to establish a strategic framework for a formal dialogue between UK and Indian business schools with the aim of increasing transnational education activity between them, beginning with a two-day conference event in New Delhi in September 2026.
• Association of Indian Universities (AIU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIU formally recognizes AMDISA's SAQS accreditation at par with NBA accreditation for the purpose of equivalence of PGDM program of Standalone Management Institutions with MBA degree of Indian Universities. This recognition is a significant milestone for SAQS and its member institutions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AACSB International: Global accreditor of business schools offering AACSB Accreditation, the most widely recognised business school credential. Directly comparable as a peer accreditation/membership association focused on management education quality assurance.
• EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development): European-based global management education association that runs the EQUIS and EPAS accreditation programmes and a broad membership network of business schools. Directly comparable as an international membership and accreditation body for management education.
• AMBA (Association of MBAs): London-headquartered international accreditation body for MBA, DBA, and MBM programmes with global membership of business schools. Directly comparable to AMDISA's SAQS in accreditation positioning and to its institutional membership model.
• Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), UK: UK association representing leading business schools and a strategic partner of AMDISA (UK-India dialogue). Comparable as a national membership association for management education institutions, offering advocacy, events, and quality-related programmes.
• Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC): Australian body that rates the quality of academic journals across business disciplines and engages with business school quality. Comparable as a business school quality assurance and journal-rating peer relevant to AMDISA's SAQS accreditation and SAJM journal rating efforts.
• EQUAL Network: Global think-tank and network of national, regional, and international business school associations and quality assurance agencies, of which AMDISA is now a member. Comparable as a peer-level consortium body in management education quality assurance.

Regional players

• Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS): India-focused management education association serving a similar constituency of Indian business schools with networking, events, and member services. Comparable as a regional/India-only competitor association; overlaps with AMDISA's domestic membership base but does not extend internationally.
• Association of African Business Schools (AABS): Regional Africa-focused association of business schools with quality assurance and capacity-building programmes. Comparable as a geographically distinct regional peer to AMDISA, addressing a similar management education quality assurance mandate in a different continent.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Indian Universities (AIU): National body representing Indian universities, currently recognising AMDISA's SAQS accreditation. Comparable as a higher-education coordinating/recognition body that interacts with AMDISA's accreditation process and whose endorsement underpins SAQS's regulatory value.

Emerging players

• Global Business School Network (GBSN): International network focused on management education capacity building in emerging markets, with overlap to AMDISA's South Asia development agenda. Comparable as a peer in cross-border management education networking with a development-and-capacity-building lens.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amdisa

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 amdisa