Frequently asked questions
At a glance: who we are and what we do
Women on Wings’ consulting is pro bono, optimizing our partners’ operations, strategy, marketing, finance and supply chains. This builds the professional infrastructure necessary to scale job creation.
Our model since 2007 is efficient, unbiased, long-term, and results-driven. As of March 2026, we have co-created over 520,000 jobs. We partner with organizations sharing our ambition for market-ready approaches that create sustainable livelihoods. Our work is grounded in transparency and measurable impact. Whether you are a potential partner looking for expert business advice, a donor seeking high-ROI philanthropy, these FAQs outline our approach, methods, and commitment.
Who we are & our approach
Women on Wings goal is to co-create one million jobs for women in rural India. We partner with growth-stage social enterprises and government institutions. We provide pro bono business consultancy. Our work covers market access, value chain optimization, and business strategy. This aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, and 10. As of March 31, 2026, we have co-created 523,472 jobs.
We are not a grassroots organization. We are a professional impact multiplier. We build the infrastructure for social enterprises and government organizations that makes scalable job creation possible for women in rural India. Our pro bono consultancy transfers corporate-grade business expertise directly to our partners’ internal teams. Senior professionals with 15+ years experience, share their time pro bono. We also occasionally hire paid consultants for highly specialized technical needs, but the vast majority of our work is pro bono. We optimize strategy, sales, supply chain, finance, HR, and impact measurement. We work with social enterprises and government institutions. We require a long-term commitment to institutionalize change. We measure our success by long-term, sustainable impact.
We do not provide direct vocational training. We act as a business scaffold. We optimize supply chains, financial management, and market strategies for our partners. This helps them scale. By professionalizing their business infrastructure, we empower our partners to become sustainable and market-ready so they can expand impact independently and they create localized economic opportunities for women in rural India.
We are an NGO. We create our impact by providing pro bono business advice and mentoring to Indian government institutions and social enterprises.
We prioritize depth over geographic spread. This focus allows us to refine our methodology. It lets us leverage specialized networks of social enterprises and government partners. By centering operations in India only, we use our specialized knowledge and networks of social enterprise partners and government institution partners to scale sustainable livelihoods.
Women on Wings works across sectors with strong potential to create jobs and increase incomes for women in rural India. These include agri-tech, agriculture and food, dairy, poultry, aquaculture, sericulture, forestry, textiles and handloom, and handicrafts.
We partner with growth-stage Indian social enterprises, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and government institutions responsible for rural livelihoods and women’s economic development. Across all our partnerships, the common focus is on building and growing businesses that can create sustainable livelihood opportunities for women at scale.
- Cost efficiency: We spent an average of €17.55 to co-create one sustainable job
- Jobs co-created: 523,472 jobs for women in rural India since 2007
- Families supported: Over 2.6 million members have increased household income
- Children in school: 1.57 million children enabled by maternal income
- Annual performance: 67,400 new jobs in FY 2025–2026
A job is a predictable relationship with an enterprise. It provides access to economic improvement. We track this using an EY methodology. See Our Impact page for the breakdown.
We address systemic barriers. These include limited market access, fragmented supply chains, and regulatory gaps. Our field experience shows these challenges require a business approach. Our consultancy helps partners scale so they can employ more women. Read our methodology on the About Us page
Partnerships: government institutions & social enterprises
We provide intellectual capital through pro bono business consultancy. We prioritize partners with a clear ambition to scale sustainable livelihoods for women. We ask partners to demonstrate a three-year commitment. We ask that all partners maintain transparent reporting. Our social enterprise partners cover boarding and lodging for our experts during visits.
Women on Wings partners with government institutions, including State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs), through non-financial Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). We work as a pro bono technical and implementation partner, bringing business expertise to strengthen livelihood opportunities for rural women.
Our support typically includes business strategy, market access, sales and marketing, supply chains, organizational strengthening, and access to specialized business expertise. Government partners work closely with us by providing access to relevant teams and producer organisations, facilitating coordination, and jointly driving agreed priorities and implementation.
Women on Wings collaborates with government institutions focused on rural livelihoods and women’s economic development. Our partners include State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and other state-level institutions working with women’s collectives, enterprises and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
Examples include MSRLM,UMED in Maharashtra, JSLPS in Jharkhand, and government-supported initiatives such as House of Himalayas in Uttarakhand. We also worked with MAVIM in Maharashtra, which focuses specifically on women’s economic empowerment.
Through these partnerships, we bring business expertise to help strengthen enterprises, improve market access and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in rural areas contributing directly to the 523,472 jobs co-created for women in rural India across our portfolio as of March 31, 2026.
Are you a growth-stage social enterprise in India? Do you aim to scale employment for women in rural India? Contact us. We assess your business engine to see how we might scale your operations. Review our requirements on our Services page. Email your organization details to info@womenonwings.com.
We focus on strengthening your business model, improving your financial management, sales processes, and organizational structure. Together we aim to optimize strategy, sales, supply chain, finance, HR, and impact measurement. financial management, sales processes, and organizational structure. We focus on equipping your team to operate independently.
Our team and experts conduct regular consultation calls and demand-driven onsite assignments. We work with you for a minimum of three years. We can focus on:
- Operations and supply chain optimization: quality standardization, and process streamlining.
- Strategy and planning: reviewing business strategies and plans, leadership mentoring
- Sales and marketing: developing sales strategies, brand positioning, reorienting visual storytelling, and traffic growth strategies
We work together in building the business engine that connects rural products to consumers. We are not a distributor. Together we work on getting your enterprise more “market-ready” by co-creating your brand positioning, pricing, and go-to-market strategy. We build B2B connections. We sharpen your market presence. We work with governments on state brand development.
We partner with growth-stage, for-profit social enterprises registered in India. We focus on food, agriculture, dairy, clean agri-tech, aquaculture, sericulture, forestry, textiles, handicrafts. Partners must meet these criteria:
- Operational maturity: At least three years of operation.
- Path to profit: Trajectory toward profitability within two years.
- Social impact: Employ 500+ women in rural areas. Goal to double impact in three years
Our partner’s headquarters may not always be in rural areas. They may be located in semi-urban, or urban regions. Our mission is focused on creating
Governance, transparency & impact
We follow international benchmarks. We maintain CBF recognition and ANBI status. We publish annual reports and annual accounts. View Women on Wings’ governance and financials here: https://www.womenonwings.com/governanceontent.
We do not provide grants. Instead, your donation acts as an investment in our consulting model. We use these funds to cover the research, logistics, and operational costs of our organization and send our team and experts to our partner’s physical locations to focus on optimizing their business, supply chains, and strategies. By funding the “how” behind the work, your donation creates a multiplier effect. It transforms social enterprises into scalable, professional businesses that create sustainable jobs for women in rural India. Accordion content.
Women on Wings provides a unique financial multiplier for philanthropic capital. Our core service relies on our delivering expert business advisory pro bono to partners. Your donation unlocks this business consulting that accelerates partner revenues and job creation.
Since 2007, we have spent an average of €17.55 to co-create one sustainable job. This high capital efficiency ensures that funding delivers a direct, measurable, and long-term social return on investment
We hold international governance credentials that enable tax-efficient giving for individual and institutional donors across multiple regions:
- Global compliance & transparency: We use a two-tier governance structure (Executive Management and an independent Supervisory Board) with annual independent financial audits and published annual reports.
- Netherlands & Europe: Registered as a Public Benefit Organization (ANBI status) with official CBF Recognition (Erkend Goed Doel), allowing for Dutch tax deductibility.
- United States: Certified via NGOsource Equivalency Determination, enabling US foundations and corporate donor-advised funds to issue grants legally.
Women on Wings uses a two-tier governance structure that separates executive management from independent supervision to ensure accountability, transparency, and long-term strategic alignment. See a full overview of this framework, including the roles and composition of our Supervisory Board and our ethical policies here: https://www.womenonwings.com/governance.
Find Women on Wings’ annual reports, plans and accounts here: https://www.womenonwings.com/annual-reports/
We use a structured internal control framework and conduct annual audits. This includes continuous operational, financial, and reputational risk assessments. We report findings to our Supervisory Board. You can view our full governance framework here: https://www.womenonwings.com/governance.
We follow global data standards. We store sensitive information securely. Access is restricted to authorized personnel. Read our policy here: https://www.womenonwings.com/privacy-policy.
We are an independent, non-profit organization and maintain a strict policy to prevent conflicts of interest. Women on Wings has measures in place to ensure that personal, professional, or commercial interests do not influence our work.
Experts sign confidentiality agreements about all partner work. Our team, board and experts, disclose potential conflicts of interest. Where a conflict is identified, appropriate steps are taken to protect the partner’s interests and ensure that decisions remain unbiased and focus solely on the economic empowerment of women in rural India.
Our experts
We are an impact multiplier. Our expert network includes senior-level Indian and Dutch business experts. They donate their time. They have 15+ years of corporate experience. They cover strategy, marketing, branding, supply chain, sales, finance, HR and org structure. We ensure a balance of global perspective and local context. Experts work with our team and those of our partners. Experts are committed to scaling sustainable livelihoods.
- Evolution & local context: While Women on Wings was founded in 2007 by two Dutch entrepreneurs, Ellen Tacoma and Maria van der Heijden, who initially leveraged their “warm networks” in the Netherlands to mobilize experts, we now continue to expand our network with Indian experts.
- The co-creation model: our experts work alongside our inhouse managers and consultants with partners as a dedicated team.
- Commitment: We look for professionals who are passionate about scaling livelihoods for women in rural India over a long-term period which allows us to move beyond temporary support to create market-ready business entities.
Our expert network consists of senior business professionals. They contribute their time pro bono collaborating and co-creating high-level strategies and plans with Indian entrepreneurs and government institutions.
Experience: You need 15+ years of experience. We focus on strategy, sales, branding, supply chain, finance, marketing, or HR.
Time commitment: You commit 10–15 days annually. We require a three-year minimum to ensure continuity and trust.
Operational integration: You work within the Women on Wings Google Workspace environment. You use our standardized templates for presentations and reporting.
Integrity: You sign a formal agreement and follow our Code of Conduct. We value accountability and reliability. You must respect our partners’ operational independence.
Equality: You respect our values and most especially that our work is rooted in equality and partnership.
Experts typically join through referrals and partnerships like Seniors in Seva. To show interest, email info@womenonwings.com. Please include a link to your LinkedIn profile and a summary of your core business expertise.
Our footprint
We calculate our emissions primarily based on travel, including flights and travel distances, via the Atmosfair methodology. This covers work-related car travel and estimated emissions from our part-time office spaces. We limit non-essential travel. We prioritize our Indian expert network to reduce international flights. We compensate for unavoidable travel through Udaipur Urja, supporting their sustainable cookstove project which helps offset emissions.
